White, then yellow, then white again

As I was scouring through wire photos today, I noticed this gem, which is perfect material for The Rainout Blog. 

The cutline accompanying this Associated Press photo reads:

“Augsburg's Raul Bobadilla from Argentina saves a ball during heavy snow fall during the German first division Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the SGL Arena in Augsburg, Germany, on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2015.”

 I have to confess, I know nothing about Bundesliga soccer. I’m more of a Premier League kind of guy. However, after conducting a littler research – because that’s what all good sports/weather bloggers do – I found that Augsburg won 3-1.

As you can see in the photo, a yellow ball was in play, but that wasn’t the case at the beginning of the match. At the 30th minute, when the snow became heavier, referees swapped the white ball for the yellow for better visibility. However, the white ball made a return once the snow stopped and melted from the pitch.

I'm curious. On a snowy night in Germany, I wonder how much air pressure those soccer balls lost because of the cold temperatures. I'm not sure, but I know who would: Bill Belichick the Science Guy, that's who.

-- snow --

Rodgers: Green Bay weather gives us advantage

Heading into December’s slate of NFL games, the Green Bay Packers find themselves a game in front of the Detroit Lions for the NFC North division lead.

At 9-3 and coming off an impressive win over the previously hot New England Patriots on a cold evening in Green Bay, the Packers are in position to grab the division title, particularly with two of their remaining regular season games being at Lambeau Field.

One of those games, the last of the season, is against the Lions, a team that has bested the Packers earlier in the season.

The Packers, led by super quarterback Aaron Rodgers, are also fighting for home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Playing in those frigid Green Bay temperatures, and especially field slick from snow and ice, gives the Packers’ offense an advantage, says Rodgers, even against other cold weather teams.

“It doesn't really matter what team comes in; there’s an advantage based on the footing and the weather,” Rodgers said this morning on ESPN’s Mike and Mike. “I’ve always found in the cold weather, it’s a little bit more difficult to rush the passer. And, the footing favors the offense because, much like on an icy field or a wet field, an offensive player knows where he’s going. You have a slight advantage there.”

We all know that from our days playing backyard football in the snow, right?

If you were running with the ball, you could easily put a move on a defender, who would have to react to your movement, and then slip right on his keister. Anyone who has experienced the joy of football in the snow with their buddies has more than likely been on both ends of that scenario.

OK. Back to Rodgers. He briefly mentioned the effect cold temps can have on the ball, saying “the cold weather does some different things to the football, and if you’re not used to that it can bother you a little bit.”

I was hoping Professor Rodgers would delve in how the elasticity of the ball decreases in the cold. It would have been great to get a cold-weather quarterback’s insight into how the frigid temps affect his grip and the flight of the ball.

Hey, you know what. Maybe I’ll give him a call.

Stay tuned.

-- RAINOUT --

All’s clear

Not a cloud in the sky.

Like most of you, my life is super busy. So much so, I rarely get a chance to update The Rainout Blog for the seven people who visit this blog. (That number may be a bit inflated.)

Often, a sports/weather event will occur or be forecasted – remember: Game 3 of the ALDS was rained out – and I’ll cringe just a little because there’s no time to grab the laptop and write a post and share a photo or two.

Today, I have a little free time. So, what’s happening? Nothing.

Weather in Kansas City for the first two games of the World Series have been perfect.

We have Thursday night NFL action in Denver, where it looks like there will be a better chance of Peyton Manning NOT adding to his touchdown record than there is a chance of rain drops or snowflakes – you never know in Denver.

The low in the Mile High city tonight will be around 48. It’ll be a little chilly, but it shouldn’t be enough to affect Manning’s performance. He’s not a cold-weather quarterback, ya know?

There are a couple of college football games scheduled for tonight. Miami travels to Blacksburg for an ACC showdown – more likely a “letdown” for the home team – with Virginia Tech. Temps will dip to the mid 40s, which is about as cold as the Hokies’ offense.

You’ll see about the same weather conditions in Greenville, North Carolina if you tune into tonight’s East Carolina home game with Connecticut. (Why would you do that?)

