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: *** If Saints leave New Orleans, Mississippi's interested : GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi has quietly launched an effort : to lure the New Orleans Saints across the state line if the : Saints cannot work out a deal that would keep them in Louisiana. : Team owner Tom Benson has stressed that he does not want to move : the team but acknowledged interest from other states, including : Mississippi. Gov. Ronnie Musgrove and the Mississippi Development : Authority have put the state into play in the high-stakes game to : secure the New Orleans NFL franchise if it moves. The Gulfport : Sun Herald cited unidentified sources who said the Saints are : interested in a site along Interstate 10 near Stennis Space : Center, about 45 miles from downtown New Orleans. It could become : part of a large sports complex involving a NASCAR race track and : an all-purpose arena suitable for hockey, basketball, concerts : and other events. : : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406109084 : *** Cardinals support Tempe as stadium site : TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - The race between suburbs hoping to lure a new : Arizona Cardinals stadium escalated Thursday when the NFL team : threw its support behind Tempe, the only home it has known since : moving to Arizona in 1988. With the sun glistening on a scenic : urban lake behind him, team vice president Michael Bidwill : promised $18 million more in support if Tempe's riverside site is : chosen. That would run the Cardinals' tab to $103 million of the : $331 million stadium cost if the Tourism and Sports Authority : picks Tempe, an eastern Phoenix suburb, over Avondale on the : city's underdeveloped west side. The Cardinals' agreement with : Tempe would require them to pay $600,000 a year in rent for their : practice facility in south Tempe if they played in any other : city. Bidwill said the city was not asked to relent on that : condition in exchange for support, and Tempe mayor Neil Giuliano : denied that the city cut a development-rights deal with the : Cardinals. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406114436 : *** Akili Smith arrested for investigation of DUI : SAN DIEGO (AP) - Akili Smith, the Cincinnati Bengals' second-year : quarterback, was arrested Thursday for investigation of drunken : driving. Smith, the third overall pick in the 1999 draft, was : pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one-way street in the : downtown Gaslamp Quarter at about 2 a.m. PT, police spokesman : Bill Robinson said. Smith told the officer he was looking for : friends. Smith, who lives in San Diego, was given a sobriety test : and booked into San Diego County jail, Robinson said. He later : was released on $1,600 bail. "If the information is accurate, : this is a matter that Akili will have to handle with the proper : authorities," Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said. "It is the : club's policy not to comment further on legal charges until such : matters are resolved in the courts." Smith lost his starting job : to Scott Mitchell after the 10th game last season, when the : Bengals finished 4-12 for the second straight season. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406112099 : *** Broncos' Chamberlain no-show at court hearing : CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) - A court hearing was rescheduled for : Denver Broncos tight end Byron Chamberlain, who missed his : appointment for a hearing on charges of driving with a suspended : license, then showed up Thursday, a day late. An arrest warrant : was issued for Chamberlain when he missed a pre-trial conference : in a driving-under-suspension case Wednesday. Michael Knight, : spokesman for the Douglas County district attorney's office, said : Chamberlain showed up Thursday, and the hearing was rescheduled : for March 6. "I think he probably forgot. It's not like driving : under suspension is a very serious charge," Knight said. : *** Marvin Lewis snub may come from flaw in system : (AP) - When Marvin Lewis failed to land a head coaching job after : his defense led Baltimore to a Super Bowl victory, one quick : reaction was that NFL coaches were again being chosen by race. : "The process was flawed and possibly slightly biased," said Ray : Anderson, Lewis' agent. Almost two weeks later, there is more : talk that the system may be hurting the hottest prospects -- : assistants on teams in the Super Bowl, who must wait until the : end of January to interview, while teams are anxious to hire both : head coaches and assistants before that. "Here is a guy who : constructed what may be the best defense ever, but only one out : of seven or eight teams talked to him," Tony Dungy, one of three : black coaches in the NFL, said after Tennessee defensive : coordinator Gregg