Nfl Football - Football Betting

2005-11-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Banged-up Steelers lose Parker in win at Green Bay

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Troy Polamalu called himself an accidental hero.--football gambling--

His 77-yard touchdown return of Brett Favre's fumble set the stage for Pittsburgh's 20-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, when both teams turned to their stingy defenses to bail out their injury-ravaged offenses. --football gambling--

"I thought our defense played outstanding," said Favre, whose streak of 27 straight home games with a touchdown pass came to an end. "We have to help them out."
Green Bay held the Steelers without a single third-down conversion, allowed just two field goals and a 20-yard TD drive. --football gambling--

Not bad, but not as good as Pittsburgh.--football gambling--
The Steelers forced three turnovers that they turned into 17 points, including Polamalu's score on a play in which Favre was kicking himself for not just going to his hot read right away and settling for a field goal instead of trying to buy enough time for Walt Williams to get open for a touchdown.--football gambling--

Polamalu was kicking himself, too -- but only for a split second.--football gambling--
"I missed the sack, which is pretty disappointing," Polamalu said. "Bryant McFadden made a great play. And fortunately enough, he had the sack and the fumble. I just saw the ball lying there and picked it up ran."--football gambling--

The Steelers (6-2) became the first team since the 1989-90 San Francisco 49ers and the fourth team overall to win 11 straight road games. And they did it without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (knee) and running back Jerome Bettis (thigh), who were joined on the sideline in the second half by starting tailback Willie Parker, who turned his left ankle.--football gambling--
Duce Staley, who replaced Bettis and had his first carries since the AFC championship in January, ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.--football gambling--
The Packers fell to 1-7 at the halfway point for the first time since 1986 under Forrest Gregg.
They've been in every game until the closing minutes and have actually outscored their opponents 168-159 -- a first for an NFL team that lost seven of its first eight.--football gambling--

"If we were getting stomped and crushed every time we played somebody, it probably would be hard to be optimistic," linebacker Nick Barnett said. "But we're right there. We're a play away, an inch away. And it is frustrating that we're not getting that inch or we're not getting that play."
Polamalu's TD return came in the first half, when Green Bay trailed 6-3 and was about to forge ahead thanks to his 33-yard pass interference penalty that put the Packers on the Pittsburgh 3.
Consecutive false starts backed up the Packers to the 12, when they went to an empty backfield on third-and-goal.--football gambling--

Big mistake.
McFadden came on a cornerback blitz and wrapped up Favre for an 11-yard sack, spinning him to the ground and forcing the ball to pop out. Polamalu scooped it up and rumbled 77 yards for the big swing.--football gambling--

"You can put that one on me, that was my call," Packers coach Mike Sherman said.
McFadden wasn't just satisfied with his first NFL sack on the play. He also provided the block on speedy tight end Donald Lee that allowed Polamalu to reach the end zone, something Pittsburgh's offense failed to do until it got the short field thanks to Tyrone Carter's interception in the fourth quarter.--football gambling--

Carter grabbed his fourth career interception when the ball bounced off Donald Driver and into his hands at the Packers' 20 with 8:11 left and Pittsburgh clinging to a 13-10 lead.--football gambling--

Four plays later, Staley slipped a backfield tackle by Barnett and trotted in from 3 yards out.
"I'm going to put it on my shoulders," Driver said. "If I make that catch we win the game."
Steelers backup quarterback Charlie Batch made his first start since Dec. 2, 2001, when he was with Detroit. He completed 9 of 16 passes for 65 yards and one interception.-football gambling-

Pittsburgh settled for short field goals by Jeff Reed to take a 6-0 lead, which Ryan Longwell cut in half with a 40-yarder that made him the first Green Bay player to score 1,000 points in his career.--football gambling--

Longwell, however, was wide right from 31 yards after a promising 18-play drive by Green Bay that ate up 9½ minutes but stalled at the 13.--football gambling--

The Packers finally punched it in when Samkon Gado scored his first career touchdown from a yard out with 7:26 left in the third quarter, cutting Pittsburgh's lead to 13-10. --football gambling--

"I know I can play at this level, but I'm not happy with the way I got my chance, said Gado, whose 62 yards on 26 carries were a season high for the Packers.--football gambling--
Game notesThe Packers were down to their fifth-string running back after Tony Fisher (fractured rib) was deactivated and ReShard Lee fumbled away on his second carry Sunday. ... WR Hines Ward caught just one pass, leaving him three shy of passing John Stallworth (536) for most in Steelers history.--football gambling--

2005-11-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

For Cortez, trip to NFL worth the risks

By DANA PENNETT O'NEIL

oneild@phillynews.com

THE IDEA, Jose Cortez explained simply, was to wait out the night when the police figured you'd make a go for it and instead slip by just before dawn. Yes, it was a calculated risk and no, it wouldn't be overdramatic to say it was a matter of life and death. -NFL Football-

But without the risk, what? No chance at an education, no escape from poverty. Really, what were you risking? -NFL Football-

So Cortez and his mother and younger sister took the risk. They ditched the extra clothes and luggage they had and, with only the clothes on their backs to take them into their future, slipped across the Tijuana border, across the highway, into California and on to their new lives. -NFL Football-

That was 15 years ago and Cortez remembers it all vividly. You don't soon forget a trip that changes everything. -NFL Football-

"There's so much here that we never would have had there," says Cortez, the Eagles' newest kicker. "If I had stayed there, I never would have gone to college, owned a house or probably owned a car." -NFL Football-

"There" is El Salvador, a country that was 10 years into a civil war when Cortez fled to join his father, Fermin, and two older sisters. The Cortez family was fortunate to live in San Vicente, far enough removed from the horrific fighting between government military and guerilla rebels that would claim the lives of 75,000 people before a peace agreement was signed in 1992. -NFL Football-

