Nfl Football - Football Betting

2005-11-07T12:55:00.000-08:00

Johnson TD as time expires lifts Chiefs past Raiders

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Dick Vermeil was going to be the biggest fool or the shrewdest gambler in the NFL. --football gambling--

With five seconds left, Kansas City trailed by three and had the ball on the Oakland 1 and Vermeil faced one of the toughest decisions of his long coaching career. Have placekicker Lawrence Tynes -- who's on a 13-for-13 streak -- kick a virtually automatic field goal and force overtime? Or roll the dice and go for the win?--football gambling--

Vermeil went for the TD. Behind center Casey Wiegmann and 10-time Pro Bowl right guard Will Shields, Larry Johnson dived over the pile into the end zone for a 27-23 victory that brought a roar from the sellout crowd and left the emotional head coach in tears. --football gambling--

"Wow! I was scared. I just figured I'm too old to wait," said Vermeil, who recently turned 69. "If we had not made it, then you guys [reporters] would have had a lot of fun with that. It was not an impulsive thing. It was the right thing for us to do." --football gambling--

The sixth straight victory for the Chiefs (5-3) over the Raiders (3-5) kept them one game behind Denver in the AFC West and dealt Oakland a painful loss. "This is about as bitter a defeat as you could have," said Oakland quarterback Kerry Collins, whose two fourth-quarter touchdown passes put the Raiders on top. "It's tough. You fight your way back in a rough game and find a way to get ahead, and then it doesn't work out. That's about as tough as it gets."--football gambling--

Johnson and Trent Green made the sensational finish possible when Green hit the wide-open running back over the middle. He sped 36 yards before Nnamdi Asomugha and Stuart Schweigert ran him down at the 1. --football gambling--

"Down in the red zone, he put the ball in my hands," said Johnson, who has publicly complained that Vermeil does not give him enough carries. "I'm glad they gave me the opportunity."
Randy Moss, who hadn't caught a pass all day, beat Dewayne Washington in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard reception with 1:45 left that gave the Raiders the lead. --football gambling--

Then Green, playing through the pain of his father's funeral just four days earlier, whipped the Chiefs 72 yards down the field. Before going for it, Vermeil checked with his coaches and players.
"He was asking questions of everybody to see what everybody thought, what everybody's attitude was," said Green. "No matter how that play ended up, that's where you have to send a message on a football team and I think that was great on his part to have the confidence in us."
The Chiefs were missing their best running back (Priest Holmes), best offensive lineman (Willie Roaf) and best cornerback (Patrick Surtain), as well as two of their top backups in the secondary.--football gambling--

The Raiders were without two starters, defensive backs Charles Woodson and Derrick Gibson, and that could have made a difference in Kansas City's final drive. --football gambling--
Johnson, who had 107 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, scored on a 15-yard run for a 20-9 lead with 12:56 left.--football gambling--

But then the Oakland offense, shut down most of the day, came alive. Collins hit Jerry Porter with a 4-yard TD pass and Moss, hobbled most of the week in practice, caught his first pass. A run by LaMont Jordan converted the two-point play and put the Raiders on top 23-20.--football gambling--
"When we made the two-point conversion we went up by three. You thought at worst it would be overtime," said Oakland coach Norv Turner.--football gambling--

Green tossed a 6-yard TD pass to Tony Richardson for a 13-9 lead at the end of third quarter and, two plays later, Greg Wesley intercepted Collins' poorly thrown pass. The Chiefs took over on the Oakland 35.--football gambling--

Johnson broke Schweigert's attempted ankle tackle and went in from the 15. Tynes and Sebastian Janikowski each kicked two field goals through a dull first half, and then Chris Carr's 62-yard kickoff return set up Janikowski for a third 3-pointer, from 48 yards, in the final seconds. --football gambling--

Tynes had made it 6-6 with a 47-yarder with 34 seconds left in the half. Janikowski also had a 49-yarder in the second quarter. --football gambling--

Game notesSix of the last seven Chiefs-Raiders games in Arrowhead have been decided in overtime or the last 25 seconds of regulation. The teams are 3-3 in those six games, but the last three have gone to the Chiefs. ... Shields appeared in his 200th consecutive game, all with the Chiefs and all but one as a starter. Only former kicker Nick Lowery (212 games) and longtime punter Jerrel Wilson (203) had more regular-season appearances for Kansas City. ... After most of the Raiders left the field following Johnson's game-winning touchdown, Collins took the safety position for the Chiefs' conversion kick.--football gambling--

2005-11-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Plummer Named AFC Offensive Player Of The Week

AP) DENVER Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer was named the AFC offensive player of the week Wednesday. -NFL Football-

Plummer threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns in the Broncos' 49-to-21 win Sunday over the Philadelphia Eagles. -NFL Football-

Over the last six games, Plummer has thrown 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating has climbed to 91.3 although that's tied for only ninth in the NFL. -NFL Football-

Meanwhile, the Broncos have placed Dwayne Carswell on the non-football injured list. Carswell continues to improve in the hospital from injuries he suffered last week in a car crash in Denver. -NFL Football-

He's expected to be out of the hospital later this week or early next week. -NFL Football-

To take his roster spot, the team signed offensive lineman Taylor Whitley, a third-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in 2003. -NFL Football-

2005-10-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

Mexicans Catch Football Fever as NFL Takes Game South of Border

Sept. 30 (Bloomberg) -- The San Francisco 49ers football team will play before their biggest crowd this weekend in 14 years -- in Mexico City. -NFL Football-

The National Football League is using the game between the 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals to try to add to its 20 million fans in Mexico, the largest group for any country after the U.S. The NFL says the Oct. 2 game will draw 85,000 to Azteca Stadium for its first-ever regular-season game outside the U.S. -NFL Football-

``We have a great fan base in Mexico and it's been growing dramatically over the last several years,'' said NFL Chief Operating Officer Roger Goodell. -NFL Football-

Football is the second-most popular sport in Mexico, trailing only soccer, said Ricardo Perez, director of sports and special events for Grupo Televisa SA, world's largest Spanish- language media company. Perez said NFL games on Televisa, which is co-sponsoring the 49ers-Cardinals match, draw ratings as much as 40 percent higher than baseball. -NFL Football-

