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Chicago Tribune
02-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
NFL adds AAFC stats to its record book — so Northwestern's Otto Graham has a well-deserved spot by Tom Brady
Otto Graham played quarterback at Northwestern, not exactly the mecca for the elite throughout college football history. Yet during his time in Evanston, the Waukegan native did something unheard of today: He led the Wildcats to victories over Ohio State in 1941 and 1943. That was enough for Paul Brown (the Buckeyes coach in 1941 and 1943) to offer Graham a contract to quarterback the Cleveland Browns beginning in 1946. Smart move by Brown. With Graham under center for the next decade, the winning continued along the shores of Lake Erie. As Cleveland's starting QB, Graham had an astounding record of 105-17-4 (81%). His career mark of 8.63 yards per attempt is still an NFL record. Almost half of Graham's career was spent in the competing All-America Football Conference, so the four AAFC championships he won with the Browns weren't recognized in NFL record books. That is until April 1, when (no April Fools' Day joke), NFL owners approved a proposal by the competition committee to include player, coach and team statistics from the AAFC in the NFL record book. In the case of the late Graham, he was and still is the embodiment of the adage that winners win. Now Graham is officially side by side with the NFL's modern version of the ultimate winner, Tom Brady. Brady and Graham are tied for most championships won by a quarterback with seven each. Graham led the Browns to NFL titles in 1950, 1954 and 1955. The four consecutive AAFC championships Graham helped Cleveland win (1946-49) are now officially an NFL mark, putting Graham at seven titles won. Brady won Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots in the 2001, 2003, 2004, 2014, 2016 and 2018 seasons and his final one in 2020 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring after the 2022 season. Graham and Brady retired 67 years apart but now will be forever linked for the record they share. An argument will linger, though. That being, should Graham's four AAFC titles (plus the rest of the AAFC statistics added) really count among NFL records? The answer is absolutely. After the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, AFL stats were incorporated, so precedence is there. The first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards in a season was Joe Namath when he played for the New York Jets in 1967 — while playing in the AFL. When the AAFC and AFL competed against the NFL, the knock on both leagues was that they were inferior to the NFL. Both leagues proved their worth. The Browns were the first when they joined the NFL from the so-called inferior AAFC in 1950, went 10-2 and won the championship. In 1969, the Namath-led Jets of the AFL stunned the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. The AFL-NFL merger happened shortly after. Arguably more impressive than Graham's seven titles was the fact he played 10 years for the Browns and in every season led them to either an AAFC or NFL championship game. There isn't a quarterback in NFL history who can say he did that. Was Graham great in all of those championship games? Absolutely not. In the 1953 title game against the Detroit Lions (a 17-16 loss), he was a dismal 2 of 15 passing for 20 yards with two interceptions. Most times, Graham was very good in an era when passing yards and touchdown passes weren't as easy to complete compared with today's game. Consider: In his first AAFC title game in 1946, Graham was 16 of 27 for 213 yards and threw the game-winning touchdown to Dante Lavelli in the fourth quarter of a 14-9 win over the New York Yankees. In his first NFL championship game in 1950, Graham was 22 of 28 for 373 yards, threw four TD passes and ran for 99 yards in a come-from-behind 30-28 win over the Los Angeles Rams. In his final two NFL title games, Graham accounted for 10 touchdowns (five throwing, five rushing) as the Browns blew out the Rams and Lions by an average score of 47-12.5. Winners win. That's the story of Graham, whose place alongside Brady is well-deserved.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Paul Brown, Marion Motley, Cleveland Browns big winners as NFL recognizes AAFC stats, records
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The All-American Football Conference disbanded after the 1949 season. Now, 76 years later, the league Paul Brown's Cleveland Browns dominated will finally gain the recognition it earned from the league that essentially put it out of business. The NFL's owners approved the report from the Compeition Committee at the annual meetings at The Breakers on Tuesday. That report included a notice that the statistics from the AAFC, including players, coaches and teams, will finally be incorporated into the NFL's official records. Advertisement The league had not officially recognized any of the statistics or accomplishments of the AAFC prior to now. The league was in existence from 1946-49 and produced 17 future Pro Football Hall of Famers, including Paul Brown, Otto Graham, Marion Motley and Y.A. Tittle. The move is similar to what happened with the American Football League, the AFL, when it merged with the NFL in 1969. The AAFC included three teams that eventually joined the league in 1950: Browns, the original Baltimore Colts and the San Francisco 49ers. The Browns won the 1950 NFL title. There was a fourth team, the New York Yanks, that was essentially a spin-off of some players who had been part of the AAFC team, the New York Yankees. That team played two seasons in the NFL before being sold to a Dallas-area businessman who turned them into the Dallas Texans for one year before they disbanded and the remains were absorbed by