But still life wasn't good. Education was only available to the few who could afford the price tag. If there was a future in El Salvador it wasn't one anyone wanted to see. -NFL Football-

"There wasn't anything there for us," Cortez says. "My parents wanted us to have a better life than we could have there." -NFL Football-

Cortez spoke candidly last week about his circuitous and frankly unintended path to the NFL, and about his one-time status in this country as an illegal alien. -NFL Football-

He is not ashamed of how he got here, but rather proud of the life he has carved since arriving. -NFL Football-

"Out of my family, I'm the only one who finished high school and who graduated from college," Cortez says. "It took me 3 years to really get a chance in the NFL, but I made that, too." -NFL Football-

Cortez knows his tenure here might be short-lived. David Akers, a three-time Pro Bowler, is on the mend and one man's return could mean another's exodus. -NFL Football-

But coming off a game where no one wearing an Eagles uniform could hold his head high, Cortez did his job. -NFL Football-

"Jose is a proven kickoff guy," special-teams coordinator John Harbaugh said the week before the Denver game, an opinion that was re-enforced with a strong performance against the Broncos. "He pounds kickoffs." -NFL Football-

Outsiders might have imagined Cortez as ashamed when the Eagles plucked him off the waiver wire fresh off his abrupt dismissal by Dallas coach Bill Parcells. -NFL Football-

For Cortez it was just another trip on the merry-go-round. His career reads like a wayward map, from Los Angeles Valley College to Oregon State to Cleveland (he signed there as a free agent in 1999) to the New York Giants to San Francisco to Washington to Minnesota to Dallas and now to Philadelphia. -NFL Football-

And none of that was the hardest leg of the trip. -NFL Football-

The hardest leg was the one that went from El Salvador through Guatemala into Mexico and then into the U.S. -NFL Football-

Cortez says his family was lucky. They didn't have the trials that others, who are forced to walk and sleep on the streets, do. He stayed in hotels and he had transportation most of the time, hopping from buses to cabs and sometimes cars with the guide that took him and his family on their 15-day journey into the United States. -NFL Football-

Still, lucky is an operative word. Cortez got to bring three changes of clothes and one pair of shoes. He shut the door on his house one day and never went back. He had no trinkets, no memories in his bag, only the bare necessities. -NFL Football-

"It was strange. You just say goodbye to everybody and that's it," Cortez says. "But we were excited to leave. You hear so many stories about the U.S. A lot of times they're not all true. People say you can make good money; there are a lot of jobs over there. So one day, you just leave, leave everything behind you." -NFL Football-

Cortez remembers the early-dawn crossing at the border, of being terrified that the border patrol would catch them or later, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Getting caught as an illegal meant a one-way ticket to El Salvador. -NFL Football-

"All that money would have been wasted," Cortez says. -NFL Football-

Once Cortez arrived in Southern California, his father, who had been traveling between the U.S. and El Salvador since the 1980s on a work permit, met up with his family in a San Diego safe house. Together they all settled in Van Nuys, where Fermin worked as a cook at a center for troubled kids. For the next 10 years, Cortez and his family renewed their work permits to stay here, a tedious process that requires 3 months of pre-planning and payment of a fee that escalated annually. -NFL Football-

Cortez enrolled in Van Nuys High, the worst kind of new kid in town. -NFL Football-

"New country, new kid, can't speak English, it was hard," Cortez says. "The good thing about where we came to, the Los Angeles area, there are a lot of Hispanics. The high school I went to, I took ESL [English as a second language] classes and the teachers all spoke Spanish. I did fine until my senior year when I had to take literature, health. -NFL Football-

"But," Cortez adds with obvious pride, "I got through it." -NFL Football-

Like most kids in Central America, Cortez grew up playing soccer. He dreamed of forging a pro career in that version of futbol but during his first season on the Van Nuys High soccer team, the football coach spied Cortez playing goalie, booting kicks across midfield, and suggested he give football a try. -NFL Football-

Cortez liked the challenge and was pretty good at it. After 2 years at a junior college he earned a scholarship to Oregon State. -NFL Football-

The idea that this kicking thing might become a career in the daddy of all professional sports never once crossed Cortez's mind. -NFL Football-

"I kept playing football just to get an education," he says. "I wasn't really interested in football, never watched NFL games too much. I was just hoping I could get a scholarship to go to a 4-year school. Even when I got to Oregon State, I was just going to play and go to school." -NFL Football-

Instead, Cortez did both. He got a degree in sociology and a journeyman's career in the NFL. -NFL Football-

His longest tenure came in San Francisco where he played 26 games over two seasons (2001-02), going 18-for-25 and 18-for-24 respectively in field goals, before being released and signed by Washington for the remainder of the '02 season. -NFL Football-

But, added to a 12-of-16 performance in Dallas this season - including a 45-yarder to beat the Giants in overtime - he is one of those kickers who has a solid enough resume that he'll always get a look. -NFL Football-

Honestly, Cortez doesn't stay up nights worrying. He would love to have the sort of security of an Akers, but already has an eye on his future. He wants to work with at-risk kids, to encourage them that there isn't any obstacle they can't overcome. -NFL Football-

He should know.

