I’ll be the first to admit that I have never been a huge fan of DWTS, as the fans call it. But tell me a Packer is competing and I’m all over it! Especially when it’s our beloved #80 Donald “Quickie” Driver!

As Packer Nation does so well, let’s see Donald through to the end. He would easily win the whole thing, especially if it comes down to a fan vote. We Packer fans know how to show our support.

Let me know if you’ll be watching. I know I will, if only for this season.

Good luck Donald!

September 18, 2011

To my family, the Packers organization, current and former teammates, friends and all of Packers Nation,

THANK YOU for the opportunity to play for the greatest franchise, and best fans, in all of sports. The Green Bay Packers team goals are absolutely the most important focus for all of us moving forward. With the incredible blessing of the birth of my third child (Charity) last week and becoming the All Time Packers Leading Receiver in Yardage today by surpassing Pro Football Hall of Fame’s James Lofton, I also wanted to briefly reflect for a day on the wonderful experiences that I have shared with all of you.

I still remember the Packers drafting me as the 213th overall player in the last round of the 1999 NFL Draft. The Packers had the 212th and 213th picks back to back that year, and they would not even take me 212th! I clearly did not know Wisconsin very well back then, because I got off the plane that April in just shorts and a short sleeve shirt – and yes, I froze!

Thankfully, I have learned a lot since then about a number of topics:

1) How to be a loving father and husband

2) To appreciate every single day what it is like to play for a Packers organization that is committed to excellence

3) That Packers fans will always support you, no matter how cold it gets!

4) That on field accomplishments matter, but that charity and giving back to the community is the most important accomplishment of all

5) That I will never be done learning, interacting and enjoying the special relationship with Packers staff, teammates, fans and community supporters throughout the world

In closing, I want to encourage all of you to hug your loved ones this week and please continue to support the Packers and your community! THANK YOU!

Sincerely,

Wynn #94 with a sack

Jarius “SlickWynn” Wynn, the 280lb DE was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 6th round of 2009 Draft. He didn’t see a lot of playing time as the Packers were stacked at that position at the time. Consequently, he was released by the Packers during the 2010 preseason.

But as all Packers fans know, we saw a lot of injured players in the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, DE Justin Harrell was one of those. That was the beginning of  Wynn’s second chance to be part of greatness.

In a phone interview with Wynn today, I asked him how it felt to be released by the Packers then to get picked back up by them just weeks later. Wynn said

“When I was released, I used that as a learning experience. I wanted to always get better and better. I prayed about it and during half time of the Eagles game, I got the call”.

Wynn was happy to be back. He said,

“I want to prove something, I’m going to be ‘That Guy’”

Obviously, he is ‘That Guy’ and he proved it Thursday night against the Saints. Not only did he have 3 solo tackles and 1 assist, he was one of only two defensive players to get a tackle on the elusive Brees.

He was also a key player in the 3rd down 1 stop of Saints TE Thomas and again on the 4th and 1 when the Saints turned the ball over on downs.

I asked Wynn for a prediction for this year, which he gave me a very politically correct

“I won’t make predictions, we’ll continue to work hard and see where the season takes us”

Wynn want’s to continue to focus on his job, work hard, and be better so the Packers can keep on “Wynning”.

Be sure to follow him on Twitter @slickwynn94

Stay tuned to Lombardi Ave for a chance to win one for yourself!

GO Pack GO!

Limited Edition Packers bottle

The 19th annual ESPY Awards are scheduled tonight on ESPN at 9pm ET. It’s another exciting evening of Green Bay Packer sightings on a nationally televised awards show.

The Green Bay Packers (Team/Players) are nominated as follows:

Best Team

Auburn Football

Boston Bruins

Dallas Mavericks

Green Bay Packers

San Francisco Giants

Texas A&M Women’s Basketball

Best Male Athlete

Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR

Rafael Nadal, Tennis

Dirk Nowitzki, NBA

Aaron Rodgers, NFL

And, in the category of Best NFL Player, both Clay Matthews and Aaron Rodgers are nominated.

There should be plenty of great clips reflecting on the amazing 2010 season, and we can expect to see several Packer players in attendance.  But, not every team member was invited to attend.

Per Twitter, we pretty much know who will be in Los Angeles and which players will be watching the show from home.

Which brings me to this – Tom Crabtree, (the tatted-up; green- mo-hawk- wearing; music-loving; fan fave) TE #83 of the Packers is hosting his first ever live-stream broadcast of himself watching the ESPYS from his home. That’s right, you have the opportunity to “Watch Tom Watch the ESPYS”.  The link below was provided for all who would like to experience this unique opportunity.

