The Bum's Sports Page For Saturday August 8th Best Bets-Trends-News !

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Backups to see plenty of action in Hall of Fame game

August 8, 2015

CANTON, Ohio (AP) The bold-faced names will wear baseball caps and not helmets on Sunday night during the annual Hall of Fame game.

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson won't play following his return from a lengthy suspension that ended his 2014 season. Pittsburgh Steelers stars Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown also get the night off while the coaching staffs take a long look at the reserves.

Pittsburgh will give third-year quarterback Landry Jones plenty of snaps as he tries to hold on to the No. 3 spot behind Roethlisberger. Jones is being challenged by former Clemson star Tajh Boyd.

Former Steeler Mike Wallace will make his debut for the Vikings after being acquired in an offseason trade from Miami.

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Saturday's Sports In Brief

August 8, 2015

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Leaving no doubt that he'll be ready for the Rio Olympics, Michael Phelps turned in the fastest time in the world this year in the 200-meter butterfly, winning at the U.S. nationals in a stunning 1 minute, 52.94 seconds

Phelps held up one finger when he saw his time on the scoreboard, then pounded the water defiantly - first with one hand, then with both. It was one of the most raucous celebrations of his career and showed how much he wanted to post a fast time at nationals after being denied a spot at the world championships.

Phelps was banned from worlds as part of his punishment for a second drunken-driving arrest. So he came to San Antonio and posted a time that would have been good enough for gold in Kazan, Russia.

Laszlo Cseh of Hungary won the world title in 1:53.48.

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FOOTBALL

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - More than missing one of the game's most menacing pass rushers, the San Francisco 49ers care that Aldon Smith can carry on with a healthy life off the field over the long haul.

With or without football.

Smith received second chance after second chance with the Niners before they finally had enough following his fifth run-in with the law. The franchise parted ways with the troubled but talented linebacker Friday after Santa Clara police accused him of drunken driving, hit and run and vandalism.

It's a tough blow for a team that watched several other young stars depart and retire this offseason.

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) - Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to appear in a Canadian Football League game Friday night, playing sparingly for the Montreal Alouettes in a 26-23 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks.

The 25-year-old defensive end failed to record a tackle.

The 2013 Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year at Missouri, Sam was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh and final round of the 2014 NFL draft. He was cut by St. Louis and signed by Dallas to the practice squad, but failed to make the Cowboys' roster.

Sam agreed to a two-year deal with the Alouettes this summer. He left training camp June 12, citing personal reasons, and sat out the team's first five games.

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NASCAR

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The family of a young driver struck and killed by Tony Stewart's car on an upstate New York dirt track filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NASCAR star Friday.

The lawsuit was filed as Stewart returns to Watkins Glen International on the one-year anniversary of the fatal crash.

The lawsuit accuses Stewart of gross negligence, saying he gunned his engine and put his car into a skid as 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. walked on the track after a crash at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on Aug. 9, 2014. The car struck Ward, and he was killed.

A grand jury declined to indict Stewart, who at the time called it ''100 percent an accident.'' A toxicology report found Ward had marijuana in his system.

There was no comment from Stewart, who was with his crew in the garage before a final practice Friday afternoon. Stewart-Haas Racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup team Stewart co-owns, also declined comment.

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COLLEGE

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The University of Minnesota's athletics director, Norwood Teague, resigned on Friday, admitting he sent ''inappropriate texts'' after drinking too much at a recent university event.

Teague, who got the athletics director job three years ago, said in a video statement that he intends to seek help for a drinking problem.

''At a recent university event, I had entirely too much to drink. I behaved badly towards nice people and sent truly inappropriate texts. I'm embarrassed and I apologize to everyone involved. This neither reflects my true character or the true character of this great, great university,'' Teague said.

University President Eric Kaler said in a statement that he accepted Teague's resignation, effective immediately, and that Beth Goetz, the deputy athletics director, would take over for Teague on an interim basis.

Kaler said Teague's resignation followed reports that he had sexually harassed two non-student school employees recently. He didn't go into detail about the nature of the harassment.