Five years ago Cortez received his most prized possession - a green card. That means Cortez now is free to go back to El Salvador and visit. He hasn't yet, but plans to soon. -NFL Football-

In the meantime he will continue on the path he began to pave when he first walked out of his home in El Salvador. He has no idea where it will lead but isn't at all afraid of the next step. -NFL Football-

"I came here illegally, didn't speak English, didn't know anything about football and here I am, I'm living the dream of so many people that wish they were in my shoes, to have the opportunity to play in the NFL," Cortez says. -NFL Football-

And then the enormity of what he just said hits him. -NFL Football-

"Wow," he adds. "It's been a crazy ride. I am blessed." -NFL Football-

2005-10-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

Pats LB Bruschi eligible to play against Buffalo

NFL.com wire reports

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (Oct. 29, 2005) -- The New England Patriots removed linebacker Tedy Bruschi from the physically unable to perform list, making him eligible to play in Sunday night's game against the Buffalo Bills. -NFL Football-

Bruschi, who had a mild stroke in February and has not yet played this season, had to be activated by 4 p.m. on Oct. 28 to be eligible to play against Buffalo. -NFL Football-

The Patriots' Pro Bowler had the stroke 10 days after helping the team win its third Super Bowl in four years. Although he said this summer that he planned to sit out the entire year, his recovery went well enough for him to come back early. -NFL Football-

Bruschi, who continued to attend meetings during his rehab, was cleared by doctors and returned to practice Oct. 19. -NFL Football-

"It's out of my control now," Bruschi said before practice on Wednesday. "I'm back. I'm a player. I'm a member of the team. So I've trusted my coaches ever since I was in high school." -NFL Football-

Coach Bill Belichick said earlier this week that Bruschi hasn't suffered any setbacks in practice, but he was behind his teammates because he missed so many. -NFL Football-

"His instincts are still there and that's what separates him from other linebackers," linebacker Chad Brown said. "He's just got a great feel for what everyone on the defense is doing, how the offense is trying to attack him. And couple that with his great instincts and that's why he makes plays." -NFL Football-

The Patriots are 3-3, more losses than they had in each of the past two Super Bowl-winning seasons. -NFL Football-

New England had 21 days from Bruschi's first practice, until Nov. 9, to activate him or place him on injured reserve and end his season. He has said he has no doubt he'll play in a game this season. -NFL Football-

"I just look at it as a process," he said. "Emotions are emotions and I felt them all, but really, it's just about what I'm going to do today, how well did I do yesterday ... and just focus on playing football."

2005-10-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Officials expect Superdome to be ready for some 2006 Saints game
October 20, 2005
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP)

--- nfl ---

-- Superdome officials say the stadium should be largely cleaned up from Hurricane Katrina and ready for the New Orleans Saints to play at least some of their games there in 2006.
--- nfl ---The announcement Thursday came as San Antonio officials said they were working with Saints owner Tom Benson to keep the team in Texas. The state must also respond to the team's assertions that its state-owned practice facility has been rendered unusable by damages caused by federal agencies in the weeks following the Aug. 29 storm.--- nfl ---

--- nfl ---
The Superdome, severely damaged by high winds, should have a temporary roof in place within 10 days, said Doug Thornton, regional vice president for SMG, which manages the stadium. An environmental assessment of its interior -- damaged by rainfall through holes in the roof and its use as a shelter for evacuees -- should be finished by Dec. 1, he said. --- nfl ---

--- nfl ---

``We're working to make the Dome ready for the next season,'' Thornton said at a meeting of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District Commission, the state board that oversees the Superdome.
--- nfl ---The Saints have drawn criticism recently with shake ups in upper-level staff, as Benson apparently leans toward moving the team from New Orleans to San Antonio.--- nfl ---

--- nfl ---
On Monday, Benson fired Arnold Fielkow, the team's top business executive since 2000 and an advocate for keeping the Saints in Louisiana. Fielkow has said that stance led to his dismissal. On Tuesday, Conrad Kowal, senior director of marketing and business development, resigned. --- nfl ---

The team also sent a letter to the Louisiana National Guard and the stadium commission, saying their Jefferson Parish practice facility, leased from the state for $1 per year, has been damaged so badly by federal actions after the storm that the team cannot return ``for some time (if ever).'' --- nfl ---

--- nfl ---
``These actions have effectively terminated the Saints' lease for the facility and have caused great and continuing damage to the team,'' said the letter, signed by lawyers for the team. --- nfl ---

--- nfl ---
Tim Coulon, head of the stadium commission and the state's negotiator with the team, said Thursday that state officials planned to inspect damage at the practice facility next week. --- nfl ---

--- nfl ---``If there's some damage to those buildings, we're going to rectify that,'' Coulon said. --- nfl ---
Asked it he thought the letter was Benson's first step toward leaving New Orleans, Coulon said he hoped not. --- nfl ---
``I don't want to speculate, because I haven't heard from him,'' Coulon said. ``But it's not too late (for Benson) to step up to the plate and be the good citizen.'' --- nfl ---

--- nfl ---
Under the terms of the state's contract with the team, the Saints could argue that the storm has made the stadium unusable, move to another state and avoid paying an $81 million penalty, Coulon said.
--- nfl ---Coulon said the state would fight such a move, probably in court or in arbitration. --- nfl ---

--- nfl ---
Gov. Kathleen Blanco said she talked for some time with NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue on Wednesday. She said he is committed to working with Louisiana, but also suggested that the game at LSU's Tiger Stadium on Oct. 30 ``is not just a game but a very symbolic event and we should encourage as many people as possible to go.'' --- nfl ---

--- nfl ------ nfl ---
She said she had not spoken to Benson.
``I'm planning to speak with him shortly,'' she said. ``I needed to speak with the commissioner first.'' --- nfl ---
Asked about New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's suggestion that if the team does leave, the city should keep the name, she said, ``I think it's brilliant.''
But Blanco said she didn't talk to Tagliabue about that. --- nfl ---

--- nfl ---
``Let's just support the Saints. That's what I say.''

--- nfl ------ nfl ---

2005-10-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

Batch likely to be Steelers' backup QB

PITTSBURGH (Oct. 8, 2005) -- Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback Tommy Maddox strained his right calf in practice and is doubtful for the game Oct. 10 at San Diego.

