Wisconsin-Notre Dame football series at Soldier Field and Lambeau Field appears imminent

Wisconsin and Notre Dame football series at Soldier Field and Lambeau Field likely to be announced soon 🔥🍀🔥🔴⚪️🔥 pic.twitter.com/lH2VlygwLO

— Barstool Irish (@BarstoolIrish) July 24, 2017

CHICAGO – The idea of Wisconsin facing Notre Dame has intrigued Badgers fans, and several years ago school officials began looking at a potential matchup.

Nothing came to fruition, but Monday both UW head coach Paul Chryst at Big Ten media day and Packers President Mark Murphy at the shareholders meeting in Green Bay confirmed a Chicago Tribune report that discussions are again being held.

The series would be held at Lambeau Field and Soldier Field, and Murphy said he expects an announcement soon.

continue at JS

I suspect I will be making several wagers on these games....  I wish there was a way to bet on which team has more practicing Catholics.

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Abp. Listecki on the Real Super Bowl

I have often been told, don’t anticipate. You can create in your mind something way beyond the reality and that certainly would have been good advice for anyone speculating about last Sunday’s Super Bowl. Of course all the “cognoscenti” (those in the know), were predicting the greatest, most competitive game ever; the number #1 offense vs. the number #1 defense. Most predicted the winner and loser would be separated by only three points.

A friend told me he was preparing nachos for his Super Bowl party and by the time he returned the Denver Broncos were down 8-0. I was involved with something for the Archdiocese and figured I’d catch the last half of this most competitive of games. Imagine my shock at the 22-0 score, when I finally turned the game on. Well, all the anticipation remained just mental gymnastics in the imagination of many. It was supposed to be the game of games. However, in reality, it was more a “Boring Bowl” than a Super Bowl. I am sad for quarterback Peyton Manning of the Broncos, seemingly a genuinely good man, but certainly happy for Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. This former quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers, appears to be a class act.

But honestly, for us Midwesterners our Super Bowl took place a few weeks ago when the Chicago Bears squared off against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. Now that was a game! It was the real NFL, the Packers and the Bears for the whole enchilada - the NFC North Division Championship. We always have next year, God willing.

continue at ArchMil

LOL.  Yet that's kind of a sad statement for all of us, hahaha.

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Abp. Listecki on the recent fortunes of the Green Bay Packers

There are a few moments in sports that can turn a rock solid atheist into a true believer. We all know of the famed “Hail Mary” pass in football when quite a few of the godless fans utter prayers at the moment that last desperation pass is thrown. We experienced another one of those times last Sunday during the Green Bay Packers game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The Packers, who were totally dominated in the first half of the game, had every Packers fan talking about next season and I imagine that some of the more devastated Packers fans were picking up the pieces to their remote controls after throwing them at their TV screens.

Then, something started to happen, “O Ye of little faith,” the second half was a turn-about for the ages. Was it the novenas being offered by the faithful or was it the heavenly intervention of “St. Lombardi”? All I know is that the impossible did happen. The largest deficit in Packers history was wiped away and the Pack emerged victorious, so miracles do happen. However, that was not the end of the miracle as even with the last second win, the Pack was still behind the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions in the standings.

The Lions had the Monday night game against last year’s Super Bowl champions, the Baltimore Ravens. It appeared that the Lions had won the game, when the Ravens made a last ditch 61-yard field goal in an attempt to secure a Ravens’ victory – everything on the leg of a kicker. It happens in the NFL, but 61 yards?! Fifty yards, 55 maybe – but there are just too many things that could go wrong in a kick of 61 yards.

continue at Arch Mil

I thoroughly enjoy His Excellency's articles - although I do disagree at times(*cough* Common Core).  And I especially like the fact he doesn't sell himself as a Packers fan like ... some prelates do when moving to a new city. 

A look at the last two decades of the Packers-Bears rivalry

After Laura quit pouting over the Bears loss to the Packers in the 2010-11 NFC title game, she decided to be a good sport and join her family in cheering on the Pack in Super Bowl XLV.

I'm married to a Bears fan. As such, I got a lot of crap from her and others like her after the Bears beat the Packers the other night. But it's ok; I'm going to take the high road and let them celebrate. After all, Chicago fans haven't had much to enjoy the last couple of decades. The Badger Catholic Research Department dug up some interesting information about the NFL's longest-running rivalry over the last two decades (plus this year).
 

