NFL says Saints to remain in Louisiana's team

BATON ROUGE (Reuters) - NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said on Sunday the New Orleans Saints should remain in Louisiana and try to find a broader fan base after the devastation of the football team's hometown by Hurricane Katrina. -NFL Football -

"Our focus continues to be on having the Saints in Louisiana," said Tagliabue. He added, "We're trying to develop what we would regard as a new model for the Saints to operate in a rebuilt Louisiana." -NFL Football -

Reports that Saints owner Tom Benson has considered moving the franchise to San Antonio, Texas, where it has played games this season, or the richer market of Los Angeles, have angered fans, many still shut out of their homes or businesses.

Tagliabue, who met on Sunday with Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, spoke to reporters in Baton Rouge, where he was attending the Saints first game in Louisiana since Katrina. -NFL Football -

The risk of losing the Saints has united state politicians, with U.S. Sen. David Vitter, a Republican, joining Democrats Nagin and Blanco in lobbying for the team to remain in Louisiana.

A vote of three-quarters of NFL owners is required to move a franchise, and Tagliabue dismissed reports of the Saints moving to Los Angeles as "nonsensical."

"Each team in the NFL is franchised to represent a specific community," he said. "The teams, the franchises are not free agents to run around the country and play wherever they want to play."

But Tagliabue said the Saints would have to find a way to appeal to all of Louisiana, not just New Orleans. -NFL Football -

The city's population, which was 460,000 before the storm, has been sharply reduced. Nagin has said New Orleans could quickly rebuild to support 250,000 residents, but housing remains in short supply and some question that estimate.

The Saints home stadium, the Superdome, became the home to an estimated 25,000 evacuees from Katrina and sustained heavy damage. Repairs are underway, but Tagliabue said it was still uncertain whether the Saints would play there next season. -NFL Football -

Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

Electric football

It takes a while, but Patriots get charged up and pull out emotional victory

By Jerome Solomon, Globe Staff

FOXBOROUGH -- A certain celebration was required.

After all, how many times does a star player return to a championship football team after suffering a stroke? -NFL Football -

A full house, with the much beloved Tedy Bruschi back in uniform for the first time since the Super Bowl, meant the Buffalo Bills should have been party favors, performing clowns at this festive gathering of Patriots faithful.

Dispatched by the NFL to appear at Gillette Stadium last night -- an ideal example of being at the wrong place at the wrong time -- the Bills attempted to ignore their prescribed appointment.

But alas, the Patriots did what the Patriots do, claiming a 21-16 win so that the welcome-back party was indeed a party.

Running back Corey Dillon returned to action after missing the last game with a sprained ankle, to score two touchdowns in less than a two-minute span in the fourth period to lift the Patriots to the come-from-behind victory. -NFL Football -

With Bruschi in the lineup for the first time this season, nearly nine months after suffering a mild stroke, the New England defense still wasn't in championship form, allowing 389 yards. But for the first time this season it held an opponent under 20 points.

And the Patriots forced two turnovers, the first time this season they have come away with more than one in a game.

Trailing, 16-7, with 10 minutes left, the Patriots (4-3) played with a sense of urgency on offense that was often absent on this night.

Deion Branch's leaping grab for 37 yards that withstood a replay challenge by the Bills was the key play in a six-play, 61-yard trek. Dillon scored on a 1-yard run to close the gap to 16-14 with just over seven minutes remaining.

Now it was time for the much-maligned Patriots defense to make a stand.

Bruschi, a team captain, was the first defender to run off the sideline, and he stopped Willis McGahee on first down for a 3-yard gain. -NFL Football -

Then Rosevelt Colvin ran past guard Bennie Anderson and crushed Buffalo quarterback Kelly Holcomb. Not only did Colvin get the sack, but he also forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball at the Bills' 23.

Two plays later, Dillon was pounding his way into the end zone once more.

A pair of penalties on the ensuing kickoff -- a tripping call on Larry Izzo and a personal foul on Matt Chatham -- set the Bills up 3 yards shy of midfield. New England allowed only a single first down, and recent signee Hank Poteat finished the Bills off by stopping Eric Moulds for no gain on a fourth-and-8 play from the Patriots' 40 with 1:56 left.

