-REMEMBERING THE 'GREY GHOST:' Packers players will be wearing a black decal on the back of their helmets in today's game in memory of their Hall of Fame halfback, Tony Canadeo.
They will continue to wear the decal, which bears a white No. 3, reflecting his retired jersey number, for the remainder of the 2003 season.
The decal was developed last week by the team's equipment manager, Gordon "Red" Batty at the direction of GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman.
Canadeo, fourth ranking-rusher in team annals and one of only four players in team history to have his jersey number retired, died Nov. 29 at the age of 84.
A moment of silence in Canadeo's memory also will be observed prior to the singing of the national anthem.
-JUST FOR THE RECORD(S): One...and quite possibly two...of the Packers' greatest records will fall in this afternoon's 166th matchup with the Chicago Bears.
Quarterback Brett Favre will surpass one of them - for most consecutive games played - when he takes his very first snap from center Mike Flanagan in today's game.
He thus will officially be playing in his 188th straight game and eclipse the 33-year-old record of offensive tackle Forrest Gregg, who played in 187 games over his 14-year career (1956, '58-70).
In recognition of Favre's singular achievement, Referee Ed Hochuli will stop the game following Favre's first snap and present him with the record-breaking ball.
Favre also will be starting his 186th game, extending his NFL record for quarterbacks. It also is the longest streak for any current player at any position.
Only two players in Packers history, which dates back to 1919, have played in more games than Favre (Bart Starr, 196, and Ray Nitschke, 190).
-ADDITIONALLY, FAVRE can equal the longest streak in Packers archives by throwing a touchdown pass. He would thus tie the 22-game skein the late Cecil Isbell forged over the 1941-42 seasons.
-RUNNING BACK AHMAN GREEN also is in position to break another hallowed Packers record today...Jim Taylor's single-season rushing mark of 1,474 yards...set in 1962 during Green Bay's drive to a second straight NFL championship.
Green, who goes into action with 1,383 yards, thus needs 92 to break Taylor's 40-year-old record.
The odds for a new record today look favorable, Green having rushed for more than 100 yards in 8 of 12 games to date in the '03 season.
Should it occur, and on-field circumstances permit, Referee Hochuli also will stop the game in order to present the record ball to Green.
-PLACEKICKER RYAN LONGWELL, who has been closing in on the team's all-time scoring record, enters today's contest needing 20 more points over the last four games of the season - for two record reasons.
They would give him 824 points, eclipsing by one point the club's 57-year-old career record, 823 points, established by the fabled Don Hutson (1935-45).
With 80 points in the current campaign, they also would give Longwell 100 points for the season and he thus would assure himself of being one of only three players in NFL history to score 100 or more points in each of his first seven seasons in the league.
Two others in the same category, Jason Elam and Denver's Adam Vinatieri - each of whom has scored 100 or more points in his first six seasons - also appear likely to make it seven 100-point years in a row. Elam enters the final, four-game stretch with 90 points, Vinatieri with 89.
Before he gets to Huston's record, Longwell needs 17 points to pass Chris Jacke, the No. 2 scorer in Packers history with 820. A 17-point increase would give Longwell 821.
-SIX STRAIGHT: Packers GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman enters this afternoon's contest with a six-game winning streak game against the Bears. Sherman's Green and Gold have won six in a row from the Midway Monsters since losing to Chicago in the fifth game of the 2000 season - Sherman's first against Chicago as Green Bay's head coach.
Sherman's 6-1 record against the Bears is his best mark against an NFC North opponent. He is 6-2 against the Detroit Lions and 5-3 against the Minnesota Vikings, thus giving him an imposing and composite record of 17-6 against the NFC North Division coming into the 166th regular season meeting with the Bears.
-A VICTORY TODAY would lift the Packers over the .500 mark for the home season. The Green and Gold, 8-0 at home in 2002, are 3-3 going into action against the Bears. They close out their Lambeau Field schedule Dec. 28, when they host the Denver Broncos in their regular season finale.
-THE ANTHEM: Following the moment of silence in memory of Tony Canadeo, and prior to the national anthem, the capacity crowd will be asked to "Remember those brave men and women who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor 62 years ago today..."
Steve Azar, a national recording star, will sing the anthem, following which four Navy F-18 jets will stage a fly-by.
-'GOLDEN" SALUTE: Paul Hornung, the Packers' erstwhile "Golden Boy," is in the Lambeau Field Atrium complex today for a special and historic purpose. He was on hand this morning to help formally dedicate the "Paul Hornung Room" during a ceremony on the Associated Bank Club Level (the fourth level).
Hornung presented to Packers President Bob Harlan the Heisman Trophy awarded him following his senior (1956) season at Notre Dame. He also signed the large photos of himself located above the "Paul Hornung Room" - getting airborne on a "lift" to accomplish this task - and adjacent to the fourth level escalator.
The "Paul Hornung Room" is one of four "Lambeau Legends Club" rooms. The others are named for Johnny "Blood" McNally, Willie Davis and Bart Starr.
-NEXT WEEK: The Packers travel to San Diego for an inter-conference contest with the Chargers in Qualcomm Stadium Sunday (Dec. 14). Kickoff is set for 3:15, CST (Wisconsin time).
It will be the first of back-to-back trips to the West Coast for the Packers, who will invade Oakland the following week (Dec. 22) for a "Monday Night Football" matchup against the Raiders.
