Highlights
The New England Patriots are a professional football team that has enjoyed varying degrees of success throughout its checkered history. Under owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots won three Super Bowls during a four-year period (2001-04). The team originated when Boston businessman William H. "Billy" Sullivan Jr. was awarded the eighth and final franchise in the upstart American Football League on Nov. 16, 1959. Originally known as the Boston Patriots, the team played home games at several venues during the 1960s, including six years at Fenway Park. The Patriots were one of 10 AFL teams that joined the NFL when the two leagues merged on Feb. 1, 1970. The following year, t...
The New England Patriots are a professional football team that has enjoyed varying degrees of success throughout its checkered history. Under owner Robert Kraft and coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots won three Super Bowls during a four-year period (2001-04). The team originated when Boston businessman William H. "Billy" Sullivan Jr. was awarded the eighth and final franchise in the upstart American Football League on Nov. 16, 1959. Originally known as the Boston Patriots, the team played home games at several venues during the 1960s, including six years at Fenway Park. The Patriots were one of 10 AFL teams that joined the NFL when the two leagues merged on Feb. 1, 1970. The following year, the team was renamed the New England Patriots and started playing home games at newly built Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The venue would be renamed twice, first as Sullivan Stadium (1983-89) in honor of the man who founded the franchise and later as Foxboro Stadium (1990-2001) after Sullivan sold the team to Victor Kiam, owner and CEO of Remington Products in Bridgeport, Conn., in 1988. In 1992, Kiam sold the controlling interest of the team to James Orthwein. The ownership changed hands two years later when Kraft, who strategically purchased Sullivan Stadium in November 1988 with the hopes of buying the team some day, fulfilled a lifelong dream when he became the fourth owner in Patriots history on Feb. 25, 1994. The following day fans responded to the sale by purchasing nearly 6,000 season tickets, a single-day sales record at the time. The Patriots have come a long way. At his introductory press conference as head coach in 1969, Clive Rush was shocked, literally, when he grabbed a microphone that wasn't grounded and received a jolt. With the team headed to the postseason in 1978, fans were stunned to learn that coach Chuck Fairbanks had accepted a job to be the University of Colorado coach. The team suspended Fairbanks for the final game of the regular season but reinstated him for the playoffs and the Patriots played like a distracted team in a 34-14 loss to Houston. In 1985, the Patriots won three playoff games on the road for the team's first trip to the Super Bowl. Days after getting hammered by the Bears 46-10, six Patriots players were identified as drug users. The next time the Patriots played in the Super Bowl, there was more dysfunction. A power struggle between coach Bill Parcels and Kraft resulted in Parcells quitting shortly after a 35-21 loss to the Packers. He was replaced by Pete Carroll, who lasted three seasons. The Belichick era began in 2000 and coincided with the opening of Gillette Stadium two years later. In Belichick's first eight seasons, the team won the AFC East six times and three world championships with Tom Brady as quarterback.
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Jenkins is a big-time upgrade for Jets
erik.boland@newsday.comIt was Victory Monday in Foxboro, the day after the Patriots came away from the Meadowlands with a 19-10 victory over the Jets in Week 2. Patriots coach Bill Belichick, answering a question about his team's average offensive line play, left no doubt...Tags: Eric Barton, Florida Panthers, New York Jets, Football, Shaun Ellis
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Green Hornets clip Blue Eagles in semis
Special to The Morning CallThe storyline rarely changed for the Emmaus boys soccer team this year. Because the Green Hornets are strong on defense, led by all-conference goalkeeper Sean Roth, and scored only 26 goals in 18 regular-season games, they found themselves in a lot of...Tags: Philadelphia Eagles, Soccer
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Gary Blockus' NFL Power Rankings
There's a new No. 1 in town after the Browns blew out the Giants' championship candles on Monday Night Football. The gap in the NFC East is suddenly a lot closer for the Eagles. Team (Record) … Last week … Comments 1. Tennessee Titans (5-0) … 2 …...Tags: Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars
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Sports Calendar - October 15, 2008
Items for the calendar MUST BE TYPED and received at least 10 days in advance of your proposed publishing date at: Sports Calendar, The Morning Call, P.O. Box 1260, Allentown, PA 18105. They may be faxed to the sports department at 610-820-8654 or sent...Tags: East Stroudsburg University, Wrestling, Football, Basketball, William Allen
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Connecticut High School Football: A Look Back
As the high school football season rolls along, The Courant sports staff will match up each week of the current season with the highlights from the area scene on the same weeks 10, 15 and 20 years ago. Here are historical looks back at Weeks 1-6. We'll...Tags: Natural Disasters, Jack Cochran, Schools, High Schools, Injuries
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Star Track: Brandon Beach
Brandon Beach, who grew up in Newport News, is in his first year as the head strength and conditioning coach at Hofstra University on New York's Long Island. He often works with the Pride football team, which has won three of its last four to even its...Tags: National Collegiate Athletic Association, Ethics, Hofstra University, Football, Athletics, Track and Field
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Browns give Giants prime-time licking, 35-14
tom.rock@newsday.comTurns out the bite was worse than the bark at the Dawg Pound last night. After a week of yapping at the Giants, the once-hapless Browns finally met the defending Super Bowl champions on the field. But instead of rolling over and playing dead, the...Tags: Amani Toomer, New York Giants, Jamal Lewis, Eli Manning, Antonio Pierce
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Giants battered by Browns for first loss
tom.rock@newsday.comIt's been a long time since a Giants locker room sounded like the one after last night's game: Silent. As the defending Super Bowl champions absorbed their first loss in 10 months and 15 days, there was hardly a breath in the room. A 35-14 loss to a one-...Tags: Amani Toomer, New York Giants, Jamal Lewis, Eli Manning, Antonio Pierce
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Giants are pulled back into the pack
shaun.powell@newsday.comCLEVELAND The Giants spent the better part of a week ignoring talk and the steam-gaining notion of themselves being the best team in football. And if there are many more games like this, they won't have to listen to it anymore. They rolled into town...Tags: National Football League, New York Giants, Derek Anderson, Super Bowl, Washington Redskins
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Coughlin not sure of condition of quarterback but it doesn't sound serious
AP Sports WriterEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) _ The New York Giants left Cleveland battered, and with a bruised quarterback. Eli Manning bruised his chest in the Giants' embarrassing 35-14 loss to the Browns, and coach Tom Coughlin was not certain about the extent of the...Tags: New York Giants, Injuries, Eli Manning, Antonio Pierce, Multi-Sport Events
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Hot on the Gridiron
ALBANY 3-3, 2-0 (Northeast Conference) Beat Central Conn. St. 24-22 Justin Peterson (Palmerton) Fr. RB 2-0, 225. Game: Two catches, 16 yards; one assisted tackle. Season: Three catches, 18 yards, one TD; two assisted tackles. BROWN 2-2 (Ivy League)...Tags: National Football League, Oakland Raiders, Tony Stewart, Dan Koppen, Football
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Mateo: 2nd big decision is looming
Some high-profile athletes have transferred from one Lehigh Valley Conference school to another in recent years for athletic reasons. A fuss was made about most, and rightfully so since they were blatant, which has put District 11 officials under the gun...Tags: Life, Football
Oct 15, 2008
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Oct 15, 2008
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Oct 14, 2008
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Oct 14, 2008
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