Post by TheShadow on Jan 7, 2009 19:23:16 GMT -5
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Staff Reports
Fifteen players were named finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday, and several notable players with strong Bay Area ties were left off the list.
Passed over were the 49ers' Roger Craig and Charles Haley, and former Raiders Ray Guy, Ken Stabler and Lester Hayes. Craig also played for the Raiders in 1991, after eight seasons with the 49ers.
Career sacks leader Bruce Smith, former 49ers and Raiders defensive back Rod Woodson, Shannon Sharpe and John Randle are among the 15 finalists. They also are the only first-year eligible players to make the final round this year.
The Senior Committee also nominated two players in August: former Atlanta defensive end Claude Humphrey and former Dallas wide receiver Bob Hayes.
Joining them will be former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson.
The other finalists: center Dermontti Dawson; Seattle defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy; wide receivers Cris Carter and Andre Reed; defensive end Richard Dent; guards Russ Grimm, Bob Kuechenberg and Randall McDaniel; and linebacker Derrick Thomas.
Brees breezes: Saints quarterback Drew Brees enjoyed a season in which he nearly broke a record set by Dan Marino and Tuesday was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year.
Brees threw for 5,069 yards, 15 fewer than Marino's 1984 mark and only the second time someone has eclipsed 5,000 yards passing in a season.
Brees earned 22 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league, easily beating Peyton Manning, the NFL Most Valuable Player for the third time for Indianapolis, and Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, who tied for second with nine votes each.
Carousel of coaches: Jeff Jagodzinski met with New York Jets officials to discuss their head-coaching vacancy - an interview that is expected to cost him his job with Boston College.
Jagodzinski, who became BC's coach in 2007, was told by athletic director Gene DeFilippo that he would be fired if he met with the NFL team.
"It's just a matter of putting two and two together," said Chris Cameron, BC's associate director for media relations. "He was told by Gene on Saturday that if he went on the interview he'd be fired."
ESPN.com, citing two people close to the situation, reported that Jagodzinski will not be retained by BC because of the meeting with New York.
Meanwhile, Jets owner Woody Johnson also formally met with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer about the team's coaching vacancy, a person familiar with the search told AP.
Johnson is expected to meet with offensive line coach Bill Callahan today. Callahan coached the Raiders from 2002 to '03.
-- Broncos offensive coordinator Rick Dennison met with team owner Pat Bowlen about the team's head-coaching position.
-- The Bears fired linebackers coach Lloyd Lee, the latest move after the team finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
Jurisprudence: Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after failing sobriety tests shortly after 2 a.m. on state Route 52 in San Diego, California Highway Patrol Officer Ray Scheidnes said. Jackson was taken to the San Diego County jail and released.
-- After more than a year on the market and a $400,000 price reduction, Michael Vick's eight-bedroom home in the Atlanta area will go on the auction block if a bankruptcy judge agrees to the move.
Divisional playoffs
Saturday
Baltimore at Tennessee, 1:30 p.m. Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46
Arizona at Carolina, 5:15 p.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
Sunday
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
San Diego at Pittsburgh, 1:45 p.m. Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46
Staff Reports
Fifteen players were named finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday, and several notable players with strong Bay Area ties were left off the list.
Passed over were the 49ers' Roger Craig and Charles Haley, and former Raiders Ray Guy, Ken Stabler and Lester Hayes. Craig also played for the Raiders in 1991, after eight seasons with the 49ers.
Career sacks leader Bruce Smith, former 49ers and Raiders defensive back Rod Woodson, Shannon Sharpe and John Randle are among the 15 finalists. They also are the only first-year eligible players to make the final round this year.
The Senior Committee also nominated two players in August: former Atlanta defensive end Claude Humphrey and former Dallas wide receiver Bob Hayes.
Joining them will be former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson.
The other finalists: center Dermontti Dawson; Seattle defensive lineman Cortez Kennedy; wide receivers Cris Carter and Andre Reed; defensive end Richard Dent; guards Russ Grimm, Bob Kuechenberg and Randall McDaniel; and linebacker Derrick Thomas.
Brees breezes: Saints quarterback Drew Brees enjoyed a season in which he nearly broke a record set by Dan Marino and Tuesday was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year.
Brees threw for 5,069 yards, 15 fewer than Marino's 1984 mark and only the second time someone has eclipsed 5,000 yards passing in a season.
Brees earned 22 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover the league, easily beating Peyton Manning, the NFL Most Valuable Player for the third time for Indianapolis, and Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson, who tied for second with nine votes each.
Carousel of coaches: Jeff Jagodzinski met with New York Jets officials to discuss their head-coaching vacancy - an interview that is expected to cost him his job with Boston College.
Jagodzinski, who became BC's coach in 2007, was told by athletic director Gene DeFilippo that he would be fired if he met with the NFL team.
"It's just a matter of putting two and two together," said Chris Cameron, BC's associate director for media relations. "He was told by Gene on Saturday that if he went on the interview he'd be fired."
ESPN.com, citing two people close to the situation, reported that Jagodzinski will not be retained by BC because of the meeting with New York.
Meanwhile, Jets owner Woody Johnson also formally met with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer about the team's coaching vacancy, a person familiar with the search told AP.
Johnson is expected to meet with offensive line coach Bill Callahan today. Callahan coached the Raiders from 2002 to '03.
-- Broncos offensive coordinator Rick Dennison met with team owner Pat Bowlen about the team's head-coaching position.
-- The Bears fired linebackers coach Lloyd Lee, the latest move after the team finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
Jurisprudence: Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after failing sobriety tests shortly after 2 a.m. on state Route 52 in San Diego, California Highway Patrol Officer Ray Scheidnes said. Jackson was taken to the San Diego County jail and released.
-- After more than a year on the market and a $400,000 price reduction, Michael Vick's eight-bedroom home in the Atlanta area will go on the auction block if a bankruptcy judge agrees to the move.
Divisional playoffs
Saturday
Baltimore at Tennessee, 1:30 p.m. Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46
Arizona at Carolina, 5:15 p.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
Sunday
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 10 a.m. Channel: 2 Channel: 40
San Diego at Pittsburgh, 1:45 p.m. Channel: 5 Channel: 13 Channel: 46