Ben Maller's NFL rumors
by FOXSports.com
Titan Fowler fights steroids talk
A month later, Titans linebacker Ryan Fowler remains in limbo, his immediate future still uncertain because of his alleged involvement in steroids. Fowler's attorney said Monday he has reached out to the NFL with hopes of getting some answers, but remains in the dark. An NFL spokesman, however, said the league has communicated with Fowler's representatives and the league is willing to discuss the matter further at a hearing. The NFL notified Fowler in a letter last month he could face a four-game suspension under the league's policy against performance-enhancing drugs. "But we've heard nothing of any substance (from the league) since,'' attorney Peter Ginsberg said. "I'm hoping the NFL will see the errors of their ways and realize there is no merit for any of this.'' -- Tennessean
Joe Flacco in mix for Ravens starting QB job
The Ravens have their QB of the future -- now they just have to find out if he's their QB of the present. Baltimore traded up to select Joe Flacco with the 18th overall pick on Draft Day, and he will compete with Kyle Boller and Troy Smith for starting duties in '08. Flacco enters the NFL with a great build and a monster arm, but he also comes with some bad habits that need fixing. Playing his college football at Delaware, he hasn't exactly faced top-level talent, either. Boller probably is a slight favorite in this battle, considering he's the only one with significant pro experience. He started eight games last year and performed fairly well, but the Ravens know exactly what Boller gives them, and it's not prolific passing numbers. Smith is the wild card here. He started the final two games of '07 and was efficient, so he could be a stopgap if called upon. This should be an intriguing three-way battle come training camp. -- Pro Football Weekly
Getting Favre makes sense for Dolphins
Brett Favre seems like he wants to parachute back into the NFL. They ought to be drawing a big ''X'' in the middle of the Dolphins' huddle and coaxing him to a soft landing right here in Miami. Favre by most indications is a quarterback who needs to play again. Seems he has had a change of heart and wishes to recant his March 4 retirement, but Green Bay appears to have yanked away the welcome mat, like Lucy used to yank away the football just as Charlie Brown was about to kick it. But Miami is a team that needs a QB it can trust and rely on in 2008. Favre last missed a game in 1992. Seriously. Tomorrow's sunrise cannot be trusted and relied on like this dude. -- Miami Herald
Favre sends Packers GM a text message?
WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee reported Monday that Brett Favre sent a text message to Packers GM Thompson on Saturday. The station reported that Thompson's reply to Favre was that he was on vacation, and the two would have to talk later. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Ex-Viking Holcomb looks ready to retire
Former Vikings quarterback Kelly Holcomb's NFL career appears to be finished after 12 seasons. Holcomb, who played for six teams, will become part of alma mater Middle Tennessee State's radio broadcasts this season, working as a sideline reporter. He told the Nashville-based Tennessean that his NFL career is likely done. Holcomb was acquired by the Vikings in training camp from the Eagles for a sixth-round pick in 2009 and started three games in place of an injured Tarvaris Jackson. -- Star Tribune
Simms' advice this time is Favre should stay retired
In April 2006, broadcaster Phil Simms offered advice on a satellite radio show to Brett Favre, who was considering whether he should return to play for his 16th season in the National Football League. Simms' advice, which Favre happened to hear live, was this: "Play as long as you can. When you think it's over, play another or two years . . . because life after football, it's forever." Favre came back and played in his 16th and 17th seasons. On March 4, Favre formally announced his retirement. We asked Simms, and two of his colleagues, during an interview what he thought about the talk of Favre unretiring and whether that would compromise Green Bay's future with Aaron Rodgers, or anyone else, at quarterback. Simms, Cris Collinsworth and James Brown chatted with reporters in a conference call on Monday, the day it was announced they will be the new "Inside the NFL" crew next season on Showtime. "Just my opinion, I hope he stays retired," Simms said, referring to Favre. "He'll get over it, the fact that he is not playing. For the Green Bay Packers, I think they have moved on. If they had to give you an answer since he said he was retired, I believe their answer would be, go ahead let him stay retired. We're moving on and let's see what's in the future for them and for the new quarterback. "When you have played in the NFL for as long as Brett Favre has, there is always going to be an issue about coming back. I can only relate it to most players I have talked to once they have retired. It takes about three years to get it out of your system. You forget about all the hard work, the bad times. And as you get away from the game, all you do is think about the good times. You forget how tough it is. Sometimes guys come back and they go 'I wish I hadn't come back.' " -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Dan Rooney tries to buy brothers' Steelers shares to appease NFL