Sales of NFL caps, jackets and other merchandise in Mexico bring in about $15 million a year, according to the league. -NFL Football-

Companies scoop up advertising time during NFL games on Televisa because the audience is made up of ``high-income'' earners, said Perez, 43. He declined to give Televisa's ad prices or revenue from NFL games. -NFL Football-

Those wealthy fans include Fernando Villarreal, a 51-year- old independent business consultant based in Monterrey. Villarreal travels several times a year to the U.S. to watch his favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys. -NFL Football-

`Nightmare'

On his last trip Sept. 19, Villarreal went back and forth to Dallas in the same day to watch the Cowboys play the Washington Redskins. The Cowboys, the most popular team in Mexico, let a 13- 0 lead slip away in the final four minutes of the game and lost 14-13. -NFL Football-

``It was the season opener and it was a beautiful night,'' Villarreal, who attended the Cowboys' three Super Bowl victories in the 1990s, said in a telephone interview from Monterrey. ``And then it turned into a nightmare.'' -NFL Football-

Televisa began airing games in the late 1960s, planting the seeds for the popularity of football in Mexico, Perez said. Games can now be seen on Mexico's television networks as well as cable TV networks ESPN Inc., owned by Walt Disney Co., Fox Sports Networks LLC, owned by News Corp., and Sky Mexico, Televisa's satellite television unit. -NFL Football-

Both ESPN and Fox Sports are part of Empresas Cablevision SA's basic cable package in Mexico, which costs 260 pesos ($24) a month. -NFL Football-

Football or Baseball

Mexicans prefer football over baseball even though more of them play professional baseball than football. Eighteen Mexicans started the 2005 baseball season on Major League teams. Only one Mexican -- 361-pound (164 kilograms) Rolando Cantu -- plays in the NFL. He is an offensive lineman for the Cardinals who never has played in a regular season game. -NFL Football-

``The NFL has done its homework in Mexico,'' Perez said. ``The challenge now is to spread the game to the masses.'' -NFL Football-

The NFL converted Joshua Olivo, a 14-year-old student in Mexico City, from a soccer fan to a football fan by inviting him to join about 100,000 other Mexican kids in a flag football league set up in 1998 by the NFL. Olivo said he knew nothing about football when he joined the league three years ago. -NFL Football-

``I liked soccer more,'' said Olivo as he threw a football to his teammates at his school's practice field this week. ``When they invited me to play, I got interested and now I like football better.'' -NFL Football-

First Fans

Olivo said he plans to be one of the first of the 85,000 people to file into Azteca Stadium for the Sunday night game. -NFL Football-

While the crowd would be the biggest the 49ers have drawn in 14 years, it would be smaller than the crowd of 112,376 that packed into Azteca to watch the Cowboys play a pre-season game in 1994. -NFL Football-

Pre-season games in Mexico City in 1997 and 1998 also drew over 100,000. NFL and Televisa officials said they removed the lowest 10 rows of seats from the stadium for this weekend's game so that spectators can see over the players standing on the sidelines. -NFL Football-

The 49ers and Cardinals have a combined record this year of one win and five losses. The 49ers, which won five Super Bowls from 1981 to 1995, had the worst record in the NFL last year with two wins and 14 losses. -NFL Football-

The Cardinals, which will be considered the home team for the game at Azteca, haven't had a winning season since 1998. -NFL Football-

``If this game fills Azteca Stadium with these two teams, then it's a true measure that people indeed love NFL football in Mexico,'' said Jose Manuel Basave, who writes a football sports column for El Norte newspaper in Monterrey. -NFL Football-

To contact the reporter on this story:
Thomas Black in Mexico City at  tblack@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 30, 2005 00:10 EDT

