Nfl Football - Football Betting

2005-11-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

Westbrook's new deal worth nearly $25M extension
By Len PasquarelliESPN.com
Updated: Nov. 7, 2005, 1:52 AM ET

While the acrimony between recalcitrant wide receiver Terrell Owens and the Eagles continues, Philadelphia has made peace with one of its other star offensive performers.--football gambling--
The Eagles on Sunday signed running back Brian Westbrook to a five-year contract extension that runs through the 2010 season and is worth slightly less than $25 million. It includes bonuses between $9 million and $10 million. This spring, Westbrook signed a one-year restricted free agent qualifying offer for $1.43 million. --football gambling--

"I'm glad to have an opportunity to continue my career in Philadelphia," Westbrook said in a statement Sunday. "I've worked very hard to put myself in a position to receive a long-term contract and I'm glad the Eagles have recognized my talents and dedication to this team." --football gambling--

Without the extension, Westbrook would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season. In what is projected as a very lean free agent pool, Westbrook might have been one of the most coveted players in the market. --football gambling--

"As I've said many times before, Brian is a big part of this offense and a big part of this team as a representative on and off the football field," coach Andy Reid said in a statement. "I really believe both the player and the team benefit from each other." --football gambling--

Securing Westbrook, who is clearly a key to the Eagles' offense, has been a priority for team president Joe Banner. But until recently, the numbers were not right, and the sides had a difficult time defining the financial market for a player who is not the prototype franchise-type running back. --football gambling--

A sticking point in negotiations had been Westbrook's compensation over the first three seasons of the deal, valued at $16 million. The Eagles had been offering $7 million to sign and $14 million over three. "In the end, we are happy that we were able to secure a contract that keeps Brian in Philadelphia and rewards him for his outstanding contributions to the Eagles organization," said Westbrook's agent, Fletcher Smith, who, along with CSMG partner Kennard McGuire, has negotiated major deals in the past year for Lions defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, Rams left tackle Orlando Pace, and Jaguars defensive end Reggie Hayward totalling more than $37 million. --football gambling--

The contract will be forwarded to the league office Monday, which is the NFL's deadline for being able to push much of the salary cap impact into this year. Philadelphia, which entered the weekend about $10 million under the cap, has plenty of room to spare. --football gambling--

Arguably the NFL's top salary cap manager, Banner is adroit at such in-season extensions. And because he almost always assures the Eagles have sufficient cap room to complete such extensions, they have become an annual event, it seems. Talks with Westbrook have been ongoing and were ratcheted up in recent days. --football gambling--

Westbrook, 26, has been the subject of much scrutiny in Philadelphia because the feeling is that he has not gotten enough carries in an Eagles offense heavily skewed toward the pass. Two weeks ago, the former Villanova standout publicly acknowledged that the team needed to lean more on the running game, and that he needed more "touches" in general. --football gambling--

A third-round pick in the 2002 draft, Westbrook is regarded as one of the NFL's premier all-around backs. He began his career primarily as a return man and third-down back, but became the full-time starter in 2004. --football gambling--

In 50 appearances, including 30 starts, Wesbrook has carried 418 times for 1,922 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also has 158 receptions for 1,544 yards and 11 scores. Westbrook has 78 carries for 304 yards and one touchdown in seven games this season, along with 39 catches for 423 yards and four touchdowns. --football gambling--

Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here . Michael Smith contributed to this report.--football gambling--

2005-11-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

Culpepper placed on IR

Vikes QB will miss rest of season with torn ligaments

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- Dante Culpepper's season officially ended Tuesday when the Minnesota Vikings placed the quarterback on injured reserve. -NFL Football-

Culpepper tore the anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee in Sunday's loss at Carolina. Surgery hasn't been scheduled yet, but the Vikings are anticipating that the quarterback will be ready for the 2006 season. It's possible, though, that the 28-year-old could be out longer if further damage is discovered during the operation. -NFL Football-

Brad Johnson will start in his place and Shaun Hill becomes the backup. Minnesota didn't immediately sign another quarterback and coach Mike Tice indicated Monday that the team might not do so right away -- or perhaps even play the rest of the year with just two. -NFL Football-

The Vikings made one other move Tuesday, releasing wide receiver Jason Anderson from the practice squad and adding wide receiver Kelvin Kight to the practice squad. -NFL Football-

2005-10-31T12:10:00.000-08:00

Today's football coaches stressed to impress

By Greg Bishop
Seattle Times staff reporter

Tom Catlin suffered his first heart attack in March 1991, in Oklahoma City, in a hotel located across the street from a hospital. If he could remember, Catlin would be thankful it happened there. -NFL Football-

He suffered his second heart attack five days later. After doctors pronounced him healthy enough to leave the hospital. On the way back to his room to collect his things. -NFL Football-

Thirty minutes later doctors performed open-heart surgery, a quadruple bypass. One said Catlin's body was the healthiest he ever operated on. -NFL Football-

The scare didn't stop the Seahawks assistant coach from returning to training camp that summer. He started walking, ate the right foods, all the things wife Betty says, "you do after you're scared to death." -NFL Football-

Catlin wanted to coach forever. Instead, he retired in 1996, shortly after doctors diagnosed him with Parkinson's disease. And now, the man with a lifelong football love affair can't remember the score of the game that just flickered off the tube in his Sammamish home. -NFL Football-

Nothing jogs his memory. Now 74, Catlin watches football but doesn't know who's winning, doesn't know the players, doesn't remember much besides the uniforms of his beloved Seattle Seahawks. -NFL Football-

"It's been a rough 15 years," Betty Catlin says. "I'm sure a lot of it had to do with stress." -NFL Football-

Warning: Coaching football can be hazardous to your health. Because of the million-dollar salaries, the long hours, the high turnover and a dozen other reasons, experts say football coaches are among the most stressed-out employees on the planet. -NFL Football-

They are like stockbrokers when the market crashes, police working in inner cities and air-traffic controllers guiding planes, not players, into the right formations. -NFL Football-

Look no further than the Seahawks. -NFL Football-

Coach Mike Holmgren missed part of the team's June minicamp after he went to the hospital with chest discomfort. Defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes missed part of this season after suffering a mild stroke. -NFL Football-

Former defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell suffered a stroke this year, three years into retirement. Another former defensive coordinator, Fritz Shurmer, died of cancer in 1999. -NFL Football-

Bill Parcells, the Dallas Cowboys coach who lost to the Seahawks eight days ago and calls himself the "poster boy for some of this stuff," has undergone four angioplasty procedures and a bypass operation. Rival St. Louis coach Mike Martz won't coach again this season because of heart problems. And ESPN.com reported Sunday that Rams interim head coach Joe Vitt — who spent 10 seasons as a Seahawks assistant — is scheduled to undergo an angioplasty today. -NFL Football-

Betty Catlin says two of her husband's coaching colleagues are afflicted with similar medical problems. She doesn't know if there's a connection there, but she does know this:

"He would do the exact same thing, the exact same way," she says. -NFL Football-

They all would. -NFL Football-

No mistakes allowed

Dan Olsen is not a football coach. But boy, does he ever sound like one. -NFL Football-

