NFL Columns: Pro Sports Daily

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July 2

ESPN.com

columnist Matt Mosley

"Giants general manager Jerry Reese has a simple solution for replacing the hole that Plaxico Burress left in the offense. He thinks it's time for quarterback Eli Manning to take on more responsibility and lead this organization to another Super Bowl. In 2007, Manning caught lightning in a bottle for a little more than a month and helped lead the Giants to a world title. But with the loss of his combustible safety blanket, Burress, and a supporting cast comprised of talented but raw wide receivers, the Giants believe Manning can elevate his teammates to another level. The only problem with that approach from a management standpoint is that you're increasing your quarterback's bargaining ..."

Jaguars' Meester to carry on high school coach's legacy

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July 2

Jacksonville Times-Union

columnist Gene Frenette

"Brad Meester didn't have to say a word. The redness around the eyes of the Jaguars center said it all. Meester will never be the same again. Not as a God-fearing man, as a football player, as a teammate, as a husband, or as a father to his four little girls. No, he will be better in every way possible. Now, more than ever, Meester sees it as his duty. That's how much of an impact Ed Thomas had on his life. And if Meester owes anything to the Aplington-Parkersburg High football coach whose casket he carried Monday to its final resting place in Iowa, it's to carry on the values - faith, family, and making this world a better place -that Thomas treasured the most. As hard as it seems at the ..."

Kelly's passion for football burns on

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July 1

Buffalo News

columnist Bob DiCesare

"He's less than a year shy of 50, nearly 13 years removed from the game, which leads you to wonder how much passion Jim Kelly brings to his football camp these days. Is this his operation in name only, or does he remain an active participant? Does he show up at noon and go through the motions, or is he there from the get-go, highly visible and raring to teach some football? The answer arrives at 9:15 a.m., as soon as you enter the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse and hear that distinctive voice — authoritative and exuberant with a pinch of gravel — resonating throughout the place. No. 12 is walking amid row upon row of campers, talking them through stretching exercises, pointing out whatever ..."

Glazers spending less, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffer

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July 1

St. Petersburg Times

columnist John Romano

"Today, the Glazers stand accused. Accused of not investing enough in their football team. Accused of not keeping up with the competition. Accused, essentially, of not caring about Buccaneer victories and losses as much as you do. According to a report by NFL.com reporter Jason La Canfora, the Bucs spent less in player salaries and bonuses than any team in the NFL in the past five seasons. And, just like that, what you have long suspected has now been confirmed. For one reason or another, the Glazers are not spending money the way they once did. And, perhaps not coincidentally, the team is not winning as much, either. Now, before we get too far, it is important to point out that a fat ..."

NFL Broadcast Boot Camp teaches players X's and O's of broadcasting

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June 30

New York Daily News

columnist Jon Wiener

"Jets lineman Damien Woody looked right at home. Hunched in the huddle with other players awaiting orders, Woody had done this a thousand times. But the guy barking the orders was a broadcasting pro - not a quarterback - and when the huddle broke and the camera rolled, the mishaps began. "Cut!" Woody yelled. "I messed up. Let's try it again." So it went at the NFL Broadcast Boot Camp, a four-day crash-course in broadcasting the NFL and NFL Films ran last week in Mt. Laurel, N.J. It was aimed at current and former NFL players who want to trade in their helmets and shoulder pads for a career in the booth. The week consisted of intensive instruction in Broadcasting 101 - from sideline ..."

Young Jed York is growing into his role as face of 49ers

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June 28

San Jose Mercury News

columnist Ann Killion

"I'll admit it. I'm a skeptic. Especially when it comes to the York family. Ever since Eddie DeBartolo's sister Denise and her husband John assumed control of the 49ers, I've been watching their clumsy regime and organizational blunders, further distancing the team from its glory years. So when, a few years ago, I started hearing praise for their son Jed, the heir apparent, I wasn't biting. Some kid in his mid-20s was going to turn everything around? But I started paying attention. I saw Jed make a few missteps early on. But I've seen him grow into this new role as the public face of ownership. And this month, as Jed ran the gauntlet of media interviews after the Santa Clara City Council ..."