2005-10-20T19:47:00.000-07:00

MIAMI -- Hurricane Wilma slowed down Thursday, prompting the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs to start moving quickly. --- nfl ---
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Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas apologetically skipped his normal interview availability, saying he needed to cram two days of film study into a few hours. The Chiefs scrambled to revise travel plans, and league officials worked on new television arrangements and other details. --- nfl ---
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When Wilma makes its expected arrival in Florida sometime Sunday, the Chiefs will be long gone. Their visit to Miami was switched to Friday night because of the looming Category 4 hurricane -- which would be the eighth to affect the Sunshine State in the past 15 months. --- nfl ---
--- nfl ---The game originally scheduled for Sunday will now be played at 7 p.m. Friday. --- nfl ---
"As in the past, we recognize unusual circumstances and will address them appropriately on a case-by-case basis," said Dolphins Enterprises CEO Joe Bailey.--- nfl ---
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"This is only about the fifth one of those we've had this year," said Dolphins coach Nick Saban, who learned of the schedule switch during Thursday's practice. "So it's not our first rodeo when it comes to these things, and we know how unpredictable they can be, and we know how dangerous they can be."
The game will be televised by CBS affiliates in primary secondary markets in South Florida and Kansas City. But there will be no national telecast. --- nfl ---
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"We are not extending the telecast to more markets because we want to adhere as closely as possible to the spirit of our longstanding policy not to conflict with high school and college football during their seasons [which means Friday night and Saturday]," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. --- nfl ---
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It's the third time since the start of the 2004 season that a Miami home game was rescheduled because of a hurricane. The Dolphins lost to Tennessee in last year's home opener pushed up a day by Hurricane Ivan, then were beaten by Pittsburgh in a deluge -- remnants of Hurricane Jeanne -- two weeks later.
--- nfl ---
"They couldn't have picked a better team to send down there and play well," said Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil, whose team will fly to South Florida on Friday morning. "That's the way we're approaching it. We'll go down there and play our best football game of the year. --- nfl ---
The guys are in a good frame of mind. They accept it. We would have liked it to be a different way but we have no choice." --- nfl ---
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A celebration of the team's 40th anniversary and Dan Marino's induction into the Hall of Fame has also been rescheduled, the Miami Herald reported.
Marino will now receive his Hall of Fame ring at halftime of the Nov. 6 game against the Atlanta Falcons, the Herald reported. --- nfl ---
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Moving the game would seem to put Jason Taylor's streak of 87 straight starts in jeopardy. The Dolphins' standout defensive end hasn't practiced this week because of a foot injury, and linebacker Junior Seau is still bothered by an injured calf. --- nfl ---
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Clearly, the Dolphins would have liked the extra time to get those two players ready to face a Kansas City rushing attack that's averaging more than 127 yards per game. --- nfl ---
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"We've got to play sometime," said Miami's David Bowens, who may start in Taylor's place. "It gives us a chance to show how we react to an adverse situation. ... It has been 11 years since I played on Friday night -- high school. It definitely takes me back." --- nfl ---
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Vermeil lobbied for the game to be played in Kansas City, and the prospects of a long plane ride followed only hours later by a game didn't exactly overjoy the Chiefs. --- nfl ---
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"Everyone's concern is the safety of the players and the coaches and the fans. And that's what most paramount," Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson said. "Obviously, I've never watched the Weather Channel as I have in the last 24, 48 hours." --- nfl ---
--- nfl ---
The teams have two co--- nfl ---
mmon opponents. Kansas City (3-2) beat the Jets 27-7 in the season-opener; one week later, the Dolphins lost to the Jets 17-7. And the Chiefs were beaten 30-10 by Denver in Week 3; Miami downed the Broncos 34-10 in Week 1, Denver's only loss so far. --- nfl ---
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"Look at that game and Denver doesn't look like the same team because Miami didn't allow them to be," Vermeil said. --- nfl ---
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The Chiefs will face a two-runner attack by Miami, with Ricky Williams set to make his home regular-season, post-suspension debut alongside rookie Ronnie Brown, the No. 2 overall draft pick who's rushed for 343 yards in his first five games. --- nfl ---
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"Both those guys are great backs, and they can do different things," said Chiefs safety Patrick Surtain, who spent seven years in Miami before being traded after last season. "We're going to have to be on our P's and Q's because both those guys can hurt us at any time. That's the key to the game -- stopping those guys." --- nfl ---
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Surtain said he was pleased Williams is back with Miami, saying he hopes the 2002 NFL rushing champion "regains the form he had a couple of years ago."
For this game, though, Surtain would prefer Williams have the last weekend's form. Williams had five rushes for 8 yards and six catches for 22 more yards last week in Miami's loss to Tampa Bay, his first game since the end of the 2003 season. --- nfl ---
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"Once we get through the mental part and get on the field, it will be fun," Williams said of the schedule switch. "We don't have any Monday night or Sunday night games this year, so it's a chance to take advantage of the national attention and make a name for ourselves." --- nfl ---
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All, of course, before Wilma becomes the only name on the minds of most Floridians.
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"It's inconvenient, no question," said Joe Bailey, the CEO of Dolphins Enterprises. "But it's also an adventure."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.--- nfl ---
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2005-10-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

Head coach Martz back at Rams practice

ST. LOUIS (Oct. 7, 2005) -- Mike Martz returned to the practice field Oct. 7, ready to put the attention back on the St. Louis Rams ' next game instead of his heart condition.

Martz, 54, missed two days while undergoing tests for a bacterial infection of a heart valve. He said earlier this week that team doctors believe he has endocarditis. - NFL Football -

"I appreciate everybody's concern and I'm not trying to minimize this, I'm really not, but everything's fine," Martz said. "Now it's time to focus on this team and winning a game. Really, I'm not trying to minimize it or be a John Wayne or anything else like that, it just is what it is."

Martz has undergone a series of blood cultures to confirm the diagnosis, but had nothing to add on that front, repeatedly telling reporters to ask him about "Seattle stuff."

"It just takes a while to treat and get over it," Martz said. "It's so early now that there won't be any issues from it. I'm very pleased about that." - NFL Football -

The Rams (2-2) play the Seattle Seahawks (2-2) on Oct. 9 in a game for first place in the NFC West.

He appeared to be his old, feisty self during practice, yelling at rookies.

"It was nice to hear his voice out there," said defensive end Leonard Little, who is glad he's not a rookie. - NFL Football -

Martz felt well enough to joke about the team getting accustomed to his absence, saying assistant head coach Joe Vitt had taken over his office with his feet up on the desk and clicking the channel changer when he came in every morning for an abbreviated work day.

Vitt, also the linebackers coach, directed practice Oct. 5 and 6. - NFL Football -

"The family pictures were still there," Martz said. "The name had been changed on the door to Joe Vitt."

Martz was hospitalized late last week with what doctors believed to be a sinus infection, but he coached the Rams in a 44-24 loss to the New York Giants.

Players were happy to have him back. - NFL Football -

"He had a little twinkle in his eye," defensive lineman Tyoka Jackson said. "I didn't know what that was all about, but he looks better, sounds better, so I think he's ready to roll on Sunday.

"We need to go out there and make sure he didn't fight to get out of the hospital for nothing."

Martz said the only difference this week for him was he wasn't on the field for those two days. He has watched practice tape and also was present for meetings.

"I was very proud of the way they practiced," Martz said. "They didn't skip a beat. There's good news and bad news in that, I guess." - NFL Football -

On the injury front, wide receiver Isaac Bruce (turf toe) is doubtful and likely will be sidelined for a second straight week.

2005-09-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

Girls and boys take part in football competition

By KAREN MADDEN
Daily Tribune
PITTSVILLE - Future quarterbacks, linemen and kickers gathered at the high school football field to compete in the Pittsville Mayheart Knights of Columbus Punt, Pass & Kick competition.

Girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 12 were eligible, and winners of the Saturday competition advanced to a regional event to try for a place in the state competition in Green Bay.

While many of the competitors dream of a future in the NFL, 11-year-old Emily Ginter of Vesper wants to be a wildlife biologist. However, she did enjoy competing.
"I like sports," she said. "I like fishing, too." - NFL Football -
Her favorite teams are the Packers and the Vikings. Emily also likes playing basketball and participating in karate.

Emily, a sixth-grader at Pittsville Elementary School, believes girls can compete with boys when it comes to football. - NFL Football -

"The girls play better than the boys at our school," she said.

Fourth-grader Dillon Outes, 9, of Pittsville would disagree. Dillon took second place in last year's Punt, Pass and Kick competition, which didn't include his favoritefootball skill - tackling.

Dillon has dreams of playing quarterback for the Packers. He also likes riding his bicycle. His favorite class is physical education, although his parents seem to favor math class.

