Wreaks of Victory: Mark “Stink” Schlereth on his Super Bowl Success

Mark Schlereth is a man’s man, food-lover and prime time performer.

“Success” is such an arbitrary term. For some, success is defined by facing another day. Others call something a success by just finishing what they started. Hell, for me success is using a Crockpot and remembering to turn it on.

And for guys who can barely turn on a Crockpot like us, Mark stopped by to share a few easy to make/impossible to screw up food items from DiGiornio, Farm Rich, and a TV from LG that looks good enough to eat for your Super Bowl party this weekend.

For Mark “Stink” Schlereth, success is defined by his drive and passion for the game. “Stink”, as his close friends call him, was drafted 263rd overall by the Washington Redskins in the 1989 NFL Draft.

Fast forward almost 30 years to that draft day, and “Stink” has become a household name for football fans.  From winning his three Super Bowl rings, to making two Pro Bowls and of course a long-standing TV personality, Schlereth has defined an NFL superstar.

A superstar from a position where not many expect superstars to be “bread.”

The 11-year NFL vet played his games from the guard position. He owned the trenches as a member of the HAWGS offensive line on the 1991 Redskins, and led the way Terrell Davis‘s 2,000 yard season.

We got the chance to talk to Mark about his NFL lifestyle, personal quirks and even about some of his past championship moments.

Question and Answer with “Stink” Schlereth

Question: Where did Stink come from, and do you even like being called Stink? Give me the rundown. How did that come about?

Answer: You don’t get to pick your own nickname, right? Like the dude who introduced himself as “Killer”, that dude gave himself a nickname. That dude is a tool box, right? You don’t get to pick your own nickname… The nickname “Stink” comes from when I was a rookie with the Washington Redskins, my sister taught school at an Eskimo village in… Akiachak, Alaska right on the Kuskokwim River. In the very first run of salmon during the year, the natives would dip-net the salmon, cut the heads off, bury them in the ground and dig them up weeks later and eat them rotten and they called them “stink heads”… From that point forward I was dubbed “Stink head”, and eventually it just shortened down to “Stink”. That’s the truth, and the good story… which is also true is one day I had to really urinate during a game, and I just went and it just became a ritual that I would pee in my pants during games if I had to… Which was pretty much every game if I had to so that’s how… the moniker stuck. I used to urinate in my pants every game so… anybody who knows me… if we’re acquaintances you ask for Mark. Well for buddies you say “Stink” and that’s just the way it goes.

Q: “Stink” I want to ask you about your first Super Bowl Victory in ’91, you blew through the playoffs. You beat Atlanta in the divisional round 24-7, you beat Detroit in the NFC Championship game just manhandled them 41-10, and then you beat Buffalo in the Super Bowl. Is that the most underrated Super Bowl Championship team in history?

A: Well it depends… I think USA Today ranked them as the best Super Bowl team in history when you talk about the complete team. Offense, defense and special teams. Yeah I think they probably get the credit that they deserve… Think about this, in 19 games over the course of the season including the playoffs and the Super Bowl. Nineteen games total against great defenses in Detroit, great pass-rushers in Atlanta, and obviously the Buffalo Bills with their pass-rushers with Bruce Smith the Hall of Famer. In 19 games we gave up nine sacks… it wasn’t just the offensive line, obviously the quarterback is involved, the receivers are involved, Ernest Byner was a great blitz pickup guy, our tight ends were involved, but… when you think about nine sacks in 19 games it’s an incredible record.

Q: “Stink” when was the last time you wore all three of your Super Bowl rings at once, and what do you do with the AFC and NFC Championship rings that you got?

