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Virtual Eddie' George A Hit At Big Ten Hoops Tourney
Hologram Is Centerpiece Of 'Quad' Promotion; Comcast.net Also Involved In 'The Hoopla'
Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 3/23/2009
Eddie George, the 1995 Heisman Trophy-winning running back for Ohio State University, is a Big Ten football legend. But his presence was felt at the conference's men's and women's basketball tournaments, where Comcast also made a little promotional noise of its own.
George, the host of Big Ten Network's The Big Ten Quad series, was on hand at Conseco Fieldhouse earlier this month, signing autographs and talking up the interview show in which he hosts three conference personalities in an open forum. The show, which kicked off March 13, settles into regular time slot of Mondays at 8 p.m. (CT) on March 23, with encores scheduled throughout the week.
But George had company in the form of "Virtual Eddie," a talking hologram -- think a much bigger iteration of what was screened in Star Wars with Princess Leia and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Developed by Media Storm LLC, in partnership with Big Ten Network and Creative Images, the faux George inspired 1,200 photographs that were posted on a microsite, with over 1,000 users retrieving them.
"In today's media environment it is critical to a cable network's success to effectively bust through the clutter while engaging your core audience in a unique and meaningful way that still rings true of the brand," said Craig Woerz, managing partner, Media Storm LLC. "The ?Virtual Eddie' standee encouraged Big Ten Network's college basketball fans to take pictures of themselves with the 3-D version of on-air talent, Eddie George, that they posted on the Big Ten The Quad microsite in droves. These die-hard fans not only embraced the brand, but on some level actually became part of it in a memorable fashion."
Media Storm said other Big Ten schools and sports teams are now investigating the use of the technology.
Eddie George Makes Surprise Appearance on Survivor
Friday, May 8, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Former Buckeye football great Eddie George made a surprise appearance Thursday on the CBS reality show Survivor to provide support to his wife, Taj, one of the six remaining contestants.
The Heisman Trophy winner helped his wife prepare for the physically grueling competition, but he couldn't prepare her for the toughest challenge of all, loneliness, 10TV's Andrea Cambern reported.
"I know she can hold her own when it comes to anybody," Eddie George told 10TV's Cambern in an exclusive interview at the family's Tennessee home. "I just know in her quiet moments, her missing us would be difficult."
That was apparent on the show when the rest of the tribe sacrificed so that Taj could see a video from home. The video brought her to tears.
Eddie was allowed to visit Taj on the exile island. The two were given some private time together.
"She's dirty now, she smells filthy, but there's something about the wild that makes you sexy," Eddie said during the episode.
When will a Titan get the call to Canton?
May 25
With the Titans set to travel to Canton, Ohio for the Hall of Fame game in just over two months, it is appropriate to examine when a player synonymous with the franchise's history in Nashville will be inducted into the Hall as a legend of Pro Football. Yes, Bruce Matthews is enshrined in Canton. However, only three of his 14 Pro Bowl appearances were as a Titan. Even with an organization that has done very well in the Music City in the last decade, the Titans' best Hall of Fame prospects are borderline options in the grand scheme of things. Here's a look at the club's best candidates in the years to come:
Eddie George
For: He leads the franchise in rushing yards and is one of only 24 running backs to eclipse the 10,000 yard plateau in NFL history. In his four consecutive pro bowl seasons (1997-2000), George was clearly an elite back in the league. His college career (Heisman winner at Ohio State) and post-NFL broadcasting work give him a higher media profile than some potential competitors for a spot in the Hall.
Against: There are 11 runners from his era with more career rushing yardage. This list includes borderline Hall candidates like Ricky Watters, Warrick Dunn and Corey Dillon. His running style didn't translate well to the stat sheet. George averaged a pedestrian 3.6 yards per carry in his career and averaged less than 3.5 yards per rush in each of his last four years in the league. Ottis Anderson, a player with some similar numbers to George, has failed to reach the Hall in over a decade on the ballot. Anderson, a six-time 1000 yard runner, won a Super Bowl with the high profile Giants and averaged 4.0 yards per carry in his career.