The injury means Charlie Batch, who has played only a handful of downs the past three years, is expected to be Ben Roethlisberger's backup for the first of the Steelers' three Monday night games. - NFL Football -

Jerome Bettis, the No. 5 rusher in NFL history, could play for the first time since injuring a calf during the third of the Steelers' four preseason games. He has moved ahead of Duce Staley on the depth chart, partly because Staley hasn't carried the ball since the playoffs in January.

Staley missed all but one day of training camp for knee surgery and did not get any carries during the Steelers' 23-20 loss to New England on Sept. 25, the only game he has played this season. - NFL Football -

The Steelers considered going into the season with only two quarterbacks, Roethlisberger and Maddox, but Batch kept his spot on the roster by throwing two touchdown passes against Carolina in the team's final preseason game. - NFL Football -

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2005, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved

2005-10-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

College football: NFL can’t take away Badgers’ fine line

By Benjamin Wideman
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers

MADISON — What was perceived to be the University of Wisconsin football team’s weakest link is quickly turning into one of its biggest assets.

Six months after the NFL draft claimed the Badgers’ entire starting defensive line, the young replacements have stood their ground through the first four games this season.

Even Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez, who trumpeted the potential of his revamped defensive line all offseason, seems pleasantly surprised by what has transpired. It’s especially eye-catching considering that, of the 10 defensive linemen listed on the depth chart for today’s game against Indiana, junior end Joe Monty is the only one who isn’t a freshman or sophomore.

“I’ve been very impressed with how the guys that are still healthy in the defensive line have stepped up and played, regardless of age or regardless of how much experience they’ve had,” Alvarez said.

Gone are Erasmus James and Co., replaced by Monty, sophomore tackle Nick Hayden, redshirt freshman tackle Jason Chapman and true freshman end Matthew Shaughnessy. Sophomores Justin Ostrowski and Jamal Cooper, who would be starting if they were healthy, suffered significant knee injuries and could miss the rest of the season.

Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner said that although the names along the Badgers’ defensive line have changed since last year, the performances are strikingly similar. All four starting defensive linemen have at least one sack, led by Hayden’s three.

Thanks in part to the defensive line, Wisconsin has allowed only 16 second-half points all season, including none in the third quarter. The Badgers rank second in the Big Ten in run defense (65.5 yards per game) and sacks (14).

“They really play hard, and they pursue the ball,” Hoeppner said of the Badgers’ defensive line. “They are a really great tackling team. That is a great compliment to their defensive staff.

“They did lose that defensive line to the NFL, and they haven’t really missed much of a beat. They are still able to play physical up front. It will be a challenge for our offensive line.”

2005-09-14T14:58:00.000-07:00

Broadcaster NASN buys rights to show NFL in Europe

By Jeffrey Goldfarb

LONDON (Reuters) - European broadcaster North American Sports Network has acquired exclusive rights to show NFL games for four years in 17 European countries and shared rights in four others, it said on Wednesday.

The deal, which does not include rights for Britain or Ireland, gives three-year-old NASN a boost as it seeks to expand into new countries and grab young male viewers in an increasingly cluttered European digital television landscape.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It runs from the 2005-06 season through the 2008-09 season.

NASN shows baseball, basketball, Nascar and other U.S. sports and is already available in Britain, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Iceland.

"The NFL represents one of the main pillars of American sports," NASN Chief Executive Amory Schwartz said.

"It is an integral part of our continuing expansion, representing must-have content in most of the markets in which we operate," he added.

EUROPEAN FANS

The deal is also an opportunity for the NFL to expand its audience outside the U.S. The NBA has had success finding fans and players overseas, where soccer is the dominant sport.

"The NFL's popularity in Europe continues to grow, and we believe that NASN's approach complements our strategy to maximize coverage and build our European fan base," said Katie Boes, senior director of international media for the league.

For most markets, NASN has rights to show a minimum of six regular season games a week -- four live. NASN will broadcast 10 playoff games, the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl and the World Bowl, the championship game for the NFL's European league.

NASN also said it planned to show at least one hour a day from the league's NFL Network, including its flagship highlight and news program 'Total Access'.

The deal includes rights for Austria, Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen was an original investor in NASN but sold his 70 percent stake in June. Investment firm Benchmark Capital acquired 50 percent and Irish broadcaster Setanta Sports raised its stake to 50 percent.

2005-09-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Football star's antics mirror office games
Like a resolute worker trying to get ahead, T.O. challenged the boss for more recognition, money.

Carol Hymowitz / Wall Street Journal

A lot of buzz has been going through corner offices over the antics of Terrell Owens of the Philadelphia Eagles. The tempestuous wide receiver made news when, after a year with theNFL team, he asked to renegotiate his seven-year, $49 million contract. He also landed in hot water when he lambasted the team's quarterback, Donovan McNabb, and argued with his coach, Andy Reid.

But T.O., as he is known, was back at training camp last week and working hard, according to team managers, after being sent home for seven days for disruptive behavior.

Many business leaders have a lot to say about T.O.'s in-your-face feistiness, and how they've dealt with similar behavior in their own employees, clients and themselves.

Though few admit it, the fascination is partly because many executives envy the role of the bad-boy superstar, unafraid to challenge the boss and win more recognition and money. Most also know the headache of managing a supertalent.

"T.O. wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't so talented; he'd just be out of the game," says Dave House, former head of Bay Networks, now a unit of Nortel, and a former Intel executive. Such talent has to be cultivated and certainly can't be dismissed, he adds.

Still, he knows that "hugely talented people often feel, and have been treated, as special all their lives and so can be hard to deal with." - NFL Football -

House learned that during his 23 years at Intel, where he launched the successful Inside Intel marketing campaign for the company's microprocessors, got to know Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs and did business with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. "Having dealt with both of them personally, I can tell you it's a challenge to work with brilliance," he says. "You've got to get their respect and prove you're up to dealing with them."