And you know what? Sunday’s NFL slate looks pretty unspectacular too, meaning no rain, no mud, no snow, no fog… no nothin’.

How outdoor hockey at Soldier Field rattled my son's brain

Photo: Chris Sweda, Chicago Tribune

My 8-year-old son is slowly becoming a sports fan. 

We live in a rural part of the country where there are no absolute local sports teams to root for, so he’s picked the Penguins – he loves penguins – and Bears as his respective NHL and NFL teams.

So, it sort of blew his mind Saturday night when I flicked the TV over to the Penguins v. Blackhawks Stadium Series game being played at Soldier Field.

“Wait, the Penguins are playing hockey in the Bears’ football stadium?” my son asked, trying to grasp that whole "what-tha…" concept.

“Yep,” I replied.

“Ok,” he said. “Change it back to Sponge Bob.”

Anyway, the Soldier Field game turned out to be another one of those NHL outdoor weather classics, at least in terms of the stunning visuals as we watched snow flow down to the ice. Not many sporting events can look better.

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, whose team won 5-1, said it was “probably the greatest setting you could want. With how hard it was snowing it was like, 'Wow, these are amazing conditions.’ I think everybody went back to when they were kids."

We always hear the line – the one about going back to your childhood – from coaches and players when they speak about playing in the outdoor games.

As for the playing conditions, Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said the ice was “very good, but that first period it was tough to see and handle the puck. It really felt like a real outdoor game. There were no real systems or structure. We were just kind of hoisting the puck, slapping it around and having fun."

The Chicago Tribune’s website has an excellent gallery from the game.

-- snow --

Friday Football Forecasts

Getty Images

When it comes to bad weather football games, I’m more of a fan of rain than snow. I get it: snow looks nice and it’s sort of fun, for a while, to watch the players slip, slide and fumble around the field.

It’s all great. But to me, nothing beats a good gully washer of a rain storm. I love watching games were rain is pouring down on the players and fans are getting soaked.

It’s not likely well see anything that dramatic this weekend, but rain showers are forecasted for many of the NFL cities. And for you snow fans, there is mention of the white stuff for games in Kansas City and, of course, Green Bay, where if you look right now (2:20 p.m., Friday, Dec. 20, 2013), you’ll see Lambeau is already covered.

So, without further gibberish – I love that word – here are your forecasts for this week’s 14 NFL outdoor games.

Dolphins at Bills: High of 51/Rain

Colts at Chiefs: High of 25/Chance of light snow

Vikings at Bengals: High of 58/Rain likely

Cowboys at Redskins: High of 73 (Wow! In December?) / Showers likely

Browns at Jets: High of 64/chance of showers (And a good chance Geno will turn the ball over at least three times.)

Saints at Panthers: High of 73/Showers

Titans at Jaguars: High of 81/Patchy fog (I’d love to see another Fog Bowl, but not for the Titans and Jags.)

Broncos at Texans: High of 68/Mostly sunny (If Peyton Manning stinks this week –that’s unlikely against the two-win Texans – no one can blame the temperature.)

Cardinals at Seahawks: High of 48/Rain likely (Great! I love the look of the Seahawks playing at home in the rain.)

Steelers at Packers: High 25/Snow (The low for Green Bay Sunday night is -3. Burrrrr!)

Raiders at Chargers: High of 67/Sunny

Patriots at Ravens: High 71/showers likely

Sunday Night
Bears at Eagles: Low of 33/Showers likely (The high in Philly Sunday should hit around 71.)

Monday Night

Falcons at 49ers: Low of 48/Mostly clear

-- rain --

Do the Lambeau shovel

Lambeau Field webcam

It’s that time of year when lots of snow pours down on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field and the Packers organization asks fans to come out to help shovel the seats and aisles.

With three inches of snow expected to hit Green Bay, the Packers are paying up to 650 folks 10 bucks an hour to shovel snow to prepare the stadium for Sunday’s game with the Steelers.

If you look right now at the Lambeau web cam, you can see the shovelers.