Olie Voight, 10, competed for the third time at Punt, Pass and Kick. His favorite part of the competition is passing. However, when it comes to playing the game, he enjoys getting physical.

"I mostly like defense and all the tackling," Olie said. - NFL Football -

He'd also like to join the NFL, but not as a Green Bay Packer.

"I'd probably be a Buccaneer," he said.

Tampa Bay was Olie's favorite team, even before the Buccaneers defeated the Packers on Sunday.

© Daily Tribune

2005-09-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

NFL Injuries Contributed to Long Death
By JOE MANDAK Associated Press Writer

PITTSBURGH Sep 13, 2005 — Former Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Terry Long died from a brain inflammation that resulted, in part, from repeated head injuries suffered while playing football.

Long, 45, died at UPMC Passavant Hospital on June 7, a few hours after paramedics found him unconscious at his home. An autopsy was inconclusive, but subsequent tests on tissues and fluids taken from Long's body yielded the findings released Tuesday.

Long died of an inflammation of the lining of the brain, said Joseph Dominick, chief deputy coroner in Allegheny County. A contributing factor was "chronic traumatic encephalopathy" also known as dementia pugilistica a condition most often seen among career boxers.

"He wasn't a boxer, but that's a general term that we would use to denote changes in the brain of a degenerative nature," coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht said. "They can be from one intensely traumatic injury, or they can be from repetitive and cumulative injuries, which is what we believe happened here."

Wecht's autopsy report said Long's brain suffered "repeated mild traumatic injury while playing football." Those repeated injuries made Long's brain more susceptible to meningitis, which can sometimes also be caused by an infection, but Wecht said that wasn't the case with Long.

"We now have partial closure on Terry's tragic death and demise," Mark Rush, his former business attorney and friend, said of the autopsy findings. "It certainly saddened me to learn that football, a sport Terry loved, possibly contributed to his death."

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett declined comment on the findings, which come two years after at least three manufacturers introduced new helmets in the NFL and college football designed to guard against concussions. The new helmets came in response to published studies showing players who had one concussion were more susceptible to others.

Wecht has done research in that area, and has jointly published a case study of Mike Webster, a former Steelers center and Hall of Famer who was diagnosed with football-induced dementia before he died in September 2002 at age 50.

2005-09-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Touchdown: Fantasy Football
...lets fans act like big-shot NFL studs

This season, wide receiver Anquan Boldin won't just play for the Arizona Cardinals. He might not know it, but he's been drafted for the Brown Wall Street team in the Clubhouse Crew FantasyFootball League. What about All-Pro Kansas City running back Priest Holmes? He'll suit up for the Apt. 130 Monkey Wrench.

With the kick-off of the 2005 NFL season only two weeks away, fantasy football leagues around the country are filling their rosters. For the uninitiated, the idea is to create a lineup of NFL players who acquire points by scoring touchdowns and amassing yardage. In some leagues, teams play each other each week, while others choose a winner with total points at the end of the season.

The biggest part of fantasy football is drafting the players. Whether you're a yearly subscriber to the NFL Network or don't know the difference between Tom Brady and Peter Brady, there is a league for everyone. Tom is the three-time Super Bowl champion and Peter is the middle brother of the famous TV family, the Brady Bunch, by the way.

Erik Hernandez, 19, is an industrial design junior at ASU and has played fantasy football for three years.

"I have always been into tracking stats and fantasy football just seems like a game that benefits from knowing typically useless football statistics," says Hernandez. "The draft is always a great time to trash-talk and spoil the plans of other people in the league."

Unlike the NFL, you won't see thousands of screaming fans crammed into Madison Square Garden during fantasy football drafts. Instead, you'll see a group of friends huddled around a table amidst a sea of rosters, cheat sheets and empty bags of potato chips.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue won't stroll across the stage, clutching an envelope to announce each pick. Instead, each owner shouts out his or her picks, followed by moans, chuckles and expletives.

Before the draft begins, Hernandez says it's very important to do your homework.

"To prepare for the draft I read online articles about players in training camp and pre-season, check out previous season statistics, and keep an eye on battles for starting positions," says Hernandez.

Web sites like ESPN.com offer plenty of help for fantasy owners setting up their strategy.

"I cheat," says 20-year-old English sophomore Mike Nevarez. "I really don't know much about football, statistically speaking, so I print out 'cheat sheets' and depth charts [rosters]."

Finance sophomore Surya Srinarayana chooses players by drafting from his favorite team: the Arizona Cardinals, who haven't had a winning season since 1997. Srinarayana says he thinks this year will be different.

"Fantasy football is about individual stats, and actual NFL games are about wins," says Srinarayana.

Hernandez and Srinarayana are just two of many people joining fantasy football leagues and dreaming of creating the ultimate team.

In 2004, an estimated 10 million people played fantasy football and turned it into a $100 million industry, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association.

"I think fantasy football is gaining interest because most football fans are closet stat trackers," says Hernandez. "It's also a good way to get groups together to watch games and have some friendly competition."

Even though most sites require you to pay to play, sites like ESPN.com and Yahoo.com let you play for free. And Nevarez says that's fine with him.

"It's all about bragging rights," says Nevarez. "When you are the underdog because sportscasters have [bad] projected a season for your players, there is no better feeling than to stuff it in your friends' faces when your iffy picks have a blowout season."

Copyright © 2001-05, ASU Web Devil. All rights reserved.

2005-08-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

Fantasy football booming biz on LI

BY MONTY PHAN

August 29, 2005

It's Draft Day. Football owners, accompanied by laptops, pore over spreadsheets they've bought and compiled from online analysts while they practice such esoteric theories as "value-based drafting."

For a game with "fantasy" in its name, this scenario may seem like a lot of work. But across the country, small-scale online information services have formed a cottage industry catering to these types of fantasy football fans, whose fervor for the game has them better resembling actual NFL owners than hobby enthusiasts.

If not for them, there wouldn't be such sites as Fanta syFootballChamps.com, run by two Long Island cousins, or Nevada-based TheHuddle.com or KFFL.com in California.

All three -- and many others -- charge for their content, and have been doing so since the time critics of online media said no one would pay for content on the Internet.

Many even have full-time jobs devoted to providing content for fantasy sports fans.