His strategy was just to listen when Gates talked about software. "I never tried to question him in areas he believed he knew better than me, even when I disagreed with him," House says. But he didn't hesitate to push his own ideas about semiconductor technology, "which I knew more about," he adds.

He figures Owens needs to be listened to by his coach and managers, and understands that stars often expect to be the center of attention. T.O. once pulled a pen out of his sock after scoring a touchdown, ran over to fans and signed an autograph. But he lives up to his hype. Last season he snagged 77 balls for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns, and made a quick comeback, against doctor's orders, from a serious leg injury to play well in the Super Bowl. "He is special, so why shouldn't he want to be recognized for that?" asks House.

Mark Cuban, the former Internet tycoon and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is more disapproving. "The things T.O. was quoted as saying to his coaches -- like 'don't talk to me' -- are so outrageous that if they were in a sports movie, it would get panned as being completely unrealistic," says Cuban, who sold his Broadcast.com company for $5.7 billion before the dot-com crash.

Cuban is known for his publicity-grabbing courtside antics at Mavericks games, and once denounced NBA officials as unable to run a Dairy Queen stand. That triggered a $500,000 league fine against him, and an offer from Dairy Queen officials to work at one of their stores for a day. He accepted -- and attracted 14 TV camera crews. "It could be that he is just a drama queen," he says of Owens. - NFL Football -

But there is a difference between unruly talk and unruly play, he says. T.O.'s managers "might know he is going to say bizarre things and be incredibly self-centered, but trust his preparation as an athlete and his knowledge of the system as a player," he says.

Owens's request to renegotiate his contract was predictable, says Brian Sullivan, CEO of Christian & Timbers, the big executive-search firm. Executives know that if they don't ask for what they think they're worth they'll never get it. Eagles managers should have seen it coming, he adds. Under his contract, Owens earns a base salary of about $3.25 million this year -- not high compared with other NFL wide receivers. In the NFL, players can be cut and lose their contracted pay if they are injured or don't perform well.

His managers "should have sat down with him in the spring and said, 'We're aware your contract reads like this and you might want more. And even though we're not willing to negotiate, we want to know what you think,' " says Sullivan. - NFL Football -

2005-08-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

NFL rules leave fans in dark

Some football fans were unhappy about Monday night's Cowboys-Seahawks game being blacked out locally. A few more were even more incensed when they traveled outside of what was perceived to be the 75-mile blackout radius to watch, only to find that the game wasn't on TV there, either.

That's because it's relative. Even if you were outside the 75-mile radius, you wouldn't have gotten the game if you depended on KOMO, the Seattle ABC affiliate. If you were outside the radius and could pick up another ABC affiliate's signal, then you could have seen the game.

"We don't like the idea that our fans weren't able to see the game," Seahawks CEO Tod Leiweke said. "But it wasn't a Seahawks decision. It's a league rule."

The NFL's national television blackout rules also apply to the exhibition season. If a home game is not sold out, it is blacked out locally. If a local station is showing the game on its own and it is not sold out, it cannot be seen live but can be tape-delayed, which the Seahawks have done often in the past.

The only way local fans could have seen the game from KOMO's signal was if the game had been declared a sellout. But that wasn't even close to happening, as only 48,090 tickets were distributed for 67,000-seat Qwest Field.

The Seahawks would have had to pay a major fine had they showed the game locally on TV. In the past, the team has paid the fines to show non-sellout exhibition games live on local television.

Leiweke added that the Seahawks want to be "good citizens" in the league, and therefore didn't want to circumvent league rules and show Monday night's game. At the same time, he said the team is working on a way to allow the Seahawks' final home exhibition game, Sept. 2 against Minnesota, to be shown live on local TV.

The Seahawks have sold out 16 consecutive home games, and Leiweke said that showing all regular-season home games on TV locally is critical.

The team's season-ticket base is up to about 46,000 this year, as opposed to 32,000 two years ago, he added.

José Miguel Romero

2005-08-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

Questions linger over NFL lineman's death

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - An answer to the mystery of why National Football League lineman Thomas Herrion died in the locker room after a pre-season exhibition Saturday could be weeks away.
A corner's report into the death has proven inconclusive so relatives and former teammates on the San Francisco 49ers can only wait and wonder why the 1.91-metre, 141kg guard collapsed after a loss Saturday at Denver. - NFL Football -
Toxicology reports which could shed some light on causes of Herrion's death at age 23 are not expected to be completed for three to six weeks.
"It's a time to be reflective and sort out what happened in a way that takes into account the tragedy," NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Monday. "At this point we don't have any answers." - NFL Football -
A memorial service is scheduled here Tuesday for Herrion.
The 49ers, originally scheduled for two practice sessions Monday, called off one while coaches and players were visiting with grief counsellors.