He's actually the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association Local S46 in Seattle. They control traffic for between 1,500 and 1,700 planes a day, enough to register as the 18th-busiest radar facility in the country. -NFL Football-

Olsen has seen controllers melt down on the job. He has seen others lose their medical clearance because of high blood pressure, hypertension and heart attacks. He has seen others suffer heart attacks at work, and the "only thing you can do is jump in and take over." -NFL Football-

"You're pushed right to the limit," Olsen says. "We're all losing our hair. I'm the only one in our family losing hair, and I'm the youngest." -NFL Football-

Like coaches, controllers are Type A personalities. The kind of people who take charge. Three-dimensional thinkers. They have to think 10 minutes ahead — sometimes working 16 airplanes at once, all going different speeds at different altitudes, needing to know where to put the last plane in reference to the first. -NFL Football-

It's Olsen's version of the West Coast offense. -NFL Football-

Like coaches, they can't make too many mistakes in a given period. Like coaches, they require time to unwind after work. Like coaches, most have supportive wives. -NFL Football-

More than anything, controllers are like coaches in that they seemed destined to do what they do — "aviation was always in my blood," Olsen says — which is why they put up with the hours and the stress. -NFL Football-

"It has its moments," Olsen says. "Moments of relaxation. Moments of sheer panic. Sometimes, it's like, 'Whew, how many times can you take an adrenaline rush?' The average person might get it once a week. We get it two or three times on a shift. If you make a mistake ... " -NFL Football-

He pauses, trailing off. -NFL Football-

"You can't make a mistake. You're dealing with lives." -NFL Football-

Coaches know nothing else

Football isn't life and death. But to a coach, sometimes it sure can seem that way. -NFL Football-

Holmgren remembers hearing about a coach who said he wanted to die on the 50-yard line. Legendary college coach Paul "Bear" Bryant once said he would "croak in a week" after he stopped coaching. He died four weeks after he retired. -NFL Football-

Then there's George Allen, who died at 72, just weeks after coaching his last game at Long Beach State. It has never been proven, but some posit that his death resulted from contracting pneumonia after his final Gatorade postgame shower. -NFL Football-

"To be a successful coach, you need to eat, sleep, live and drink coaching," says Dr. Jim Taylor, a noted authority on coaching stress. "It's not just a job. It's their lives. And unfortunately, there are some significant costs. -NFL Football-

"Let's face it: They're not a very healthy-looking lot." -NFL Football-

Sidwell admits most of his stress was self-inflicted. Before he was fired as defensive coordinator of the Seahawks, he worked 12 to 14 hours a day, "ate like a pig, drank too much and chewed tobacco." Many coaches share those habits, especially in the NFL. -NFL Football-

Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden famously rises at 3:17 a.m. every day. Parcells needn't worry about getting up on Mondays — he can't sleep the night after a game. Seahawks offensive coordinator Gil Haskell says one team — he won't say which — doesn't start its coaches meeting until midnight. -NFL Football-

Add in coaches' eating habits, which most closely resemble that of college students. The Seahawks try to combat that by catering meals on Monday and Tuesday and ordering pizza for coaches on Wednesday. -NFL Football-

And still, coaches tell stories of colleagues who drink 15 sodas a day, coaches whose kids barely know who they are, coaches who invent work because 105 hours a week sounds better than 100. -NFL Football-

And for what? For another hour of film study, another chance to find one glitch, one weakness, one edge that might or might not pay off. -NFL Football-

"Sometimes, when it gets late in the season and everybody is tired and worn down, it becomes a point of diminishing returns," Sidwell says. "You're so tired I'm not so sure you're seeing what you need to be seeing. But you do it. It's just part of the deal." -NFL Football-

Sidwell says coaches are indoctrinated into that grind. They know nothing else, except the long hours and the stress that are part of coaching football, a part of life. -NFL Football-

Don James, former University of Washington coach, never saw his son play a college football game, but he did see one high-school game — in which his son broke his collarbone. Another daughter is in the Kent State Hall of Fame for field hockey. James never saw a game or a practice. -NFL Football-

He did buy a beach house in 1980, and retired there for a month each year with nothing on the calendar except his family. The 11 other months were reserved for football, a business James sums up in five words: "Be good or be gone." -NFL Football-

"What people don't realize," Haskell says, "is that you work all year. There are few days off. As soon as you walk outside after a win, you start thinking about the next game you're going to play. There's not much free time. Well, there's no free time." -NFL Football-

Part of the job

Dr. Paul Rosch is the founder and president of the American Institute of Stress. He started studying coaching and stress when Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka suffered a heart attack in 1988. -NFL Football-

Rosch says job stress is "far and away" the leading stress of American adults. He measures it by whether a person perceives they have very little control and very high responsibility and demand. -NFL Football-

"Coaches fall into that category," Rosch says. "It's generally conceded that it has to do with stress, unsympathetic fans, long working hours and tremendous sums of money."

And this. -NFL Football-

"Quite frankly," Parcells says, "the media has a lot to do with it." -NFL Football-

Rosch points to studies that confirm a sense of not having control, of unreasonable expectations, of outside influences, of problems with the media. -NFL Football-

"Stress can't be defined," Rosch says. "It's different for each of us. But remember, the No. 1 job description of any coach is to make life miserable for other coaches." -NFL Football-

Sidwell agrees. -NFL Football-

"I just dug my foxhole a little deeper every time something didn't go the way we wanted it to," he says. "Most of it was of my own making. Others handle it much better." -NFL Football-

Taylor, the coaching stress expert, has worked with NFL and college coaches. He has also worked with people in the military, businessmen and surgeons. He has found similar stress levels. The difference is most those professions deal with physical life and death. Coaches have only their financial lives and egos on the line. -NFL Football-

"There is a high presence of control freaks in the NFL," Taylor says. "Mike Holmgren is a good example of one. They're not just taking their own responsibility, they're taking responsibility for everybody else. Overload comes from trying to do everybody else's job. -NFL Football-

"Coaching is stressful, but it has to be balanced. Unfortunately, balance and NFL coaching typically don't go together." -NFL Football-

Taylor says employing his techniques for a half-hour a day can keep coaches from "going off the deep end." He uses nutritionists and conditioning coaches, puts treadmills in coaches' offices and hopes teams will impose rules to keep coaches healthier and protect their investments. -NFL Football-

"It's like they're on the rat's wheel," Taylor says. "They get on that, and they think they can't get off."

Family tradition

Mike Mora comes from a coaching family — his father, Jim Mora Sr., coached in the NFL, and his brother, Jim Mora Jr., coaches the Atlanta Falcons. -NFL Football-

He praises his father's parenting skills, noting Jim Mora Sr. moved from coaching in college to coaching in the pros partly because he didn't want to miss his sons' high-school football games on Friday nights. But Mike Mora also sees the flaws.