"The Internet has allowed basically anybody to be an expert in fantasy sports," said Greg Ambrosius, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. "Obviously, the competition is so intense right now that you need to know what you're talking about, or people aren't going to pay money to listen to you year to year."

Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

2005-08-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Former NFL running back arrested

(Los Angeles) August 22, 2005 - Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder charges.
Police say he ran his car into three teen-agers at a park after getting into an argument with them during a pickup football game. None of the injuries is considered life-threatening.
Authorities had already been looking for Philipps on domestic violence charges. They say he attacked his girlfriend twice, once choking her unconscious.
Phillips' career with the St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins was marred by various off-field run-ins with the law.

Associated Press

2005-08-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Robbins In Trouble With Law Again PRO FOOTBALL

SAN ANTONIO - Former NFL offensive lineman Barret Robbins, awaiting trial on attempted murder, was arrested on a marijuana possession charge, police said Sunday.
Robbins, a former Pro Bowler with Oakland, was detained Saturday night after a bike patrol officer noticed the smell of marijuana coming from his car, Officer Joe Rios said.
"We had probable cause and the officer saw a marijuana pipe in plain view on the center console," Rios said. "He gave no resistance and was very passive, but officers were aware of his violent past." - NFL Football -
In January, Robbins was shot twice in the chest after allegedly fighting with Miami police who were making a burglary call. Robbins, found hiding in a women's restroom, was accused of beating one police officer to the floor, slamming another into a wall and ramming a third officer's head into a wall. - NFL Football -
He has pleaded innocent to three counts of attempted felony murder and other charges. No trial date has been set. - NFL Football -
Robbins, who has bipolar disorder, was released from a Florida hospital in April after posting a $51,000 bond. The arrangement sending him to a Houston hospital near his father's house for physical rehabilitation and bipolar treatment was approved by the judge handling the case.
"We don't know why he was in San Antonio," Rios said. - NFL Football -
Robbins was placed in the Bexar County Jail on an $800 bond Sunday.
Ed Griffith, spokesman for the Miami-Dade County state attorney's office, said Sunday it was too soon to say how an arrest would affect Robbins' case in Florida.
"This may have negative ramifications on his pending criminal case in Miami," Griffith told The Associated Press. - NFL Football -
Robbins' well-chronicled troubles began when he disappeared before Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego in early 2003, then showed up the night before the game against the Bucs in an incoherent state and was deactivated for the game.
After spending a month in an alcohol rehabilitation center, Robbins lost weight and regained his spot in the Raiders' starting lineup the following year. - NFL Football -
But the Raiders released him last summer after he tested positive for steroids. Before the Miami Beach fight, he was arrested for allegedly hitting a security guard in San Francisco.

Tribune wire report

2005-08-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

NFL Day at the track

Football season may be a few weeks away, but on Sunday, folks at the track got to huddle up with some NFL greats from years past -- and it was all for a good cause.
NFL fan Paula Sperry said, "You see some names of the older gentlemen when I was growing up, and it is just a thrill to meet them." - NFL Football -
Former Giant and Pro-Bowl lineman Leonard Marshall signed autographs for fans. He said, "I think that most of the guys here care about the development of young adolescents and I think that it's equally important to us when we were coming up."
With a $5 donation, fans got the chance to meet a couple dozen NFL greats. The alumni are part a bigger group of former NFL players raising money for organizations that work with kids.
Tim Sherwin, President of the Upstate New York NFL Alumni said their motto says it all. He said, "Caring for kids is exactly what it says. The money goes to benefit children and there is a lot of charities that could use the support." - NFL Football -
The NFL players said it's great to raise money for kids, but it is also great to see old friends and guys they used to butt helmets with. - NFL Football -
"It is just as fun for me to be around these guys. It's the one thing you miss being around the fellas, you know the camaraderie, the locker room, everything associated with it," said Marshall.
Along with autographs, the NFL players hosted a 'meet the players lunch' and a charity golf outing. - NFL Football -
Sherwin expected to raise around $100,000, with all proceeds benefiting the Northeast Parent and Child Society.

TWEAN News

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

NFL introduces Mexico to first regular-season game on foreign soil

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

John Rice / Associated Press

2005-07-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hank Stram: 1923-2005
Coaching legend Stram dies
He's best remembered for winning Super Bowl with the Chiefs and as radio commentator.

Hank Stram, the most successful coach in American Football League history and a TV and radio broadcaster for nearly two decades, died Monday in a suburban New Orleans hospital. He was 82.
Stram died at St. Tammany Parish Hospital near his home in Covington, La., across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. He had been in declining health for several years, and his son attributed the death to complications from diabetes.
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. 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.
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 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."
Stram, who had suffered from diabetes for several years, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. Too weak to stand or walk on his own, 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."

