Pass the mic

Welcome to my new blog. I spend my work days engulfed in football. Among other things, I have to keep a constant pulse on the football world so we can keep the world’s largest collection on pro football up-to-date. I’m going to use this space to regularly share news about our Hall of Famers. Consider it your “one-stop” shopping for info on the NFL’s greatest legends.

By now everybody knows we are “Back to Football” and as the second week of preseason games begin I feel a very different vibe in the air about this year’s National Football League exhibition season. Clubs are working tirelessly to assemble their 2011 squads cramming an entire offseason into just six weeks. And as I sit down to watch as many games as my wife will allow me, I get a sense that every snap matters in each team’s quest to have their team ready for Kickoff Weekend.

That being said, as I tuned in for Fox’s special Thursday Night Football broadcast of the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Philadelphia Eagles I was elated to learn that Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw would be joining another Hall of Fame member, Troy Aikman, in the booth to call the game with Joe Buck. There were jokes a plenty as Bradshaw persuaded the audience to stick around for quarter number two claiming’ “ I got a song or two in me before this thing is over with…Troy and I have a song.” A duet with Aikman and Bradshaw would definitely be worth sticking around for, unfortunately, the songs never occurred.

Nonetheless, the football knowledge and insight into the schemes of NFL offenses and defenses being discussed by two men with a total of seven Super Bowl titles and 26 years of playing experience at the quarterback position was priceless. Here’s a comparative look at the career stats for these Hall of Fame quarterbacks.

But after all was said and done I think the one thing that struck me the most from the night was the camaraderie between the two. Whether it was Troy and Terry bantering about the blue shirt that Bradshaw was wearing and whether or not it made his eyes pop or the respect they showed each other while discussing one another’s playing careers. It reminded me of the rare opportunities I have during our Enshrinement weekend to talk with and listen to Hall of Fame members from such an elite fraternity discussing and reminiscing about the game we all love. For me, it was “must see” TV.

Here are a couple of recent tidbits about our Hall of Famers in the news.

• The NFL’s all-time leading receiver Jerry Rice has joined ESPN. The network made the announcement last week. He’ll make his debut on Sept. 15 on “Audibles.” He also going to appear on “NFL Live” and “SportsCenter” throughout the upcoming NFL season.

• The funeral for Pete Pihos was held this morning. Here’s a terrific tribute to the Hall of Fame end in Ray Didinger’s Eagles Insider column on Comcast Sportsnet. Read>>>