From seat on bench, former Dolphin has clear view of justice in the NFL

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June 28

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

columnist Dave Hyde

"Judge Edward Newman has spent the morning in his Miami-Dade courtroom processing the usual cases of drunk driving, simple assault, battery, prostitution and so many people driving without licenses that he wonders, "Does anyone have a license anymore?" Now he's being asked if this scale of justice he uses is enough. If a legally freed man should be professionally free to work, too. He's sitting in his chambers where photos of his four Pro Bowls hang, where an engraved clock salutes him as the Dolphins' top lineman in 1981, where the window view offers the cleared Orange Bowl site that was his playpen for 13 NFL seasons. And he's being asked if the likes of Cleveland receiver Donte ..."

Difference between Vick and Stallworth: honesty

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June 27

Oakland Tribune

columnist Monte Poole

"THE FORMER NFL quarterback who killed dogs recently was released after serving 19 months in the federal pen, but the current NFL wide receiver who drove drunk and killed a man last week was sentenced to 30 days in jail. Actually 24 days, because six will be shaved off Donte Stallworth's sentence. The facts imply that man has fallen behind dog on the value-of-life chart. That's the instant conclusion in the wake of the sentence a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge imposed upon Stallworth. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is outraged. From urban barbershops in Los Angeles to rural cafeterias in Maine, from the verdant communities of the Pacific Northwest to the sandy beaches of South Florida - ..."

Atwater a big hitter even in retirement

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June 25

Denver Post

columnist Irv Moss

"Could it be that the sharp focus on Steve Atwater's signature play as a member of the Broncos' defense has diverted too much attention from his Hall of Fame credentials? Even today, Atwater can be stopped on the street by strangers and be taken back to Sept. 17, 1990. It was "Monday Night Football" and the Kansas City Chiefs, featuring powerful running back Christian Okoye, were playing the Broncos at Mile High Stadium. The Broncos won 24-23, but Atwater's crushing, head-on hit on Okoye is remembered more than the score. The tackle earned Atwater the nickname "The Assassin" and showed that the 6-foot-3, 217-pound safety from Arkansas could meet any NFL running back and hold his own. "It's ..."

Same-old Favre older, not wiser

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June 24

Wisconsin State Journal

columnist Tom Oates

"Brad Childress has warned everyone to "stay tuned" and Brett Favre, who hates even the thought of surgery, has submitted to an operation on his sore shoulder. Not sure about you, but to me that sounds like two people headed for the same altar. That means Green Bay Packers' fans had better start figuring out how they're going to deal with Favre, arguably the greatest player in franchise history, quarterbacking the hated Minnesota Vikings for Childress. Here's my advice: Don't lose any sleep over it. At this point, who cares whether Favre quarterbacks the Vikings, the New York Jets or those guys in the Wrangler commercial? He's no longer in Green Bay and he never will be, so stop fretting ..."

At this point, just let Favre have his fun

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June 24

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

columnist Bud Lea

"The last thing Green Bay Packers fans want to see is their all-time hero end up in a purple and white uniform. Playing in a dome with the Minnesota Vikings? The hated Vikings? Have we all gone mad? This is a bad dream. A terrible nightmare. You wake up screaming. You try to get back to sleep, counting the days, the hours, the minutes before he officially becomes a member of the enemy. You don't want to see Brett Favre going anywhere - except to Canton, dipped in bronze. All of us have read ad infinitum about Favre. If you've picked up a newspaper, checked the Internet, listened to the radio or watched TV, you know all about the desire of this 39-year-old quarterback to keep on playing. ..."

Draft represents fresh start for Suns

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June 26

Arizona Republic

columnist Dan Bickley

"Fans don't want to hear about financial flexibility. They don't want to hear about organizational advocacy. They want to be entertained and excited. They want to watch a winning team. The Suns have a long way to go to restore their status as civic darlings. But the 2009 NBA draft may represent the dawn of a new era, the day they trimmed payroll, took out the garbage, recalibrated their system and may have targeted their next great franchise player. Here's hoping Stephen Curry's name one day hangs from the rafters. Everything good about this sudden transformation could be found in what the Suns weren't talking about. It was the reports that the team was moving toward an agreement to trade ..."