Like James, he wonders why more coaches aren't fit. When James coached at Washington, he says his staff remained conscious of its image. He wonders why "four or five coaches in Division I are so incredibly fat and heavy, and still ask their players to be disciplined." -NFL Football-

With some of the best medical care available to coaches in the NFL, Mike Mora wonders the same thing. He says he would "kill to have some of that available in my office."

"They've created this culture where they all work really long hours," Mike Mora says. "It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm an architect [in Seattle]. We do the same thing.

"My dad is a Type A guy, the eldest son of a somewhat dysfunctional family. You see it a lot. Those are the guys who make sure they don't do anything wrong. They have no release valve. By the time they're 60 years old, they just snap. They could be investment bankers or generals in the Army, and you'd have the same thing. All to direct guys wearing little tight pants and shoulder pads." -NFL Football-

Jim Mora Sr. is retired now. He works as an analyst for the NFL Network. He says he doesn't feel any healthier, but he feels less tired, less stressed. He remembers what friends would say as each season neared the end.

"You look really tired. You look bad." -NFL Football-

"I worry about my son," Jim Mora Sr. says. "Sometimes, he'll say, 'Boy, I'm really tired.' I can appreciate that. I can understand that. I've been there. But I worry, sure I do."

He's not alone. Even at the high-school level, coaches are stressed out, and they have to teach during the day and deal with parents at night. -NFL Football-

Archbishop Murphy's Terry Ennis is one of the most successful high-school coaches in state history. He says "being around young people helps my health," a notion seconded by Snohomish coach Mark Perry, who says, "Making a difference for young people makes it worth it."

Ennis admits to being similarly obsessed — he scheduled surgery for prostate cancer in the summer of 2003 so he could be back in time for the first day of football practice. He's not alone.

"You think you've always been a healthy guy," Haskell says. "And then, all of a sudden, something happens, like with Ray [Rhodes], and it knocks you on your fanny." -NFL Football-

Haskell used to run regularly before he took the offensive coordinator job at Carolina in 1998. When asked why he stopped, he responded the same way most coaches do. -NFL Football-

"I had to spend more time behind my desk," he says. "That's just the way it is." -NFL Football-

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com

2005-10-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Updated: Oct. 20, 2005, 7:57 PM ET
Colts' 7th straight would give Dungy 100th win
INDIANAPOLIS --
--- nfl ---
Tony Dungy vividly remembers those painful first six weeks as a head coach in Tampa Bay. There were the comparisons to other Buccaneers teams, the ones that always lost, and he even wondered whether he could ever win a game.
Nobody is asking those questions now.--- nfl ---
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Dungy is coaching the NFL's only unbeaten team, and if the Indianapolis Colts win their seventh straight game Sunday at winless Houston, Dungy will earn his 100th career victory.--- nfl ---
"It will be a milestone for me, personally," Dungy said in his usual stoic voice. "It means I've been in good organizations, been around good players and we've been pretty consistent."--- nfl ---
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By all accounts, Dungy's success is a reflection of his style and the three mentors he cites most frequently -- former Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll, Arizona coach Dennis Green and San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer. Green is the only black coach with 100 wins.--- nfl ---
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Still, Dungy has always done things his way. He rarely raises his voice or challenges players publicly, instead opting to make points with a stern look or a straightforward quip.--- nfl ---
The results have been impressive. His teams have made six straight playoff appearances, he's been to the AFC and NFC championship games, has the best record of any coach since 1999 (70-32) and is the only NFL coach to defeat all 32 teams.--- nfl ---
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Along the way, he turned the Buccaneers from an NFL laughingstock into a perennial playoff contender and added stability to a Colts organization some players thought was needed.--- nfl ---
"We were in a kind of turbulent time when he came here," center Jeff Saturday said. "Tony set standards for controlling the ball, for what we needed to do on offense and defense, and how we should play every game."--- nfl ---
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It was that discipline that Rich McKay, who hired Dungy at Tampa Bay in 1996, found attractive.--- nfl ---
McKay needed someone to rebuild a flailing franchise that hadn't had a winning record or been to the playoffs in 13 years, so he turned to Dungy, making him one of the few black head coaches in the NFL.--- nfl ---
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"Tony is a fabulous coach," Green said. "He was ready for his head job. I just think it's all about opportunity."
--- nfl ---Things didn't go well initially.--- nfl ---
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After five straight losses and a not-so-welcome bye, the weeks seemingly got longer and the murmurs of going 0-16 grew louder. Finally, on Oct. 13, 1996, Dungy got his first win -- a 24-13 victory over Green's Minnesota Vikings.
"After three weeks, it seemed like every week was 10 or 12 days," he said. "Then we had a bye week, and being in Tampa, you were always reminded of 0-16. When you get that first one, it's a relief."--- nfl ---
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Over the next five seasons in Tampa, Dungy proved himself a winner.
He had four winning records, led the Bucs to the playoffs four times and finished his six-year tenure with the best record in franchise history (56-46).
Dungy took the same approach to Indianapolis and has produced similar results.--- nfl ---
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He's had three straight double-digit win seasons and been to the playoffs all three years. They have won back-to-back AFC South titles, and last month Colts owner Jim Irsay rewarded Dungy with a three-year contract extension, a move his players endorsed.--- nfl ---
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"You respect him because he's a man of integrity and a man of faith," linebacker David Thornton said. "He treats guys as professionals, and I personally admire him for his intellect of football, the way he teaches guys."

--- nfl ---
The traits Thornton describes were the same ones that prompted McKay to take a chance on a then 40-year-old with no head coaching experience.
Ten years later, Dungy is on the precipice of history.--- nfl ---

Only 34 coaches, ranging from Don Shula to Vince Lombardi to Jeff Fisher, have won 100 games.--- nfl ---
Now, after Dungy started his career as the youngest assistant coach in the league in 1981, the youngest coordinator in the league in 1984 and finally getting his chance to be a head coach 12 years later, that slow start in Tampa Bay seems a distant memory to everyone but Dungy.--- nfl ---
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He just hopes No. 100 comes quicker than No. 1.
--- nfl ---"Hopefully, it comes Sunday and it's not something that ends up taking a few weeks," Dungy said. "It says you've been around a lot of good players, and that's one of the things I'm most proud of. --- nfl ---
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One of the things I pride myself on is being consistent and getting my teams to play as well as they can as often as they can, and I think we've done that."
--- nfl ---

2005-10-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

Surgery may sideline Bills' Edwards for season

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (Oct. 9, 2005) -- Bills defensive tackle Ron Edwards will probably miss the rest of the year after having surgery on his injured right shoulder earlier this week, coach Mike Mularkey said. - NFL Football -

The Bills haven't placed him on injured reserve.

Edwards was hurt in the first half of Buffalo's 19-7 loss to New Orleans on Oct. 2 and didn't return. - NFL Football -

"He's been one of the more consistent players up front for us," Mularkey said.

Tim Anderson and Justin Bannan are expected to replace Edwards, and Lauvale Sape should be activated for the first time this season when the Bills host Miami on Oct. 9.

