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Randy Moss still thinks he’s best, no matter what Jerry Rice says – latimes.com
A day after declaring himself the greatest receiver ever, Randy Moss did not back down from his statements — even if they did seem to upset the all-time leader in most statistical categories at the position.
“What I said is what I felt, and I don’t want to get into a shouting match with Jerry Rice or anybody,” Moss said as the San Francisco 49ers, preparing for Sunday’s Super Bowl, met the media on Wednesday. “It’s my personal opinion. [Rice] has the numbers but I don’t believe in numbers…”
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QB Young in good shape during workout for Bills
Buffalo Bills receiver David Nelson describes free agent quarterback Vince Young as looking in great shape during his workout for the team.
What’s unclear is what the Bills think about Young and whether he fits in their plans. The Bills and the player’s representatives provided no update after Young met with coaches and held an on-field workout at the team’s facility Wednesday.
Nelson was one of four Bills receivers to run routes and catch passes during Young’s session. He said the sixth-year NFL player “looked good,” and it was evident he’s been working hard this offseason to stay in shape.
The visit was Young’s first this offseason in a bid to find a new team. Young was not re-signed by the Philadelphia Eagles after completing a one-year contract.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Penn St. gives $1.1M to new abuse-research center
Seeking to make amends for the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, the university said it has given more than $1.1 million in football bowl revenues to its new center for child abuse research and treatment.
The Center for the Protection of Children, started in the wake of child sex abuse allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, will offer treatment for abused children and a primary care clinic for foster kids. It also will sponsor research into the prevention, detection and treatment of abuse; offer training; provide advocacy; and collect data.
“We expect that the center will become a national leader in clinical care, research, education and direction of policy related to child abuse and neglect,” Penn State President Rodney Erickson said in a statement Wednesday.
The funding is more than twice the amount that Penn State had promised in December. The university said higher-than-expected bowl revenues allowed it to give more. Penn State’s share of Big Ten bowl proceeds totaled $2.6 million, of which $1.5 million has already been donated to the Pennsylvania Coalition against Rape, a group that operates rape crisis centers across the state.
The Center for the Protection of Children will be based at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital and bring together clinicians, scientists, legal scholars and educators. Its director, Dr. Andrea Taroli, said the project has an “ambitious agenda,” and that the additional funding will help it get off the ground more quickly.
“I am very excited that Penn State has enabled the Center to have a solid foundation upon which to build,” Taroli said.
The center could collaborate with other Penn State entities, including the law school and its Children’s Advocacy Clinic, as well as the Children, Youth and Families Consortium. More than 400 faculty members from disciplines including human development, education and agriculture are involved in that effort.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Eli Manning prepares to host ‘Saturday Night Live’
Eli Manning says he didn’t want to host “Saturday Night Live” after his first Super Bowl victory because it came so soon after big brother Peyton’s appearance a year earlier.
Manning recalled Wednesday that he sent word back to the show’s executives that perhaps he’d host if he won another championship. Sure enough, the New York Giants quarterback said yes after his second title and will star in the comedy sketches Saturday.
Manning says that in 2008, “I had not proven myself as much as I wanted to.”
He says his favorite all-time SNL skit is probably the one where Chris Farley and Patrick Swayze appeared as Chippendales dancers.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Deion Sanders’ estranged wife accused of assault
Police have arrested Deion Sanders’ estranged wife on an assault charge that the Hall of Fame cornerback claims was for breaking into his room and attacking him in front of their children.
Pilar (pee-lar) Sanders was arrested Monday and booked into Collin County Jail on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.
Jail records did not give details about the alleged attack or list an attorney for Pilar Sanders. But Deion Sanders tweeted Monday that his children “just witnessed their mother and a friend jump me in my room.”
Prosper police declined to discuss the case Tuesday and records didn’t say if anyone else had been arrested in the alleged attack.
The former Dallas Cowboy filed for divorce in December. He now works as an analyst for the NFL Network.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Payton seeks Parcells’ counsel about Saints’ plan
Sean Payton has planned the New Orleans Saints’ offseason, done some work on the upcoming draft and jotted down ideas for the start of training camp.
And now, with his season-long suspension set to begin Sunday, he is checking to see if mentor Bill Parcells would run the team while he serves his penalty for allowing a Saints assistant coach and players to operate a crunch-for-cash bounty system.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the Saints were sanctioned for targeting specific opponents, Payton said Tuesday he will soon decide whether to appeal his suspension, something Commissioner Roger Goodell said he would allow.
Payton also said he was meeting with Parcells, who lives near Palm Beach, site of the NFL meetings, to discuss the plan for the season.
“For me to be down here, if I didn’t call him or try to set up a time to see him, I’d probably get his wrath,” Payton said.
Payton said he, general manager Mickey Loomis — who is facing an eight-game suspension — and team owner Tom Benson are weighing a number of scenarios. Among them: Does Parcells want to coach?
If he appeals, and he has until Monday, Goodell said he would “probably” allow him to continue working past the intended start of his suspension. Goodell also said he would expedite the appeal process and his decision, meaning Payton might only get a few more days of work before having to step aside.