This just in: Aaron Rodgers has not been medically cleared to shovel today.

-- snow --

Sherman: Best game ‘can’t happen in the snow’

In a piece for SI.com, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman makes a good argument against playing the Super Bowl outdoors in a cold-weather city.

Sherman, who says he’s never played football in snow, writes:

“Snow happens, and that’s fine for a regular-season game or even an AFC or NFC Championship Game. A team in a cold-weather city can and should earn the right to host a game in conditions it’s familiar with. Baltimore and Pittsburgh built legacies and winning traditions on cold-weather football.

Yet the Super Bowl city is decided years in advance, and the game is supposed to be played on a neutral site. Teams that make it that far have played through the heat of training camp, winter on the road and in the comfort of domes. Whether their rosters were built for the snow or not, they probably overcame it at some point in the season. The Super Bowl should be a clean slate that showcases the athletes, not the stadium or the city they’re playing in.”

 You can read the entire column at SI.com.

Talk of a Super Bowl bizzard not going away

I’m the dude who gets his kicks writing a blog about how bad weather adversely affects sporting events, but I have to tell ya: Even I’m sick of hearing about potential snow storms and how flippin’ cold it’s going to be at the northern New Jersey Super Bowl.

Seriously, the NFL weighed all the potential negatives and said, “yes, let’s have our biggest week of the year and our biggest game of the year in an outdoor venue in the Northeast in February.”

So, it’s set. Nothing is going to change.

Well, things could change a little. NFL officials said Wednesday that the date of Super Bowl XLVIII could be moved, ahead or back a day or two, if a crippling snowstorm hits or is predicted to hit the area on Super Sunday around the 80,000-seat MetLife Stadium. Can you imagine the Super Bowl being played on a Monday or Tuesday?

Oh, maybe we’ll get that Saturday Super Bowl so many people who are too lazy and too hungover to get up and go to work the next day have been clamoring for over the years.

However, a date change is not likely to happen. When the NFL said “heck yes, let’s put this game in a locale where it snows on average more than two inches in the first week in February,” you knew they would be ready for almost anything.

On Wednesday, the NFL, and a few others involved, gave us insight into what will happen to make sure the game runs smoothly as possible. Their plans include stadium chutes that will funnel falling snow into melters that can take in about 600 tons per hour. By the way, have you seen those massive snow melters?

This snow melter will be deployed for the super bowl. It melts 600,000 tons of snow per hour pic.twitter.com/6rtYCxrVwd
— daniel kaplan (@dkaplanSBJ) December 18, 2013

Wait, wouldn’t it kind of stink if we had a snow storm at MetLife Stadium, but the field was dry?

Anyway, transportation officials said Wednesday that 821 plow trucks will be available to clear a 30-mile radius from the stadium, and nearly 60,000 tons of salt could be scattered on the roads.

With that kind of preparation and snow-fighting measures, it’s hard to see a storm scenario that would alter the game date.

Now that we know the NFL’s plans, I’m still eagerly awaiting a press conference from Bruno Mars revealing how he will sing and perform in the event of a mega super blizzard.

After that, I’m done with all the Super Blizzard talk.

You’re up, Bruno!

-- super blizzard --

A Rainout Blog Hall of Fame? Yes… let’s do this

How about we start a Rainout Blog Sports/Weather Hall of Fame?

Not just me, all of us. You, too.

I’ve been thinking about doing this project for a while, ever since I made a post about Rick Dempsey way back in July, 2007.

So, what makes a Rainout Blog Hall of Famer? I’ve been wrestling with that question for a while.

(Warning: Here goes a lot rambling…)

At first, I was thinking of individuals who have had outstanding performances in a bad weather games. While his performances did not happen while games were in play, Dempsey certainly made his mark performing on soaked tarps during rain delays.

To me, the notoriety Dempsey received for his acts make him a first-ballot Rainout Blog Hall of Famer. Also, I think we need to give Dempsey credit for the rash of rain delay antics we saw a few years ago by college baseball games. With those 1970s performances, we may not have seen those elaborate, choreographed acts performed by want-to-be thespian college ball players. 