the Colts. The Browns, under head coach Paul Brown, dominated the AAFC. Cleveland won all four championships, while Brown went 47-4-3 as its head coach. Paul Brown climbs into top 10 of NFL's all-time winningest coaches The change will move Brown from 21st-place all-time, where he had 170 career wins with the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, to seventh place. His career win total will now be recognized at 222, seven behind the Green Bay Packers' Curly Lambeau (229 wins) and 13 ahead of Browns' protege, Chuck Noll, who had 209. Advertisement Cleveland won four NFL championships in the pre-Super Bowl era, three of those under Brown and the fourth, in 1964, under Blanton Collier. Brown will now be credited with seven championships for his official records. Marion Motley is No. 1 among all NFL running backs for average per carry Another Browns and Stark County legend also gains a greater recognition: Canton's Motley. Motley will now be fourth on the list of highest career rushing average with 5.7 yards per carry, behind only quarterbacks Michael Vick (7.0), Randall Cunningham (6.4) and Lamar Jackson (6.1). That makes Motley No. 1 among running backs. Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@ Read more about the Browns at Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns, Paul Brown big winners as NFL recognizes defunct AAFC records
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why the Canadian government has been in a years-long legal battle against a U.S. cherry farmer
There has been a major twist in a years-long legal battle that has pitted the Canadian government against a U.S. cherry farmer. This month, the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington reinstated a patent for the Staccato cherry variety developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) program in Summerland, B.C. The victory means AAFC has the legal grounds to argue that an American farmer has been passing off the Canadian cherries as his own, in violation of the patent. "This is not a decision that comes out very often and certainly not with the level of commercial impact that it has," said intellectual property lawyer Elizabeth Dipchand, who is not involved in the case. AAFC told CBC News it's pleased with the court's decision. "AAFC remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of its plant varieties and ensuring fair recognition of its research and development efforts in the global fruit industry," it said in a statement. The Staccato cherry variety was developed in the early 1980s. (Agriculture and Agri Food Canada) Summerland Varieties Corporation, which commercializes the Staccato variety for the federal government, has also applauded the decision. "The global tree fruit industry is built on trust. It is critically important that industry stakeholders respect intellectual property rights associated with protected varieties. SVC will have zero tolerance for those who cheat," said SCV General Manager Sean Beirnes. Staccato vs. Glory The Staccato cherry was discovered by AAFC breeder W. David Lane in 1982 at the Summerland Research and Development Centre. One of the Staccato's most distinctive features is its late maturity. It ripens in early August, weeks after other cherry varieties, giving growers a financial advantage because they don't have to compete with as many competing cherry brands. The cherries have been one of the most widely planted varieties in the last 10 to 15 years, according to B.C. Cherry Association President Sukhpaul Bal. "Washington state is 10 times the size of our industry. So we have to look for any advantage that we can get and these later cherries are definitely the key advantage," he told CBC News. WATCH | Lawyer explains why cherry court decision is a big deal: For about five years, the federal government has been involved in a lawsuit against Wenatchee, Wash., farmer Gordon Goodwin, alleging that his patented Glory cherries are actually Staccato cherries. AAFC alleges that Van Well Nursery Inc., a Washington fruit tree supplier, improperly gave Goodwin a Staccato tree and that the Monson Fruit Company then grew, packed and sold those cherries as Glory cherries. 'Misleading, deceptive' AAFC said the defendants' "misleading, deceptive and false use" of "Glory" in its advertising deprives "AAFC of the "value and goodwill that otherwise would stem from public knowledge of the true source of the product." AAFC said it gave Van Well Staccato trees for testing and evaluation but that their agreement prohibited Van Well from distributing or selling the cherry variety. Years later, the lawsuit alleges, Van Well entered into an agreement with Summerland Varieties Corporation to sell a different cherry variety — Sonata. Goodwin then bought Sonata trees and when he noticed that one of them was different, he filed for a U.S. patent and was granted it in 2012, commercially calling the cherries Glory cherries, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit alleges that Monson Fruit Company obtained budwood from Goodwin to propagate hundreds of acres of Glory trees and that Van Well has sold thousands of Glory trees to Monson over the years. Monson Fruit Company is asking the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington to reconsider its decision. (Google Maps) In 2024, a judge with the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington sided with AAFC, ruling that the Glory cherry was identical to the Staccato. But the same judge, Stanley Bastian, previously invalidated the Canadian government's patent for Staccato cherries because the agency had filed for the patent after the cherry had been sold commercially by Goodwin and the other defendants for more than a year. This month though, Bastian said the court made a "clear error," overturning his decision and reinstating