	Packers	Bears
Head-to-Head Wins	30	13
Total Wins	210	161
Total Losses	118	167
Playoff Wins	17	4
Playoff Losses	13	5
Winning Seasons	16	8
Losing Seasons	2	11
Playoff Seasons	15	5
Division Titles	9	4
Last Place in Division	1	6
NFC Championships	3	1
Super Bowl Championships	2	0
MVP Awards	4	0
Defensive MVPs	2	1

A few takeaways from the data:

• The Packers average record during this stretch is a little better than 10-6. The Bears is just shy of 8-8.
• The Packers have won more than four times as many playoff games as the Bears.
• The Packers have had twice as many winning seasons as the Bears and three times as many playoff seasons. The Bears have had more than five times as many losing seasons as the Packers.
• The Packers have seen four players combine for six MVP Awards and Defensive Player of the Year Awards. The Bears got one from Brian Urlacher.

Perhaps it's a bit unfair to Chicago to compare the Bears to a Packers team that has enjoyed one of the finest 20 year stretches in NFL history. While the numbers look pretty lopsided here, it's simply because the Packers have been great. The Bears haven't been terrible--just mediocre. And that's why I always say there's nothing wrong with rooting for the Bears--as long as you're not particularly interested in winning Super Bowls. 

187th meeting

There's a great story about legendary Bears coach George Halas. Only 10 minutes before a game against the Packers, Halas knocked on the locker room door and asked to see Vince Lombardi. He said it was very important. Lombardi arrived, and Halas told him, "Vince, I just want to tell you one thing. You better have your team ready because we're going to kick your a$$."

That's an incredible story (told in Gary D'Amato and Cliff Christl's book "Mudbaths and Bloodbaths" about the Packers-Bears rivalry).

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By the way, a new Discount Double Check ad tonight

Abp Listecki on how he will be watching the Bears games

How will you be watching the Bears games?

I am pretty boring to watch the game with, because my sense is when I’m watching a game, I’m much more analytical in watching a game rather than the emotions, you know, or yelling or shouting.

That’s not a part of me; that is part of me when I’m engaged in the sport. Although, when I did coach I got quite a few technicals on the bench, because I would be analyzing a game and watch a ref blow a call or do something and I had this tendency not to remain silent.

Do you wear a jersey?

No, I don’t. I will if it’s put up for a fundraiser. I do have a Bears jersey. I have a Packers jersey. I have an Aaron Rodgers Packers jersey. I had a Clay Matthews jersey that was auctioned off a number of years ago. But I also have a Bears jersey – I have a (Dick) Butkus jersey – that’s my favorite Bears player of all time.

With whom do you normally watch?

Usually, because my schedule is such, it’s on a Sunday, I’m usually at events and stuff. When I get the time, I usually end up with a coffee cup watching a little section of the game. I don’t even get a chance to watch the whole game. I’m a fan of the sport, so although I have favorite teams, I just enjoy seeing the game played.

 Take 5 with Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki - The Catholic Herald

Mike Ditka's "Biggest Mistake" Was Letting Obama Become President

In 2004, Mike Ditka mulled a run for Illinois's vacant senate seat. The prohibitive favorite was state senator Barack Obama, and the Republicans couldn't find someone to go against him. Committee chair George Allen, son of the hall of fame coach, met with Ditka (who described himself as "ultra-ultra-ultra conservative") and urged him to run. Ditka considered it, but eventually declined, citing his busy schedule. It still eats away at him to this day.

As noted by the Atlantic Wire, Ditka spoke at the opening of a North Dakota oil facility last week. (He had "no idea" why he was there. "My secretary sets everything up.") He said not stopping Obama's rise to power remains his greatest regret:

"Biggest mistake I've ever made," Ditka said. "Not that I would have won, but I probably would have and he wouldn't be in the White House."

I'm not saying someone should write a sequel to The Man in the High Castle set in an alternate universe where Mike Ditka became president, but I'm totally saying it.

Deadspin

PS. Ditka is Catholic and there is a piece in the book Champions of Faith: Catholic Sports Heroes Tell Their Stories that features him talking about his faith.  In fact, I found the chapter online.  Worth a look, very candid, devotion to the Virgin Mary, St. Therese, ... uh, ecumenicism?, a believer in transubstantiation.  "Going to the sacraments is going to God."

PPS. I decided against using the Ditka bird picture.

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Take 5 with Abp. Listecki: Dick Butkus, Marquette and Pope Benedict

M. Cherif Bassiouni

1. Who is a hero in your life?

If everybody realizes I have a number of priests, men and women religious, bishops, popes who are heroes, if we could push that off to the side, then I can talk about a few others:

M. Cherif Bassiouni, Emeritus Professor of Law, DePaul University College of Law, Chicago

He was my criminal law professor as well as my international law professor and Sharif was instrumental in the collaboration for the constitution of the International Criminal Court of Justice, part of United Nations. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

He was a man who always had clear vision, always respected the law and always presented himself in a manner to all of the students with a level of reasonability and so it was always a joy to go into his class because you were treated with the respect that sometimes other teacher-student relationships were not always given.