Watch Tom Watch the ESPYs” Tonight at 9/8c on Livestream! http://t.co/o5BjUJx Special Guest Appearances, Q&A and MUCH MORE!!!!!

Watch the shenanigans of Green Bay Packers Tight End Tom Crabtree! Random stuff for fun!

If you are currently on Twitter and follow Tom Crabtree, you know, we’re in for some entertainment.

As always, it’s a GREAT day to be a Packer fan! GO PACK GO !!

Are you for real Roger Goodell? Why on God’s green earth would you even entertain the thought of helping the Minnesota Vikings get a new stadium?  This isn’t your battle, this is between the Vikings and the people who live in Minnesota who want the new taxes or don’t and the Minnesota state legislation!

If there’s that kind of money in the NFL’s budget to bail out the cry baby Vikings organization, why the hell are we going through a Lockout?

Just take the millions of dollars you think you can give the Vikes and split it up amongst the NFL owners and players and let’s get back to football.  And if the Vikings can’t muster up the votes they need to get the deal done in Minnesota, so be it.  No one else really cares if they reside in the land of lakes or elsewhere.

Per a very unscientific poll of the few Vikings fans that I know, they don’t live in Minnesota and really don’t care if they move to another state.  They will continue to follow their team regardless. (As a true fan should.)

Let them figure it out for themselves.  Wilf is rich, he can throw as much money into the stadium as he wants, just like he does with every other decision they make.

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To retire or not retire - that is the question

It’s known to many people that I have been a long time sufferer of the ” jilted girlfriend syndrome” when former Green Bay Packer QB Brett Favre made the decision to retire, un-retire, sign with Jets, retire, then un-retire and sign on with the stinking Minnesota Vikings..

I was sad when he tearfully announced his retirement from the Packers, but I understood.

I was confused when he un-retired and signed with the Jets…but even so, I followed his career with that AFC team that was really of no significance to me or the team that I loved with all my heart.  That “relationship” didn’t last long and he again retired from the NFL.  I thought this time it was over.  He’ll go back to Mississippi and work on his acreage, putt around on the John Deer and we can get back to the idea of retiring his jersey at Lambeau, in Green Bay and we’ll celebrate.  Then 5 years later, he’ll be inducted into the NFL Hall of fame and we’ll celebrate again.

But then the unthinkable happened.  He un-retired for the second time and signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings.  A team that seems to be the exact opposite of everything the Green Bay Packers stood for and a team that has a fan base that is made up of some of the worst fans in the NFL.

I wondered openly if he had a brain disorder that caused a short circuit which some how made him believe this was a good move for his career and his legacy.  No matter how hard I tried, I was unable to make heads or tails of this situation. But one thing was for sure, I was pissed! (more…)

Al Harris

It’s no secret that Packer Nation was rightfully upset when the Green Bay Packers released star CB Al Harris last season.  He was one of the good guys..the gifted athlete with the morals and character that epitomize the way we expect Packers players to act.

Al Harris was openly disappointed with the decision by management to be released to free agency.  He wanted to retire as a Packer.  And we wanted him to stay.  But the universe doesn’t always abide by our hopes and wishes and Al went on to sign with the Miami Dolphins.  Even then, Al took out a full page ad thanking the Packer Nation for treating him as family and professed his love for the Packers and fans forever.

Well, this week, the universe has obliged this most gracious man.  The Green Bay Packers GM has announced that Al Harris will also receive a Super Bowl XLV ring!  This news literally brought tears to my eyes.

It’s people like Al Harris that have given the Green Bay Packers the reputation of honorable and upstanding men.

Great move by the management team.  Congratulations Al Harris, you are always a Packer to us!

I just got a chance to take a look at the Green Bay Packers 2011 schedule and I am so excited!  Not only do we get to play in the season opener on Thursday, September 8th, but we get to celebrate every major holiday on the calendar watching the Packers play!

Seriously, could it be any better than that? Thanksgiving day we play the Lions at Detroit.  On Christmas day we take on the Bears at Lambeau and on New Years day, we finish out the regular season at home against the Lions.

The Packers have only one Monday night game and one Sunday night game, which is a little surprising considering the amazing season they had last year.  There’s always the chance that some of the games will be flexed by the NFL.

So, as it stands right now, we can expect to see at least 6 of the 16 regular season games nationally televised.  Very exciting for those of us south of the Wisconsin border!

Here is the entire schedule:

Pre-season

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The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV over 70 days ago. The Super Bowl “high” we felt has continued on and doesn’t appear to be dying down anytime soon.

There has been a lot of talk about the upcoming draft.. speculation of who Ted’s first round pick will be (psst… OL, please), and a whole lot of previously disgruntled Packers fans’ admission of the true genius that we have now come to love. It’s amazing what a Super Bowl win will do to send a singular person’s stock to rise sky high.