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Rams sign quarterback Nick Foles to contract extension

August 7, 2015

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (AP) The St. Louis Rams quickly decided Nick Foles was their quarterback of the future, signing him to a two-year contract extension.

Coach Jeff Fisher broke the news during post-practice remarks Friday at Lindenwood University, grinning at the end of a lengthy answer summing up a scrimmage Friday night that drew about 4,000 fans.

''Oh yeah, it's a good deal,'' Fisher said. ''It's a good deal. It's a good deal for us, good deal for him. He wants to be here and we want him here right now. He's done a lot of good things for us in a short period of time.''

The deal begins next season and calls for $24 million in salary over two years with about $14 million guaranteed, according to reports. He had been scheduled to make $1.5 million this season.

The 26-year-old Foles seemed a lot more matter-of-fact when he stepped in front of the Rams backdrop minutes later. He said getting traded for Sam Bradford in the offseason was a lot more surprising than getting the extension, and added that had he entered the season without a new deal it wouldn't have affected him.

''Either way, I would have been me,'' Foles said. ''I play for my teammates, I play for the people that support us, and my family. That would never change the way I play the game.''

Of course, now the Rams want to see a lot more. They're trying to end a decade-long string of losing seasons heading into Fisher's fourth year.

The Rams were 6-10 last year and ended 2014 having played 25 consecutive games without Bradford, twice sidelined with season-ending left knee injuries. Austin Davis, who's competing with Case Keenum for the backup job, shared starting duties with Shawn Hill last season.

Together, those two had 20 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions.

Foles was acquired from the Eagles after Bradford declined to take a big pay cut in the final year of a five-year deal worth nearly $80 million signed as the first overall pick of the 2010 draft, and Bradford will make $12.9 million this season for Philadelphia.

And, at the very least, Foles has some job security.

''Yeah, I think If I was him I'd have a lot of peace of mind right now,'' the coach said. ''But you also know it's his baby now, this is his team, so we've got to go win games.''

Foles, a former third-round pick out of Arizona, has always known that's part of the deal.

''When you are a quarterback, you are one of the guys that everyone is going to look to automatically,'' Foles said. ''But there's many leaders on this team that do a great job.

''That's how you build a culture of a winning franchise. So I can't do it alone.''

The parties have been talking since the start of training camp and got the deal done without seeing Foles, who missed the last half of last season with a broken collarbone, in a game situation.

The Rams envision the player who had 27 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in a breakout 2013, the third-lowest interception percentage in NFL history, then was the 2014 Pro Bowl MVP.

Last year, Foles made eight starts and threw for 13 TDs with 10 interceptions.

''It's what he's done on the field early in his career thus far in the league and what he's done for us since he's got here,'' Fisher said. ''He gets the game, he understands it and he's got tremendous leadership qualities.

''He can settle in and now the players can rally around them and he can rally them and we'll go on and win a lot of games.''

Foles said earlier in camp that he left contract talks in care of his agent, David Dunn.

''I want to be all-in, I don't want to have to worry about contract issues or anything,'' Foles said. ''To me, that can be selfish. I'm very fortunate to be here, I'm fortunate to have a contract.''

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Bettis, Seau headline diverse HOF group

August 7, 2015

CANTON, Ohio (AP) Tim Brown kept doing the math as the years ticked by and the phone call from the Pro Football Hall of Fame never came. So did Charles Haley.

Not Jerome Bettis.

Forget the politics. Forget the bold-faced names nearing eligibility (hello LaDainian Tomlinson). Forget about the statistics, the wholly appropriate nickname, or even the Super Bowl ring that defined his singular career. The sixth-leading rusher in NFL history didn't want to hear any of it.

Bettis wanted his final steps as a football player to take place in Canton. Badly. So while Haley and Brown did their best to remain politically correct every time they were passed over, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back went the other way.

''I didn't care about the guys coming up behind me,'' Bettis said Friday. ''I cared about me! C'mon. Get me in!''