Sam Farmer / Los Angeles Times

2005-07-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

Mom provides inspiration for Dan Curran's NFL quest

Dan Curran is a tough guy. Always has been. How many high school kids lift cars by the bumper to get stronger?
On the football field, the chiseled 6-foot, 242-pound Chelmsford resident has always been tougher than nails.
But those two words -- spoken from a Saints Memorial Hospital doctor to his beloved mother -- buckled his knees when he received the news.
“It was like my world ended. She was everything to us,” said Curran, a 28-year-old professional football player via Chelmsford High School and the University of New Hampshire. “To be honest with you, you felt like your world was crashing down. We always had a special bond.”
All eyes were on Kay Curran at the Lowell hospital when the doctor delivered the news last October. Lung cancer?
It didn't seem fair -- she never smoked a cigarette in her life.
But Kay Curran didn't break down when the doctor left.
“I really feel bad for the guy. He's got a tough job to do,” she said to her family.
Five months later, on March 4, 2005, she died at her home, at the age of 69, surrounded by those she loved, including Dan.
More than 1,000 people attended
services. Earlier this week, a short distance from Simonian Alumni Stadium, where he brought fans, including his mother, to their feet at Chelmsford High, Dan Curran shook his head at that memory.
“I don't even know 1,000 people. Do you?” he asked.
For a while, the football fire which has always burned so intensely inside Dan Curran was extinguished. Football? How could he return to a game that requires so much physical and mental preparation when the loss of his mother left him so hollow?
Maybe he should hang up his pads. High school star. College star. Four-year Arena Football League standout. Maybe it was enough. But what about his dream of playing in the National Football League?
The dream is alive. He's working out six days a week in hopes of landing an invitation to his second NFL camp.
He's not a quitter, a trait he inherited from his mother.
--
From perfect to purgatory
A year ago, Curran was on top of the world.
He was coming off the best season of his career for the New Orleans VooDoo. During the 2004 campaign, Curran became the face of the VooDoo. Kids wore his shirts and the fullback/linebacker was one of three finalists for the Ironman Award, given to the AFL's Most Valuable Player.
Four NFL teams -- Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta and New Orleans -- talked to his agent before he signed his first NFL contract with the Saints and received a decent-sized signing bonus, especially for a fullback.
During the summer, he and his wife, Megan, became the proud parents of a son, Ty Thomas.
His life was “perfect.”
At New Orleans' training camp, Curran was not in awe. During the Saints' first preseason game, he made his first and only NFL carry, gaining five yards and a first down against the Jets.
Running down Lambeau Field for special teams duty against Green Bay was a thrill, but Curran was a late cut of the Saints.
He was in talks with Atlanta about signing with the Falcons when he received the devastating news about his mother. Suddenly, football wasn't so important. He never signed with Atlanta and later rejected an offer to play with an NFL Europe team.
“My priority was not football. It just wasn't where my heart was,” he said.
He wanted to be with his mother. Curran, who has three older brothers and one older sister, savored every moment.
“She went without a lot of stuff to make sure we had everything,” he said. “She made lunches for me when I was a senior in high school. It's like ‘Leave It To Beaver' stuff.”
It's a funny line, but Curran was closer to crying than laughing when delivering it.
Kay Curran, a Tewksbury High School Hall of Fame basketball player, made her children the center of her universe, especially when her husband, Thomas, died of a massive heart attack when Dan was 8.
Thomas Curran, a captain on the Chelmsford Fire Department, was still tired from helping battle a large out-of-town fire when he brought Dan to a hockey tryout the next day. Minutes later, Thomas Curran dropped to the ice in front of his son.
A registered nurse, Kay Curran sought a way to be home more with her children. Later, she cleaned houses to make ends meet. And, Dan Curran says proudly, she was always a person who thought of others before herself.
The life of a single parent is never easy. But Kay Curran never complained. She just sacrificed. And sacrificed some more. She never remarried. In fact, she never dated again.
“My dad was the love of her life,” Dan Curran said.
When her final moments came, Kay Curran looked death straight in the eye and didn't blink.
“She told me she was going to see my dad,” Dan Curran said.
The last time she saw her son play football in person was the spring of 2004. New Orleans was hosting Carolina, and Kay Curran was stunned to see so many VooDoo fans were wearing Curran's name on their shirts.
“I'll never forget the look on her face,” he said.
“I think him making it (in pro football) was a huge thing for her,” said Dan's brother, Sean. “But at the same time, when he came home, whether he scored five touchdowns or didn't get in the game, he still had to cut the grass and shovel the snow.”
--
Motivated by memories
Curran just wants a shot, a legitimate shot, to make an NFL roster this fall. His agent has talked to the Buffalo Bills. If it doesn't work out, he has a fall-back plan -- he recently became a certified financial planner.
“I respect all those (NFL) guys. But there's no fear there,” he said. “I know if I get (a chance) I'll be ready. I feel like I'm a better football player than I've ever been.”
When his workouts reach their toughest points, Curran derives motivation from his mother.
“She was one of the most competitive people I've ever met,” he said. “When she was in her 60s and playing Wiffleball with her grandchildren she would be out there diving (for the ball).”
Sean Curran remembers his mother playing street hockey with his son, then 7, and refusing to surrender a soft goal.
When Kay Curran was inducted into the Tewksbury High School Hall of Fame in 1997, she brought the audience to its feet when she said, “People say that some day my son Dan will be inducted into the Chelmsford High Hall of Fame. But I'll always have him beat because now I'm in the Tewksbury High Hall of Fame.”
It's a memory Dan Curran cherishes. One of thousands.

BARRY SCANLON, Sun Staff

2005-07-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

Family comes 1st for Barbers

The crying said plenty.
"We've all got different responsibilities now than we had seven years ago when we had our first camp," said Barber, his voice competing with those of his two young daughters. "Kids, extended family and every thing else."
Family obligations have done what NFL stardom never could -- pulled Tiki and Ronde Barber away from their hometown.
The end of June came and went without the annual NFL Twins Camp, a staple in the Roanoke Valley since 1998. And it's quite possible we've seen the last of the weeklong event that drew campers from as far away as upstate New York -- at least in the form we're used to seeing it.
"It's never a matter of want-to; it's always a matter of can you," Ronde said, when asked if the camp might return. "We've always gotten a lot out of it, and I think the kids we've had there have gotten a lot out of it, too. You just never know."
Ronde, a cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said his mother's move from Roanoke to Maryland earlier this year was a factor.
"It definitely made it harder," he said. "When we've come to Roanoke, we've come to Roanoke with the whole family. We would have had to find another place to stay, which is not prohibitive, but there were a lot of different issues."
Another would be Tiki's travel schedule. A running back for the New York Giants, Tiki spent last week in Israel as a goodwill ambassador. He also has two young boys who help soak up his free time.
In fact, five of the camp's local mainstays -- the Barbers, organizer Steve Bowery, former Salem and Wake Forest player Richard Goodpasture and former Northside/UVa player Walt Derey -- have a combined 12 young children among them.
"At the end of the camp last year, you could feel it in the air," said Goodpasture, 32, "that with all the kids being born ... it's probably going to be really hard for us to do it this year. But it wasn't officially said because nobody wanted to say it. It wasn't a fun decision to make."
Two years ago, the camp grew so popular that organizers had to turn 40 kids away. Derey got a strong taste of the interest when his cellphone number was posted as the camp's contact number on NFL.com.
"I had people calling from all over. 'I'm from Ohio and my kid loves Tiki Barber. When's the camp going to be?' " Derey said with a smile. "I was just like, 'Are you kidding me? You're going to come to a camp all the way out here?' "
Roanoke native Shannon Taylor, a former NFL standout and an ex-teammate of the Barbers at UVa, will still hold his annual football and cheerleading camp July 22-23 at Breckinridge Middle School.
Entering its fourth year, the camp is scheduled to feature football standouts John St. Clair, Alvin Porter, Wali Lundy and others. Taylor said he hopes his camp can continue for many years, but he understands why the Twins Camp hit a snag.
"Tiki and Ronde, they've got a long career and a lot of stuff going on outside of football," Taylor said. "I was faced with that in my first four years in the league. It was tough trying to figure out a good weekend to do it and have good people who can run it when you're not around."

