FB hero to do FB convention

From the American Farm Bureau Federation:

Gridiron Great Terry Bradshaw to Address Farm Bureau

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 7, 2009 – Terry Bradshaw, four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, two-time Super Bowl “Most Valuable Player” and Pro Football Hall of Fame member, will deliver the keynote address at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 91st annual meeting on Jan. 11, 2010, in Seattle, Wash.

More than 5,000 Farm Bureau members from across the nation will gather in Seattle Jan. 10-13 to not only hear a great speaker, but also learn more about the forces shaping agriculture today and participate in a grassroots policy setting process that will guide the American Farm Bureau through 2010.

A truly “larger-than-life” personality known for his energy, zeal and enthusiasm, Bradshaw is renowned for his professional accomplishments in NFL football and sports broadcasting, in addition to achieving acclaim as an inspirational speaker, actor, author and gospel/country singer. Bradshaw also owns an 800-acre ranch in Texas where he raises cattle and breeds horses.

“Terry Bradshaw is an All-American icon, recognized for his accomplishments both on and off the field,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman, a Columbus, Texas, rice and cattle producer. “But his road to success was not always easy. Along the way, he battled and overcame significant obstacles that many people from all walks of life – including farmers and ranchers – can relate to, including disappointment, adversity, and relentless competition.”

In his presentations, Bradshaw takes a close look at what makes people successful and encourages audiences to think in new ways about sacrifice, pain, competition, and hardship. He also shares with audiences his strategies for maintaining success through persistent self-improvement, in addition to providing specific examples of how to focus the power of dreaming, thinking, and strategizing to reach goals.

The only NFL player with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 6’3” Bradshaw was the first player chosen in the 1970 draft and became one of the most prolific quarterbacks in history. He was the first quarterback to win four Super Bowl championships (1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980), a feat that has been duplicated only once, 10 years later, by Joe Montana. Bradshaw holds the Super Bowl passing records for average gain per attempt in career (11.10 yards) and average gain in a game (14.71 yards in Super Bowl XIV). He was also a four-time All-Pro. He retired from the NFL prior to the 1984 season.

A native of Shreveport, La., Bradshaw attended college at Louisiana Tech, where he still holds the single-season passing and total offense records. He was a first-team Associated Press All-America as a senior in 1970 and later that year received a bachelor’s in physical education from Louisiana Tech. He currently resides in Texas.

The meeting begins Sunday morning, Jan. 10 with the opening presidential address by Stallman. The annual Young Farmer and Rancher competitions, scheduled for Jan. 10 and Monday, Jan. 11, are just one of the highlights on the agenda. Another important feature on Sunday is the annual Farm Bureau Women’s luncheon and business session, which is open to all women attendees but advance purchase tickets are required to attend.

Farm Bureau members can register for the 91st AFBF convention through their state Farm Bureaus.

Small-town football player wins Super Bowl and hearts of Oregonians

Oregon was far from the Super Bowl XLII in Arizona, and even more distant from where the New York Giants play their home games.

Yet, a lot of Oregon — especially rural Oregon — was cheering for Kevin Boss, a rookie tight end playing with the Giants.

Boss, a native of the small town of Philomath, Ore., had attended Division II Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore. He had been selected as a fifth-round draft pick, and earned a starting position with the team after his teammate — and mentor — Jeremy Shockey was injured.

You could almost hear the collective roar across the state when Boss made a key 45-yard catch from quarterback Eli Manning on the first play in the fourth quarter. It helped set up the Giants to get their first touchdown, and helped create the momentum that led the Giants to pull off an upset and defeat the New England Patriots who had a perfect record for all season.

In December, the New York Post had done a story about Boss. Talking about Shockey, Boss was quoted, “We’re both from small towns, we’re obviously a long way from a small town right now.”

However, Boss was never far from the minds of people who live in the Oregon small towns that developed a relationship with him over the years. Classmates, teammates, former teachers, friends, even people who might have occasionally just passed him on campus were eager to talk to the media about how much they respect and support Boss. From the comfort of their homes, to loud pubs, people cheered him on.

