The Fourth of July celebration is the last one of the year which can be celebrated by everyone in pro football.

After this, whatever the holiday, either someone or everyone on every National Football League team will have something to do. 

So I wish a happy Fourth of July to one and all, and I hope everyone has a great extended weekend with barbeque, beverages and fireworks.

For Denver Broncos Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little, July 4 has special significance in that it is his birthday.  Happy birthday to "The Franchise."  

A fellow Hall of Famer also born on the fourth is the late owner of the Oakland Raiders, Al Davis, who shares that date of birth with late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.

Which reminds me of an anecdote told to me by the late Irv Kaze, who was with the Raiders, following our mutual jobs in baseball, his with the Yankees.

Kaze had thus worked for both Davis and Steinbrenner, and he once said, "I have concluded that the secret to great success in life is to be real hard on your employees--and be born on the Fourth of July!"

Longtime Miami-based NFL television reporter and talk show host Hank Goldberg was born on the Fourth of July.

Yankees' play-by-play voice John Sterling, who has the distinction of never having missed a game in his career, has a Fourth of July birthday as well.

Here's to the military, policemen and firemen, doctors and nurses, paramedics, health care providers and all others who are working on the Fourth of July, in many instances putting themselves in harm's way for the needs of others and for the greater good of society. 

There has never been a country like this one. I hope future generations can be as appreciative and respectful of our great history.

I hope everyone gets a chance to kick back and celebrate, in whatever manner works best for that person.  Beer, soft drinks, barbeque and brats, fireworks and concerts very likely are all part of the menu. But please, try not to forget the flag.

And for those in football, the season isr ight around the corner, and those stories will come soon enough.

But for this weekend, Happy Fourth of July to all!