So, we’ve established that qualifications for entry into the RoBHoF are not exclusive to great on-field game performances. If a player, or coach, or fan, or whomever – how about a horse? Sure! – performs in a manner that is widely recognized, then that person, or whatever, can be considered for induction. 

A performance that is good or bad, right?

Right.

That brings us to Leon Lett. 

Remember Lett’s gaffe in the snow during in the 1993 Thanksgiving Day game that snatched defeat for his Cowboys from the jowls of victory? Of course you remember. We all remember.

I’m not comparing the moment to far more significant historic events, but I remember exactly where I was when the play happened.

For that one play in the snow, an unusual snow game for Texas Stadium, Lett is a Rainout Blog Hall of Famer. 

First ballot? We’ll debate that later.

So, who else? Hmmm. 

We’ll, LeShean McCoy had more than 200 yards rushing to lead the Eagles to a win over the Lions in blizzard-like conditions a couple of weeks ago. Does that qualify? 

Maybe.

It was great day for McCoy, but is it his performance that stands out about that game?

No. It’s the snow.

Ok. So, do we induct events/games in to the hall of fame?

If so, the Ice Bowl has to be the leading candidate. And when I think of weather games, I immediately think of the Fog Bowl playoff game at Soldier Field in 1988. There are many, many others to consider.

If I’m going to do this, take the time for such an uber fun project as creating a sports/weather hall of fame, it’s going to take a lot of time, thought and research. 

Wanna help? 

If you have suggestions or creative ideas for the project, I’ll gladly accept. Send me an email or tweet (@TheRealChadOz).

All the elements

It's the time of year when we can see a lot of different weather types affect our outdoor (sometimes indoor) sporting events. 

Last week, when I was spending a little time recapping the snowy NFL games from the previous Sunday, my pal, Chad, sent me a link to this web page, which contains 30 superb photos of NFL games being played in snow, rain, mud, fog and... well, that's about it.

Snow delay

Photo: Bulent Kilic

I've been slipping on my soccer world football coverage lately, but I couldn't pass on this uber cool photo of Juventus' goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon walking off the pitch last Tuesday, Dec. 10, when heavy snow postponed a UEFA Champions League match between the Italian club and Galatasaray at the TT Arena Stadium in Istanbul.

The match was called at the 32^nd minute after snow and hail made pitch conditions unplayable.

The match resumed the next day and Galatasaray scored a 1-0 win, eliminating Juventus.

-- snow --

Weekend wrap

Before fans could file into Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium for Sunday’s Browns-versus-Bears tilt, this had to be done:

Photo: Associated Press

Approximately five to eight inches of snow piled up on seats and in aisles prior to kickoff, and according to team officials, the Browns had more than 150 people working Saturday evening to clear the way for spectators to see their Brownies blow the game fall in dramatic fashion to the visiting Bears, 38-31.

After all the snow clearing, the intensity of the snow storm blew more snow back on to some of the seats before the game, Browns officials claim, forcing some fans to clear their own way as they arrived at their seats.

In other sports weather news, Navy once again rolled over Army, 34-7, with a little snow in the field in Philadelphia. The win is the 12^th in a row for Navy.

Photo: Associated Press

Believe it or not, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has never played in a snow game despite playing college ball at Wisconsin. He told the New York Times he was disappointed the snow stopped in New York – I know it’s actually New Jersey – Sunday before his team thrashed the Giants, 23-0. But, as the article says, maybe Wilson will get another chance to play in the New York snow when the Super Bowl in played in MetLife Stadium in a couple of months.

Photos: Seahawks Instagram

Snowy Friday of Football

In case you need a snow football game fix -- wasn't last Sunday enough? -- Towson and Eastern Illinois are battling it out right now on a slippery field on ESPN2 in an FCS quarterfinal playoff game.

The playoff game is being played in Charleston, Ill. -- that's home to No. 2 Eastern Illinois -- where three to six inches of snow is forecasted.

Towson, the No. 7 team in the nation, had a bit of trouble this week preparing for tonight's contest because of snow and freezing rain.