Bruschi's return led to the benching of the inside linebacker tandem of Monty Beisel and Chad Brown, who started the first five games of the season. -NFL Football -

© 2005 The New York Times Company

New Orleans acquires Chatman

Jesse Chatman was acquired by the New Orleans Saints from Miami on Tuesday to provide depth at running back in the absence of the injured Deuce McAllister. - - - Football NFL - - -

The 5-foot-8, 245-pound Chatman, in his fourth NFL season, had his best year in 2004 with San Diego as LaDainian Tomlinson's backup, rushing for 392 yards and three touchdowns and averaging 6 yards per carry. He was released by the Chargers during the summer and signed by the Dolphins. - - - Football NFL - - -

He had been inactive for all five Miami games. The Dolphins will receive a conditional future draft choice in the deal. - - - Football NFL - - -

McAllister tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Sunday at Green Bay and is expected to be lost for the season. Antowain Smith and Aaron Stecker will replace him with Chatman, who played at Eastern Washington, serving as insurance.

MORE FOOTBALL

• New Orleans Bowl moving to Lafayette - Damage to the Louisiana Superdome forced the New Orleans Bowl out of the city for which it was named, but not out of the state.

The game is now scheduled to be played at Cajun Field, on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. - - - Football NFL - - -

The game matches the Sun Belt Conference Champion against a Conference USA opponent. That means the Ragin' Cajuns could host the bowl game if they rally to win the Sun Belt Conference. Althought the Cajuns have gotten off to a 1-4 start overall, they're only 0-1 in the league.
- - - Football NFL - - -

The date of the game is Dec. 20 and is scheduled to be televised nationally on ESPN.

SunHerald.com

49ers, Cardinals vie south of border With a game in Mexico City, league takes regular season outside boundaries of the U.S.

BY WILL WEISSET

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEXICO CITY - When the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers play at Azteca Stadium on Sunday, they'll discover something Mexicans have known for some time:Football is alive and thriving in this country. - Football -
NFL.

Consider the annual Clasico, a nasty rivalry that goes back decades and pits the National Autonomous University of Mexico's Pumas against the Aguilas Blancas, or White Eagles, of the National Polytechnic Institute.

This is Redskins vs. Cowboys, Raiders vs. Chiefs - Mexican style.

"What a game," gasped the stadium announcer, his voice straining over the din of 45,000 fans. "And you, the fans, are witnessing history!"

Gloria Gonzalez, a 22-year-old school teacher and Pumas fan, was crying herself hoarse at the game, which her team won 37-28. - Football -

"When people think Mexico, they think soccer," she said. "But here we are, the entire stadium full, crazy for football."

The Cardinals-49ers game will be the first in the regular season played outside the United States in the NFL's 83-year history. - Football -

Attempts to sustain a Mexican professional league have fizzled, but ONEFA is the country's answer to the NCAA. The Pumas, Aguilas Blancas and 10 other teams play a nine-week schedule that draws hundreds of thousands of fans to stadiums all over the country.

Youth leagues are prominent in most major cities, and 100,000 Mexican youngsters participate in an NFL-sponsored touch-football series, said Joaquin Del Rivero, general director of NFL Mexico. - Football -

"When you talk to people here you realize, they know football," Del Rivero said. "They know the teams and the players of the NFL, and many of them have played the sport."

Unlike Mexican League soccer, where university teams enlist professionals with no affiliation to the schools they represent, ONEFA teams are made up of students, whose eligibility ends between 25 and 26.

Salomon Yanez, 48, an owner of an exporting company cheering for the Aguilas Blancas, said soccer had become too commercial. - Football -

"This is much more dignified - pure," said Yanez, who said he bought tickets to the Cardinals-49ers game. "Here the youngsters are defending their colors, their universities."

Mexican games follow U.S. rules, but there are differences. Both teams in the Clasico spent little time in the huddle, and the game clock was not shown on the scoreboard. The end to quarters - even the game itself - is a mystery to all but the referees.

The first NFL game in Mexico was in 1994, an exhibition in which the Houston Oilers beat the Dallas Cowboys 6-0. It set the league record for attendance by drawing 112,376 to Azteca. The stadium, home of soccer's World Cup final in 1986, has since hosted four other exhibitions. Renovations have made it impossible for attendance to top 105,000.

Cardinals-49ers tickets cost between $23 and $80, and NFL Mexico's Del Rivero said there's a 50-50 chance of a sellout. - Football -

He said the league will look at attendance, Mexican TV ratings and the stadium atmosphere in determining whether it's a success.