Edwards missed the final 11 games in 2003 after injuring his left shoulder. Mularkey believes the current injury isn't as severe as the one two years ago. - NFL Football -

The first of Buffalo's two 2001 third-round draft picks, Edwards started all four games this season taking over for Pat Williams, who signed with Minnesota. - NFL Football -

Edwards will join linebacker Takeo Spikes if the Bills decide to place him on season-ending IR. Spikes won't play again after tearing his Achilles' tendon against Atlanta in Week Three.

Meanwhile, offensive tackle Mike Williams is still listed as questionable. Williams has a high ankle sprain on his left foot, and will be a game-time decision. He has been limited in practice this week after missing the last two games. - NFL Football -

2005-09-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

NFL game day buzz: Week 3

Julian Dickinson

Two games into the season and I’m convinced we’ve been transported to some sort of parallel football universe where the NFL is the opposite of what it should be.

How else do you explain Indianapolis suddenly morphing into a defensive juggernaut? How is it that Carson Palmer and Trent Dilfer are the league’s top passers and Daunte Culpepper is the worst? And didn’t New Orleans just play a home game in New York?

Nobody ever said the NFL was easy to handicap, but this is just bananas.

Turnover turnaround?

What’s going on with the Minnesota Vikings? Except for Randy Moss, this is essentially the same team that went 7-3 ATS in the first 10 weeks of last season. Two weeks into 2005, they look like they couldn’t cover a pointspread to save their lives – not as favorites in Week 1 and not even close as underdogs in Week 2 – and now that their No. 1 receiver Nate Burleson looks like a scratch today, bettors are fading them like a new pair of Levis.

After opening as 6 ½-point home faves against the displaced New Orleans Saints, the line was chopped down to 3 ½. Maybe Daunte Culpepper`s seven turnovers (five interceptions and two fumbles) have something to do with it, which is what coach Mike Tice has been working on this week.

He says his injured knee is back to 100 percent, so now it’s just a matter of confidence. How do you get your quarterback’s confidence back after a game like that?

"When you get down, it doesn`t really help a lot to press to try to make it all back in one play," Culpepper said. "You just chip away, chip away. … That`s the goal, and that`s how I`ve been coached, and that`s what I have to do."

New Orleans could be a good opportunity for Culpepper to bounce back. Last year he threw for 425 yards and five touchdowns against the Saints – and Moss caught only two passes in the game.

2005-09-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

ABC, ESPN join NFL Hurricane Relief Telethon

(Sept. 15, 2005) -- ABC Sports and ESPN are joining the National Football League for an unprecedented NFL fundraising telethon on Monday, Sept. 19, to benefit the recovery and rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast region that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Robin Roberts of ABC's Good Morning America and ESPN's Chris Berman will co-host the telethon, beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET and throughout the games from ABC's Times Square studio in New York City.

Current and former NFL players will be on hand at the studio to answer calls and accept pledges. Scheduled to appear are: current New York Jets Chad Pennington, Curtis Martin and Wayne Chrebet; and Hall of Famers Marcus Allen, Eric Dickerson, Mike Haynes, Steve Largent, Ronnie Lott, Art Shell, Jackie Slater and Bart Starr. Also slated to participate are: Jamal Anderson, Ottis Anderson, Carl Banks, Mark Duper, Mark Gastineau, Michael Jackson, Robert Porcher, Bruce Smith and Gene Washington. ABC's Regis Philbin will also visit the studio telethon. During the telecasts, other ABC celebrities and ESPN commentators will be involved.

Donations will benefit the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, which former Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton are leading. The fund serves as an umbrella organization for three special funds established by the governors of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi to assist in the long-term recovery plan for those states.

The telethon will culminate the NFL's "Hurricane Relief Weekend" (Sept. 18-19), and elements of the event will be incorporated throughout the primetime NFL doubleheader on ABC Sports and ESPN that evening -- New York Giants vs. New Orleans Saints (7:30 p.m.) and Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (9 p.m.).

The Giants vs. Saints game -- which moved from the Louisiana Superdome to Giants Stadium in the aftermath of the hurricane -- kicks off at 7:30 p.m. on ABC with a taped interview with the former presidents. The New Orleans and New York television markets will see the game in its entirety on ABC. The rest of the country will see the regularly scheduled Redskins-Cowboys Monday Night Football game at 9 p.m. ET on ABC, while also having the option to watch the conclusion of the Giants vs. Saints telecast on ESPN. Viewers with cable programming will have the choice of watching either game on ABC or ESPN. The telethon will continue on both ABC and ESPN until the conclusion of the second game.

"We appreciate the leadership of ABC and ESPN in helping us turn this particular Monday night into far more than a primetime football doubleheader, making it part of the overall Gulf Coast relief effort," NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.

ESPN and ABC Sports president, and co-chair, Disney Media Networks, George Bodenheimer said, "This telethon, the NFL, our people, our media assets across Disney -- are all coming together to rebuild for those who have lost so much. It's great football, and more important, it's helping people."

Jamie Reynolds, ESPN senior coordinating producer, who will oversee the telethon production, added, "This is one of our more technical undertakings with up to four network feeds and maintaining the telethon throughout each telecast. Our goal is to navigate the network feeds and integrate the telethon, ultimately serving the fan with both the games as well as driving donations to this worthy cause."

During the NFL Kickoff Weekend, ESPN's Sunday Night Football and ABC's Monday Night Football included special mentions of the planned "Hurricane Relief Weekend" telecast. The telethon will be promoted across ABC and ESPN's multimedia assets, including the television networks, ESPN and ABC Radio, ABC owned stations, ESPN.com and abc.com, and ESPN The Magazine.

ESPN will provide viewers with the telethon call-in number and other details beginning Sunday morning with Sunday NFL Countdown at 11 a.m. ABC's Good Morning America and LIVE! with Regis & Kelly will also highlight the telethon during their Monday shows. The NFL will promote the event throughout its "Hurricane Relief Weekend" across its multimedia platforms.

2005-09-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

College football is etched into the soul of the nation

Terry Foster / The Detroit News

Kendall Morris loves the colors maize and blue and can identify Michigan's distinctive winged football helmet. - NFL Football -

When the family car rumbles past Michigan Stadium, she raises a fist and screams, "Go Blue."

She already has caught the fever that grips this country every fall weekend.

And she's only 2 years old.

There are different hooks for different folks.

The path to becoming a fan of a program can be a fight song, a championship run or attractive uniforms.

No matter the hook, college football, which kicks off another season in earnest this week, grips the nation and is etched into our national fabric. - NFL Football -

"It is a matter of pride," former Michigan State coach George Perles said. "Most of the time, you are playing for the alumni, the school colors and all the corny stuff that means a lot to people."

College football is more than a game. It is pageantry, tradition and bragging rights.

It is Michigan's players running to midfield and touching the "M Go Blue" banner as they enter storied Michigan Stadium.

It is Michigan State's players singing the school fight song to the student section following victories.

It is Notre Dame's players walking into the stadium in matching blazers.

It is Touchdown Jesus.

It is the famous and always exhilarating 45-minute halftime "Battle of the Bands" that often rivals or exceeds the game itself at historically black colleges. - NFL Football -

It is fans screaming "Roll Tide," "Hook 'em Horns" and "Go Blue," without having to explain what they are talking about.

