Quote of the Day/Week- Bart Starr

Today, we go 'old school' as we conclude our month-long quotes from Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks with a quip from Green Bay Packers great Bart Starr, 78, who guided his team to victories in Super Bowl I in 1967 (35-10 over Kansas City Chiefs) and Super Bowl II in 1968 (33-14 over Oakland Raiders).

Starr was also a star quarterback at the University of Alabama, and we are quoting his fellow Crimson Tide great Joe Namath on our other blog, "Politics, Culture and Other Wastes of Time" today.

Here is Starr's quote:

"Athletic competition clearly defines the unique power of our attitude."

SIDEBAR: Yesterday, we mentioned how several Big South Conference schools fared in the annual college basketball bracket busters.

And, jut last night, High Point University Panthers guard Nick Barbour (senior, Danville, Va.) set the school's men's basketball scoring record by recording 44 points against the visitors from Campbell University, in eastern North Carolina.

The school which is conversely located in High Point, NC, won the game by a 98-60 margin. The Panthers finish the regular season (12-14, 8-10 Big South) and await their first-round opponent in the Big South Tournament.

Quote of the Day/Week- Peyton Manning

Since it is highly possible that current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who turns 36 on March 24th, could be playing for another team, perhaps the Washington Redskins, we will just use the image of the team's helmet. The Colts originally played in Baltimore, so technically Manning lead the team to its second Super Bowl win back in 2007 (the team won its first Super Bowl as the Baltimore Colts in the early 1970s).

For those who have not paid attention to the American sports media, which at times seems as heated as political talk (and this is an election year), there are many reports suggesting that there is tension between Manning and Colts' owner Jim Irsay.

Manning has a large salary and the Colts are likely to draft star quarterback Andrew Luck from Stanford, who finished second for the Heisman Trophy.

To make things more annoying for Manning, who played college football for Tennessee, is that his younger brother Eli Manning just won a second Super Bowl for the New York Giants some ten days ago.

But, nevertheless, Peyton Manning, who lost out a chance to win a second Super Bowl for himself when the Colts lost Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010, to the New Orleans Saints, remains a fixture in the sports world domestically.

And, here is one of his most quipped quotes:

"Pressure is something you feel when you have no idea what the hell you are doing."

SIDEBAR: A blogger running for president? Well, it is not happening here in the United States though Republican libertarian candidate Ron Paul, a sitting member of Congress representing his district in Texas, is arguably the most successful American fringe political candidate of all time. In fact, he even has the endorsement of kitsch music superstar Barry Manilow.

But, in Russia, where Vladamir Putin, is the odds on favorite to win back the presidency in Moscow, he faces a challenge from the right (?!) as the BBC is reporting that Alexie Navalny is trying to become a 'conservative populist.'

We suggest that he not ask current American Republican candidate Newt Gingrich, currently running a distant third in the polls (just ahead of Ron Paul), for advice.

Quote of the Day/Week- Terry Bradshaw

As many cyber-experts have told us if you ask Google: "Where is the best place to get a bison burger in Denver?" you may well stump Mr. Know It All. But, if you ask: "Who is the mayor of Yozgat, Turkey"? (a medium-sized city in central Turkey), it will tell (well via Wikipedia) that the answer is Yusuf Baser.

Google will also tell you that the Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, with only two losses, and that quarterback Terry Bradshaw was responsible for four of those over a six year period. The last one coming against the then-Los Angeles Rams, which later won a Super Bowl many years later as the Saint Louis Rams, by a 31-19 score in 1979.

That same year The Pittsburgh Pirates won a World Series (the team has not won one since), which gave Pittsburgh the nickname of The City of Champions, a mantra which was reiterated when hockey superstar Mario Lemieux lead the Pittsburgh Penguins to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992.

Bradshaw, now 63, can also been seen singing the Hank Williams Sr. standard "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" on Youtube (from many years ago) and he recently became the spokesperson for Nutrisystem.

Bradshaw is one of two famous athletes who graduated from Louisiana Tech; the other one is Karl Malone who played with the Utah Jazz in the NBA.

Here is Bradshaw's famous quote:

"I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid."

SIDEBAR: Though we consider ourselves to be slightly too uppity for gossip, we can't help but comment on the outrageous profanity-laced statements that Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, 31, said of the wide receivers for her quarterback husband Tom Brady's New England Patriots. For those of you in Yozgat, Turkey, the Pats lost 21-17 to the New Giants in Sunday's Super Bowl game.

Apparently, this caught on camera escapade forced Brady to defend those very same wide receivers who will in all likelihood have to play with Brady next year. One thus has to assume that Brady wasn't "Thanks, honey" when he heard of this, unless he was speaking in jest or sarcasm.

Quote of the Day/Week- Joe Montana

Since the Super Bowl is coming up on Feb. 3rd as the New England Patriots face the New York Giants, we are going to quote Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks for the next four weeks.

Joe Montana, 55, won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s, including wins over other star quarterbacks including Dan Marino (Miami Dolphins), John Elway (Denver Broncos) and Boomer Esiason (Cincinnati Bengals).

He played college football for Notre Dame (the image above is of Montana in a Notre Dame jersey):

"Confidence is a very fragile thing."

Special Quote for the Birthday of Charles Dickens

It is actually Mon. Feb. 7, which is the birthday of Charles Dickens who is of course known for "Oliver Twist," "A Tale of Two Cities," "David Copperfield," "Great Expectations" and "A Christmas Carol" among many others.

The Bundange Park Palyhouse in Randolph, NJ, is currently performed the stage rendition of "Oliver Twist" that is "Oliver!" this month. A film version of the musical play won the Oscar for the Best Film of 1968.

Of course, since he is no longer around, Dickens is about the only person who has not said who he is rooting for in the Super Bowl. We know that the very liberal filmmaker Michael Moore is professing allegiance to the Green Bay Packers, so perhaps right-wing nut Glenn Beck is rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

And, one can only imagine who terrorist leader Osama bin Laden might be rooting for from his apartment in Karachi, Pakistan, or his cave in Kandahar, Afghanistan, but assuredly if he put out a videotape saying who he was rooting for it would cause tremendous upheveal, which they have seen enough of lately in Cairo, Egypt. (forgive our cheeky sense of humor, yes we know bin Laden is a dangerous man, and the riots in Egypt are a delicate matter).

Here is our quip from Dickens:

"An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to little before it will explain itself."