A: I don’t have any AFC or NFC Championship rings because every time I went to the Super Bowl I won. So, you only get AFC Championship or NFC Championship rings when you lose in the Super Bowl… Only the loser of the Super Bowl gets an AFC or NFC Championship ring so I was fortunate enough to be on great teams that went 3-0 in the Super Bowls that I got to play in. The only time I’ve ever put all three on… I had someone challenging me about Baker Mayfield, some Oklahoma fan [saying], “what have you ever won?… Baker is the greatest, what have you ever won?” And I just took a picture of my hand with all three Super Bowl rings on and basically said, “I don’t know let me think about that.” And posted that on social media, and it got a lot of attention. For the most part I don’t ever wear the rings.

To check out our full interview with “Stink”, check out this link:

Philip Rivers On His Kids, ACL Tear, and ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ Lifestyle

Philip Rivers gave us his takes on his post season ACL tear from 2007, his kids, and how he lives his “Cheaper by the Dozen” lifestyle

The subject of Philip Rivers kids comes up in seemingly every broadcast- he has 9 of them

Rivers is a man’s man. I mean just listening to him talk in his post game press conferences makes me think, “Man, I’d love to have a beer with this guy and shoot the breeze.”

Well, sometimes dreams come true my friends.

Read more

Jay Glazer Is A Cool Dude – This Interview Proves It

The coolest thing about Jay Glazer is that he is living the dream and he knows it. But it didn’t show up overnight, as he explained in this interview.

Does your phone ever stop ringing? Or is there always some dude from some website like me at the other end? 

Jay Glazer: “The phone never stops. I’ve got to take every single call that comes in. I was on a date with a young lady last night and I told her, ‘These calls are going to come in and I’ve got to take every single one.’ Because you can’t just take one phone call and use someone for info; it’s about relationships. You build relationships and the scoops come your way. You have to figure out how to broker information the right way. So it’s non-stop.

Read more

Packers David Bakhtiari And Corey Linsley On Holding, Shaving, Loving – Well, Not Loving

The only time an NFL offensive lineman gets noticed is during a mistake. I asked Packers offensive linemen David Bakhtiari and Corey Linsley to describe the feeling of being public enemy #1 after a holding penalty negates a big play for the Packers.

PE – The offense just made a 40 yard gain that gets called back because you got flagged for holding. Describe that feeling in the ensuing 10-15 seconds when the crowd groans, and the camera is directly at YOU.

David Bakhtiari: I’ll take this one, Corey (in jest). I’ve gotten a fair amount of holding penalties. At times I would definitely tend to disagree. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to make the ref any angrier than he needs to be. It sucks. You definitely don’t want to be a hindrance to your team, but at the end of the day the number one thing is, we want to keep our quarterback clean. So we’re going to do that by any means possible. Because protecting him is our number one priority.

Read more

Throwback: Three Days In LA – An ESPY Awards Adventure

2013 ESPY Awards

I knew it was going to be an interesting trip to Los Angeles when I met actor Colin Farrell at LAX baggage claim upon arrival. Minutes later, I bumped my shoulder into Olympic legend Michael Phelps’ tightly toned torso while wildly retrieving my luggage from the baggage carousel.

Here is the actual transcript of our meeting:

“Whoa. Hi Michael, excuse me. That bag kinda got away from me there for a second.”

“No problem, how are you?”

“I am good, nice to see you.”

Read more

40 Yard Dash: Laquon Treadwell & Josh Doctson Tell You It’s Overrated

40 Yard Dash: Why It Is Overrated

Since when did running a sub 4.4 40-yard dash guarantee NFL success? It never has and until game outcomes are decided by a straight-line footrace, it never will. The NFL became enamored with speed at the wide receiver position thanks to “Bullet” Bob Hayes.

But for every successful Hayes, an Olympic sprinter turned receiver, there are several draft busts whose perceived talents were overblown thanks to a single, largely meaningless metric. Players like Johnny “Lam” Jones. Troy Williamson. Darius Heyward-Bey.

Read more

Terry Crews Told Me About The Time He Got Knocked Out In An NFL Game And The Myths Of Manhood

Terry Crews Told Me About The Time He Got Knocked Out In An NFL Game And The Myths Of Manhood

Terry Crews knows a thing or two about being a MAN. The former professional football player turned actor turned Old Spice pitchman teamed up with the brand to launch the “Contempor-MANLY” campaign to celebrate 80 years of Old Spice.