It is the sizzle of burgers and beer-soaked brats during pregame tailgates.

College football rocks ... and nobody can take it away.

"It is the same buildup every single year," said Bill Nitz, a Notre Dame fan. "The history and the tradition of the programs, there is no other sport that can compete with that."

2005-08-30T07:58:00.000-07:00

Former NFL Player Shot in Back

ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- Former NFL safety Jarvis Williams was in stable condition Monday after he was shot in the back early Sunday in a nightclub parking lot.

Williams, a former Florida player who spent 1988-93 with the Miami Dolphins and finished his NFL career in 1994 with the New York Giants, was running to safety when he was hit in the back, said Mary Justino, the Clay County Sheriff's office spokeswoman.

"He was not the intended victim," Justino said. "He pretty much got hit by a stray bullet."

The 40-year-old Williams was taken to Shands Jacksonville with a collapsed lung after the bullet went into his back, through his lung and lodged in his shoulder, Justino said.

James Poitier had been fighting with two other men in the parking lot when he brandished the weapon and shot Williams, Justino said.

After initially fleeing the scene, Poitier turned himself in later Sunday. He was charged with aggravated assault and was being held Monday at Clay County Jail.

Associated Press

2005-08-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

Phillips charged with multiple counts of assault

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips was charged Tuesday with multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two days after prosecutors say he drove into three teenagers who argued with him following a pickup football game.
Phillips was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon, the district attorney's office said. He was charged with seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of child abuse and one count of hit and run. - NFL Football -
If convicted, Phillips faces up to 13 years and four months in prison.
Phillips, a star at Nebraska before the St. Louis Rams made him the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NFL draft, got into an argument with several young men after the pickup football game Sunday in Exposition Park, Los Angeles police officer Sandra Escalante said.
He left the park, but returned and drove a black Honda onto the field, allegedly running into a group of young males. Three were hit, including two aged 14 and 15, the district attorney's office said.
The teenagers were taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said. The car Phillips was driving had been reported stolen in San Diego earlier in the week, Escalante said.
The district attorney's office said a bench warrant was issued for Phillips in 2003 after he allegedly failed to appear for a probation hearing at the Airport Court. He had pleaded no contest to one count of making a criminal threat in 2000 after he allegedly attacked a girlfriend in Beverly Hills. - NFL Football -
Police in San Diego had been seeking Phillips since earlier this month for allegedly attacking his girlfriend twice, once choking her into unconsciousness.
Phillips, 30, was arrested Sunday and held on the domestic violence felony warrant and held without bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Web site.
San Diego police had offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to Phillips' whereabouts, and said he had indicated he wouldn't surrender peacefully. - NFL Football -
The first domestic assault, in which police say Phillips' 28-year-old girlfriend was choked, allegedly occurred Aug. 2 at her San Diego home. Police said the second assault allegedly took place 11 days later when Phillips confronted the woman at a party.
In both cases he left the scene before officers could arrest him.
Phillips has a history of high-profile trouble with the law going back a decade to his time as one of the nation's top college football players at Nebraska.
The Rams released him for insubordination in 1997 after he played 25 games with them. Phillips signed with the Miami Dolphins later in the 1997 season, but was released after pleading no contest to hitting a woman in a nightclub. - NFL Football -
He was the top offensive player in NFL Europe in 1999 after setting league records for rushing and touchdowns with the Barcelona Dragons.
He signed with the San Francisco 49ers later that year, but was released for missing a practice. He also has played in the Canadian Football League.

Associated Press

2005-08-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

Stamp older, wiserJenkins bides his time

Football players can gain plenty from biting their tongues and biding their time.
MarTay Jenkins is a prime example.
The first-year Stampeders wide receiver/kick returner was a regular performer in the NFL for four seasons, primarily with the Arizona Cardinals. After signing as a free agent with Atlanta in 2003 he was eventually benched before being placed on waivers, essentially ending his NFL career. - NFL Football -
He says his negative reaction to being dropped from the Falcons starting lineup taught him a lesson about maturity and professionalism, an experience he drew from this season after being scratched from the Stampeders 40-man list a few weeks ago.
Friday against the Lions, Jenkins led all Calgary receivers with 87 yards on three receptions, including two TDs, while also returning four kickoffs for 84 yards. - NFL Football -

While he was out, he didn't pout.
"I've been around for a while and I've seen the same situation before and I handled it differently this time," notes Jenkins, a former sixth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys who has been away from football the past two seasons.
"I handled it a lot better this time. The same situation happened to me in Atlanta and I think I took the opposite route in terms of pouting and getting mad. I had been a starter and instead of just going in there in practice and playing my position and waiting for the opportunity to come back around, I handled it differently. - NFL Football -
"This time was like deja vu, almost, and I wanted to handle it better, be a pro about it. Coach (Tom) Higgins gave me an opportunity to play again this season after being out for two years so having the confidence in me and bringing me in here after sitting for two years, I had to change my attitude."
Jenkins' performance against the Lions, in which he showed flashes of the speed and agility that made him a top NFL pick, impressed Higgins, assuring his return to the starting lineup Thursday in Montreal. - NFL Football -
"I'm very proud and pleased with the way he reacted and responded," Higgins said.
"Now all of a sudden he's making a case for himself staying on the roster.
"It was a lesson well learned (in the NFL) and he did everything you'd want from a player presented with a tough situation to respond. Given the opportunity, he showed us a lot and now it's hard to find a reason to take him off." - NFL Football -
Jenkins caught 82 passes with the Cardinals in 2000. Two seasons later, he finished third in the NFL with a 26.7-yard kickoff return average, the highest for a Cardinal since legend Terry Metcalf in 1975.
Jenkins struggled with hanging onto the ball in training camp this spring, symptoms of being away from the game too long. He spent extra time catching balls after practice and now says rust from his two-year hiatus is starting to drop off. - NFL Football -
"You can play catch all day but if you're not actually running routes, competing against another DB and doing things of that nature, you tend lose your focus and stop looking the ball all the way in," Jenkins explained. "You have to go back to the basics and do the little things. I'm getting the feel of running routes again and the feel of competing again. It was a lack of concentration and getting back in the groove after being out of organized ball for two years.
"The thing is, as a player, you try to make it hard for the coaches. That includes getting back out there. You have to make it hard for the coaches to take you out." - NFL Football -

DAN TOTH -- Calgary Sun

2005-08-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Truth and Rumours

Pending a physical, free-agent cornerback Ty Law will be introduced today as the newest member of the Jets, a person familiar with the contract negotiations said yesterday. The former Patriots star was in the New York area yesterday to sign off on the contract. As of last night, the two sides were fine-tuning the language in the incentive-filled contract.-- New York Daily News
Jets coaches claim to be smitten with rookie Justin Miller, but the team would rather gamble on Law's surgically repaired left foot than live with the growing pains of an untested player-- New York Daily News - NFL Football -