Aaron McFarling
The Roanoke Times

2005-06-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Fantasy Source Expert: Vinnie Iyer

A fantastic fantasy football four

Greetings, true believers! Welcome to the most amazing, incredible, uncanny and fantastic fantasy football column on the web. Read on and make your team excelsior for 2005. . . .

If only I could start every one of my columns with Stan Lee hyperbole, then they all might be adapted into summer blockbusters playing at a theater near you. Instead, I'm left to marvel at the awesome abilities of superheroes and NFL players alike in "the most exciting realm of all, the realm of fantasy."

That's why this July is a great month -- the long-awaited Fantastic Four movie releases and NFL training camps open. While I don't know if the FF flick will be as great as Spider-Man 2, I do know one thing: Jessica Alba looks a whole lot better in spandex than Andy Reid.

Football's version of a fantastic fantasy four is quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end. Although you can't draft Sue Storm for your team, here's The Thing to know: Get solid values for all those positions, and you'll have the right balance of teamwork to take down your personal Dr. Doom.

Game on: Once you know what to look for in the key elements of your roster, it's clobberin' time -- for your competition.

Quarterbacks: Sure, you could reach for a Mr. Fantastic such as Peyton Manning or Daunte Culpepper in the first round, but you can get a solid weekly leader later, such as Jake Delhomme. Delhomme is the kind of QB I like to have: consistent and playing for a well-coached offensive team.

Last season, Delhomme failed to throw a TD pass in only two games. He had two or more scoring strikes in 10 games and posted seven games of 250 yards or more. Drafting Delhomme in the middle rounds also will help you build a strong team elsewhere.

Tom Brady is in a similar vein. He won't have many huge games, but considering where you would draft him, he's comfortable to have in your lineup against anyone -- because he's the only QB who doesn't need to face Bill Belichick's defense. If you're stuck with an up-and-down platoon of Kerry Collins and Jake Plummer, good luck knowing whom to start every week. Sorry Reed, but give me Mr. Consistency instead.

Running backs: It's impossible to get one with the unwavering strength of Ben Grimm, but durability and power are what you need here. You need someone that will hold up for four quarters, bruise defenders as he goes and pack a punch in the red zone.

Everyone would like to pick first to get LaDainian Tomlinson, but it still would be nice to have either Corey Dillon or Rudi Johnson as a No. 1 back. Deuce McAllister, after a strong finish in '05, is ready for a rebound. LaMont Jordan and Willis McGahee lead the new powerful breed.

Fred Taylor and Chris Brown? No thank you. I don't want to sweat over a game-time decision, making roster space for every one of their backups. I want my most important player at my most important position to be as physically reliable as possible -- call it my fantasy "muscle."

Wide receivers: There are only a few Human Torches to choose from here. You want somebody who will burn past coverage, anywhere, and light up the stat sheet for those occasional 3-TD, 150-yard outbursts.

If you're not in a draft position to get Randy Moss, why not grab the superb downfield skills of his teammate, Jerry Porter, later? Remember, he was the guy who torched Champ Bailey for a monster game in the snow last November.

Chad Johnson wears orange and black for a reason -- he can go ablaze at will for the Bengals. Reggie Wayne will continue to flash by the single coverage he gets opposite Marvin Harrison and Brandon Stokley.

Peerless Price and Santana Moss? I don't want someone who will struggle to get separation -- he's a big disappointment, not a big playmaker.

Tight ends: To borrow from the FF's brethren in the Marvel universe, these are the X-Men of fantasy football. They have become much more vital to your team's success than kickers and defenses. Just ask those owners who cheered on Antonio Gates last season -- and those who booed Boo Williams.

Jason Witten puts several No. 2 fantasy wideouts to shame. Alge Crumpler still is Michael Vick's best receiver. I want an athlete first and a blocker second, not the other way around.

Sure, everyone's excited about promising rookie Heath Miller. But the Steelers' tight ends were Invisible Men as the team has been a force pounding it on the ground. One can't truly be an X-factor if the X's and O's are not in his favor.

What does the future hold for our favorite fantastic fantasy football fanatic? You'll have to wait for the next issue!

Vinnie Iyer is the NFL projects editor for Sporting News. Email him at viyer@sportingnews.com

Fantasy Source Expert: Vinnie Iyer

Nfl Football Trivia

2005-06-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

Nfl Football Trivia
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It All Starts Under Center

Shakespeare once wrote, "The play's the thing." In the NFL, it is more like, "The play of the QB is the thing."

NFL training camps open in around six weeks. Most teams have completed a majority of their planning for the 2005 season. Free agency, the draft, and the odd trade all are designed to bring in the best prospects that can be found in order that they compete against each other and yield the best team possible that will then play towards the ultimate goal of an NFL championship.

How well these teams will do is of course unknown, right? After all, this is the salary cap era of NFL football and anyone can beat anyone on any given Sunday, right?

Don't think so. After all the talk of parity and salary cap and draft picks the NFL Football more than ever boils down to the play of the man who touches the ball on every offensive snap, the quarterback.

The NFL is a passing league. While it has a way to go in order to catch up with the Canadian Football League (CFL) where the top QB passes for 6,000 yards (not meters), make no mistake the so-called "smash-mouth football" is a thing of the past. Lost in the dust kicked up by Jim Brown and Larry Csonka all those years ago.

Colleges are now turning out pro-caliber QBs who play in pass-oriented offenses and these guys are the ones who are winning Heisman trophies (no Heisman trophy this decade has gone to a RB). These QBs don't get drafted in the first round so they can turn around and hand the ball off. So, pass or perish.