Minnie Oresta Minoso, a White Sox ball player who was one of the first people of color to enter into Major League Baseball. Not only was he extremely talented, but he had a joy about the sport that was just contagious. He’s one of the few ballplayers to ever play in five decades of the sport.

When I was receiving my first holy Communion, I asked for one gift. It was an autographed baseball of my favorite player, Minnie Minoso, and my Uncle (Sylvester) who was a police officer and my sponsor at confirmation, had friends who worked “the dugout” and they got me a ball signed by Minnie, which was really cool.

Dick Butkus, middle linebacker, Chicago Bears, 1965-1973

He was a person who was raised in the community right next to mine on the south side of Chicago. I would occasionally see him at Russell Square Park, when he was in high school playing, as he became a legend in the NFL. The wonderful thing about Butkus is his talent was so superior that it modeled the intensity of professional football, but at the same time, he never pounded his chest to talk about how great he was.

In high school, I had a number of really wonderful teachers, but one who made an impact on me was a person by the name of Harold Hild.

He had a special creative writing class in the minor seminary that only a number of individuals got an invitation to be a part of; I was fortunate enough to be a part of that class, and he introduced us to an appreciation of literature and the development of our own ability to write creatively that I’m forever grateful to.

He was a wonderful teacher who inspired a love for his subject.

Abraham Maslow, a famous psychologist, had a theory called self actualization and he had a whole list of criteria of people he believed to be self actualized, and there were some that posited that this is a rarity.

Well, I really challenge that because I met a lot of self actualized people, individuals who because of the integration of faith into their lives have lived this life with a larger vision than just what they can get out of it and that includes my family, my friends, individuals who have been my students, my teachers, and they become my heroes for what they contribute to me in giving me the enthusiasm that I have about life and about my faith.

2. What’s a memorable moment you shared with Pope Benedict XVI?

When we had the ad limina, being the archbishop of the metropolitan (in the Wisconsin Province), I have the lead in terms of addressing the pope. I’m sitting here and the pope is sitting there (across from him).

He was very gracious and greeted every one of us and when I came in they said, ‘This is Archbishop Listecki from Milwaukee, your holiness.’ And he looked at me and he says, ‘Oh, Milwaukee,’ he says, ‘Marquette, huh?’ and the pope had visted Marquette, so it was immediately a connection for him about his time. [Alright, who's got the scoop on this visit??!?]

He was a scholar so he was invited to give an address there and he remembered that time. So, there was a real sense of I know where you live, from the pope. It put a smile on both of our faces as it did to the other bishops in the room.

continue at MilCatHerald

Great stuff!

Owners of Chicago Bears hold meeting against HHS contraception edict

Virginia and Patrick McCaskey host Reclaiming Religious Liberty Leadership Summit

Patrick McCaskey, the Bears' senior director of special projects, also addressed the crowd, serenading them with a religious liberty-themed rendition of "Bear Down, Chicago Bears."

Concerns about the federal government's mandate that some religious institutions offer health insurance policies that cover their employees' contraceptives and its implications for religious freedom aren't new. Dozens of Catholic organizations have sued the federal government, arguing that the rule would force them to contradict the Vatican's teachings.

The mandate has two high-profile opponents in Patrick McCaskey and his mother, Virginia, who is the Bears' principal owner. But Patrick McCaskey said it would be "unfair to say the Bears, as an organization, agree" with everything that was said Sunday. His mother said it would be "inappropriate" for the team to take an official stand on the mandate.

"We're doing what we can by hosting this event and by our personal efforts," Virginia McCaskey said.

The three-hour conference featured more than a dozen speakers who expressed concern about perceived government hostility toward religion in general and Christianity in particular. About 100 people attended the event, held in the room where the Bears' special teams units meet.

Some speakers cited evidence of religious persecution in abortion laws, gay marriage and efforts to characterize opponents of the contraception mandate as anti-women.

continue at Chicago Tribune

Awesome!

Chicago Bears played La Crosse Lagers in 1934 exhibition game

It was 1934, and the Heileman's Old Style Lagers were coming off a 9-2-1 season against regional semi-pro teams. Skemp's father, attorney Tom Skemp, had launched the Lagers five years earlier after many years coaching at Saint Mary's College in Winona, Minn.

