On this day in 1997, the Green Bay Packers accomplished something that all of Packers Nation had waited decades to see – bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Titletown.

It was this day that would belong to the fleet feet of Desmond Howard, though Packers quarterback Brett Favre and defensive end Reggie White would also contribute solid performances in helping the Packers to the NFL championship, 35-21, over the Bill Parcells-coached New England Patriots.

Starting with Favre’s TD bomb to Andre Rison and ending with White’s three sacks of QB Drew Bledsoe, the Packers won this game when Howard returned a kickoff for a touchdown that turned the tide in the second half.

It was a great, great day for Packers fans … you want to remember? Check the video below.

Andre Rison was brought on with the Packers for the last half of the 1996 season.

Though he caught that Brett Favre bomb on the second play from scrimmage in Super Bowl XXXI – a play that set the tone and helped the Green Bay Packers to their first Super Bowl Championship since 1967 – I was never a big Andre Rison fan.

My feelings about him were cemented today when I read about his sentencing in federal court of five years probation for failure to pay child support between 2008 and 2011. He was also ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution for his transgression.

To pay off the debt, he will have to pay $2,350 in monthly payments along with $1,000 to pay off the restitution.

Not being responsible enough to pay for his children says a lot about him.

My only hope is that he learns from the penalty and mans up to his responsibilities.

Sad, sad, sad.

Jim Irwin (right) is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. He is pictured here with his partner of many years Max McGee. Irwin died today of cancer.

When Jim Irwin made the call as the clock wound down to zero at the end of Super Bowl XXXI, Packers fans were ecstatic.

“World champions, Green. Bay. Packers.” That was Irwin’s call – one he had waited decades to make and one that was well deserved.

That’s what came to mind today when I heard that Irwin had died from cancer.

How many times did we listen to Irwin through the years – probably more than we realized. If we listened to the Badgers, Packers, Bucks and even sometimes the Brewers, you heard his golden voice calling the plays, describing the game like none other.

More after the jump.

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Former Head Coach Mike Holmgren will be inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame this summer.

It was announced just this morning that Packers former Head Coach Mike Holmgren, who is now the head man of football operations for the Cleveland Browns, will be inducted into The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame this coming summer.

The 42nd Hall of Fame Induction Banquet will be held Saturday, July 21, in the Lambeau Field Atrium.

We all know what Coach Holmgren brought to the City of Green Bay, the state of Wisconsin and all of Packers Nation. In addition to coaches Vince Lombardi, Curly Lambeau, and current Head Coach Mike McCarthy, Holmgren took the Packers to many NFL Playoff games, including two straight Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XXXI.

The press release issued by the Packers Hall of Fame this morning offers this description of Holmgren:

Holmgren joined the Green Bay Packers in 1992 and enjoyed a spectacular run as head coach through the 1998 season, including a victory in Super Bowl XXXI following the 1996 campaign. Launching his success with a 9-7 record in ’92, a five-game improvement from the year before, Holmgren led the team to a 84-42 overall record (75-37 regular season; 9-5 postseason); seven consecutive winning seasons, the first such skein since the 1960s; a club-record six consecutive playoff berths; a 47-5 record, including playoffs, in Lambeau Field; a club-record 25 consecutive home-field victories, the second-longest such streak in NFL history; 13 regular-season wins in consecutive years (1996-97) for the first time in team history; three straight NFC Championship Game appearances (1995-97), including back-to-back wins (1996-97); and back-to-back Super Bowl appearances (1996-97), the last such feat by an NFC team.

His overall win total, 84, is the third most in franchise history, trailing only Curly Lambeau, 212, and Vince Lombardi, 98. His winning percentage, .667, is tied with Lambeau for the second best in team history, behind only the .766 mark of Lombardi. With at least one postseason win in five consecutive seasons (1993-97), Holmgren is one of only three coaches in NFL history to have achieved the mark, along with John Madden (Oakland, 1973-77) and Bill Belichick (New England, 2003-07).

His 1996 Super Bowl championship team led the league in both points scored (456) and points allowed (210), becoming one of only 12 teams in NFL history to accomplish the feat and the first since 1972.

Tickets for the banquet, which begins with the doors opening at 4:30 p.m. with a cash bar, and dinner and program to follow at 7 p.m., are $135 each. Tables of 10 also are available for $1,300 and are assigned in the order in which they are purchased. Early reservations are recommended. To purchase tickets, call Gwen Borga at (920) 965-6984, or e-mail her at gwenb@packershalloffame.com.

No refunds are available 30 days prior to the event.

Lombardiave.com offers our congratulations to Coach Holmgren and his family. We also welcome him back to Green Bay as a permanent member of the franchise’s family.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour pardoned Brett Favre's brother, Scott, among dozens of others.

Brett Favre is back in the news – well kind of.

His brother, Earnest Scott Favre, according to a press release from the Associated Press this morning, has been pardoned by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour.

The pardon means that Favre’s record will be cleared.

You might remember that Favre’s brother pleaded guilty in 1997 and was sentenced to a year of house arrest followed by two years’ probation in the death of his best friend, Mark Haverty.

Haverty was killed when Favre drove in front of and was hit by a train in Pass Christian while driving drunk. The accident took place in 1996. That was right in the middle of Favre’s magical run on the football field with the Packers when he led his team to two straight Super Bowl, a title in Super Bowl XXXI, and the winning of three straight MVP titles.

It was also the start of a series of unfortunate circumstances for Favre – his wife having cancer, his father dying and other family issues that plagued him for years. Despite all that, of course, Favre continued playing with the Packers through the 2007 season … but everyone knows the history about him …