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OL Orlando Pace (7-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl Champion, CFB HOF, NFL HOF)

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Originally posted: June 18, 2009
TSN sets Pace on cover
By David Haugh

Last week the Sporting News created quite a stir around Chicago by ranking Lovie Smith 20th among top coaches in the NFL, behind the likes of less-accomplished head coaches such as Brad Childress and Wade Phillips.

This week, the publication strives to generate some more Bears buzz by putting left tackle Orlando Pace on the cover of the current issue. Pace is featured along with five other players over 30 who changed teams this offseason.

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"It was a weird feeling at first when the Rams released me -- after all, I had played in St. Louis for 12 seasons -- but it probably needed to happen," Pace said in the story. "After winning only five games in two seasons, they needed to clean house. I understood that part of it, and I don't have any hard feelings about being released. I used to go to Chicago at least once a year -- usually, it was to go shopping. I'm sure there will be a bit of a culture shock at some point, especially when it gets cold in the winter. I'm an Ohio guy, but I've got to get my blood thick again after playing in a dome for 12 years.

"I already had a bit of a feel for the Bears because we played them two out of the last three years. I knew a couple guys on the team and some of the coaches, including Lovie Smith, who was our defensive coordinator in St. Louis for three seasons. There's a real buzz in the air in Chicago about the Bears. It's something you can really sense. They held this Bears Expo at Soldier Field and there were a lot of fans who showed up. I probably hadn't seen such excitement in the offseason since we went to the Super Bowl in St. Louis."
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TSN sets Pace on cover | Huddle Up
 
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NextBuck;1485522; said:
The Bears could surprise this year with their additions on offense, a healthy defense, and their division. I'd like to see OP make a couple more pro bowls before he hangs them up. Hopefully he stays healthy.
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As a Buckeye and an Orlando Pace fan I couldnt agree more, but as a Packers fan...

FUCK THAT!!! FUCK THE BEARS

:biggrin:
 
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OhioStateAlumni
PACE STILL CASTING A LONG SHADOW

PACE.jpg


Former Buckeye offensive lineman Orlando Pace received 1,192 alumni votes, more than any other offensive player on the All-Alumni Team ballot. He is projected to start at left offensive tackle for the NFL's Chicago Bears this fall.
By SCOTT PRIESTLE
Photo by JENNIFER FONTAINE
When Orlando Pace signed with the Chicago Bears this spring, the seven-time Pro Bowl tackle was overshadowed by his new team's trade for quarterback Jay Cutler the same day.

It was a rare moment for Pace. Literally and figuratively, he has loomed large since he arrived at Ohio State in 1994.

"My agent called and said, ?The deal is done, and at the same time, they traded for Jay Cutler.' It was icing on the cake for me," Pace said. "It's always exciting to play with talented guys like that."

This summer is Pace's first with a team other than the St. Louis Rams, who drafted him first overall in 1997 and three times designated him their franchise player.

The Rams released Pace in March to save about $6 million against the salary cap. After a month of intermittent negotiations with multiple teams-a process he called "an emotional roller coaster"-Pace signed a three-year, $15 million deal with the Bears. He will report to training camp as the starting left tackle on a team with postseason expectations. It's a chance to prove he can still play at the level that marked his career at Ohio State and his early years with the Rams.
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Link

Cooper gave TU football a huge boost



By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Published: 7/14/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 7/14/2009 4:02 AM
JOHN COOPER made a lot of Ohio State fans angry during his first week as head coach of the Buckeyes.

"Someone asked me about the talent we had," Cooper said. "I told them we had better players at Tulsa."

Cooper, who raised the level of TU football during a successful eight years in the 1970s and 1980s, went on to coach in four Rose Bowls and one Orange Bowl as head coach at Arizona State and later Ohio State.

He arguably coached the most successful collegiate teams of the 1990s while at Ohio State. "We probably should have won a couple of national championships with the players we had," Cooper said.

But, it all started in Tulsa.

"I owe everything to the University of Tulsa," Cooper said. "They took a chance on a country boy who was an assistant at Kentucky. No one had ever heard of me.

"Even now, I look back at my time at Tulsa as the most enjoyable years as a coach. I loved coaching there. I loved the people. Most places, they only like you when you are winning. I feel like the folks at Tulsa liked me the whole time, even when we didn't win."

Cooper, one of TU's most successful football coaches, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

He may be better known for his head coaching stops at Arizona

State and Ohio State.

However, it could be argued that the best coaching of his career was done in Tulsa.

He turned the Golden Hurricane into a legitimate collegiate football stronghold. No one, especially teams from power conferences, wanted to play TU during that era.
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Cooper To Attend Hall Of Fame Dinner
Posted Saturday, July 18, 2009

Former Ohio State coach to enshrined in college football hall of fame

SOUTH BEND , IN -- Former Ohio State head Football coach John Cooper will join Lou Holtz and 17 other all american players Saturday night at the 2009 College Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Dinner & Show at the Century Center in South Bend, Indiana.

The 2009 class will be , will be inducted at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on December 8. Cooper coached at Tulsa (1977-84), Arizona State (1985-87), Ohio State (1988-2000) and compiled a 192-84-6 record.
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Cooper To Attend Hall Of Fame Dinner - WTRF-TV - WTRF.com
 
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Cooper set for official entry into Hall of Fame
Saturday, July 18, 2009

John Cooper's 15-month victory lap ends today, but not before he rides in a parade in his honor.

It's not just in his honor, actually -- he will be joined by other members of the 2009 College Football Hall of Fame class at their enshrinement in South Bend, Ind.

Cooper, the Ohio State football coach from 1988 through 2000, was informed of the honor in May 2008. That was followed by an induction dinner in New York in December and capped by this week's festivities.

There was a golf scramble yesterday and a parade planned for this morning, with the Hall of Famers riding on floats through downtown South Bend. That was to be followed by an autograph session, a pep rally, and the formal enshrinement ceremony at 7:30 p.m.

"I didn't know you celebrated all year," Cooper said yesterday. "It's not going to end for me; I'll enjoy it the rest of my life. It has been fantastic."
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The Columbus Dispatch : Cooper set for official entry into Hall of Fame
 
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DontHateOState;1500412; said:
Every coach looks better when they are no longer coaching.
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I guess thats what it is. I need about another decade or so personaly before I can forget 2-10-1, his Bowl record, Air Force, the Outback Bowl, Buckeye Stadium, hot tubs, Germany, Rambo and other shit I've supressed pretty deeply.

valentine;1500414; said:
I'm sure Mike Doss, Chris Gamble, Craig Krenzel, Michael Jenkins would disagree.
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??
 
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Congrats to Coop on the big day. Also, happy belated birthday. Turned 72 back on 7/2.

Jaxbuck;1500420; said:
I guess thats what it is. I need about another decade or so personaly before I can forget 2-10-1, his Bowl record, Air Force, the Outback Bowl, Buckeye Stadium, hot tubs, Germany, Rambo and other shit I've supressed pretty deeply.
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None of those ring a bell with me. Pass the scotch so I can drown any memories that try to come back.
 
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