Need more proof? Look at the playoff teams last year and their starting QB:

Patriots: Tom Brady
Jets: Chad Pennington
Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger
Colts: Peyton Manning
Chargers: Drew Brees
Broncos: Jake Plummer
Eagles:Donovan McNabb
Packers: Brett Favre
Vikings: Daunte Culpepper
Falcons: Mike Vick
Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck
Rams: Marc Bulger

Maybe you aren't convinced that Hasselbeck or Bulger should be on list. Ask yourself this question: who is a better QB in the NFC than these two guys? Rex Grossman? Aaron Brooks?

Like it or not, the trend is clear. The best QB play gets your team into the playoffs. If your QB is going to play at the level of the bottom third of your conference, then your team stays home in January.

The recent "emphasis" on calling illegal contact on a receiver, the banning of the horse-collar tackle and the pass interference call that goes to point of the foul, all these rules are designed to encourage the passing game and discourage defenses from making too many plays on the wideouts.

Two years ago, no playoff team had a RB in the top 10 in rushing. While last year's playoff teams could run the Nfl football, the quality QB remains the common factor.

Before camps open, the playoff teams are almost decided. The teams who had a good QB held onto him and those teams who didn't have a good signal-caller couldn't find one.

The biggest QB move this offseason was Drew Bledsoe moving from the Buffalo Bills to the Dallas Cowboys. What kind of improvement is this? Bledsoe is being replaced by second-year man J.P. Losman. It is difficult to call Losman a second-year player since his leg was broken in the preseason last year and Losman missed 12 games and never started.

In fact, Losman threw only five passes in 2004 and one of them was intercepted. This is the man who replaces a 12-year veteran after the first winning season in three years?

The Bills have not made any strides with Losman. He will struggle as a rookie QB would and finding the playoffs in the AFC East will be impossible.

As for Dallas, Bledsoe may be re-united with Bill Parcells, but so was Vinny Testaverde, the guy he is replacing. There isn't much to choose from these two guys. They are the same player — immobile and past their time. Dallas won't get a sniff of the playoffs.

The biggest QB noise this offseason was not the sound of cameras at a big press conference as the high-profile QB moved to a new team. It was the sound of cash registers ringing as teams locked up their QB so they wouldn't go anywhere.

Tom Brady signed his deal, Drew Brees was franchised, and Brett Favre was coached back from the brink of retirement. Last year, Manning and Vick signed their huge deals.

The bad news here is that all the teams who didn't have a decent QB last year didn't do anything to get one this year.

Buffalo Bills: Losman is really a rookie and he will show that often this season.

Miami Dolphins: How about this depth chart? A.J. Feely, Gus Frerotte, and Sage Rosenfels. Dolphin fans, you better hope Ricky Williams comes back and that he brings his good stuff with him to help you forget how bad your QB situation is. (And I don't mean Ricky's running talents.)

Baltimore Ravens: Kyle Boller? How can Brian Billick be a genius by sticking with this guy? Remember, Billick is an offense guy and the Ravens haven't had an offense since ... nevermore.

Cincinnati Bengals: I like Marvin Lewis as much as the next guy (as a coach). Too bad he can't throw. David Klingler, Akili Smith, Carson Palmer. High pick, low return, no playoffs.

Cleveland Browns: Trent Dilfer, Charlie Frye, and some guy named Josh Harris. Why do people still live in Cleveland? No, really.

Jacksonville Jaguars: Does anyone really believe that Byron Leftwich is on the verge of a breakthrough season? These must be the same people who believe that Mike Tyson is just starting his comeback.

Houston Texans: I had a great deal of respect for David Carr when he was sacked over 50 times in his rookie season. I respected the fact that he got up every time and went back to the huddle. This guy threw for over 3,500 yards last year and who knows it? That's because he throws it between the 20s and then can't find anyone. No points for yards, only TDs.

Tennessee Titans: Steve McNair was one of the best in the NFL, but he can't stay healthy for a season and the Titans can't get past the Colts or the Jags with Billy Volek. Unless the Titans encase McNair in steel, he won't make it through the year and the Titans will continue their downward spiral into salary cap purgatory.

Kansas City Chiefs: This team is the exception. QB Trent Green is a player although he was a very slow starter last year. He threw for 27 TDs last year and most likely it was the defense that kept the Chiefs out of the playoffs. Green's success is also a mystery when you look at the Chiefs WR depth chart. There is no one to throw the ball to and yet Green puts up 4,500 yards. Okay, this one doesn't count. Maybe Green could play defense, too.

Oakland Raiders: Rich Gannon will most likely retire because of injury, leaving the team solely in the hands of Kerry Collins. Sure, he can throw the deep ball and that's what Al Davis wants. That's Raider Nfl football and so is underachieving. If Collins was the answer, the Giants wouldn't have jettisoned him for Kurt Warner and then-rookie Eli Manning.

New York Giants: Not yet, Eli. You are still the little brother.

Dallas Cowboys: Statues with the Star.

Washington Redskins: QB depth chart is Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, and Jason Campbell. What, no Danny Wuerffel or Babe Laufenberg? Has Steve Spurrier really left town?

Detroit Lions: Joey Harrington will be benched by Week 3 for Jeff Garcia. But Garcia fell apart in Cleveland and the Motor City doesn't settle for re-builds.

Chicago Bears: When a team brings in Jeff George, you know that the panic button has just been pushed.

New Orleans Saints: Aaron Brooks and Kordell Stewart are the same guy. They keep turning corners in their career, but after you turn four corners, you are right back to where you started.

Carolina Panthers: Jake Delhomme, Stefan LeFors, and Chris Weinke. Weren't these guys the Three Musketeers? They aren't NFL QBs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: There was a time when Griese in Florida meant success. We call it the 1970s.

Arizona Cardinals: Do I have to say anything? Why is this team considered an NFL franchise? These guys are so bad the league shipped one of their home games to Mexico. Really, the NFL is trying to use NAFTA to rid themselves of these guys.

San Francisco 49ers: Guess who Arizona's opponent is when they play their "home" game in Mexico? If the Minuteman are still patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, they may not allow either team to return as their play is "un-American."

So, there you have it. After each team has played their 16-game season, we will have the same playoff teams as last year. The Q-factor will be too much to overcome this year and the best QB play will get their team into the playoffs.

By Jeff Moore