the patent in light of a new spreadsheet. The defendants had submitted a spreadsheet of their cherry sales, showing that they had sold Staccato cherries before the federal government's patent had been filed. But the judge found the first 10 rows of the spreadsheet were excluded. They showed that another type of cherry was being sold. "It is undisputed that the defendants excluded the first ten rows of [a spreadsheet] that stated the sales were actually of Sonata, an entirely different cherry, then falsely represented to the court that [the spreadsheet] was an accurate copy of the original spreadsheet", Bastian said. "It would be manifestly unjust to excuse this behaviour at this stage of the proceedings." Lawyer Mark Walters, who's representing Monson in the suit, told CBC News Bastian's earlier decision was the cornerstone of the legal team's argument in this case. (Monson Fruit Company) 'We were shocked' Lawyer Mark Walters, who's representing Monson in the suit, told CBC News Bastian's earlier decision was the cornerstone of the legal team's argument in this case. "We were shocked," Walters said in an interview. "We relied for two years on this." He said the defendants waived their rights to a jury trial because of the judge's decision to invalidate the patent. "We would never have agreed to a bench trial … had the summary judgment not been in place at that point," Walters said. On Friday, Monson filed a motion for the judge to reconsider his decision. "Vacating that ruling now—after Defendants irrevocably waived jury rights and structured their defense around the finality of summary judgment—works a manifest injustice," the motion said. Van Well and Goodwin did not respond to CBC News' requests for comment.
CBC
25-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Why the Canadian government has been in a years-long legal battle against a U.S. cherry farmer
There has been a major twist in a years-long legal battle that has pitted the Canadian government against a U.S. cherry farmer. This month, the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington reinstated a patent for the Staccato cherry variety developed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) program in Summerland, B.C. The victory means AAFC has the legal grounds to argue that an American farmer has been passing off the Canadian cherries as his own, in violation of the patent. "This is not a decision that comes out very often and certainly not with the level of commercial impact that it has," said intellectual property lawyer Elizabeth Dipchand, who is not involved in the case. AAFC told CBC News it's pleased with the court's decision. "AAFC remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of its plant varieties and ensuring fair recognition of its research and development efforts in the global fruit industry," it said in a statement. Summerland Varieties Corporation, which commercializes the Staccato variety for the federal government, has also applauded the decision. "The global tree fruit industry is built on trust. It is critically important that industry stakeholders respect intellectual property rights associated with protected varieties. SVC will have zero tolerance for those who cheat," said SCV General Manager Sean Beirnes. Staccato vs. Glory The Staccato cherry was discovered by AAFC breeder W. David Lane in 1982 at the Summerland Research and Development Centre. One of the Staccato's most distinctive features is its late maturity. It ripens in early August, weeks after other cherry varieties, giving growers a financial advantage because they don't have to compete with as many competing cherry brands. The cherries have been one of the most widely planted varieties in the last 10 to 15 years, according to B.C. Cherry Association President Sukhpaul Bal. "Washington state is 10 times the size of our industry. So we have to look for any advantage that we can get and these later cherries are definitely the key advantage," he told CBC News. WATCH | Lawyer explains why cherry court decision is a big deal: Court decision on B.C. cherry patent a gamechanger, lawyer says 1 day ago Duration 1:20 A U.S. judge has reinstated a patent for a B.C.-bred cherry variety. Intellectual property lawyer Elizabeth Dipchand says the decision allows Canada to go after fruit growers who are selling the same cherry. For about five years, the federal government has been involved in a lawsuit against Wenatchee, Wash., farmer Gordon Goodwin, alleging that his patented Glory cherries are actually Staccato cherries. AAFC alleges that Van Well Nursery Inc., a Washington fruit tree supplier, improperly gave Goodwin a Staccato tree and that the Monson Fruit Company then grew, packed and sold those cherries as Glory cherries. 'Misleading, deceptive' AAFC said the defendants' "misleading, deceptive and false use" of "Glory" in its advertising deprives "AAFC of the "value and goodwill that otherwise would stem from public knowledge of the true source of the product." AAFC said it gave Van Well Staccato trees for testing and evaluation but that their agreement prohibited Van Well from distributing or selling the cherry variety. Years later, the lawsuit alleges, Van Well entered into an agreement with Summerland Varieties Corporation to sell a different cherry variety — Sonata. Goodwin then bought Sonata trees and when he noticed that one of them was different, he filed for a U.S. patent and was granted it in 2012, commercially calling the cherries Glory cherries, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit alleges that Monson Fruit Company obtained budwood from Goodwin to propagate hundreds of acres of Glory trees and that Van Well has sold thousands of Glory trees to Monson over the years. In 2024, a judge with the District Court for the Eastern District of Washington sided with AAFC, ruling