Verdict: IN (Veteran's Committee Ballot)
Eddie George reaction to Steve McNair's death
Posted by Jimmy Trodglen, The Leaf-Chronicle ? July 4, 2009
Former Titans Running Back Eddie George
(Transcribed from a conversation on ESPN today ? 7/4)
"I?m still in a state of shock. It was about two o?clock in the afternoon and I was driving in from Atlanta and initially when you hear stories like this, especially not from a reliable source, but okay it is rumors and it?s nothing.
"As I kept getting phone calls, I got a phone call from a reliable source and it was confirmed that he was shot and killed, again I was still in disbelief and shocked by it all.
"In this situation, you can?t help but go back to the great times we shared together on the field and off the field, brining this team to Nashville and the whole transition and watching him mature into a great player after being scrutinized early in his career by the media and everyone else.
"To see what he has been able to accomplish in his lifetime and just knowing Steve, he was a great father to his sons and his children and just a pillar in the community. It is shocking and it is a great loss and I just feel for his wife and his sons because they lost a father and I know this morning on fourth of July that they were expecting to see their father come home and barbeque and be him.
George: I Am Just So Sad Right Now
4th July, 2009
Tennessean - Eddie George, who played with Steve McNair for many years in Tennessee, is extremely sadden by the quarterback's death.
"I just got back from Atlanta. I am at a loss of words and can't put anything into a picture that makes sense. I am just so sad right now," George said. "I am just trying to get to (his wife) Mechelle's house to show support and take it from there. I really don't know what to say about it other than I lost a great friend and it is tough to put into words. It is still fresh."
George hadn't talked to McNair in a while, but was supposed to attend a benefit with him next week.
"We were supposed to talk about old times," George said. "What can I say? How do you move on and process it? It just doesn't make sense. It is sad the way that he left this earth. A lot of emotions are going through me right now. I have so many memories of him."
Eddie George reacts
Published: July 4, 2009
Former Titans RB Eddie George reacts to the passing of teammate and friend, Steve McNair.
Eddie George still plays to win
Former Titan tells class of new career
By Naomi Snyder ? THE TENNESSEAN ? July 14, 2009
Eddie George speaks to a class at Skanska USA, an international building firm in Nashville, about his experiences in becoming a businessman after his football career. MANDY LUNN / THE TENNESSEAN
Former Titans running back Eddie George confessed to a crowd of women and minority business owners Monday that the transition from football had been a difficult one, while offering some words of advice.
"It was very tough,'' he said. "When football or sports is taken from your life, there is a void that needs to be filled."
Although George was speaking a few days after the funeral of ex-quarterback Steve McNair, his friend and former NFL player who was murdered over the Fourth of July weekend, he only briefly mentioned the tragedy.
Instead, he spoke about his own struggles to find a purpose after football to a class of about 50 students learning about construction management from Skanska USA, an international building firm that launched its Nashville minority training program on Monday.
George isn't taking the classes, but as a business partner with Skanska and one of the owners of a landscaping firm, The Edge Group, he was promoting the new program for others.
After a 10-year NFL career, George went back to school in 2000 to finish his landscaping architecture degree and participated in various enterprises, including nonprofit work. He also is active in the community promoting healthy lifestyles.
"I was on a path (after football) where I was going to seek knowledge and really find what my life's work is, and it was very tough,'' he said. "It was like being pulled into the Twilight Zone."
Now, he said he's set to finish up a master's in business administration degree in December at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
"I didn't feel like I had the skill set to run a company,'' he said, explaining the need to go back to school.
GEORGE'S CHANCES: Former Titans running back Eddie George will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame next year, and Bulluck said the franchise's all-time leading rusher should get in.
"You have to look at his whole career. He didn't lose too many games, and he was always there,'' Bulluck said. "And I think going through that Hall and seeing the different busts, not everybody in that Hall was a Jerry Rice-type player or Walter Payton or Barry Sanders or Joe Montana.
"When you talk about running backs in Eddie George's time he is definitely up there in the top three. You can't deny that. I would say him, Marshall Faulk and Jerome Bettis in that era right there, give or take a couple more.''
George didn't miss a game as a Titan from 1996-2003, when he rushed for 10,009 yards and went to four Pro Bowls. He was an All-Pro in 2000. He finished out his career with the Cowboys and retired after the 2004 season. He finished with 10,441 yards and 78 touchdowns.
Asked if George is Hall-worthy, Titans Coach Jeff Fisher said: "We all, as coaches, think all of our players are. But it is going to be up to the committee. I think Eddie did some great things for the years that we had them.''