Some Jets defenders believe the signing of Ty Law, owner of three Super Bowl rings, could be the final piece of the championship puzzle for the Jets, who last season came within a field goal of advancing to the American Football Conference title game.-- New York Times

Chances are "very good" that Ty Law will be able to come back successfully from a Lisfranc fracture of his left foot, a serious injury that is on the rise among NFL players, a leading orthopedic surgeon said yesterday. "It's quite often a season-ending injury, but it's not a career-ending injury," said Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.-- Newsday - NFL Football -

Jamal Lewis is scheduled to meet with a probation officer today in Baltimore, which will complete his federal drug sentence and allow him to report to the Ravens. Team officials have long indicated that the starting running back likely would be placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list, but they expect him to be ready for the regular-season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.-- Baltimore Sun - NFL Football -

Jerry Angelo was visibly downbeat about the state of talks between the Bears and agent Eugene Parker regarding a contract for rookie running back Cedric Benson. Negotiations between the Dolphins and running back Ronnie Brown and the Cleveland Browns and wide receiver Braylon Edwards, the players chosen immediately ahead of Benson, are similarly stalled.-- Chicago Tribune - NFL Football -

The decision to give quarterback Daunte Culpepper a raise of at least another $2 million in salary for 2005 means there almost certainly will be a more protracted situation after the season.-- Minneapolis Star Tribune - NFL Football -

The Vikings and Daunte Culpepper's agent have spent the past eight months discussing the 10-year contract extension Culpepper signed in April 2003. Culpepper has been silent about it, but his absence from two practices Saturday raised the possibility the talks had grown acrimonious. While advertised as a $102 million deal, Culpepper's contract is heavily backloaded and incentive-laden.-- Minneapolis Star Tribune - NFL Football -

2005-07-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

NFL: Williams apologizes for leaving

DAVIE, Florida (Ticker) -- Ricky Williams issued an apology to the players, coaches and fans of the Miami Dolphins. It came too late for Dave Wannstedt but was readily accepted by Nick Saban. - NFL Football -
Williams addressed the media at training camp Monday, nearly a year after he stunned the Dolphins and the NFL by announcing he would not play in 2004.
"I realize making the decision to walk away from football affected the team in a negative way," Williams said. "I realize I hurt the team and the fans and am very regretful that people were hurt in the process. - NFL Football -
"I can see how leaving the team to experience things outside of football came off as being selfish, so I offer an apology to all the people that were negatively affected by my decision."
Without their leading rusher, the Dolphins struggled offensively and finished 4-12, their worst record since 1969. Wannstedt resigned as coach after the team lost eight of its first nine games.
Williams' return coincides with the arrival of Saban, who left Louisiana State to coach the Dolphins. - NFL Football -
"He apologized to the team and I haven't noticed any resentment from the players," Saban said. "We will try to support him in every way. I don't think there's any question he has shown the ability to play effective football in this league."
The somewhat eccentric Williams rushed for 3,225 yards and 25 touchdowns in two years with the Dolphins after being acquired from New Orleans. Last season, Miami ranked second-to-last in the league in rushing (83.7 yards per game) with backs Travis Minor, Lamar Gordon, Leonard Henry and Sammy Morris unable to fill the enormous void.
Saban selected Auburn running back Ronnie Brown with the second overall pick in the April draft. Brown has yet to sign a contract. - NFL Football -
If and when Browns reports, he will have to compete with Williams, who faces a four-game suspension at the start of the regular season for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Williams admitted to failing a third drug test for marijuana use after leaving the team last July.
"I've had a problem with some of the (NFL) rules," said Williams, who was sporting a thick, unkempt beard. "But I've learned a lot in the last year. I used to think freedom was doing what you wanted whenever you wanted. Now I believe freedom is being strong enough to be content with any situation." - NFL Football -
The 27-year-old Williams decided he wanted to return to the NFL in February after an arbitrator ruled that he owed the Dolphins more than $8.6 million in incentives and signing bonus money. - NFL Football -
Known for his interesting and complex nature off the field and for his dreadlocks on it, Williams used to conduct interviews while wearing his helmet before he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder in 2001. - NFL Football -
Williams said marijuana helped him once he stopped using the anti-depressant drug Paxil because it didn't agree with his diet.
On the field, Williams was a workhorse. After being acquired by Miami, Williams led the NFL in rushing with 1,853 yards in 2002 and followed with 1,372 yards in 2003.
A former Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Texas, Williams rushed for 6,354 yards in five seasons since being picked fifth overall by New Orleans in 1999.

Sports Ticker

2005-07-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

Row over referees disrupts Nigerian League programme

LAGOS (Reuters) - Confusion over the appointment of referees led to some matches in the Nigerian League to be postponed at the weekend.
Referees appointed by the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) arrived at match venues only to find another set of officials sent by the Nigerian Football League (NFL), the league organisers.
"It was a confusing situation and as a result, the second half of the league could not resume (from a mid-season break) as games were not played," NFA assistant secretary general Bola Oyeyode told Reuters on Monday.
He later explained that matches were played in some venues but that their results would be nullified after a meeting between the NFA and NFL this week.
"Reports have come in that matches took place in some venues after delays. However, their results stand to be nullified," he said.
"The NFL will explain to the NFA board why it violated our order not to continue to appoint referees for league games," he added.
The NFL, formed by club owners in January, began appointing match officials in a bid to end alleged corruption.
NFL spokeswoman Aisha Falode said: "We're not contesting powers with the NFA but we sent our own referees to the games in order to try and reduce corruption that has characterised the league.
Away teams often struggle to win games in the Nigerian League while many teams usually rely on securing points through protests to the league's disciplinary committee.

Eniwoke Ibagere

2005-07-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

CHIEFS HAVE NFL-HIGH FOUR PLAYERS NAMED "GOOD GUYS"