AFP

2005-08-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Video game: Madden NFL 06

Madden NFL 06 is the first edition of Electronic Arts' footballer since the gaming giant paid (and paid handsomely) for the exclusive rights to develop and publish NFL-licensed football games for consoles.
Many gamers have been fearful that a lack of alternative products would spell the end of innovation for the franchise. After all, Madden's greatest recent innovations have been due to increased pressure from Sega Sports' now-defunct NFL 2K franchise.
To silence would-be naysayers, EA has unleashed the beast again with the 2006 edition of Madden, proving that there will be no laurel-resting this year.
Perhaps the biggest new feature to Madden is the heightened emphasis on the quarterback, thanks to implementation of vision cones that display the field of vision for each QB, depending on the direction he is looking during a play. If you have your receiver inside the cone, the chances for a completed pass - and a spectacular one at that - are greatly increased. Just as no two QBs are created equal, every vision cone is different, determined by individual talent ratings.
The vision cone adds a new degree of realism to the game, as blind passes become harder and harder to complete. Fewer things in previous Maddens were more frustrating than playing against somebody who chose the Atlanta Falcons to have access to Michael Vick, who could seemingly throw no incomplete pass. With actual thumb skill involved, the playing field, so to speak, has been leveled.
Madden NFL 06 also introduces the Superstar Mode, which gives the gamer a glimpse into the life of NFL royalty. After creating a player and passing an IQ test to make yourself attractive during the draft (teams want more than beefy arms), you can define your style on and off the field. A successful player must choose a ruthless agent and make smart choices to guarantee a shot at the big time.
It's heartening to see EA spend the time and money to develop enhancements such as this for the series without direct competition. Sony was developing a story-driven football game but abandoned the project only a couple of months before release. However, Midway is still releasing its Blitz footballer, which goes for extreme antics that were impossible while using an NFL license (think drug use and jail time). 2K Games, which bought the NFL 2K developer Visual Concepts, has not yet announced whether it will get back in the game.
It's difficult to slap a rating on Madden, as each edition offers features that others do not (for example, the Nintendo DS edition uses both screens for play-calling) - but the franchise doesn't require critics' approval to be successful. Madden has been critic-proof for years, and only a great misstep would ever bring the series to its knees, which is most certainly not the case in the latest release.

LEVI BUCHANANCHICAGO TRIBUNE

2005-08-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

Helix coach Van Matre in Canton for NFL event

Helix freshman football coach Dave Van Matre is among 51 high school coaches, representing each state and the District of Columbia, selected by the NFL to participate in the fifth annual NFL Youth Football Summit this weekend during Hall of Fame festivities in Canton, Ohio.
Van Matre, who earlier was named the 2005 recipient of the California Coaches Association's Assistant Coach of the Year Award, has been coaching high school football for 38 years. That includes five seasons (1980-84) as Valhalla's varsity head coach.
More than 100 coaches and other supporters of youth football, including former NFL players now coaching at the high school level, will attend the weekend of educational seminars.
Marentez selected - NFL Football -
Rommel Marentez, a St. Augustine High graduate and current UC Davis student, will play on the Mexican national basketball team at the World University Games starting Aug. 11 in Izmir, Turkey. - NFL Football -
Kickoff ClassicThe third annual San Diego Section Kickoff Football Classic will be played on two nights at different sites. On Aug. 26 at Poway, Madison will meet Monte Vista at 5:30 and Brawley will tackle Poway at 8 p.m. On the following night at Otay Ranch, Calexico will take on Francis Parker at 5 and Chula Vista will play Otay Ranch at 7:30. - NFL Football -

UNION-TRIBUNE

2005-07-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

NFL notebook: Williams returns to Dolphins today

The saga involving the Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens and Drew Rosenhaus easily has been the hottest story in the NFL this summer. No. 2? The return of Ricky Williams.
Today in South Florida, 366 days after abruptly retiring, Williams will report to the Miami Dolphins' training camp. Tomorrow morning, he will don a helmet and take to the practice field with teammates he abandoned to travel the world, study holistic medicine and become a yoga instructor. - NFL Football -
What kind of condition will Williams be in and what kind of reception can he expect are two key questions that should be answered.
"Ricky's played football a long time, and obviously he knows that he'll have some relationship-building to do with his teammates, and that's already in the process," said Williams' agent, Leigh Steinberg. "He is aware that his decisions had consequences, and I think you'll have a chance [tomorrow] to ask him those questions, but he'll have the opportunity to make amends with his teammates." - NFL Football -
After gaining 3,225 yards and scoring 25 touchdowns in two seasons with Miami, Williams was the talk of the NFL a year ago when, a week before training camp, he informed the Dolphins he was going to retire. A former Heisman Trophy winner, Williams left the Dolphins with a huge void at running back, and the team spiraled to a 4-12 record, costing coach Dave Wannstedt his job.
During his retirement, Williams admitted to failing three NFL-mandated drug tests and was outspoken about his use of marijuana, which Steinberg said has since stopped.
Still, Williams will miss the Dolphins' first four regular-season games for violating the NFL's drug policy. - NFL Football -
Although he lost a significant amount of weight during his time away, Williams has spent this month working out in Miami and last told Steinberg he weighed 215 pounds, about 10 pounds shy of his playing weight in 2004. - NFL Football -
Williams is scheduled to make $3.74 million in 2005, but because he violated the terms of the contract, the Dolphins could lower his base salary to $540,000, the NFL minimum for his experience.

Seattle Times news services

2005-07-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

NFL may start broader international push

MEXICO CITY - The NFL emphasized again Friday that if its first regular-season game abroad this year is successful, it could be the start of a broader international push.
The league "is going to look at all of the markets that have indicated an interest in doing this around the world: several in Europe, Canada, Asia," Roger Goodell, the league's executive vice president. Goodell spoke at a news conference to talk about the Oct. 2 game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, the first regular-season contest outside the United States.
Goodell re-emphasized what commissioner Paul Tagliabue said when he announced the project: that if the game here between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers is a success, the league might "look to play an international game, maybe on an annual basis, and rotate that around to some of the markets that have an interest globally."
But the league wants to know first how the game goes in North America's largest metropolis, one that has hosted five NFL preseason games. The first of those set a league attendance record of 112,376 in 1994 when the Dallas Cowboys met the Houston Oilers.
Attendance this year can't top 105,000 because of modifications since then to Azteca Stadium.
The stadium's 7,200-foot altitude has helped make Azteca difficult for visiting soccer teams, including the U.S. national team in games against Mexico. In this case, San Francisco safety Tony Parrish said: "The altitude is going to affect both teams the same."
Goodell said the league will have to cope with teams' home-game stadium commitments. "We do the scheduling and most of the leases recognize that," he said, but acknowledged, "those will be issues we'll have to address as we look to how we expand this series if we find that this is the right way to do it."
Mexico was chosen for the first game partly because it has the largest NFL fan base outside of the United States and regularly televised games have created loyal fans of the Cowboys, 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers, among others.
The country also has a national collegiate league and the NFL sponsors a national touch football series for youths.
The Cardinals are the home team, in part because they stand to lose little from their home gate. The team, which is moving into a modern new stadium last year, often is lucky to fill half the seats at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., its home field.

