Players say Rush's Comments Off-Base
PHILADELPHIA --(AP) Some NFL players were still upset Thursday at last weekend's comments about Donovan McNabb that caused conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh to resign from ESPN.


On "Sunday NFL Countdown," Limbaugh said the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.


"You can have your opinion, but there are certain things that are sensitive that you have to adhere to and certain lines that you don't cross," Carolina Panthers quarterback Rodney Peete said. "And I think he definitely crossed that line with that particular comment."


As one of McNabb's closest friends, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Kevin Johnson offered another view.


"He's disappointed," said Johnson, a teammate of McNabb's at Syracuse. "He has done everything right as a player. He's been a perfect role model. He has done everything that you would ask him to do as an NFL quarterback."


Limbaugh resigned from the show Wednesday night.


Rev. Jesse Jackson told The Associated Press on Thursday that Limbaugh's remarks were "a painful insult."


"It is not true and it is demeaning to the black athlete," Jackson said in a phone interview from California. "It is wrong to suggest that the hard work of black coaches and black quarterbacks are breaking in by the gratuity of the media."


In 2000 Tennessee's Steve McNair became the second black quarterback to start a Super Bowl.


He said the fans always treated him fairly and he was surprised the issue of race has resurfaced.


"Until this episode, I thought it was gone," he said. "Evidently, there will always be a small portion out there. That's just people's opinion and how people look at different things."


Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said Limbaugh's opinion doesn't "represent how the majority -- the high majority" of people involved in the game for a long time think.


"I know it doesn't represent anything near what I think," he said.


Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier was far from agreeing with the overrated part of Limbaugh's opinion.


"They didn't give him all that money because he's an average quarterback," Spurrier said. "He's one of the best in the league."


Many Redskins players took issue with both the premise and conclusion of Limbaugh's statement. They felt McNabb is indeed worth all the attention he gets, and they wondered what on earth race has to do with it.


"Who's Rush Limbaugh to make a statement like that?" linebacker LaVar Arrington said. "He needs to stay in his area of expertise because clearly he's out it. That's one of the most asinine comments a person can make. It shows his IQ level in football."

Penguins D Rozsival out two months following knee surgery
October 2, 2003
PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Michal Rozsival underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery Thursday and will be sidelined approximately two months, the team announced.

Team physicial Dr. Charles Burke repaired the meniscus, one day after Rozsival injured the knee in practice.

Rozsival missed 27 games last season with groin, shoulder, head and thumb injuries. The 25-year-old Czech finished with four goals and six assists in 53 contests.

Steelers concerned they'll be taking on desperate Browns
By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
October 2, 2003
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Cleveland Browns are coming off a loss to Cincinnati that dropped their record to 1-3. They're not scoring very much. Starting quarterback Kelly Holcomb is injured, so Tim Couch will start Sunday night in Pittsburgh.

Maybe that's what has the Steelers so concerned. Whenever very little is going right for the Browns, it can mean things are about to start going wrong for the Steelers.

``The Browns-Steelers game is one of those things where it really doesn't matter who has the better record,'' wide receiver Plaxico Burress said. ``Cleveland has always played us hard. It's always a physical game and their coach always has their guys fired up to play us.''

That kind of rhetoric may sound more suited for high school than the NFL, but Browns-Steelers games regularly deviate from the supposed norm. Remember 1999? The Steelers beat up on the Browns 43-0 in Cleveland's return to the NFL, only to lose the rematch 16-15 in Three Rivers Stadium.

Their wild card playoff game in January is another example. The Steelers beat the Browns by three points for the third time in just over three months, but the game barely resembled the previous two.

Holcomb threw for 429 yards, the third-most in an NFL playoff game, as the Browns opened a 24-7 lead, but the Steelers rallied with two touchdowns in the final 3:06 to win 36-33.

Pittsburgh's comeback was such a letdown to the Browns, Burress expects to see a desperate opponent Sunday, especially given Cleveland's poor start. The Browns have talked about playing with a sense of urgency, given how tough it would be to make the playoffs should they lose and fall to 1-4.

``You would think those guys will be a little teed off about what happened last year,'' Burress said.

Steelers guard Alan Faneca is equally angry about the Steelers' 30-13 loss Sunday to Tennessee. The Steelers have followed a win-lose-win-lose pattern so far this season, one reason that Faneca said they must begin to play with more consistency.

``It still makes me mad,'' Faneca said. ``It was the little things. You say that and it doesn't really tell you much, but it was a thing here or there.''

Of less concern to the Steelers than the Browns' state of mind is the status of their quarterbacks. They've played against both Couch and Holcomb, and they don't expect the Browns to overhaul their game plan just because Holcomb (sprained left ankle) isn't expected to play.

With the Browns struggling to run the ball, the Steelers expect to see many of the spread formation, four-receiver looks they saw in that January playoff game.

``I really don't see too much difference, they're kind of the same type of player,'' nose tackle Casey Hampton said of Couch and Holcomb.

Strong safety Mike Logan said the Browns have too much offensive talent to keep being held to 14 points or fewer, as they were in each of their first four games.

``At some point in the year they're going to start clicking, but we just don't want that to happen against us,'' he said.

The Steelers' efforts to get their own running game going could be helped by the expected return of left tackle Marvin Smith, who sat out Sunday with a sore shoulder. He returned to practice Thursday.

October 2, 2003
1st Update. I just created this site and I'll be posting a lot better stuff in the future. Today I just wanted to test it out and get everything going. BTW today is my sister Jacquie's birthday...Happy Birthday