Kansas City Chiefs QB Trent Green, TE Tony Gonzalez, FB Tony Richardson, and G Will Shields have all been named by The Sporting News (TSN) some of the top “Good Guys in Sports.” For the fifth consecutive year, TSN selected 99 athletes in the five major sports who are dedicated to civic responsibility and character. The publication also acknowledges the top overall individuals in each of their respective sports. All of the athletes were chosen because they exhibited a big heart, they cared more about others than themselves, and they spent both time as well as money in a commitment to the community through their acts of charity. The top Good Guy in sports is the Atlanta Falcons Warrick Dunn. The feature naming the athletes appears in TSN’s special July 8th issue that is on sale now.
Shields, who was named TSN’s Top NFL “Good Guy” in 2001, has appeared on the list each year since its inception in 1999. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Shields and his wife Senia, established the Will to Succeed Foundation, in 1993 to guide, inspire and improve the lives of abused and neglected women and children. The program provides direct resources in addition to educational tools, opportunities and nurturing experiences to inner city children and women who have little access to other assistance. Currently, the foundation sponsors almost two dozen programs where Shields is a “hands-on” participant in all the activities, in addition to contributing financial support for their on-going success. Shields is no stranger to accolades for his giving nature. The 2003 recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, this Oklahoma native was honored this off-season with the “Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award” and the K.C. Council on Philanthropy’s “Philanthropist of the Year” honor.
Richardson formed the Rich in Spirit Foundation in 2000 to extend a helping hand in order to uplift the lives and spirits of individuals who society has turned its backs on. He has partnered with Special Olympics, Athletes in Action, City Union Mission, Harvest Church, and The Dictionary Project. His goal is to build confidence, self-esteem and practical life-skills while nurturing spiritual awareness in order to improve the quality of life for these individuals. A main focus for Richardson’s charitable work is The Dictionary Project. He is Kansas City’s spokesperson for the program. To date 38,000 dictionaries have been distributed in an effort to help provide these research tools for every third-grader in the Kansas City School District. For his work, Richardson was recognized with the 2003 Pro Football Weekly Arthur R. Arkush Humanitarian of the Year award.
Gonzalez is also no stranger to the TSN Good Guy List. The 2004 NFL Good Guy established the Tony Gonzalez Foundation in 1998. This organization supports the Shadow Buddies program as well as Boys & Girls Clubs. Shadow Buddies are smiling dolls given to individuals, especially sick children and elderly, in order to help speed their recovery. Over 10,000 Shadow Buddies have been distributed in Missouri, Kansas, California, New York, Texas, Hawaii, Washington D.C. and internationally. In addition to Shadow Buddies, Gonzalez has provided 50 “Know Your Buddy Book” kits to school children in Missouri, Kansas and California. These books teach students about medical challenges and encourage them to increase their compassion and understanding of others’ differences. An alumni of the program, Gonzalez is also a frequent visitor to the Boys & Girls Clubs both in Kansas City and his native California.
Green started the Trent Green Family Foundation in 1999 while with the St. Louis Rams. That organization supports and develops family-focused programming which bolsters the quality of life for families of all social, economic and religious backgrounds. The Trent Green Family Foundation puts special emphasis on supporting those families who are faced with the challenges of dealing with chronically or terminally ill children or seniors. Upon their arrival in Kansas City, Trent and his wife, Julie, have partnered with: Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Special Olympics, Project Warmth, KU Medical Center, and Meals on Wheels. Again this year, the foundation is funding a Child Life position at Children’s Mercy Hospital to oversee the Starbright World project. This program allows terminally ill children to communicate on a computer network with others throughout the nation who are inflicted with diseases similar to theirs.
Jul 11, 2005, 12:01:41 PM
Kansas City Chiefs QB Trent Green, TE Tony Gonzalez, FB Tony Richardson, and G Will Shields have all been named by The Sporting News (TSN) some of the top “Good Guys in Sports.” For the fifth consecutive year, TSN selected 99 athletes in the five major sports who are dedicated to civic responsibility and character. The publication also acknowledges the top overall individuals in each of their respective sports. All of the athletes were chosen because they exhibited a big heart, they cared more about others than themselves, and they spent both time as well as money in a commitment to the community through their acts of charity. The top Good Guy in sports is the Atlanta Falcons Warrick Dunn. The feature naming the athletes appears in TSN’s special July 8th issue that is on sale now.
Shields, who was named TSN’s Top NFL “Good Guy” in 2001, has appeared on the list each year since its inception in 1999. An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Shields and his wife Senia, established the Will to Succeed Foundation, in 1993 to guide, inspire and improve the lives of abused and neglected women and children. The program provides direct resources in addition to educational tools, opportunities and nurturing experiences to inner city children and women who have little access to other assistance. Currently, the foundation sponsors almost two dozen programs where Shields is a “hands-on” participant in all the activities, in addition to contributing financial support for their on-going success. Shields is no stranger to accolades for his giving nature. The 2003 recipient of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, this Oklahoma native was honored this off-season with the “Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award” and the K.C. Council on Philanthropy’s “Philanthropist of the Year” honor.
Richardson formed the Rich in Spirit Foundation in 2000 to extend a helping hand in order to uplift the lives and spirits of individuals who society has turned its backs on. He has partnered with Special Olympics, Athletes in Action, City Union Mission, Harvest Church, and The Dictionary Project. His goal is to build confidence, self-esteem and practical life-skills while nurturing spiritual awareness in order to improve the quality of life for these individuals. A main focus for Richardson’s charitable work is The Dictionary Project. He is Kansas City’s spokesperson for the program. To date 38,000 dictionaries have been distributed in an effort to help provide these research tools for every third-grader in the Kansas City School District. For his work, Richardson was recognized with the 2003 Pro Football Weekly Arthur R. Arkush Humanitarian of the Year award.
Gonzalez is also no stranger to the TSN Good Guy List. The 2004 NFL Good Guy established the Tony Gonzalez Foundation in 1998. This organization supports the Shadow Buddies program as well as Boys & Girls Clubs. Shadow Buddies are smiling dolls given to individuals, especially sick children and elderly, in order to help speed their recovery. Over 10,000 Shadow Buddies have been distributed in Missouri, Kansas, California, New York, Texas, Hawaii, Washington D.C. and internationally. In addition to Shadow Buddies, Gonzalez has provided 50 “Know Your Buddy Book” kits to school children in Missouri, Kansas and California. These books teach students about medical challenges and encourage them to increase their compassion and understanding of others’ differences. An alumni of the program, Gonzalez is also a frequent visitor to the Boys & Girls Clubs both in Kansas City and his native California.
Green started the Trent Green Family Foundation in 1999 while with the St. Louis Rams. That organization supports and develops family-focused programming which bolsters the quality of life for families of all social, economic and religious backgrounds. The Trent Green Family Foundation puts special emphasis on supporting those families who are faced with the challenges of dealing with chronically or terminally ill children or seniors. Upon their arrival in Kansas City, Trent and his wife, Julie, have partnered with: Ronald McDonald House, Children’s Mercy Hospital, Special Olympics, Project Warmth, KU Medical Center, and Meals on Wheels. Again this year, the foundation is funding a Child Life position at Children’s Mercy Hospital to oversee the Starbright World project. This program allows terminally ill children to communicate on a computer network with others throughout the nation who are inflicted with diseases similar to theirs.