Just as Jeffery Lebowski wondered allowed “What makes a man?” to The Dude in The Big Lebowski, I asked Terry several questions about successfully sailing the seas of manhood.

Read more

Matt Ryan On Defining His Career And Getting The Weeknd Stuck In His Head

I asked Matt Ryan aka Matty Ice what it feels like to get chased around by a beast like Julius Peppers, his defining NFL moment, and if doing press at the Super Bowl without playing in the game (like he did last year) felt like going to prom without a date.

Who’s the best defender you’ve ever faced?

You have to go by positions – defensive line, linebackers, secondary and defensive backs. There’s so many good ones. I think of a guy early in my career that we went against a couple times every year in Carolina, Julius Peppers, around 2008. He was about as good as there is. Basically unblockable. In the secondary, early on in my career, seeing Ed Reed and the way he could go sideline to sideline, or Troy Polamalu. I remember I threw an interception against the Steelers my second or third year, and he just made an unbelievable play. Those three guys are three of the guys who jump in my head right off the bat.

Read more

Matt Forte Interview: Did Bears Give The Office Space Treatment?

This offseason, two-time Pro Bowl running back Matt Forte signed a three-year $12-million-dollar free agent contract with the New York Jets. Bears fans were, and still are, upset about it.

And why wouldn’t they be?

After eight years in Chicago, Forte ranks second, behind only Hall of Famer Walter Payton, on the Bears’ all-time lists for rushing yards, yards from scrimmage (12,718), receptions (487) and 100-yard games (24). He’s also third in total touchdowns and sixth in receiving yards (4,116).

This offseason, the Bears front office didn’t even attempt to re-sign the second most productive player in the history of the franchise.

Didn’t even attempt.

Read more

Rick Allen On How He Became NBC’s Voice And Face Of NASCAR

Rick Allen of NBC photobombing me and Jeff Burton.
Here’s that one time Rick Allen photobombed a perfectly good photo of me and Jeff Burton.

“The first event I ever announced was a women’s gymnastics meet at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln,” said Rick Allen, lead announcer for NASCAR on NBC. “The guy who was supposed to do it didn’t show up. And I just happened to be hanging around, so I did it.”

Read more

On Location: Ball Up Streetball With The Professor And Eric Gordon

Streetball gets a bad wrap. After being exposed to the And1 Mixtape Tour, and occasional Rucker Park Tournament highlight, it’s easy to envision four guys standing around while one guy dribbles, each possession punctuated by a slam dunk with little or no defense.

But the Ball Up “Search for the Next” is completely different from its predecessors. It’s a 10-city tour looking for the best undiscovered player in the country that culminates in $100,000 and a roster spot for the tour’s winner.

Read more

Ball Up Streetball Tour – The Professor SPEAKS

 

I Can’t Give The Professor Enough Props For Being Cool AF

“The Professor” aka Grayson Boucher is a streetball legend who converted a random tryout into a career as a professional basketball player.

While attending an And1 Mixtape Tour stop in Portland, Oregon in 2003, the 5’10” 155 pound 19-year-old Professor competed in an open run competition prior to that evening’s game and did well enough to get invited back that evening to square off against team And1.

After a solid performance in the game, he joined the team full-time and was suddenly getting paid to play basketball, literally overnight.

Read more

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wants You To Be A Man Again

Suave Men Will Keep You Groomed To Perfection, Like Paul Eide And Dale Earnhardt Jr.

If NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his JR Motorsports teammate Regan Smith admit to doing it, then there’s no shame in admitting you have, too. So go ahead and unburden yourself – 80% of men have used their girlfriend, wife or spouse’s haircare products.

“We’re all guilty of getting lazy and grabbing whatever the girlfriend or wife is using,” admitted Earnhardt Jr., as he forced a room of roughly 40 men to confront a grim reality about themselves.