Zorn Joins Gibbs for a Day at the Races

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June 24

Washington Post

columnist Mike Wise

"Joe Gibbs and Jim Zorn stood in the rain, waiting for a NASCAR race to start as the downpour came. Until last month at Lowe's Motor Speedway outside Charlotte, the retired-for-good Redskins coaching icon and the man who succeeded him had never really spent time together. They talked family and Washington and football, which meant they also talked Jason Campbell. "Just like anybody else would, like two armchair quarterbacks," Zorn said, quickly adding, "With maybe a little more knowledge." "Good conversation," Gibbs said. "We talked a little bit about everything. Not personnel, but more general talk between coaches." Asked if he felt Campbell was mistreated by an organization that ..."

Dallas Cowboys banking on value from their money players

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June 24

Dallas Morning News

columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor

"Never has Roy Williams worked this hard to maximize his immense talent. That's a shame. Better late than never, though, as mama used to say. Finally, he's taking action to be the best after the most embarrassing season of his football life. He's shedding pounds and exerting himself. He wants to prove to all the doubters - I'm one - that he can be among the NFL's best receivers. Good for him. Nothing should make Jerry Jones happier, especially since he signed Williams to a six-year, $45 million deal shortly after acquiring him for a king's ransom from Detroit last October. Return on investment: 19 catches, one touchdown and no impact. Williams was hardly the only Cowboys' player with ..."

More kudos for the Falcons: Is it all too much too soon?

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June 24

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

columnist Mark Bradley

"It was just a year ago we weren't sure the Falcons would win a game. Now they're all the rage. From Mike Smith being ranked the league's eighth-best coach by RealScouts to five Birds being listed among Peter Schrager's top 99 NFL players on FoxSports.com to Roddy White being named the fourth-most indispensable player by Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders … And now this: Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com rates the Falcons' coaches the best staff in the NFC South. Which, given that Sean Payton has taken New Orleans to the NFC title game and John Fox has led Carolina to the Super Bowl, is saying something. And part of me thinks it's great. It's been a while since anybody had nice things to say about ..."

Ex-Card talks supplements

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June 24

Arizona Republic

columnist Bob Young

"Femi Ayanbadejo knows that he messed up. But he also wants people - especially those in the Cardinals organization - to know that he didn't lie to them, and that he didn't intentionally take a banned substance before he tested positive for one in January 2007. That was shortly after the last of his three seasons as a fullback for the Cardinals. He learned of the positive test in April and was released in June. He then signed with Chicago, where he served a four-game suspension before being cut by the Bears. He hasn't played in the NFL since. ALR Industries, which manufactures sports supplements, recently settled a lawsuit Ayanbadejo brought against the company, claiming it did not ..."

Stallworth's situation can offer league path to help educate players

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June 22

NFL.com

columnist Thomas George

"To be frank -- and attorney David Cornwell is consistently that -- he does not know how Donte' Stallworth is managing. Cornwell will know more when he visits his client in a Miami jail on Wednesday. "I guess I have to say that Donte' is fine," Cornwell said. "None of this is a surprise to him. He was intimately involved in his defense. But I don't know how he really is. I never killed anyone." Stallworth received a 30-day jail sentence for DUI manslaughter after his car struck and killed Mario Reyes, 59, on March 14 in Miami. Among other penalties after his mid-July release, the Cleveland Browns receiver will be under two years house arrest and eight years probation. He reached an ..."

Ex-football star Bernie Kosar continues to fight through the pain

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June 22

Miami Herald

columnist Dan Le Betard

"The IRS and the creditors and an angry ex-wife and an avalanche of attorneys are circling the chaos that used to be Bernie Kosar's glamorous life, but that's not the source of his anxiety at the moment. He is doing a labored lap inside his Weston mansion, the one on the lake near the equestrian playpen for horses, because he wants to be sure there are no teenage boys hiding, attempting to get too close to his three daughters. He shattered a Kid Rock-autographed guitar the other day while chasing one teenager out of his house because he doesn't mind all of the other boys within the area code thinking the Kosar girls have an unhinged Dad. ''There are a million doors in this place,'' he says. ..."

