Another Champ Visits

Having already received a visit this preseason from one of the best boxers of all time, Smokin' Joe Frazier, last weekend the Packers welcomed to Green Bay one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bill Russell, as an honorary guest for Monday night's game against the Cleveland Browns.

Russell, a member of the NBA Hall of Fame who earned 11 league titles and five MVP awards throughout his career with the Boston Celtics, met with Packers players and posed for photographs prior to the game and then joined the team on the sideline during the contest.

Also In Attendance

A shoulder injury forced him to retire, but nothing could keep longtime Packers safety LeRoy Butler away from Lambeau Field for the preseason home opener. Often caught on camera during ABC's Monday Night Football broadcast, before the game Butler stood in the tunnel exchanging pleasantries with the Packers' offensive starters as they waited for their introductions, then played the role of mentor and motivator from the sideline.

Did you know?

ABC's Monday Night Football coverage of the Packers-Browns contest included video of linebacker Hardy Nickerson's son, Hardy Nickerson, Jr., taking part in the halftime exhibition of Pop Warner football. But Nickerson wasn't the only member of the Packers family to have his son mixing it up on Lambeau Field. Packers accounting assistant Ann Dabeck and HVAC manager Mike Moynihan each had sons participating in the Pop Warner event as well.

Have you seen?

Brett Favre is the regional coverboy for the 2002 NFL Preview issue of TV Guide, which is on shelves this week. Click here to see the cover.