NFL legend to speak in Billings

Chuck Bednarik, who is regarded as one of the most devastating tacklers in NFL history and was nicknamed "Concrete Charlie" during his playing days, is scheduled to speak in Billings on Sept. 21. - Football Gambling -

The 80-year-old Bednarik, who lives in Pennsylvania and is a member of pro football's Hall of Fame, will be speaking in the Sheraton ballroom as part of a fund-raising dinner for Parents, Let's Unite For Kids (PLUK). The event will begin at 6 p.m.

Bednarik played for the Philadelphia Eagles from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. He was a member of the Eagles' NFL championship teams in 1949 and 1960 and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1967.

In 14 seasons, Bednarik missed just three games. He was named All-Pro eight times and was the last professional player to play on both offense and defense on a regular basis.

Bednarik, who played at center and linebacker, is probably best known for sending Frank Gifford of the New York Giants into early retirement with a hit during the 1960 season.

He also made the game-saving tackle of Green Bay's Jim Taylor on the final play of the 1960 title game. - Football Gambling -

Bednarik was selected to the All-Century NFL team by Sports Illustrated magazine.

PLUK is a statewide nonprofit organization that provides support, resources and training to families with children with disabilities and chronic illnesses. - Football Gambling -

Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

Football? Just add it to mix

By Jack Carey, USA TODAY

Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti remembers the first time he saw Jordan Kent compete in an athletic event. Then in eighth grade, the son of Ducks men's basketball coach Ernie Kent ran the 800 meters at a city championship meet. - Football Gambling -

"I said to myself, 'Wow, what an athlete,' " recalls Bellotti. 'I hope he turns into a football player.' "

Seven years later, Bellotti's wish has come true.

Kent, already a standout track athlete for the Ducks and a starter in basketball in the final nine games last season, tried out for thefootball team this summer and has made the squad as a backup wide receiver. - Football Gambling -

He's scheduled to play tonight in the season opener at Houston (ESPN2, 7 ET) and could become Oregon's first three-sport letterman since at least the 1940s, which is as far back as such records go.

Even more surprising is the fact Kent, who will be a redshirt junior in basketball and track, had never played organized tackle football.

"It was always something I wanted to do, but I was way too skinny in my first year of high school, and by the time I filled out, I didn't want to risk injury with so much riding on basketball and track," Kent says. "But I always wondered if I'd be good at it."

At 6-5 and 200 pounds and with 4.3 speed in the 40-yard dash, Kent has the size, quickness and athletic ability to excel at the sport, as long as he masters its mental and physical demands, Bellotti says. "I think his future is very bright." - Football Gambling -

A guard in basketball and sprinter, relay man and long jumper in track, Kent often would be teased by football coaches and players about using his talents on the gridiron.

Earlier this summer, he began to seriously think about it, and in a chance encounter in the school's athletics department offices with receivers coach Dan Ferrigno, made his feelings known.

"He asked when I was coming out for camp. I said, 'Funny you should mention that.' We went into his office and talked." - Football Gambling -

Around the same time, Kent also called his father.

"I was out recruiting in Las Vegas when he called," Ernie Kent says. "He said, 'Would you still love me if I did something you didn't agree with?'

"I asked him, 'Are you getting married?' He said no, he wanted to play football. He had always said when he was at games at Autzen Stadium, 'Boy, I wish I had played football.' I didn't really know it had gone that far."

At that point, Ernie Kent had a dilemma. The basketball coach in him wasn't thrilled at the prospect of a valuable member of his team putting himself at risk of injury by playing a violent sport he had never attempted.

"But from the perspective of a dad, I soul-searched and said to myself, here was someone who's very gifted and wants to try something," Ernie Kent says. - Football Gambling -

Ernie Kent sought the counsel of friend and longtime Oregon fan Phil Knight, the founder of Nike.

"He's a great friend of the university, but I wanted to talk to Phil Knight, the dad," Kent says. "He said I should let him go and watch him grow."

And so he has, though Ernie Kent attended the Ducks' summer camp workouts every day.

"I thought after about four days, he'd get it out of his system. Let him get hit a couple times," Ernie Kent says.

"But after a while, I know he's starting to like it, and now, he loves it, and Mike said he has a chance down the road to be good. So he's hooked and excited, and as a dad I have to support him. As a coach, I have to be patient." - Football Gambling -

Kent is a senior academically, majoring in sports marketing and is on target to graduate next spring. He plans to work on his master's degree starting next fall and return for another year of sports.