2005-07-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hank Stram, at 82; Kansas City coach redefined the game of football

LOS ANGELES --Hank Stram, the most successful coach in American Football League history and one of the leading innovators of the game, died yesterday in a suburban New Orleans hospital. He was 82.
Mr. Stram had been in declining health for several years, and a family member attributed the death to complications from diabetes.
Mr. Stram, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was credited with developing the 3-4 defense, the two-tight-end formation, and the moving pocket for the quarterback. When his coaching career was over, he worked as an analyst for CBS, first on television and then in the radio booth, where he called ''Monday Night Football" alongside Jack Buck.
Mr. Stram did radio commentary for four Super Bowls, becoming the first person to participate in the NFL championship game both as a winning coach, with the Kansas City Chiefs, and a broadcaster.
''I've lived a charmed life," he once said. ''I married the only girl I ever loved, and being able to do a job I truly loved with the Chiefs. I'm a lucky fellow."
Mr. Stram was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Too weak to stand, he watched his prerecorded induction speech from a wheelchair.
''Look at all the red eyes," former Kansas City running back Ed Podolak said at the time. ''I cried like a baby, and so did everyone else."
During the AFL's 10-year history, Mr. Stram set league records by winning three championships and more games than any other AFL coach. He was coach of the Dallas Texans -- staying with them when they became the Kansas City Chiefs -- and later coached the New Orleans Saints.
''When it came to football, Hank knew everything about everything," said kicker Jan Stenerud, one of several Hall of Fame players coached by Mr. Stram.
Three years after losing the inaugural Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers, 35-10, Mr. Stram's Kansas City team upset the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7, in Super Bowl IV in January 1970. It was the second consecutive Super Bowl victory by an AFL team and was further proof the NFL had met its match.
''That got the attention of everybody," said former Kansas City quarterback Len Dawson, who presented Mr. Stram at the Hall of Fame. ''People said, 'Hey, wait a minute, who are those people playing out there? And how did they dominate that Minnesota team?' "
''He was responsible for doing a lot of the things in the '60s that teams are still using now," said Dawson.
Mr. Stram designed the moving pocket and the two-tight-end formation to buy extra time for Dawson, and he devised the 3-4 defense -- referring to three down linemen and four linebackers -- in an era when other coaches were using a 4-3

Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times

2005-06-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

Irvin hires from within to fill head football job

Former New Mexico State and NFL quarterback/punter Cliff Olander has been hired as Irvin High School's new football coach, making him only the third head coach in three decades at the Northeast El Paso school.

El Paso Independent School District athletic director Ken Owen confirmed Tuesday that Olander -- Irvin's offensive coordinator -- was picked from a group of three finalists to replace 60-year-old Leon Stewart, who stepped down after four seasons earlier this month.

"He's been at Irvin 14 years, and he knows the kids and the community," said Owen, who declined to name the other two candidates that interviewed.

Olander, 50, takes over a team that finished 6-4 and just missed the playoffs last year. The Rockets are picked to finish fourth in District 1-4A this year by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.

"There are different kids on the Northeast than there are on the West Side," said Olander, who acknowledged that familiarity helped him get the job. "I think it does help to know the type of kids that you've got."

Olander said he's already filled a couple of vacancies on his staff, and he has a couple more to fill this summer. Andress assistant Doug Stevens will take over for the departed Tom Essex at defensive coordinator, and longtime Irvin assistant Joe Urias, who has spent 12 seasons with Olander, takes over at offensive coordinator.

"I'm going to oversee everything on offense," he said. "But I'm going to turn (Urias) loose and give him the opportunity."

Irvin, which won nine district titles under Tony Shaw (1976-00), fell on hard times numbers-wise when Chapin was built five years ago. The Rockets had just 19 freshmen in the program last year, but Olander vowed to visit junior highs in an effort to fix that problem.

Darren Hunt
El Paso Times

Eagle Football Nfl Phila

2005-06-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Eagle Football Nfl

This Is Rank
I like Jimmy Hyams, even if he has abandoned for the most part his honorable job as a sportswriter to be a radio talk show host in Knoxville. Jimmy continues to write an entertaining and mostly thoughtful column on the Southeastern Conference for a few publications. He fell into a trap on a recent one.

There are some things journalists are not qualified to do. Truth be known, there are more things a sportswriter is NOT qualified to do than there are things he or she IS qualified to do. I don’t know of more than one I would trust to change a sparkplug. The closest I have ever seen a sportswriter practice medicine is when one sportswriter seemed to have a fever. Another one got a cucumber and cut it into slices, which he placed on his colleague’s forehead. “Cool as a cucumber,” was the medical theory for the treatment. Fortunately, a real doctor had been called. After asking, "Who's the witch doctor?" he proceeded to cure the fever.

Another thing a journalist is not qualified to do is determine the competency of a coach, particularly in comparison to his peers. Sylvester Croom, the football coach at Mississippi State, doesn’t have the same resources as Mark Richt, the football coach at Georgia. And there is no amount of money that could entice Tubby Smith to leave his job as head basketball coach at Kentucky to take the same position at Auburn.

That does not mean that Mark Richt is a better football coach than Sylvester Croom. It does not mean that Tubby Smith would win as many games at Auburn as he will at Kentucky.

And if all things were equal, still the only thing a journalist could judge about the job a coach is doing is whether or not he won a game. Then it would be fair to say he was a better coach than the coach of the losing team. Again, if ALL things were equal, which they never are.

Hyams wasn’t content to have his buddies foul up just a simple ranking. At the recent SEC meetings in Destin, Florida, Hyams polled 19 media members (presumably some sportswriters and some radio talk show types and perhaps some television sportsreaders). He asked them to rank the 12 SEC schools based on the combined competency of both the football coach and head basketball coach.

Hyams was able to spot a number of problems with his poll. He pointed out that no SEC school had kept the same head football coach and men’s basketball coach for more than three years.

He also wondered how to evaluate guys like Urban Meyer at Florida and Les Miles at LSU, when they have come from out-of-conference. Ed Orgeron at Ole Miss must be an even more difficult evaluation since he wasn’t a head coach. The other new football coach in the SEC, Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, does have some bona fides.

The same could be said of new Tennessee Basketball Coach Bruce Pearl. Do you rate him on his victory over Alabama in the NCAA Tournament? Tennessee’s last coach was hired because he had beaten Bama in the NIT, but that didn’t make Buzz Peterson successful at Tennessee.

Hyams shared a couple of notes, including that the voters were often far apart. One had Mississippi State second, another had the Bulldogs last. Alabama was as high as third and as low as 10th, Auburn as high as first and as low as ninth.

Hyams noted a recent Sports News rating of Auburn Football Coach Tommy Tuberville as ninth best in the SEC. Hyams wondered how that could be, considering that Tuberville went 13-0 last year and finished second in the nation. Maybe the Sporting News fellows were looking at Tuberville’s other nine years as a head coach when he lost a minimum of four games and as many as six in each of those seasons. And maybe they thought having four top NFL draft picks who stayed healthy all year had something to do with Tuberville’s good coaching in 2004.

During last basketball season, a Birmingham television panel of sports reporters agreed that Auburn’s Jeff Lebo was the best coach in the SEC Western Division. Did they see something I don’t see?

How do you rate Alabama’s Mike Shula? He came in under almost impossible circumstances, then has had the worst injury luck and SEC officiating imaginable. Hyams and his fellow voters judged the tandem of Shula and Mark Gottfried to be eighth in the SEC.

Voters seemed to have a lot higher opinion of the SEC East. The top three, four of the top five, and five of the top seven were from the Eastern Division.

For what it’s worth (need I remind you), here is the ranking by the 19 media members:

1. Florida, 2. South Carolina, 3. Tennessee, 4. Auburn, 5. Georgia, 6. LSU, 7. Kentucky, 8. Alabama, 9. Mississippi State, 10. Arkansas, 11. Vanderbilt, and 12. Ole Miss.

Hyams also listed his vote.

How would I have ranked them? Uh uh. I’m not falling into that trap

By Kirk McNair
This story originally published on BamaMag.com