The NFL’s investigation in New Orleans found that Payton initially lied to league investigators about the existence of a bounty and instructed his defensive assistants to do the same.
Payton twice apologized for his role in an enterprise that offered payouts for knocking out opponents, saying he takes “full responsibility” for a system that operated for three years under his watch.
As many as 27 players could also be sanctioned for their role in the scandal.
“As the head coach, anything that happens in the framework of your team and your program, you’re responsible for,” Payton said. “And that’s a lesson I’ve learned. And it’s one that it’s easy to get carried away, in regards to a certain side of the ball or more involved offensively or defensively. And that’s something that I regret.”
Payton said he was confident he will coach the Saints again in 2013, and that his biggest challenge was realizing that for the first time in 39 years, he may not have an active role in football as a player or coach.
“You go through a range of emotions that kind of hit you,” Payton said. “You’re disappointed. You’re disappointed in yourself that it got to this point. I think we’re trained as coaches to begin preparation right away. I find myself reflecting on it, and you go through a lot of emotions.”
Asked if he might work in broadcasting this season, Payton said anyone in his position would keep their options open. He said he hasn’t been in touch with Gregg Williams, the former Saints defensive coordinator who ran the bounty system and was suspended indefinitely. Asked if bounties were what he envisioned when he asked Williams to build a defense, he replied,
“No, obviously not.”
Much of the conversation revolved around Parcells, the two-time Super Bowl winner who hired Payton as an offensive assistant in Dallas in 2003 and was a finalist for the Hall of Fame this season.
“He’s a great teacher,” Payton said. “Certainly I’m biased, having worked with him. But he’s a Hall of Fame head coach. And I would also say there’s some things probably set up in the framework of our program that would be exactly how he would have set those things up had he been the head coach here in `06. So there’s some carry-over that way.”
If Parcells returned to the sideline, he may have to wait another five years before becoming eligible for the Hall of Fame again. Parcells, who turns 71 in August, may not want to wait that long. Asked by Sports Illustrated on Monday if he had a desire to coach another team, Parcells said, “I don’t think so.”
In addition to the penalties for Payton and Loomis, the league suspended assistant head coach Joe Vitt for six games. Goodell also fined the Saints $500,000 and took away second-round draft choices in 2012 and 2013.
Payton said he didn’t want the scandal to “taint or tarnish” his team’s recent success.
“We’ll get through this,” he said. “This will be a challenge. … You know, we’ve gone through a lot of adversity and we’ve won a lot of games in really a short window of time. And I know our players are leaders both within the locker room and the coaching staff will look at this as a challenge and a little bit as an opportunity.”
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Jets, Broncos complete trade for QB Tim Tebow
The Broncos and the Jets have completed a trade to send quarterback Tim Tebow to New York.
The deal hit a snag earlier Wednesday when the Jets apparently balked at repaying Denver more than $5 million for a salary advance due Tebow. ESPN reported that the two sides had agreed to split that cost.
The Broncos also will receive fourth- and sixth-round draft picks, while New York gets a seventh-rounder — all in 2012 — as agreed to in the initial deal.
Denver started shopping Tebow after signing Peyton Manning, and the Jets were considered a long shot as late as Tuesday night. But New York went after Tebow, envisioning him as a versatile complement to starter Mark Sanchez, who received a $40.5 million contract extension, with $20.5 million guaranteed, earlier this month. The Jets also had pursued Manning.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Elway: Tebow took news of Manning deal with class
Broncos executive John Elway says Tim Tebow was disappointed but very positive when they talked about Denver’s plans to sign Peyton Manning.
Speaking Tuesday at a news conference to introduce the 11-time Pro Bowl selection as the newest Bronco, Elway said Tebow’s response was typical of the exciting young quarterback.
Elway said Tebow was “very positive. He’s like, `We’re talking about Peyton Manning. I understand what you’re doing.”‘
Tebow turned Denver around last season but misfired on passes and was often more effective as a runner. Manning is one the best QBs in league history and won a Super Bowl in 2007.
Elway didn’t say exactly what will happen to Tebow but, “It would be our goal for us to get (Tebow) in the best situation possible.”
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Wide receiver Lloyd officially joins Patriots
The New England Patriots announced the signing of free agent receiver Brandon Lloyd on Tuesday.
Lloyd, 30, is a nine-year veteran and came to terms with the team last week. He has played in 112 games, catching 311 passes for 4,784 yards with 31 touchdowns. His best season was in 2010 with Denver when he made the Pro Bowl after leading the NFL with 1,448 yards receiving.
He has also played for the 49ers, Redskins, Bears and Rams.
The Patriots also re-signed offensive lineman Dan Connolly, and announced two more free-agent deals, with defensive end Jonathan Fanene and tight end Daniel Fells.
New England also released linebacker Christian Cox.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
NFL.com news: Peyton Manning will sign a deal with the Broncos
Peyton Manning is finalizing a contract with the Denver Broncos, a league source told NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi on Monday.
Manning called Broncos vice president of football operations John Elway on Monday to inform him of his decision.
The Broncos already have looked into a trade of quarterback Tim Tebow and currently are looking for a trade partner, a source told NFL Network’s Albert Breer…
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