Oceanside Chargers bid seems intriguing

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June 22

San Diego Union-Tribune

columnist Nick Canepa

"There now is a seven-year itch on the back of the Chargers stadium issue, and much of it has been nothing more than a pie-in-the-sky fight. Some of it has made too much sense for City Hall to approve, some of it over the top, such as the recently rejected, outrageously cumbersome proposal for the Qualcomm site that would have flown like an ostrich. With an attractive Chula Vista bayfront locale fading, doing the limbo awaiting state approval to raze an unsightly power plant - it could take years - Oceanside once again is in the crosshairs. The huge difference this time is that the 92-acre property, former home of the Valley Drive-In theater on state Route 76, is privately owned and ..."

Slap on wrist to Browns WR Donte' Stallworth is a slap in the face

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June 21

New York Daily News

columnist Kathleen Rice

"This week's news that NFL player Donte' Stallworth was sentenced to 30 days in jail for killing an innocent Florida pedestrian, while driving drunk, is a slap in the face to victims of drunk driving and their families. As a prosecutor, I know all too well that this sentence will perpetuate the myth that these tragedies are accidents, rather than inevitabilities. It will serve as a benchmark for defense attorneys across the country seeking lenient sentences for their clients. The recent legislative gains we've made increasing drunk driving penalties look toothless in light of this miscarriage of justice. In Mr. Stallworth's case, as in all DWI homicides, it must be acknowledged that this ..."

NFL commish Roger Goodell must suspend Plaxico Burress

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June 21

New York Daily News

columnist Mike Lupica

"Nothing changes with Plaxico Burress except fancy lawyering, with his lawyer Benjamin Brafman trying to run more clock between when Burress finally gets indicted for carrying an unlicensed handgun around in the city of New York, for having that gun go off in a crowded club on Lexington Ave. No matter. Somehow Burress is still under the impression that something as silly as the law isn't supposed to get in the way of him getting another job and getting paid. Like the law is some annoying cornerback or safety. Of course Burress isn't another NFL wide receiver, Donte Stallworth of the Browns, who was legally drunk behind the wheel of his expensive car when he struck and killed a man rushing ..."

NFL keeps media, fans in dark

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June 21

Akron Beacon Journal

columnist Patrick McManamon

"I never realized how tough it was to deal with NFL teams until I started covering other leagues. The NBA and Major League Baseball have an entirely different culture when it comes to dealing with the media. In baseball, players, coaches and managers talk 162 games a year - and for several weeks of spring training. In the NBA, accessibility is a given. It's a story when a star does not talk to the media. Consider LeBron James. It was gigantic national news when he did not talk one time this year. What's weird is the same fans who criticized James for one mistake will shrug off an NFL player's decision not to talk after dropping a key pass that would have won a game. I know, because I've ..."

NFL keeps media, fans in dark

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June 21

Akron Beacon Journal

columnist Patrick McManamon

"I never realized how tough it was to deal with NFL teams until I started covering other leagues. The NBA and Major League Baseball have an entirely different culture when it comes to dealing with the media. In baseball, players, coaches and managers talk 162 games a year - and for several weeks of spring training. In the NBA, accessibility is a given. It's a story when a star does not talk to the media. Consider LeBron James. It was gigantic national news when he did not talk one time this year. What's weird is the same fans who criticized James for one mistake will shrug off an NFL player's decision not to talk after dropping a key pass that would have won a game. I know, because I've ..."

Coaching fame not necessary for Cleveland sports

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June 20

Cleveland Plain Dealer

columnist Bill Livingston

"When Phil Jackson coached the Los Angeles Lakers to the NBA championship the other day, it wasn't the last hurrah for big-name coaches. But there hasn't exactly been a hallelujah chorus from them either. An ex-player as coach commands respect, the saying goes, because he knows what the players are going through. In the times when he's not coaching, he's on television analyzing. Doug Collins shuttled back and forth from the sideline to the broadcast booth for years. Bill Cowher will probably return to the NFL. The ultimate celebrity coach was Mike Ditka. He wasn't much of a coach in New Orleans, his last stop. But he was Mike Ditka, who sold tickets and Had Been There. Lately, however, ..."