JOHN RICE Associated Press

2005-07-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

Big-name football staff in place at small Jackson college

JACKSON, Miss. - For such a small school, Millsaps has some pretty big names on its coaching staff.
A former Southeastern Conference coach of the year is the defensive coordinator. The older brother of one-time NFL co-MVP Steve McNair is in charge of quarterbacks.
With ex-Alabama head coach Mike DuBose taking over the defense this year and Fred McNair back for a second season of schooling the quarterbacks, the private Methodist college of about 1,200 students is trying to build a competitive program.
"At every opportunity that we've had to hire a coach, we went out there and identified the best coach that would fit the needs that we had," head coach David Saunders said. "We've been fortunate to attract those high-quality coaches."
DuBose, who was hired in April and has yet to get up-close-and-personal with the Majors on the practice field, said enthusiasm shown by his new boss enticed him to return to the college game after a five-year absence.
"It starts at the top," DuBose said. "The guy at the top is excited, and he's driven and he is committed, and you know good things are about to happen. It doesn't start at the bottom - it starts the top and goes down."
Saunders is counting on his high-profile assistants to help him reverse the program's fortunes.
The Majors haven't appeared in the Division III playoffs in 30 years, and they've had just one winning season since winning the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1996.
Millsaps was 1-9 in Saunders' first year in 2003. Last year, the Majors lost their regular-season finale and finished 4-5.
It was a rough coaching initiation for McNair, one of the most prolific passers in Arena Football League history and one of kid brother Steve's predecessors at Alcorn State.
Fred McNair, 36, was hired weeks before the 2004 season to replace ex-Mississippi quarterback Romaro Miller, who quit in August to continue his playing career in the Canadian Football League.
Millsaps averaged a league-worst 113 yards passing last year. But Saunders said the results will improve as the big-name staff attracts gifted athletes despite not being able to offer athletic scholarships.
"That foundation, No. 1, is the players - you have to have talented players that expect to compete for, and win, championships," Saunders said. "To get those players, you have to have a great coaching staff."
DuBose, 52, is returning to college football several years after a rough exit from Alabama.
He coached the Crimson Tide to the SEC championship and an Orange Bowl berth in 1999 and was the league's coach of the year. But in 2000, he was fired in the wake of a losing record, an NCAA investigation and a sexual harassment complaint.
He was out of football in 2001, then coached high school ball in Alabama from 2002-04 before coming to Millsaps.
"We're just excited that we have the opportunity to bring a coach of that caliber to our staff," Saunders said.
The defensive line coach for Alabama's national championship team in 1992, DuBose hopes to bring that same philosophy to a Millsaps defense that last year ranked second in the conference and allowed 325 yards per game.
"The same things win - it doesn't matter where you coach them," DuBose said. "The game's the same. It doesn't matter where you're at."

JOEDY McCREARY
Associated Press

2005-07-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Creative football coach Stram dies at 82

NEW ORLEANS · Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram, who took the Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowls and was known for his inventive game plans and exuberance on the sideline, died Monday. He was 82.Stram had been in declining health for several years and Dale Stram attributed his father's death to complications from diabetes. He died at St. Tammany Parish Hospital, near his home in Covington, across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. He built a home there during his two-year stint as coach of the Saints and retired there.
"Pro football has lost one of its most innovative and creative coaches and one of its most innovative and creative personalities as well," Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt said.Stram was the Chiefs' first and winningest coach. He took over the expansion Dallas Texans of the AFL in 1960 and coached them through 1974, moving with them to Kansas City where they were renamed the Chiefs in 1963.The gregarious, stocky, blazer-wearing Stram carried a rolled-up game plan as he paced the sideline. He led the Chiefs to AFL titles in 1962, '66 and '69 and to appearances in the first Super Bowl, a 35-10 loss to Green Bay, and the fourth, a 23-7 victory over Minnesota in 1970.He had a 124-76-10 record with the Chiefs and in 17 seasons as a coach was 131-97-10 in the regular season and 5-3 in the postseason.Stram was credited with the two-tight end offense that provided an extra blocker.He was the first coach to wear a microphone during a Super Bowl and Stram's sideline antics, captured by NFL Films, helped bring the league into the video age.Stram later coached two seasons with the Saints and enjoyed a second career in CBS television and Monday Night Football radio booths as an analyst. Stram made his mark in the booth by consistently telling the audience what would happen before it did.Stram was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. The then-80-year-old was pushed onto the stage in a wheelchair and his induction speech was videotaped.In an interview that year, Stram said he would accept another coaching job in a minute."I've lived a charmed life," he said. "I married the only girl I ever loved and did the only job I ever loved."Len Dawson, the Hall of Fame quarterback who played for Stram at Kansas City, also called him an innovator."He [invented] a lot of the things in the '60s that teams are still using now," said Dawson, citing a moving pocket and triple-stack defense.Hunt hired Stram, an assistant at the University of Miami in 1959 after Oklahoma's Bud Wilkinson and New York Giants assistant Tom Landry spurned the job.Stram is survived by wife Phyllis, sons Henry, Dale, Stu and Gary, daughters Julia and Mary Nell and a sister, Dolly.Private memorial services are planned this week.