Anyway, if you  guessed the photo above is of the main monitor in The Rainout Blog World Headquarters, you would be correct.

Football Friday Forecasts

Photo: Hunter Martin/Philadelphia Eagles/Getty Images

Last Friday, I was trying to think of creative posts topics for The Rainout Blog and eventually a bright idea developed in mostly functional brain: "Hey, I'll post the weather forecasts for this week's NFL games."

Not a bad idea for a sports/weather blog, eh?

So, with three weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, I think I'll make it a weekly feature.

Better later than never, I guess.

Taking a gander at this week's slate of games, I see a chance of snow for only one game: Chicago at Cleveland. So, no repeat of last week's snow-filled Sunday, which I think we all can agree was fantastic.

Ok, let's get to the weather forecasts for this week's 10 outdoor games:

Bears at Browns: High of 26/chance of snow
Cardinals at Titans: High of 35/Mostly sunny
Patriots at Dolphins: High of 85/Slight chance of showers
Seahawks at Giants: High of 37/Mostly sunny
Bills at Jaguars: High of 66/Showers likely
49ers at Buccaneers: High of 76/Scattered showers
Jets at Panthers: High of 53/Mostly sunny
Chief at Raiders: High of 61/Sunny
Packers at Cowboys: High of 52/Sunny

Sunday Night
Bengals at Steelers: Low of 26/Mostly cloudy

There you have it, a mostly dull and boring forecasts if you’re looking for a little weather flavoring in your Sunday NFL watching experience. Now that I think about it, may be posting the forecasts every week – particularly in the first half of the schedule when the weather will not be a factor – is not such a great idea.

Live from Louisville

From the Louisville Slugger Twitter page Tuesday...

Let it snow. #snow #winter pic.twitter.com/mBuubDjIuk
— Louisville Slugger (@sluggernation) December 10, 2013

Philly’s snow blowers

Michael Perez/AP

You know what looked like a fun job on Sunday? 

Those guys shoveling and blowing snow off the field in Philadelphia where eight inches of snow feel during three-plus hours the Eagles and 

Lions played.

Sure, those guys were exhausted, but in this Philly.com story, it sounds like they had a blast clearing the lines and interacting with players and officials.

Sunday, snowy Sunday

Jeffrey G. Pittenger/USA TODAY Sports, via Reuters

If Sunday's NFL action didn't thrill you, you must have ice water in your veins.

As I told my wife, Sunday's games, particularly the early contests, were the most exciting I've seen on one Sunday in a while. There were high-scoring games, close games, a near upset in New England and constant lead changes late in the fourth quarter of the Baltimore/Minnesota game.

The one key element to all this excitement, in most cases, was the weather. We had snow in near D.C., Baltimore, Green Bay and Pittsburgh, but the blizzard-like conditions in Philly provided the most visually appealing matchup of the day.

I'll write more on this later – real-world stuff is getting in the way of important Rainout Blog stuff today – but for now I'll link you to a pretty cool snow-game gallery on NFL.com.

Oh, and don't forget temperatures will be down to 11 degrees Fahrenheit tonight in Chicago where da Bears host the Cowboys. By the way, what's Tony Romo's record like in December?

-- snow --

So, is this football weather?

Here we go, baby!

If you like your football with a blend of winter nastiness, this may be your weekend.

Take a look at the extended forecast for this week’s NFL action, and you’ll see “wintry mix,” “rain likely” and “chance of snow” mentioned more than a few times.

Here’s what we have, weather wise, for the outdoor games as of early Friday morning:

Colts at Bengals: High of 34/wintry mix

Bill at Buccaneers: High of 82/Patchy fog (The patchy fog is not referring to Greg Schiano’s cognitive ability to lead a pro football team.)

Chiefs at Redskins: High of 35/wintry mix (It’ll be cold at FedEx Field, but Mike Shanahan’s seat will be nice and warm? (That joke is so cliché. I can’t believe I wrote that.))

Vikings at Ravens: High of 35/wintry mix

Browns at Patriots: High of 35/Mostly sunny (Boring – just like the Patriots.)