Relax. After five years of waiting (and more than a little campaigning), there's a bust waiting for The Bus, who will have plenty of company on stage when the Class of 2015 officially joins football's most exclusive fraternity Saturday night.

The diverse eight-man group Bettis headlines represents the value of patience. Linebacker Junior Seau is the only one in the group to get in during his first year of eligibility. The rest are football lifers who wondered if they'd have to spend the rest of their lives waiting on the front step hoping to be invited inside.

Haley collected five Super Bowl rings and 100 1-2 career sacks playing for San Francisco and Dallas, but was puzzled for a decade why the guys he won titles with got their due and not him.

Brown worked 17 seasons as one of the league's most productive wide receivers - 16 in the unique crucible that came with playing for Al Davis' Raiders. Brown was a game breaker who made up with relentless efficiency what he lacked in flash or ego on his way to 1,094 receptions. Despite the impressive resume, it didn't stop doubt from creeping in as contemporaries Jerry Rice, Cris Carter and Andre Reid earned their gold jackets. Brown even told his wife that if he didn't make it in 2015 he might as well ''put this Hall of Fame thing to bed and pick it up 10 years from now.''

''I was definitely one of the guys I thought when I finally did hear the call I'd be like `it's about time,''' Brown said. ''But man I couldn't do anything but cry.''

Like Brown, Kansas City mainstay Will Shields never won a title. Still, he visited Hawaii so often after making the Pro Bowl - 12 times in all - he should have bought a time share. It took four years for him to become only the third right guard enshrined.

''You're not sure how to act,'' Shields said Friday. ''You wonder, `How are you supposed feel if you get in the first year, the second?' Then by the fourth year, you're pretty docile by then.''

Just no less grateful.

Center Mick Tinglehoff snapped the ball in four Super Bowls for Minnesota, most of the time to Fran Tarkenton. Tarkenton will return the favor when the Hall of Fame quarterback presents the 75-year-old Tinglehoff nearly four decades after their final play together.

Bill Polian served as the architect for Buffalo's rise under Marv Levy, Jim Kelly and Thurman Thomas, then repeated the feat in Indianapolis with Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning. The 72-year-old Polian enters as a contributor. So does Ron Wolf, who hired Mike Holmgren, traded for Brett Favre and returned Green Bay to its ''Titletown USA'' status as general manager in the 1990s.

Wolf said he never gave football immortality a thought. Neither did Polian, who figured his job was to find Hall of Famers, not become one.

Now they're both in.

So is the one member of the incoming class whose spot in Canton was never in doubt, but whose legacy is complex.

Seau spent 20 years stamping San Diego, Miami and New England with his brand of frenetic chaos. A six-time All-Pro, Seau could beat you with his smarts or his ridiculous speed. This is the player who spent his time at the Pro Bowl challenging running backs to the occasional foot race just for fun.

Press Shields on what kind of headaches Seau presented and Shields just laughs.

''Everything made blocking Junior a problem,'' Shields said. ''You could never find him because he'd always be moving from one place to another. He understood what you were trying to do to him. He'd try to anticipate it and he'd try to beat you there before you got there.''

Perhaps it's fitting that Seau reached the Hall as fast as possible. Yet his induction is also a reminder of a sport wrestling with its own inherent violence. Seau took his life in 2012 and his family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL, claiming his death was due in part to the countless hits he sustained during his career.

Seau's absence at a weekend that serves as the official kickoff of another season is acute. Sydney Seau and her brothers will represent their father Saturday night. Sydney will make remarks but not give a full-blown speech. It's hardly necessary to secure her dad's legacy.

''We did go to battle sometimes on the field,'' Bettis said. ''He never quit. He kept coming.''

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DC Fangio mixing it up with Bears

August 7, 2015

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (AP) Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio might be more appropriately dressed in a lab coat.

Fangio has been mixing and matching while experimenting throughout training camp in an attempt to find the right fits for his 3-4 defensive scheme.

''We need to find our D-line,'' Fangio said Friday.