The players were locals, guys Skemp recruited from area colleges and found jobs for at the brewery. They earned about $10 a game.

Coach Skemp contacted George Halas, owner-coach of the NFL champion Bears and convinced him to play the Lagers in a preseason exhibition game, guaranteeing them a reported $1,500. Because it was a night game and La Crosse's field had no lights, the game was played on the Winona Teacher's College field in front of an estimated 3,500 fans.

Bob Skemp was only 7 at the time, too young to attend the game but old enough to be jealous of his older brother.

"It was a big deal in La Crosse, let me tell you," the 83-year-old attorney said this week from Arizona. "You're talking about Red Grange, Bronko Nagurski, Bill Hewitt, all those old stars."

They weren't just big names. They were big. Every Bear on the line weighed more than 200 pounds. Nagurski, a "human battering ram" at fullback, was listed at 230.

The Lagers had only one player, tackle Corwin Halbert, over 200 pounds - and just barely.

Still, Skemp promised an offensive game, saying "the team will not go into a shell and hope for the best."

"We feared no one," he told a Tribune reporter in 1976.

That didn't mean the players weren't a little intimidated. Earl "Sparky" Lowe, the last known surviving member of the Lagers - he died in 2009 at age 99 - recalled the game in a 1997 interview.

"We wondered how we were ever going to stop Nagurski. They were champions," he said. "We played 60 minutes both offense and defense. That was the rule then."

The Bears scored three quick touchdowns before the Lagers dug in. The locals never crossed the goal line that day, but they held the "Monsters of the Midway" to only one more touchdown and a single extra point.

Lager's backfielder Norbert "Steamy" Huennekens, who went on to be their all-time leading scorer, was the standout of the game, punting nine times for an average 43 yards.

Lambert "Pie" Duresky played middle linebacker. He stood just a little over 6 feet and somewhere south of 200 pounds, but he could hit.

Ed Lynch, who played end, recalled in 1986 how Duresky hit Nagurski so hard that the Bears legend got up and shook his hand.

This was smash-mouth football, played in leather helmets without facemasks.

"They were a bunch of rough, tough guys," Neil Duresky said of his father's team. "Dad's last trip to the hospital, they tried to put a tube down his nose and couldn't because it had been broken too many times."

The Bears won the game 25-0, which the La Crosse Tribune and Leader-Press reported was due to the Lagers' "first quarter stage fright."

"The Chicagoans used about everything they had, and there is little doubt about that," the game story read. "They worked practically every imaginable sort of pass, hit the line from all angles, and must have been surprised when they bumped into a stubborn La Crosse defense in the last three quarters."

The Lagers slumped later in the 1934 season, attributed to the strain of working regular jobs at the brewery, but went 9-2 the following year, losing only to two NFL teams, the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cardinals.

Skemp stepped down as coach after the 1936 season to focus on his law practice. The Lagers played one more year, finishing second in the Northwest League, before the brewery withdrew support.

"Dad had a pretty heavy hand. He ran the show," Bob Skemp said. "They needed that."

 More great photos at La Crosse Tribune

When a C is actually a G

Someone in Green Bey nodded:

I’m not sure I would want to visit Chicaco.

Father Z

I'm sure I misspell things all the time.  Is this intentional?  ... maybe.

Archbishop Listecki (Chicago native) Bets Against His Bears

Vince Lombardi and George Halas

Okay, to end the day's posting on a lighter note.  
Right off the Archdiocesan website:

On Monday, January 17, 2011, the office of Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki, archbishop of Milwaukee, contacted the office of Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, to place a friendly bet.

When the Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears, Cardinal George will send Archbishop Listecki a Chicago-style deep-dish pizza. In the unlikely event that the Packers lose, Sargento Foods Inc., Plymouth, Wis., will send a cheese gift basket to Cardinal George on behalf of Archbishop Listecki.

Since Sargento is the official cheese of Lambeau Field, Chief Executive Officer Lou Gentine graciously offered to ante up for Archbishop Listecki’s wager.

The loser will be expected to “pay-up” shortly after the NFC Division Championship Packers/Bears Game on Sunday, January 23, 2011.

Archbishop Listecki, a Chicago native and life-long Bears’ fan, stated, “I’m looking forward to munching on my pizza.”

Archbishop Listecki first moved to Wisconsin when he was named bishop of La Crosse in 2005. He was most recently installed as the 11th archbishop of Milwaukee on January 4, 2010.

By the way, I guess the Bears aren't all bad...

Hmm, I found another nice "Catholic Bears" article but I'm not posting until after the game lest anyone get confused who the good guys are!