NFL News: Pro Sports Daily

New Orleans Saints are Super Bowl XLIV champions

Comment

February 8

New Orleans Times-Picayune

"After the confetti had dropped, after the tears were shed, after they stood in front of the cameras and the microphones and tried to put the greatest night of their professional lives in perspective, Sean Payton and Drew Brees shared a quiet moment together. They hopped on the back of a golf cart, each with a hand on the shiny silver Vince Lombardi Trophy that rested in Payton's lap, each with a wide grin across their faces. "Don't you just want it to slow down and last longer?" the coach said to his quarterback. Lucky for them, the feeling won't go away any time soon, now that the New Orleans Saints have become Super Bowl XLIV champions for the first time in their 43-year history, thanks ..."

Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees cements his place in New Orleans lore

Comment

February 8

New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Sunday started in New Orleans with the Rev. Monsignor Crosby W. Kern celebrating Mass with a Drew Brees jersey underneath his vestments. It ended in Miami Gardens with Brees standing atop a gridiron altar to accept the Pete Rozelle Trophy as the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV after his near flawless performance led the New Orleans Saints to their first world championship. They elected a new mayor in New Orleans on Saturday. They will crown a new king of Carnival next week. But New Orleans is and forever will be Brees' town. He'll never buy another drink, never purchase another meal and never pay another parking ticket. It's his faubourg. We're just living in it. The Saints quarterback etched his ..."

Colts' glorious decade ends on bitter note as Brees, Porter lead Saints

Comment

February 8

Indianapolis Star

"Who dat blew dat? A grand season and a great start crashed down around the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night at Sun Life Stadium. They charged into a 10-point lead, then went into a dead stall as the New Orleans Saints dominated the final three quarters to win Super Bowl XLIV 31-17. As the orange and white confetti swirled and many in the Saints-dominated crowd of 74,059 celebrated, the Colts struggled to choke down a bitter end to a bountiful decade. The won six division titles and 115 games, more than any team in any decade in NFL history. They started this season 14-0 to run their winning streak to an NFL-record 23, but there was a single title, a victory in Super Bowl XLI after the ..."

Title Decided, but Labor Battle Is Just Beginning

Comment

February 8

New York Times

"The N.F.L. season ended Sunday night. And how. The New Orleans Saints, who had come to represent the city's hope for recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, won the first Super Bowl in the franchise's history, upsetting the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning, 31-17. Fittingly, Tracy Porter, one of four Louisiana natives on the Saints, intercepted Manning with 3 minutes 12 seconds left and returned the ball 74 yards for a touchdown to give the Saints their margin of victory."

Porter says he's finished as a Dolphin

Comment

February 8

NFL.com

"Linebacker Joey Porter, appearing on NFL GameDay Morning on Sunday at Sun Life Stadium, said he has played his final days in a Dolphins uniform and plans to play elsewhere next season. "Probably as a Dolphin, but not the last time you'll see me in this stadium," Porter said when asked about his future in Miami. "I still have a lot of years of football left … but strapping on that jersey, yes, this year is the last time.""

Birds QB rumors

Comment

February 8

Philadelphia Daily News

"If there is one day in the NFL year when we ought to be free of worrying about Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, it should be Super Bowl Sunday. Alas, such is not the case. We've had reports from ESPN folk who apparently have too much time on their hands, with their network not doing the game. Adam Schefter says multiple teams have asked the Birds about all three of their quarterbacks and three teams have called about Michael Vick. Sal Paolantonio added that three teams - Cleveland, Denver and Buffalo - have had multiple conversations with the Eagles about Donovan McNabb. Don't know the exact teams myself, but I understand there have been a lot of calls, many of them not about any QB in ..."

Walter Jones says via Twitter he's retiring

Comment

February 8

Seattle Times

"Left tackle Walter Jones, via his Twitter account, indicated he is "retiring from football." Jones has previously used Twitter to hint at retirement only to have been joking. So stay tuned to see if there is anything to this. Walter Jones indicated he will retire from football on Sunday. Jones said via his Twitter account that he had decided, "it is time for me to retire from football." The post was made shortly on Sunday morning, about three to four hours before the Super Bowl was to be played. Jones has previously used Twitter to hint at his retirement going back to training camp in 2009. Never has it been this blunt, though. Jones agent, Roosevelt Barnes, could not confirm any decision ..."