Norris personifies NFL workhorse

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June 20

Houston Chronicle

columnist Jerome Solomon

"Takeo Spikes remembers the first time he met Moran Norris. Spikes and the Buffalo Bills were preparing to play the Texans, and Norris, then Houston's starting fullback, continued to catch his eye on the videotapes. Norris looked so much like the toughest guy on the Texans' offense that Spikes, the toughest guy on the Bills' defense, bragged to his teammates that Norris would be in trouble come Sunday. The two had never met, but Spikes geared himself up for a nasty encounter. "He (ticked) me off just watching him on film," Spikes said. "Tough guy. I had a bounty out on him. I wanted to do him." That Sunday afternoon, the two met on the football field. And they met. And met. And met. Over ..."

A reality check for B-Marsh

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June 20

Denver Post

columnist Jim Armstrong

"This note's for you, dads. . . . Ye olde bottom line on Brandon Marshall's contract dispute: Like everything else in the NFL, it's a numbers game. The number in this case? Two. The Broncos already caved in and accommodated one star player's trade request. They're not about to do it again in the same offseason. Unless, of course, Josh McDaniels wants to lose the team before he ever coaches a game. . . . Marshall is a walking, talking contradiction. You know all about the dark side. But you should have seen him charming the kids the other day at his Camp 15 football clinic. Oh, and for the record, his agent, Kennard McGuire, tells me B-Marsh underwrote part of the camp's expenses. . . . ..."

This reaction won't dog Stallworth

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June 19

Washington Times

columnist Tom Knott

"Donte Stallworth reacted a lot wiser than Michael Vick in the aftermath of the crime and saved himself a considerable amount of jail time and money. That is one of the lessons to be gleaned from the fallout involving Stallworth and Vick. It is not the crime. It is the cover-up. Here is how the inebriated Stallworth played it after he hopped into his black Bentley and plowed into Mario Reyes on March 14 in Miami Beach: Stallworth did not leave the scene of the crime. Instead, he stopped his automobile after it struck Reyes, called 911 and submitted to a roadside sobriety test. Stallworth then hired a team of smooth-talking lawyers, bought the silence of the victim's family with an ..."

Michael Cuddyer 'treats' sore fingers with painful cortisone shots

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June 19

St. Paul Pioneer Press

columnist Tom Powers

"The problem with getting too many cortisone injections, and I'll try not to get too technical here, is that they can cause you to grow a second head or something equally disturbing. "You can get arthritis," Michael Cuddyer said. "I don't want to get arthritis by the time I'm 33." True, but he doesn't want an index finger the size of a summer squash, either. And that has been his trouble in recent weeks. The index finger on his right hand has been the size of one of those giant foam rubber No. 1 fingers fans hold up at football games. No one knew why the digit was mysteriously swollen and throbbing. "It's like it had its own heartbeat," Cuddyer noted after the Twins' 5-1 victory over ..."

Believe it or not, Smith should start

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June 19

San Francisco Examiner

columnist Glenn Dickey

"The good news for 49ers fans: Alex Smith is healthy again and throwing more sharply and with more confidence than he ever has in his troubled NFL career. Many Niners fans won't regard that as good news. They've castigated Smith with regularity and are convinced that Shaun Hill is the better choice at quarterback. But in truth, Smith has been fighting an uphill battle since he was taken as the first choice in the 2005 draft, coming to a bad team with a porous offensive line and inadequate receivers. Not surprisingly, he looked terrible. He made good progress in his second year, but then offensive coordinator Norv Turner took the coaching job with the San Diego Chargers. In his third season, ..."

What happened to Ryan Leaf?

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June 19

San Diego Union-Tribune

columnist Steve Kelley

"Their careers were on parallel planes. Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf were possibly the best one-two quarterback punch ever to come out of college football. Leaf was so perfect, he could have been created in a laboratory. He was tall, 6 feet 5, and strong, and could burn a hole through the Great Wall of China with his taut spiral. Leaf's arm compared favorably with Manning's. In fact, his passes were prettier. There was a wobble to Manning's throws. They always seemed to find their receivers, but if a judge were awarding style points, Leaf's ball would win every time. Chosen second, behind Manning, in the 1998 NFL draft, the world belonged to Leaf every bit as much as it did Manning. But ..."