Raiders at Jets: High of 36/slight chance of snow (and offense)

Lions at Eagles: High of 36/rain and/or snow likely

Dolphins at Steelers: High of 32/snow likely

Falcons at Packers: High of 19/snow likely (By the way, the low for Green Bay on Sunday is -2.)

Titans at Broncos: High of 16/chance of snow (Hey, have you heard? Peyton Manning is not so hot in the cold.)

Giants at Chargers: High of 56/mostly sunny (Of course, it’s San Diego)

Seahawks at 49ers: High of 47/Sunny

Monday night: Cowboys at Bears: Temperatures may dip to as low as 11 Monday night in Chicago under partly cloudy skies. I think we can refer to this as Bear weather.

-- rain --

Titans say let it snow

Associated Press

So, the Tennessee Titans are hoping for a blizzard Sunday when they venture a mile high into the sky to face the Broncos in Denver.

You know, because Peyton Manning simply stinks in cold and inclement weather.

Well, as my friend Corky used to say, the Titans can hope in one hand and @#$% in the other and see which one gets full faster.

Oh sure, the weather is going to be hellacious in Denver Sunday – the forecasts is calling for a high of 20 and a low of 6 with a chance of snow – but the mediocre 5-5 Titans are going to need more ammunition than a little cold and snow to stop Manning and the Broncos’ industrial strength offense.   

“Hopefully it’s a big snowstorm and it will give us a great chance to win,” said Titans coach Mike Munchak.

Yeah, because when it’s not-freezing cold outside, the Titans are like a raider in the autumn winter wind. 

They’ll knock you ‘round and upside down and laugh when they’ve conquered and won.

Oh, wait. I must be thinking about another team.

According to a story in The Tennessean, the baby blue-clad boys from Nashville have been outscored 89-21 in the last two games they’ve played when temperatures have dipped below freezing at kickoff. The last was a 55-7 trouncing from the Packers nearly a year ago in Green Bay.

But, Munchak wasn’t talking about freezing cold. He said “snowstorm.”

Ok, let’s hop into our mental time machine and think back to when we last saw the Titans play in snow. Oh, yeah. It was 2009 when the Super Bowl-bound Patriots dropped the Titans 59-0. Tom Brady threw six touchdowns.

Good luck, Titans. Don’t let the snow fort door hit you on the can on your way out of Denver.

-- snow --

Forget Peyton, the Buckeyes can perform in cold weather

AP Photo/Jay LaPrete

Weather and sports mixed in conversation often last week, but most of it concerned Peyton Manning’s ability – well, inability – to win in cold weather. 

Time out: What’s it called when you begin and end a sentence with the same word? There has to be a word for that.

Anyway, if you’re a Broncos fan, or worse, a Patriots-hating Jets fan, Peyton didn’t do much to dispel beliefs that he can't get it done when the temperature drops.

Speaking of dropping, lets' drop the Peyton/cold weather talk because that'll resurface soon enough in January.

The day before Manning’s team blew a huge lead – it was 24-0 at halftime – and the game to those pesky New Englanders, Ohio State routed Indiana 42-14 in something we all love, a snow game.

I have to be honest, I didn’t know about the snow falling on The Horseshoe until Monday.

Thankfully, Bill Livingston of the Cleveland Plain Dealer penned (nobody pens $#@! anymore) banged out an excellent column about the playing conditions while also speculating that an SEC team would have difficulty competing on such a cold, snowy, windy November afternoon in Columbus.

I have to disagree with Bill. Toss in a Category 3 hurricane named Brutus and “Bama is still beating the Buckeyes by a couple of touchdowns!

This week Ohio State plays at Michigan, where the extended forecast is showing a high of 36 and sunny.

Boring!

Oh, wait.

Apparently, there’s still snow in Columbus where Ohio State fans expressed their distaste toward Michigan and ESPN’s Mark May Tuesday morning.  

Hold on. I feel a song coming on: “So we can write about things that blow, let it snow, let snow, let it snow!”

That's just stupid. I apologize.