The Rooney family is working to restructure the ownership of the Steelers to comply with National Football League guidelines that prohibit association with racetrack and gambling interests, a process that is forcing several brothers of team chairman Dan Rooney to seek to sell their shares in the franchise, according to a source familiar with the situation. The move does not and, in all likelihood, will not affect the current management structure of the Steelers. But, according to the source, it is possible as many as two of the five Rooney brothers, and possibly three, could sell their equal share in the team to Dan Rooney and his son, Art II, the team's president, or to outside investors -- a move that has created some discord in the family ownership structure. Dan Rooney, the oldest son of the team founder, said in a statement he will "do everything possible to work out a solution to ensure my father's legacy of keeping the Steelers in the Rooney family and in Pittsburgh for at least another 75 years." Rooney said he wants to stay in the football business while some of his brothers plan to focus on the racetracks in New York and Florida and other interests. -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
QB Clemens might be New York's choice
The Jets' starting QB position might be the biggest question mark in the NFL -- it's truly a coin flip between Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. Each man started eight games for the team in '07, with Pennington posting the better numbers of the two. Though his weak arm limits the play-calling, Pennington has been a fairly effective pro and might give the Jets the best chance to win now, which they definitely are aiming to do. Clemens has the much stronger arm but is inexperienced, something that showed in his performance last season. Since he's much younger and could be their QB for years to come, Clemens might be New York's choice; regardless, this battle will rage on deep into the preseason. -- Pro Football Weekly
Chiefs fans can still stand at games
There has been a buzz on the Internet recently about a certain item within the Chiefs "Fan Code of Conduct," which is posted on the team's Web site. That item had stated that the Arrowhead Stadium staff this season will proactively intervene with fans who are "standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans." Of course, that's not exactly what the Chiefs meant, and upon further review, the language of the policy was changed last week to read "continuous standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans." "It was never our intent to try and legislate when fans can stand or not," Chiefs director of public relations Bob Moore said. "We want fans on their feet and cheering. That's what Arrowhead is all about, and that's what has given us a home-field advantage. "We just want fans to show some common sense and courtesy. Not everyone, especially some of the elderly or the young children, can stand the entire game. Take into consideration the guy sitting behind you." -- KC Star
McCown and Beck in mediocre Dolphins QB battle
Being the starting quarterback for a team coming off a 1-15 season isn't the most enviable of jobs, but at least there's nowhere to go but up. Miami brought in Josh McCown this offseason to compete with John Beck, the old coaching regime's QB of the future. McCown had a decent '07 season while starting nine games for Oakland, but he's never proven to be an exceptional passer. This will be his fourth team in as many years, so stability is not his strong suit, either. Beck is coming off a very mediocre rookie campaign, in which he threw just one TD, and the second-round pick is somewhat of an unknown commodity. This battle can only be described as a toss-up, with neither player having a distinct advantage right now. -- Pro Football Weekly
Steelers have to sign Mendenhall
The Steelers have five more rookies to sign, including running back Rashard Mendenhall, their No. 1 pick. -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Vick files for bankruptcy protection
Michael Vick filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in federal court in Virginia Monday, citing debts of $10 million to $50 million. One of the creditors listed in the court papers filed by the imprisoned Falcons quarterback is the Atlanta Falcons for a claim of $3.75 million as a pro-rated signing bonus. The claim is listed as disputed. -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Saints Brees visits Iraq
Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora arrived in Iraq yesterday as one of the two players NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell picked to accompany him on a history-making seven-day, three-country summer USO tour, led by the Joint Chiefs chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen. Umenyiora and Saints quarterback Drew Brees shook hands with hundreds of troops, signed autographs and tossed around a football in 110-degree heat. -- NY Post
Steelers won't leave Burgh
Industry analyst Darren Rovell said the potential relocation of the Steelers is not an issue, even if the franchise is ultimately sold. "There is zero-percent chance the Steelers will move out of Pittsburgh if they get new owners," said Rovell, a sports/business reporter for CNBC. "I will drink six bottles of Heinz ketchup, back to back, in 10 minutes, if I'm wrong on that." -- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Former NFL flop Bosworth helps woman in car crash
A former NFL football star from Los Angeles assisted with the rescue of a woman who rolled her mini-SUV several times Saturday afternoon near Falcon Lake and ended up trapped and hidden in a ditch. Brian Bosworth, known as "the Boz" from his linebacking days with the Seattle Seahawks in the 1980s, said he was on his way to the Winnipeg airport when he approached the accident scene on the Trans-Canada Highway near Whitemouth River. "I happened to tail in on the backside and there were ambulances and a fire truck. It looked like she rolled at least two or three times because the car ended up facing the opposite direction of oncoming traffic, upside down in the ditch," Bosworth said. -- Winnipeg Free Press
Chiefs' Gonzalez saves Chargers fan from choking
Diana Martin was about to offer cheese to the couple dining Thursday at the little Italian place in southern California when the man with the medium-rare filet started choking. It all happened fast, and Martin doesn't remember all the details. She just remembers Tony Gonzalez running over, performing the Heimlich maneuver on the choking man, and Gonzalez rejoining his family at their table. "We were scared, definitely," said Martin, who has worked four years as a server at Capone's Italian Restaurante in Huntington Beach. "He was so thankful that Tony was behind him. We wouldn't have been able to help him the way Tony did." In what Martin estimated was a 10-second ordeal, Gonzalez added a new line to his astonishing resume. All-Pro tight end for the Chiefs. Actor. Reality-show judge. Now, Gonzalez is a lifesaver. "I just did what my natural instincts told me to do: help someone in need," Gonzalez said in a release issued by his management group. "I couldn't just sit there and do nothing." But that's what everyone else was doing. Martin admitted being stunned by the choking man. She didn't react, but then again, no one did -- except Gonzalez. "He reached over and helped real quick," said Martin, who wasn't the server at Gonzalez's table. She said the choking man, Ken Hunter, is a regular at Capone's. He's also a San Diego Chargers fan. -- KC Star
Patriots would've been wise to keep these guys at bay
Of all the FBI's connections with New England sports, none may be more ironic than the bureau's choice of agents to counsel the Patriots in the 1980s on avoiding contact with disreputable figures involved in gambling and other organized crimes. Each preseason, under orders from NFL security, the Patriots met with agents from the FBI's Boston office. The agents briefed the players about individuals and establishments in Boston and Providence they should shun to protect their reputations and the NFL's, according to Patrick Sullivan, the team's general manager at the time. The irony: Two of the agents, Sullivan said, were John Connolly Jr. and John Morris, who turned out to be corrupt supporters of Whitey Bulger's murderous underworld enterprise. -- Boston Globe
Letters spelled out possible FBI role for original Patriots owner Sullivan
The original Patriot, it turns out, unwittingly became a prospective FBI informant. Five months before Billy Sullivan became the founding owner of the Patriots in 1959, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover recommended that the special agent in charge of the bureau's Boston office consider developing Sullivan as "an SAC contact," or source of information, according to an internal memo obtained by the Globe from the FBI under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act. ("SAC" means "special agent in charge.") Hoover made the recommendation after Sullivan thanked him in writing for a guided tour Sullivan's family received of the FBI headquarters in Washington. -- Boston Globe
Randy Moss sold Minnesota home
Former Viking Randy Moss of the Patriots has sold his home in Medina for $2,978,500, according to Business Journal. -- Pioneer Press
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