IN: Josh Groban was born in Los Angeles, California, to Lindy (nee Johnston), a school teacher, and Jack Groban, a businessman. Josh's younger brother, Chris, was born on Josh's fourth birthday. Josh's father is a descendant of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Ukraine, and converted from Judaism to Christianity upon marrying Josh's mother. Josh's mother's ancestry includes English, German, and Norwegian.

In late 1998, the 17-year-old Groban was introduced by his vocal coach, Seth Riggs, to Grammy-winning producer and arranger David Foster and future manager Brian Avnet. At the time, Groban had no recording experience and was preparing to begin studying at Carnegie Mellon University. Groban worked for David Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile events, including the January 1999 inauguration of Gray Davis as Governor of California and the 1999 Grammy Awards where--as a stand-in for Andrea Bocelli--he rehearsed Foster's "The Prayer" with Celine Dion. According to manager Avnet, Groban was very nervous about standing in for Bocelli and had to be talked into it, but his performance prompted the show hostess, Rosie O'Donnell, to ask him to appear on her show the following week, which then led to an appearance on Ally McBeal. Creator David E. Kelley created character Malcolm Wyatt for Groban in the season finale aired in May 2001. The character of Malcolm Wyatt was so popular, prompting 8,000 emails from viewers, that Groban was asked to return the next season to reprise his role and perform "To Where You Are." Avnet claims this sequence of events effectively got Groban's career off the ground. Groban was offered a recording contract at Warner Bros. Records through Foster's 143 Records imprint. Avnet told HitQuarters that Warner initially proved resistant to the deal because "They were afraid they wouldn't be able to get a voice like that on radio." Explaining his reasons for signing the artist, Foster said: "I love his natural ability in the pop and rock arena, but I love his sense of classics even more. He's a true musical force to be reckoned with." Under Foster's influence, Groban's first album focused more on classics such as "Gira Con Me Questa Notte" and "Alla Luce Del Sole." Groban performed "There For Me" with Sarah Brightman on her 2000-01 La Luna World Tour, and was featured on her "La Luna" concert DVD. He recorded "For Always" with Lara Fabian on the movie soundtrack to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001). Groban performed in many benefit shows, including: "The Andre Agassi Grand Slam Event For Children," singing alongside Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Don Henley, and Robin Williams; "Muhammad Ali's Fight Night Foundation" which honored Michael J. Fox and others; "The Family Celebration" (2001), which was co-hosted by President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, and David E. Kelley and his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer; and Michael Milken's CapCure event, which raises funds for cancer research. The singer's self-titled debut album Josh Groban was released on November 20, 2001. Over the next year it went from gold to double-platinum.

What Debut in 1998-2001?

OUT: The singer's self-titled debut album Josh Groban was released on November 20, 2001.

IN: Brett Favre was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Bonita Ann (nee French) and Irvin Ernest Favre, and raised in the small town of Kiln. Both of his parents were schoolteachers in the Hancock County School District. He is of part French ancestry. One of his ancestors is Simon Favre, a Creole, was an influential figure in Spanish West Florida in the late 18th and early 19th centuries; Brett descends from Simon's Choctaw Native American mistress, Pistikiokonay, and thus his grandfather was affiliated with the Choctaw.

In the second game of the 1992 season, the Packers played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Buccaneers were leading 17-0 at halftime when head coach Mike Holmgren benched starting quarterback Don Majkowski and Favre played the second half. On his first regular season play as a Packer, Favre threw a pass that was deflected by Buccaneers player Ray Seals and caught by Favre. Favre was tackled and the completion went for -7 yards. The Packers lost the game 31-3, chalking up only 106 yards passing. In the third game of the 1992 season, Majkowski injured a ligament in his ankle against the Cincinnati Bengals, an injury severe enough that he would be out for four weeks. Favre replaced Majkowski for the remainder of the game. Favre fumbled four times during the course of the game, a performance poor enough that the crowd chanted for Favre to be removed in favor of another Packers backup quarterback at the time, Ty Detmer. However, down 23-17 with 1:07 left in the game, the Packers started an offensive series on their own 8-yard line. Favre then completed a 42-yard pass to wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. Three plays later, Favre threw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Kitrick Taylor with 13 seconds remaining. The next week's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers began the longest consecutive starts streak for a quarterback in NFL history. The game ended in a 17-3 victory and his passer rating was 144.6. During the season, Favre helped put together a six-game winning streak for the Packers, the longest winning streak for the club since 1965. They ended 9-7 that season, missing the playoffs on their last game. Favre finished his first season as a Packer with 3,227 yards and a quarterback rating of 85.3, helping him to his first Pro Bowl. The following season, Favre helped the Packers to their first playoff berth since 1982 and was named to his second Pro Bowl. Favre had his first career 400 yard passing game and led the NFC in pass attempts, pass completions, and pass interceptions. Favre also had four game winning drives giving him seven for his career up to that point. After the season, Favre became a free agent. General manager Ron Wolf negotiated Favre into a five-year, $19 million contract. The Packers finished the 1994 season with a 9-7 record, advancing to the playoffs in back to back years, a feat they had not accomplished since the Vince Lombardi era. For the first time in his career, he was not eligible for the Pro Bowl.

What happened in 1992?

OUT:
On his first regular season play as a Packer, Favre threw a pass that was deflected by Buccaneers player Ray Seals and caught by Favre.