George, Anderson First Year Hall of Fame Nominees
Staff Report September 19, 2009
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its nominees for the Class of 2010 Saturday and it includes two first-year Titans candidates: running back Eddie George and kicker Gary Anderson.
George and Anderson, who played major parts in the Titans playoff win at Baltimore in January, 2004, joined five other players eligible for the first time: quarterback Rich Gannon, running back Emmitt Smith, wide receivers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice, as well as defensive Back Aeneas Williams.
George played for the franchise from 1996 to 2003, when he left to go to Dallas for the final season in his career. He finished with 10,441 rushing yards, just outside the league's top 20 rankings. All but 432 yards came with the Oilers and Titans, making George the all-time rushing leader in franchise history. The Ohio State product tallied 36 100-yard days as a Titans, second behind Earl Campbell in franchise history. In those games, the Titans finished 30-6. His 216-yard performance against the Raiders in August, 1997, the franchise's first game in the mid south, stands as the franchise record for rushing yards in a gamem tied with Billy Cannon.
The Titans inducted George into the team's Ring of Honor last October.
Eddie George teams up with Dr. Oz to help NFL moms get fit
Former Titans running back and his wife are on televised health challenge
By Jessica Bliss ? THE TENNESSEAN ? November 11, 2009
Former Titans running back Eddie George possesses two characteristics particularly admired by television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz.
First, George has kept his life in order even after the professional football limelight has left him. And second?
"He married a woman who is stronger than he is," Oz said with a laugh.
A woman's strength is exactly what Oz, George and his buff wife, Taj (of Survivor fame), have teamed up to show America with "Dr. Oz's Ultimate Health Challenge." The televised contest has 20 National Football League players' moms pitted against each other in a competition designed to show fortitude as they tackle issues like heart disease, blood pressure, cholesterol and weight.
"If you don't have the mental strength and resilience to put yourself first, then you can't be healthy," Oz said. "I wanted to find 20 role models for the mothers of America."
The challenge airs on the Dr. Oz Show throughout the NFL season, and several segments were taped at D1 Training Center in Franklin. Today, the show features AFC moms Karen Barber, Laverne Suggs and Donna George, among others. It can be seen at 3 p.m. on WSMV-Channel 4.
The poster that will be framed commemorating the last day of the old press box.
Unfortunately, this photo was shot with a cell phone camera and does not show clearly the signatures.
Photo by John Porentas
Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!: Michigan Stadium has been undergoing a series of renovations and quite frankly looks very good. The last phase of the renovation process calls for a new press box to replace the rather out of date facility that now exists.
Prior to the game, U of M officials asked all the credentialed media in attendance to sign a large poster-like matted document that will framed and hung somewhere at the U of M as a memento of the last group of reporters to occupy the press box.
The signatures were respectful and consisted of just one line, the name of the person signing. That is with one exception.
In a prominent place on the document the words "Eddie George, Heisman Trophy Winner, Go Bucks!!" are written very clearly. George was in attendance as a member of the Big Ten Network media contingency. The historic document will forever have that Buckeye reminder on it as long as it hangs somewhere at the U of M.
Eddie! Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!
Mike Keith: Running Like Eddie
December 9, 2009
Chris Johnson has become the most effective back in the NFL because he's learned to run like...Eddie George.
Ok, not exactly LIKE Eddie George. It would be hard to imagine two backs who are more of a contrast in styles.
But CJ has picked up on George's rushing discipline and suddenly is a much more complete back who is helping to improve not just the Titans' offense, but the entire team.
Understand this: Eddie George was the lynchpin of the Titans' ENTIRE attack in the late 1990's/early 2000's. He never got proper credit for his consistency and his importance, but George's role was huge.
By being ability to carry 20+ times per game each week and by having most of those runs go for positive yardage, George helped to keep the offense on schedule, helped the Titans win field position and time of possession battles and helped to limit the number of snaps the Titans defense played.
2nd and 7s became 3rd and 3s, which Steve McNair could consistently convert. Eddie George got the Titans to those 3rd and 3s through his bruising, disciplined style. It was neither pretty nor exciting, but it was effective for Jeff Fisher's overall strategy.
The most important things about George's running: he got what was there and he did not take big losses.