The new defensive boss, who brought in his 3-4 alignment from San Francisco, not only is attempting to find new linemen but the right fit at inside and outside linebacker.

The line, though, could be his toughest task considering how poorly the Bears defensive line played the past two seasons.

''Somebody's got to step out and be an obvious pick as to who's the starters, who makes the team,'' Fangio said. ''Right now we have one really good player in Jay Ratliff.

''The other guys are fighting for that second, third, fourth, fifth and potentially sixth spot. There's a good fight going on right now.''

The 34-year-old Ratliff has been at nose tackle, and is backed by rookie Eddie Goldman. However, the end spots have been shuffled between Jarvis Jenkins, Ego Ferguson, Will Sutton and Cornelius Washington.

It might all have been easier if Ray McDonald worked out at end after signing a one-year deal with the Bears after a history of domestic violence in San Francisco, but the last accusation against him caused the team to cut him and left Fangio feeling disappointed.

Fangio had recommended McDonald to coach John Fox, general manager Ryan Pace and chairman of the board George McCaskey.

''I don't regret trying to vouch for him,'' Fangio said. ''At the time I believed it was the right thing to do.

''The only thing that I regret is that because it didn't work out, and the club put their faith in my recommendation, and George and Ryan and John took some hits from (media) and (media) really should've been hitting me and not them.''

The early mistake did nothing to diminish Fangio in his new bosses' eyes.

''He may be the most experienced coordinator I've had, as far as number of years in the league with that title,'' Fox said about Fangio, who was a coordinator for Carolina from 1995-98, Indianapolis from 1999-2001 and Houston from 2002-05 before going to San Francisco. ''He's an outstanding teacher.

''Any good coach that's accomplished a lot has to be a good teacher. Vic's no different. He's very good and we're fortunate to have him.''

The hiring of Fangio raised questions early because he teaches the 3-4 and Fox has always used a 4-3.

''I didn't think I was going to hire Vic and say `OK, we're running the 4-3,''' Fox said. ''You've got to let a guy do what he's accustomed to doing and in many of cases how.

''There will be some situational stuff that we may disagree on, and Vic has worked for head coaches before, too. It's standard operating procedure.''

Fitting the pieces from a long-time 4-3 into a 3-4 seems more of the problem with this Bears team than any potential coaching conflict.

Fangio has two outside rush linebackers in Pernell McPhee and Sam Acho, but finding their backups from among LaMarr Houston, Jared Allen, David Bass and Willie Young has been one of his bigger challenges.

''I believe I'm solid at linebacker,'' said Houston, a former Raider, who is coming off a torn ACL. ''With the Raiders we were more of a hybrid 3-4.''

It's a drastic departure for Allen after 12 years at 4-3 end, but Young, coming off a torn Achilles, has to make the greatest transition.

''I don't know anything about playing linebacker, so obviously I study day-in and day-out now,'' Young said. ''It's never a day off.''

Young played end in Detroit in a ''wide-9'' formation before coming to the Bears and getting 10 1-2 sacks at end. He called the new position unlike any spot he ever played.

''Heck no! No! Not even close,'' Young said. ''I might've had two things to worry about at defensive end regardless of how far out I was, keying the ball and getting the strength call from a linebacker.''

Fangio's experimenting has put Shea McClellin and Christian Jones at starting inside linebacker even though he has experienced Jonathan Bostic and free agent acquisition Mason Foster on the roster. Jones went undrafted after what he maintained was a false positive combine drug test, and McClellin failed as a first-round draft pick at end and outside linebacker.

''I know (McClellin) has a history of being moved around but one of our first discussions when we got here was where to play him and most people wanted him to play outside including himself, but I didn't see it that way,'' Fangio said. ''I said I want to put him at inside first and I'm glad we did and I think he's glad we did now even though he wanted to play outside first.''

Fox admitted it wasn't his call to put McClellin inside.

''Vic, I would say, was the guy that was firmest with it,'' he said. ''It's proved to be a good move so far.''