He will miss preseason basketball camp this fall and several games, especially if the Ducks make a bowl.

Still, both Kents feel that what Jordan excels at on the court - hustle, defense and rebounding - shouldn't be lost to rust even if he doesn't rejoin that team full time until late December or early January.

"This is something I want to give a shot to and have no regrets about later," Kent says. "I thought the odds were against me, but the coaches had faith in me. This will cut down on my free time, and I still have to hit the books. - Football Gambling -

"I probably can't expect much my first year, but I'm just happy I'm traveling with the team. But hopefully, if it works out well, next year will be great."

Meanwhile, the Ducks' basketball coach plans to be on hand in Houston tonight and for every other game.

"I'm just amazed he can do this," Ernie Kent says. "It's an incredible feeling that makes you proud. I want to be there when he catches his first touchdown pass."

Copyright © 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Gambling on football

The interior minister ably demonstrates the almost universal naivete of Thai politicians when he boldly states that free cable TV showing football matches will not promote gambling in the South as gambling is against Islamic teachings (Bangkok Post, Aug 23).

The consumption of alcohol is also against Islamic teachings and all devout Muslims are strictly abstemious.

However, as anyone who has flown via stopovers in the Middle East will know, to some people religious teachings don't apply at 33,000 feet.

Religious teachings also don't apply at other times when it suits those particular individuals. This is called human nature, and this is why strict Islamic states require an active mechanism of suppression to ensure observance.

This state also exists, although to a much lesser degree, in other religions. For example, how many Catholics regularly attend church on Sunday only to live the other six days exactly as they like? Religious teachings are like laws, there to be broken, and it is nave in the extreme to think otherwise.

PHIL HARRIES.
Runcorn, Cheshire, UK

Polian, April come from NFL families

NEW ORLEANS -- The NFL may be far away from the Tulane practice field, but for a couple of the Green Wave assistants, it's always close.Dennis Polian, whose father is the general manager of the Indianapolis Colts, and Bobby April III, whose dad is the special teams coach for the Buffalo Bills, are on the Tulane football staff this season. - Football Gambling -"It's a stepping stone to get your career started," said April, a graduate assistant.Polian is Tulane's new director of football operations."I do whatever I can, within my role, to make the kids experience as valuable as possible," said Polian. "That's how I look at it -- if it helps make our program better, I'm going to do it."Polian, a 1999 graduate of Villanova, came to Tulane from Columbia University, where he was director of football operations. Before Columbia, he spent one season as corporate sales and client services manager for the Arena Football League, as well as a stint as assistant director of security at the Fleet Center in Boston. He also earned his master's degree in administration at Boston College.Polian's move to Tulane began this summer when coach Chris Scelfo was at a Chicago Cubs home game and met Polian's dad. When Dennis Polian found out about the Tulane opening, his father called his new friend. Then some more references began ringing Scelfo's phone -- Archie and Peyton Manning. - Football Gambling -"They knew him, they knew me," Scelfo said. "And they know what kind of program we have. It was a good fit."The younger April also benefited from his family connection. When the Tulane graduate assistant's job opened up, April got a recommendation for the job from his father, a 14-year NFL coaching veteran and friend of Scelfo."He came in, and he has worked hard," Scelfo said of the younger April, whose high school career included playing defensive back for St. Paul's School in Covington. He is a 2004 graduate of Louisiana-Lafayette, where he was a student assistant for the Ragin' Cajuns. "You can tell he's been brought up in a coaching family." - Football Gambling -April's goal is to become a head coach at some level of football. Growing up around the sport fixed his ambitions early. He decided he wanted to coach when he was a 5-year-old at the University of Arizona practices, where his dad was an up-and-coming assistant under former Tulane coach Larry Smith.Nothing changed his mind as he followed his dad to places like Atlanta and New Orleans.April's father was his mentor, but his role model was Jerry Glanville, the coach of the Falcons."I was at the age where you're looking for a role model, and Jerry Glanville was a crazy guy, and he was always having fun," April said. "I was about 12, 13, thinking, man, this guy is having a great time. This is something I'd like to do." - Football Gambling -At Tulane, Polian's job is to coordinate several areas for the Green Wave football program, including logistics of team travel, preseason and practice schedules and recruiting visits. Or, more specifically, "Whatever Coach Scelfo wants, I do," he said.

Associated Press