When Boss returns to Oregon, he’ll be treated as a hero in small towns and big cities. It didn’t matter if he didn’t catch a touchdown pass. Or that he wasn’t the most valuable player. Heck, even if he didn’t catch that 45-yard pass, people still would treat him royally when he returns.

He had shown that someone from an Oregon small town could train hard, persevere, and make it to the most important football game in the country. More importantly, he had proven a person can do this while still retaining the reputation of being respectable, a role model and someone who may one day serve as a mentor for other kids who are perhaps picking up a football for the first time.

This all seemed a great reminder of another small town Oregon hero who made headlines in the baseball world when his team won the World Series this past fall.

Jacoby Ellsbury, a rookie outfielder with the Boston Red Sox, is from Madras, Ore. The graduate from Oregon State University earned media attention for getting four hits in a World Series game, the first time in 61 years that a rookie had done this.

Both Ellsbury and Boss are more than a couple of lucky guys that got breaks when, during their rookie years, they ended up taking the place of others during the last key games of teams destined for victory.

They both contributed significantly to their teams, and earned kudos for being role models during a time when professional sports continues to be under so much scrutiny for the conduct of other athletes. They’ve opened the doors for more talented athletes from the rural West to be taken seriously, but also shown what real heroes can be for sports fans in the future.

Now for something completely different

Want a sneak peek at some of the ads that may be showing during the Super Bowl?

AP has some snippets from ads from Budweiser that you may be seeing Super Bowl Sunday. Click here to take a look.

Or maybe this one is more to your liking. It's an ad for a Sunsilk hair product, which features the late, great Marilyn Monroe with modern era pop starts Shakira and Madonna.

There are some other Super Bowl sneak peek videos available too from:

Pepsi;
Carmen Electra in an IceBreakers Ice Cubes spot;
and one about drugs.

Beavers make believers in Sun Bowl win

Sometimes it has been difficult to be a Beaver Believer. Oregon State has been the perennial underdog for, well, seemingly forever. But this year has been a year of redemption for OSU fans, who have weathered many difficult sports seasons over the years.

Not that Oregon State hasn't had some good teams over the years. When I was a student at OSU it was tough to get into a basketball game, as Coach Ralph Miller had a powerhouse program. And in recent years, Oregon State's football team has made several trips to bowl games. I was at the Fiesta Bowl game back on New Year's Day 2001 to see the big win over Notre Dame.

But this year has been special. Oregon State's baseball team won the College World Series and the NCAA national title by coming from behind and facing elimination time after time. So perhaps it is only fitting that 2006 comes to a close with OSU's football team coming from behind to win the Sun Bowl against Missouri.

It's been an underdog, comeback year for the Beavers. After struggling early in the season and heavy fan criticism heaped on head coach Mike Riley and quarterback Matt Moore, the Beavers game from 14 points behind in the Sun Bowl today to win.

Riley made a gutsy call to go for a 2-point conversion and the win with less than a minute left in the game.

I have to admit, I was puzzled by Riley's loyalty to Moore early in the season. Moore struggled with interceptions last season and was off to a rocky start this year, with a talented young QB getting some playing time early on. But Riley stuck by Moore and Moore got better.

Even today, I questioned whether Moore could keep the Beavers in the game, let alone bring them back. Moore was struggling and nursing some apparent injuries in the second half today. But Riley and Moore, with the help of Sammie Stroughter, Yvenson Bernard and the rest of the team, were able to change their offensive strategy to come back from 14 points down.

The Beavers had a chance to tie the game on an extra-point conversion. But Riley went for two and the win.

And win they did.

The Beavers have made things very exciting this year. I don't know which was more exciting, being in Corvallis to watch the Beavers upset USC or to watch them come from behind today to win the Sun Bowl.

Thanks Beavs for an exciting season. I'm a bit ashamed of my pessimism throughout the season and even today. In my defense I come by my pessimism naturally. I'm a Beaver and spent a lifetime learning to live with disappointment. This winning stuff still takes some time to get used to expecting. But I'm learning. And I like it!

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