NFL teams interested in Maurice Clarett? Sure they are

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June 19

Cleveland Plain Dealer

columnist Bud Shaw

"Surely, Maurice Clarett's attorney is kidding. First when he says NFL teams have contacted Clarett while the former Ohio State University running back sits in jail serving a sentence for a Columbus robbery that resulted in a car chase and the discovery of loaded weapons in Clarett's vehicle. Then when he says Clarett should be released early so he can return to football in time for the upcoming season, be it in the NFL, arena football or in Canada. Percy Squire said not releasing Clarett until his sentence expires in March would have a huge impact on his ability to "pursue a livelihood." He makes it sound as if Clarett is another victim of an unbending legal system, instead of -- oh, I ..."

Dallas Cowboys will go as far as Romo leads

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June 19

Dallas Morning News

columnist Tim Cowlishaw

"We've all known the Cowboys will go only as far as Tony Romo leads them. Maybe, as he enters his fourth seasons as a starter, he finally understands that. If you listen to his comments earlier this week at the Cowboys' final off-season mini-camp, it sounds like Romo's figured out that good isn't good enough if winning a championship is the goal - and that's the standard for the Dallas Cowboys. These days, he's talking about being a better leader. Remember, he scoffed at the notion a few months ago. The other day Romo talked about pushing himself to get in better condition to help him perform just as well in December as he does in September, October and November. When Romo talks about ..."

The courts have ruled on Donte Stallworth; it's time the Browns decide, too

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June 18

Cleveland Plain Dealer

columnist Bill Livingston

"The Browns' Donte Stallworth will spend 30 days in jail for killing a man in Miami when he drove his Bentley luxury automobile while drunk. The family of Mario Reyes, the dead man, will spend the rest of their lives without a husband and father. This is the result when Bentleys full of money meet the legal system. Sentences are moderated in severity. Incarceration becomes an inconvenience. Stallworth also lost his driver's license and faces two years of house arrest, followed by eight years of probation. Two years is a long time between access to a car so Stallworth can go pick up his laundry. But he can always hand the keys to his $179,000 car to a flunky, provided he promises to be ..."

Chicago Bears can win without controversial receivers

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June 18

Chicago Tribune

columnist David Haugh

"Forget whether Plaxico Burress may get suspended for as many as eight games next season or if Brandon Marshall is even attainable for a Bears team that has too few high draft picks left to offer in a trade. The essential question surrounding the pursuit of either game-breaking, trouble-making wide receiver Wednesday was answered unwittingly by coach Lovie Smith. "We think we're a strong football team without adding anyone," Smith said at Halas Hall. "We feel like we can win with this group." Indeed the Bears can -- the NFC North and, who knows, maybe even an ordinary NFC. In an off-season for the ages, they added a franchise quarterback and rebuilt the offensive line. Their defense full of ..."

Manuel, McNabb hardly out of their league

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June 18

Philadelphia Inquirer

columnist Phil Sheridan

"Maybe the motivation was to get out of the office for a day. Whatever the reason, thousands of them streamed from the parking lots into the Wachovia Center yesterday to get pumped up by Zig Ziglar and Steve Forbes, Colin Powell and Rudy Giuliani.Oh, yes. And Charlie Manuel and Donovan McNabb.Now the idea of the Phillies' folksy manager and the Eagles' un-folksy quarterback serving as inspirational speakers sets up almost as many jokes as there were attendees at the arena. Manuel has acknowledged his own discomfort with public speaking, and McNabb's news conferences have often been clinics in how to talk without actually saying anything. For most of this off-season, he avoided talking ..."

The Falcons are stacked - on one side of the ball, anyway

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June 18

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

columnist Mark Bradley

"The good news: The Falcons have five really good players, according to Peter Schrager of FoxSports.com. The not-so-good: Only one of them is a defender. That'd be John Abraham, ranked 92nd. The others: Roddy White is 56th, Tony Gonzalez 47th and Matt Ryan 43rd. And Michael Turner is the highest-rated Bird at No. 38, which seems low for a guy who tied for second in the MVP voting. And I was surprised to see Turner rated below DeAngelo Williams, Jay Cutler and Carson Palmer. But quibbling isn't why I'm here, at least not today. I come to highlight a theme. The 2009 Falcons will be outstanding on offense, less so on D. The defense is young and reworked, and that's not bad in and of itself. ..."