that the Glory cherry was identical to the Staccato. But the same judge, Stanley Bastian, previously invalidated the Canadian government's patent for Staccato cherries because the agency had filed for the patent after the cherry had been sold commercially by Goodwin and the other defendants for more than a year. This month though, Bastian said the court made a "clear error," overturning his decision and reinstating the patent in light of a new spreadsheet. The defendants had submitted a spreadsheet of their cherry sales, showing that they had sold Staccato cherries before the federal government's patent had been filed. But the judge found the first 10 rows of the spreadsheet were excluded. They showed that another type of cherry was being sold. "It is undisputed that the defendants excluded the first ten rows of [a spreadsheet] that stated the sales were actually of Sonata, an entirely different cherry, then falsely represented to the court that [the spreadsheet] was an accurate copy of the original spreadsheet", Bastian said. "It would be manifestly unjust to excuse this behaviour at this stage of the proceedings." 'We were shocked' Lawyer Mark Walters, who's representing Monson in the suit, told CBC News Bastian's earlier decision was the cornerstone of the legal team's argument in this case. "We were shocked," Walters said in an interview. "We relied for two years on this." He said the defendants waived their rights to a jury trial because of the judge's decision to invalidate the patent. "We would never have agreed to a bench trial … had the summary judgment not been in place at that point," Walters said. On Friday, Monson filed a motion for the judge to reconsider his decision. "Vacating that ruling now—after Defendants irrevocably waived jury rights and structured their defense around the finality of summary judgment—works a manifest injustice," the motion said.
Associated Press
31-01-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Minister MacAulay announces 10 organizations to deliver the School Food Infrastructure Fund to help strengthen food security in communities across Canada
OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 31, 2025 /CNW/ - Kids need access to nutritious food at school so they can learn, grow, and reach their full potential. That is why the Government of Canada is taking action to strengthen wider community and local food systems through investments in infrastructure that expand the reach and impact of school food programming. Today, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the 10 initial recipients of the $20.2-million federal School Food Infrastructure Fund (SFIF). As part of the $62.9-million announcement in Budget 2024, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is delivering the SFIF over the next year to support the purchase and installation of infrastructure and equipment that increases the capacity of community organizations to produce, process, store, and distribute food for school food programs. The initial recipients include Breakfast Club of Canada, Farm to Cafeteria Canada, Food Banks Canada, Food Depot Alimentaire, Food First NL, Mazon Canada, Saskatchewan School Boards Association, Second Harvest, United Way BC and United Way East Ontario. These initial recipients will further distribute funding to eligible not-for-profit organizations (known as ultimate recipients) through individual application intakes. Eligible community-based organizations are encouraged to use the SFIF Initial Recipient Finder to determine which organization best serves their geographic area and needs. Quotes 'No child should go hungry at school. We're working with the provinces and territories to deliver our National School Food Program and partnering with trusted not-for-profit organizations to build up the infrastructure and purchase the equipment needed for school food programs across the country. Together, we can make sure our kids have the healthy meals they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.' - The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food 'Our National School Food Program is helping parents with grocery costs and making sure kids get healthy meals at school. But we can't do it alone. That's why we're teaming up with trusted partners to get schools the tools and kitchen upgrades they need to feed more kids.' -The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Quick Facts The SFIF is delivered as a complement to both the National School Food Program, and the guidance provided under the National School Food Policy. Launched on September 6, 2024 by Minister MacAulay, the SFIF uses a further distribution of funds model that allows AAFC to leverage the expertise and networks of not-for-profit organizations that are active in the school food programming space. AAFC will rely on the expertise of the initial recipients to select the organizations and activities (ultimate recipients) to be funded. Projects and final funding are subject to negotiation of a contribution agreement. As another component of the $62.9-million announcement in Budget 2024, AAFC is delivering Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF), which mobilizes up to $42.7 million to support production-focused projects that improve community food security and resilience through the purchase and installation of infrastructure that will increase access to local, nutritious and culturally-appropriate food. Announced in Budget 2024, the National School Food Program will feed hundreds of thousands of kids across Canada every year. The Program will also be a safety net for the kids who are most impacted by the lack of access to food, including lower-income families and some Indigenous communities. This funding will provide up to 400,000 additional children per year across Canada access to nutritious food at school.
