Week 5: Happy Birthday to Me!

Ha!  Bet you were expecting my blog yesterday.  I decided to wait until my birthday to publish the latest edition of my fabulous writing (and Google-ing) skills.  What did I do for my birthday, you ask?  I got my hair done and in ten days I'm going home to celebrate in Minneapolis.  In honor of my birthday, you will be reading about the lives of two NFL greats.

RIP Raiders Owner Al Davis

Al Davis circa 1977.
Courtesy of nytimes.com.

The Oakland Raiders are mourning the loss of their long-time owner and manager, Al Davis.  Mr. Davis passed away on Saturday, Oct. 8 in his home in Oakland.  He is survived by his wife, son, and the entire Raiders family and fans across the nation.  To honor his memory, the players wore the word "AL" on their helmets and with a moment of silence before Sunday's game.  The Raiders beat the Houston Texans 25-20.

Davis was born in Massachusetts on July 4, 1929 and was raised in Brooklyn, New York.  He started coaching right after earning a degree in English from Syracuse University and then his first professional coaching position was with the Chargers from 1960-1962.

Davis joined the Raiders in 1962 as the head coach and general manager.  He spent a brief time in 1966 as the AFL Commissioner and then returned to the Raiders as the head of operations.  He eventually owned the majority of the team and helped the Raiders become one of the most successful teams in NFL history.  Davis was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 1992.

Read a great article about his legacy from ESPN's website by clicking here.

NFL Star QB Aaron Rodgers

Green Bay's latest star QB.
Courtesy of eduinreview.com.

He won Super Bowl XLV and is doing well so far this season, so it's about time we learned all about him.  Rodgers is the NFL's all-time career leader in passer rating (which means he throws well) and he has the lowest career pass interception percentage for quarterbacks (which means not very many interceptions).

Destiny was a bartender in San Diego
before moving back home to Chico.
Courtesy of Pacific San Diego Magazine.

Aaron was the 24th pick in the first round of the 2005 draft and has played for the Green Bay Packers for his entire NFL career.  He was the backup to Brett Favre until Favre retired (but then was traded to the Jets when he decided to come back).  In college he played two seasons for the University of California Berkeley, known by most as simply Cal.  He wasn't recruited out of high school right away and spent his freshman year at a local junior college.

Rodgers is from Chico, California and is dating a hometown girl named Destiny Newton.  According to her mother in an interview with Radar Online, Rodgers and Newton met at church camp as teenagers and were close friends for years before the relationship became romantic in 2005.  She is currently finishing up a communications degree at California State University Chico.

Destiny's sister, Shawntel, was a contestant on "The Bachelor" with Brad Womack.  Since Shawntel made it all the way to the hometown date before being eliminated, we know the family business is operating a funeral home in Chico.  The Newton family is very close and probably wouldn't mind their daughter marrying a football star as long as they spend the off-season at home in Chico.