Wire reports

2005-06-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Madden joins NBC's 2006 football team
NEW YORK - John Madden was the first announcer Dick Ebersol thought of when NBC acquired the rights to the NFL's Sunday night package.

In mid-May, Ebersol went to California to talk with the popular analyst and try to convince him to join NBC when the network begins broadcasting the NFL again in 2006. The work paid off.

On Wednesday, NBC announced it had signed Madden to a six-year deal to be the network's lead analyst for their NFL coverage.

"We're just positively giddy to have John Madden join NBC's Sunday night football," said Ebersol, the chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics.

Madden has spent the past three seasons teamed with Al Michaels on ABC's Monday Night Football, a spot in which he will remain for one more season.

"The whole thing (is) an opportunity to go somewhere where we're starting something new, something different," Madden said of moving to NBC. "... I just think that, doggone it, this is pretty good."

Ebersol said that NBC is waiting until after the NBA Finals are over to talk with Al Michaels about possibly teaming with Madden again.

Before joining ABC, Madden teamed with Pat Summerall to call Fox's lead game from 1994-2001. They were the top NFL announcing team on CBS for 13 seasons before that.

Known for his folksy style and his love of football's grit and grime, Madden has won 14 Sports Emmys.

The former Oakland Raiders coach - he led them to a win over Minnesota in the 1977 Super Bowl - has become a pop-culture phenomenon thanks in large part to the popularity of his video game Madden NFL Football. Since its initial release in 1989, the game has sold more than 43 million copies and become the No. 1-selling sports video game of all time.

"John Madden is the best analyst in the history of the National Football League and, in my opinion, the best analyst of any kind in sports television history," Ebersol said. "John is much more than a football legend, he's an American icon."

NBC is reportedly paying $600 million for a six-year contract that will allow the network to broadcast the NFL's Sunday night game starting with the 2006 season.

"Being on Sunday night, coming after all the games have been played, really gives you a unique pulpit to look at the day," Ebersol said.

NBC will also be the first network to enjoy a unique scheduling twist. Beginning in 2006, the league will be able to shift afternoon games in the final seven weeks of the season to prime time to make sure that the best games are being shown on national TV.

The Sunday night game was previously shown on ESPN, which will televise the Monday night game. Madden said he also talked with ESPN about working with the network on the Monday night game.

NBC also gets two first-round playoff games and the Super Bowl in 2009 and 2012 as part of the deal.

Associated Press

National Football League Nfl

2005-06-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

National Football League

Everyday Einstein

Waddy's constantly trying to invent stuff

As a kid, Jude Waddy would pry apart toys, mixing and matching components while trying to assemble a computer or some other mechanical monstrosity.

As an adult the first-year Stampeders linebacker, who holds a degree in kinesiology with a keen interest in other sciences, is tweaking and testing whatever he can get his hands on, hoping to one day patent a breakthrough invention.

"I destroyed a lot of toys in my day," grins Waddy, the mad scientist inside bubbling to the surface.

"Sometimes at night I can't sleep because of all the ideas, things I dream of inventing, and that can be a problem if you don't have an outlet."

Waddy says he has developed innovative ideas for football mouthguards, finger braces for quarterbacks, running shoes and home and garden supplies. Meanwhile, his list of interests -- including studying physics and biomechanics -- is seemingly endless.

Much of what he develops involves sports fitness and ergonomic designs.

"Basically, the way I look at the world, I look at something and say, 'Why hasn't anybody improved on it? Or, 'Why does that not work as well as it should?' Then I can find ways to make it work better.

"When you have a viewpoint like that on the world, you can look at anything and make it better.

"I need to develop a prototype and get the right people around me. It's expensive but if you get the right people around you who see the same vision you have..."

Waddy says failing to surround himself with the "right people" when developing his most prized invention led to disappointment and a most expensive lesson in life.

The former Green Bay Packer (1998-2000) says he developed an innovative mouthguard that allows quarterbacks to call out signals while reducing concussions and jaw injuries.

It would have been a humanitarian gesture from a man paid to inflict pain on high-priced passers but Waddy says the idea was stolen from him during the expensive and drawn-out development phase.

"We've lost so many athletes like (NFL quarterbacks) Troy Aikman and Steve Young, quarterbacks who don't wear mouthpieces because they can't communicate," Waddy says. "The mouthpiece I made was thinner and custom fit to your upper and lower so that you could still communicate but wouldn't get a concussion."

Waddy had been shipped to the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe in 2002 and was continuing to correspond with patent officials in the U.S. in an attempt to launch the product. He says he had a Maryland laboratory ready to crank out the mouthguard before eventually losing the patent.

"Unfortunately, I ran into some unscrupulous business people during the patent process, which is very long and expensive," Waddy says. "They knew I was a football player and they tried to take me for my money. In the end, I put a lot of money into it and didn't get the results. But the next product I develop, I'll be ready."

The 6-ft. 2-in., 225-lb., Washington, D.C., product cracked the Packers starting lineup in 1999, collecting a career-high 73 tackles.

Out of football all of last season, Waddy signed with the Stamps as a free agent and enters the CFL season as a backup.

He spent extra time at the end of yesterday's practice working on pass rush drills with d-line coach Casey Creehan, building his repertoire for the upcoming campaign.

"It's so challenging to be up here playing," Waddy says of his first CFL experience. "It's not just the same game, different uniform. I'm learning from ground zero again and that's exciting in itself. I'm not sure how long I'll be here but I'm very thankful for the opportunity."

Waddy turns 30 in September and this could be his last ride on the football carousel that has included stops San Diego, Denver and Tampa Bay.

By DAN TOTH -- Calgary Sun