Former Marist All-State Football player Patrick Mannelly is the perfect example of how specialized the NFL has become. Mannelly (left) hasn't started a single game, but he has played in 188 games since joining the Chicago Bears in 1998. A decade in pro Football is almost unheard of, but Mannelly is a special case. He's the long snapper. After leaving Marist, Mannelly was a two-year starter on the offensive line at Duke. He is married to the former Tamara John, the daughter of former baseball pitcher Tommy John, and he created the Web site www.longsnapper.com.

--- Chris Whitfield

GREATEST PLAYER I EVER SAW . . .

North Gwinnett's Bob Sphire has won a high school state championship in Kentucky and a professional championship in the National Indoor Football League during his 28-year career. The greatest high school player he ever saw was Michael Bush of Louisville, Ky. "He was such a great, multitalented athlete. As a junior, he was a running back and wide receiver, and as a senior he was their quarterback. You look at a guy who --- if he didn't break his leg at the fourth game of the season --- was a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy [at the University of Louisville]." Bush is a rookie for the Oakland Raiders .

--- Rob Morton

ONCE UPON A TIME . . .

On this date in 1962, Rossville defeated North Clayton 28-6 to win the Class AA championship. Two Rossville backs, Eddie Wallin and Doug Flury, rushed for more than 100 yards. It was Rossville's third state title but the first under Frank Fabris, who led the school to five consecutive region titles and three state championship games before moving on to college jobs at Brigham Young, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. Fabris, the father of University of Georgia defensive ends coach Jon Fabris, passed away in Watkinsville on Oct. 31.

--- Todd Holcomb