Well-traveled Henning still teaching and having an impact after all these years

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June 18

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

columnist Dave Hyde

"He has been getting up in the morning and going to football fields for a living since 1966, when he shuffled between playing quarterback for Sid Gillman's San Diego Chargers of the old AFL and teaching at a nearby high school. There was no road map for what happened next to Dan Henning, no matter how often you hear about some magical road to the Super Bowl. Florida State called in 1968, and the kid from the Bronx went South to see a football field take on a new dimension when the Klan burned a cross outside the home of a black player. It was there that he also met a staff starting on its journey, young guys such as Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells. He even made a Stand by Me pact with Gibbs: ..."

It's a comedy, it's a tragedy ... it's the Cleveland sports scene

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June 18

Cleveland Plain Dealer

columnist Bud Shaw

"The first casting call for this project is for a casting director Giving others credit for a good idea is not only a simple matter of respect. It's also a sign of great humility. (Though truth be told I did have the idea for the Internet before Al Gore, but I put it on the back burner while I was sinking my life savings -- not to mention all of my free time -- into the research and development of The Invisible Dog Leash. Anyway, reader Nancy Koebel brought a worthy idea to my attention in an email: "With the tributes to the classic film, 'Major League,' by the Indians, do you think we can convince Randy Lerner and Dan Gilbert to let filmmakers use the Browns and the Cavaliers in sports ..."

Marshall deserves new deal

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June 18

Denver Post

columnist Dave Krieger

"It's rare that a big-league sports team shows as much enthusiasm for running off its star players as your all-new Denver Broncos. First it was the star quarterback. Now, the star wide receiver. On the bright side, that pretty much takes care of their star players. Tell you what: Team Kumbaya better have a whole lotta karma going on this year because generally speaking, teams with star players do better than teams without them. And Brandon Marshall is a star. But don't take my word for it. Listen to Chauncey Billups, who wanted to know what was up with the Broncos when I ran into him this week. "They can't be letting Brandon Marshall go," he said. "Not after Cutler. No way." Well, you never ..."

Donté Stallworth's light sentence doesn't fit deadly crime

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June 18

Tennessean

columnist Joe Biddle

"What price do you put on a human life? Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy certainly put the subject up for debate when he accepted a plea bargain between Browns wide receiver Donté Stallworth and the family of the deceased Mario Reyes. Reyes was a 59-year-old crane operator who was killed after being struck by Stallworth's Bentley early in the morning of March 14. Reyes was crossing a causeway on his way to catch a bus. Stallworth stopped, was judged to have an alcohol level of .126, well over the legal limit. Stallworth paid an undisclosed amount of money to the Reyes family, which favored closure in order to avoid a public trial. The former University of Tennessee wide receiver will ..."

49ers cook up a QB contest

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June 18

San Jose Mercury News

columnist Ann Killion

"On Tuesday, Mike Singletary dismissed his pupils for summer vacation. But not before handing out a gold star for the term to quarterback Alex Smith. Smith started the spring semester as one of the team's biggest question marks. He had never worked directly under Singletary and had plenty to prove. But he ended the final days of practice in a virtual dead heat with Shaun Hill for the starting quarterback job, which will be decided this summer in training camp. "The playing field is level now," Singletary said. And if that concerns you, you're not alone. Smith clearly has made great strides, rebounding from not only injury but also a crisis in confidence. He looks good in practice, seems ..."

Just minicamp, but it's never too early to impress

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June 18

Houston Chronicle

columnist Jerome Solomon

"It was not football. It was not even football practice. That's right —we're not even talking about practice. It was a minicamp. Pretty much a rookie camp. Veterans had the option of sitting out the Texans' three-day mandatory camp this week, and most chose to do just that. It's June. The next time (roughly six weeks from now) the Texans take to the practice fields, we will be talking about real practice. That's when we'll learn if Arian Foster, the good-looking football player, is a good football player. But in June, the rookie free agent from Tennessee, who is hoping to earn a spot as a reserve running back with the Texans, looks like a player. At 6-1, 225 pounds, Foster has the look of ..."