Burress tells CBS life behind bars made him realize damage he did to NY Giants

Comment

February 8

Newark Star-Ledger

"After Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg, practically derailing the Giants' 2008 season in the time it took the bullet to penetrate his skin, he still didn't show much remorse to the Giants' organization. Burress demanded a trade, appealed the team's decision to suspend him, fine him and withhold a $1 million payment of his signing bonus and refused to accept their offer to drop the appeal and continue with his current contract. Eventually, Burress came to a different conclusion once he got behind bars. "I personally handwrote (team president and CEO) John Mara a letter and (vice president) Steve Tisch a letter," Burress said Sunday during an interview on CBS' "Super Bowl Today" ..."

Report: Maualuga to enter rehab

Comment

February 8

Cincinnati Enquirer

"After meeting with NFL officials earlier this week, Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga will enter a rehab facility at the end of the month, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Schefter reported that Maualuga is planning on checking into the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., later this month for 30 days or longer. It is possible that he would miss the beginning of the team's offseason conditioning program, which will begin in late March. Maualuga was thinking about entering the center sooner but left with Bengals teammates Domata Peko and Jonathan Fanene today for a trip to Samoa."

Dolphins player charged with domestic violence

Comment

February 8

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

"Miami Dolphins defensive tackle Tony McDaniel appeared in a Broward County courtroom Sunday morning, charged with domestic violence, according to police and court records. McDaniel, 25, and his girlfriend, Alaina Smith, got into a shoving match outside their Davie home Saturday morning. They were arguing over unanswered phone calls and a late night of partying, according to McDaniel's arrest report. The fight happened about 8:30 a.m. Saturday in the 3100 block of Palm Tree Landings. Smith told investigators she had just returned from buying breakfast for houseguests when McDaniel confronted her about not answering her phone when he called. He had just returned from a night out with ..."

Goodell Stresses a Culture of Safety

Comment

February 8

New York Times

"One of the iconic images of football is of linemen preparing to square off, face mask to face mask, with one hand dug into the turf in a three-point stance, but Commissioner Roger Goodell said Sunday that it was conceivable such showdowns could be prohibited. Goodell told Bob Schieffer on CBS's "Face the Nation" that the league was continuing to assess ways to make the game safer, especially in reducing head injuries. In response to a question from Schieffer, Goodell said, "You'll see a lot of players that never get down in the three-point stance, so it's possible that that would happen." The interview took place on the field at Sun Life Stadium, where Super Bowl XLIV was played later ..."

Freeney says long halftime hampered ability to play in second half

Comment

February 8

ESPN.com

"Somehow, the Indianapolis Colts knew Dwight Freeney would play. A man doesn't spend 17 hours a day rehabbing a swollen right ankle for nothing. Freeney didn't even take a cortisone shot Sunday before he took the field against the New Orleans Saints. Didn't talk to his teammates about the pain. And when he spun around in his trademark whirling-dervish move, it appeared as if everything would go right for the Colts. Three hours and Saints three touchdowns later, Freeney braced himself against the shoulder of a PR guy in a suit and limped off into the night. He defied sports medicine and all the early reports that said there was little chance he'd play in Super Bowl XLIV with an ankle that at ..."

Goodell puts his focus on labor deal, not possible lockout

Comment

February 8

USA Today

"NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday that negotiating and delivering a new labor agreement is his main priority, saying, "You don't make money by shutting down your business."Goodell's remarks came three days after NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith told USA TODAY that league owners are not only bracing for a lockout but also looking to break the players' resolve. The owners opted out of the previous collective bargaining agreement in May 2008, and the current deal expires at the end of the 2010 league year. Both sides used the Super Bowl week stage to get their message out about the reasons behind an acrimonious labor divide that could threaten the 2011 ..."