Read more

Burning Nitro With NHRA Funny Car Driver Alexis DeJoria

Alexis DeJoria Kicked It With Your Boy Pauly E Prior To Engaging In Breakneck Speed
To some people, Alexis DeJoria is the wife of “Moster Garage” star Jesse James. To others, she is the daughter of Jean-Paul DeJoria (read my interview with him here, best life story evah), billionaire businessman and co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and the Patron Spirits Company. But on the NHRA Mello Yello circuit, Alexis DeJoria is one of the best Funny Car drivers on the tour.

I spent two days with Alexis and her team from Kalitta Motorsports at the Kansas Nationals at Heartland Park in Topeka, and inadvertently found ourselves in the middle of the most exciting weekend in the history of the sport.

Read more

Bears Icon Charles Tillman on Peanut Punch, Deion Sanders, Defending Randy Moss

Charles Tillman

Charles Tillman is so good, you take him for granted. Even during an 11-year career as a member of some of the fiercest defenses in NFL history, his consistent production and greatness are rarely recognized outside of Chicago.

“Peanut” owns the Bears’ career records for defensive touchdowns (9), interceptions returned for touchdowns (8) and forced fumbles (39). Thanks to his signature move the “Peanut Punch,” his 10 forced fumbles last year set an NFL single-season record, and the four fumbles he forced in a game against the Titans a year ago is the all-time single game record. His 36 career interceptions are just two away from tying Gary Fencik for the Bears‘ franchise record.

Read more

Wes Welker On Getting CUT By Schottenheimer And What A Stinger ACTUALLY Feels Like

 

Wes Welker Told Me What It Was Like To Get Cut By Marty Schottenheimer

Wes Welker is a player that any fan can relate to, which is what makes him such a great pitch-man for Old Spice and the new “Unnecessary Freshness” campaign. But when you look at Welker’s career and laundry list of  accomplishments, it becomes apparent that you are looking at the body of work befitting a future NFL Hall of Famer.

Two Super Bowl appearances as a cog in the most productive offense in NFL history. Five Pro Bowls. League leader in receptions three times.  Most seasons with 100+ receptions in NFL history (5). Most receptions in Patriots history.

Read more

Pro Skater Darren Harper talks about Paris Hilton, Travis Barker, Crack and Gleaming The Cube

Pro skater Darren Harper aka “DStreets” may be flashy, but it ain’t bragging if you can back it up. And D Harper delivers.

“Nobody can touch me as far as the upbringing I’ve had and I’m flashy, but I’m humble.”

Raised in the streets of Washington, D.C., Harper is helping to bridge the gap between the urban community and street skateboarding for all ages by doing speaking engagements and skating demos for kids.  “When I go to speak to these kids I use the flashy things to show them that hey, you can get this in positive ways. I got a diamond skateboard piece I wear and the kids get mesmerized by that. And I just tell ‘em you can get this in positive ways. And that’s it.”

Your  lovable Douche Bag Paul Eide spoke to the homey and this is what he had to say. So gape you earhole, lube up and lets get it poppin’.

Read more

Interview: Traevon Jackson, Son Of NBA Star Jim Jackson

Even though he just recently finished his sophomore season at the University of Wisconsin, Traevon Jackson comes across just like his game – confident, smooth and mature. For being just 20 years old, he’s so calm and composed, you can’t help but think about where you were in life at 20….and then sheepishly quit punishing yourself.

Read more

Interview with UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman

The hottest name in the UFC’s middleweight division belongs to Chris Weidman.

Fresh off a beat down of leading middleweight contender Mark Munoz, it was just announced this week that he will next fight Tim Boetsch on December 29th for the right to face Anderson “The Spider” Silva with the belt on the line.

His ascension to legitimate middleweight contender has been quick thanks to his willingness to fight (five fights in a year and a half) and a commitment to discipline, including a 32 pound weight loss in 11 days prior to fighting Damian Maia.

Read more