As we continue to have hopes for an agreement between the NFL owners and Players Association, waiting for news, shaking our heads in disbelief that they have STILL not been able to come to terms.. I’m starting to feel a little disgruntled myself. Not with the team and not with the fans.. but there are a few outstanding celebrations that have been put on hold for months now.

When are we going to see our team make the dutiful trip to Washington DC to meet with the President? When are we going to get to see the diamond encrusted, gaudy, but rightfully earned Super Bowl ring.. and where is the Twitter-controversy-fed Super Bowl Team photo? (more…)

It’s no secret that Football fans are some of the most enthusiastic, passionate and committed fans in the world. None more so than those of the Green Bay Packers. A true Cheesehead will bleed green and gold and represent the pack regardless of their location. I should know I am one of the only known packer fans living in Scotland. Location has little impact on the spirit of a Cheesehead particularly when your commitment pays off queue the Super Bowl.

Of course in the hour of glory pride and joy comes to all packer fans but possibly none more so than on Lombardi Avenue itself. Just type into You Tube ‘packers Lombardi avenue celebration’ and you will witness the sheer ecstasy of being a packers fan. Lining Lombardi Avenue all the way to Lambeau Field is honking vehicles and fans screaming with joy.

The unbridled passion for the pack is nothing new of course, It stems from none other than Vince Lombardi himself. Lombardi’s commitment to his team and the game was the example fans now lead by. Let’s not forget he turned a team – who had lost all but 2 of their 12 games in 1958 – into one of the best teams in league within the space of a year. Commitment and passion is why the name Lombardi resides on the Avenue.

The Lombardi spirit lives on in each and every packers fan, win or lose we will represent and most of all inspire confidence in the players making us the flesh and blood of the packer body. No matter what team you represent or where you are in the world you can’t deny that the Cheesehead is a rare breed.

“People who work together will win, whether it be against complex football defences, or problems in modern society.”- Vince Lombardi

Follow the NFL predictions offered by our experts and beat the NFL odds this year.

The new site will provide new technology that will include:

• Hall of Famer’s personal information, including personal appearances, charities with which they are affiliated
• Monthly teleconferences and/or webinars with Hall of Famer’s and Packers organization personnel
• Unique autographed items to be auctioned
• Hall of Fame events
• Email alerts
• Packers Fan’s stories showcased
• Packers Hall of Fame membership

This site will allow all Packers Fans from across the globe access to the greatest NFL franchise in history!

Go to this link and click on the “Notify Me” button to register.

If you’re a Green Bay Packers fan, you probably have a pretty good feel for the way GM Ted Thompson goes about his business.

For starters, he doesn’t overpay for big name free agents. That has frustrated fans in the past, but I think most have come around on this part of his management strategy. Thompson’s other most visible principle is his use of the draft. Very rarely (if ever) does he reach for a player simply because it fits a positional need for the Packers.

Only when the top of Thompson’s draft board meets with a need do you see the Packers making a selection that makes sense in that way. Case in point, Bryan Bulaga last year.  However, there still is an importance in identifying which position the Packers could make an upgrade at.

I use the term “need” loosely here, but if the Packers had such a thing this off season, these positions would most likely fit that profile.

Outside Linebacker : Clay Matthews (17 combined sacks in 2010-2011) is firmly entrenched on the left side, but the Packers could use another play-maker opposite him.  There’d also be nothing wrong with adding more talent and competition for Erik Walden and Frank Zombo. (more…)

There is a popular NFL adage, “On Any Given Sunday”; it’s meaning is that in the NFL there is a very real possibility that any team could prevail in their weekly Sunday match-up. NFL players and their fans, no matter how big an underdog they might be, truly believe that their team can win. It’s what drives the players and their fans.

It is a rare individual that attains the status of a professional NFL player. Only 1696 achieve that distinction each week of the season. The talent and hard work it takes to make it to the elite status, as an NFL player is extraordinary. What is even more unique is the title of a NFL team owner. That exclusive club is limited to a privileged 32 (31 plus the publicly owned Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers). You don’t become an NFL franchise owner without having won battles in the boardroom and the courtroom.

Unfortunately the players and their union officials are in a game (CBA Negotiations) with the owners, in which they are so over matched that in this case “On Any Given Sunday” probably means that the owners will take a large television rights fee deposit to the bank on “Every Given Monday” during a labor lockout.

Just as the players practice, condition and watch film in preparation to wage war between the lines each week, NFL owners have done their version of game preparation in their offices and boardrooms week in and week out for decades. Where players and coaches draw strategies in x’s and o’s, owners strategies are drawn in dollar signs and zeros by attorneys and MBAs. (more…)