Williams was hired over Lewis in Buffalo. The : current rule doesn't allow a team to talk to a prospective coach : until his team is out of the playoffs. : Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=406114592 : *** Steelers hired Kenny Jackson as receivers coach : PITTSBURGH (AP) - Kenny Jackson, the wide receivers coach at Penn : State since 1993, was hired Thursday to replace Bob Piatkowski as : the Pittsburgh Steelers' receivers coach. Piatkowski left to : become the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator. Jackson : inherits a wide receivers corps that includes the Steelers' last : two first-round draft picks, Plaxico Burress and Troy Edwards, : both of whom lost their starting jobs during disappointing 2000 : seasons. Jackson was the second-leading all-time receiver at Penn : State, catching 109 passes for 2,006 yards and 25 touchdowns and : breaking 27 school records. He played on the Nittany Lions' 1982 : national championship team. Jackson was the Philadelphia Eagles' : first-round draft pick in 1984 and spent eight NFL seasons with : the Eagles and Houston Oilers, catching 126 passes. In : Philadelphia, he was a teammate of Steelers coach Bill Cowher. : *** Caldwell, two others hired as Tampa Bay assistants : TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Former Wake Forest coach Jim Caldwell was : hired Thursday as quarterbacks coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, : who also filled two openings on the team's defensive staff. Joe : Barry, defensive quality control coach for the San Francisco : 49ers last season, joins the Bucs as linebackers coach. Mike : Tomlin, who spent the last two years at the University of : Cincinnati, was added as defensive backs coach. Caldwell, who : fills a spot that opened when Clyde Christensen was promoted to : offensive coordinator, coached at Wake Forest for the past eight : seasons. Two years ago, he led the Demon Deacons to their first : winning season and bowl berth since 1992. Barry replaces Lovie : Smith, who left Tampa Bay to become defensive coordinator of the : St. Louis Rams. Tomlin takes over a secondary that was led the : past five years by Herman Edwards, who became the coach of the : New York Jets last month. : *** Bills name Graves receivers coach : ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Fred Graves, the University of Utah's : assistant head coach, has been appointed receivers coach for the : Buffalo Bills. Graves, 50, has 26 years experience at the college : level, including the last 19 at Utah. Since 1998 he has been : assistant head coach in charge of receivers for Utah. He also : coached running backs and served as offensive coordinator. Other : stops in Graves' coaching career include New Mexico State : (1979-1981), Western Illinois (1977-1978) and Northeast Missouri : (1975-1976). : *** Former Browns coach joins Seattle staff : KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) - Mark Michaels, an assistant coach with the : Cleveland Browns the past two seasons, joined the Seattle : Seahawks on Thursday as assistant special teams coach. Michaels, : 37, will assist special teams coach Pete Rodriguez. Michaels was : the Browns' special teams coach in 2000 after serving as : Cleveland's special teams coach and quality control coach in : 1999. Michaels replaces Johnny Holland as assistant special teams : coach. Holland became the team's linebackers coach. Seahawks : defensive backs coach Dick Roach retired after last season and : Seattle quarterbacks coach Mike Sheppard left this week to become : the new offensive coordinator of the Buffalo Bills. A replacement : for Sheppard will be selected by coach Mike Holmgren. : *** Harris to coach Jets' running backs : HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) - Bishop Harris, a former assistant with : Buffalo, Oakland and Denver, has been hired as the running backs' : coach of the New York Jets. The hiring is the final one among : offensive position coaches on the staff of Herman Edwards, the : team's new head coach. Harris will be entering his seventh season : as an NFL assistant. He was with Buffalo the last two seasons. : *** Lions hire Haley as pass-rush coach : PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) - Former NFL defensive end Charles Haley : joined the Detroit Lions' coaching staff Thursday as a pass-rush : specialist. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Haley, 37, is : taking his first full-time NFL coaching assignment after a : 12-year career in which he played on five Super Bowl champion : teams -- two with San Francisco and three with Dallas. He had 100 : 1/2 career sacks. : *** Redskins consider moving training camp to Williamsburg : WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) - The Washington Redskins, who trained at : home last season, have contacted officials at William & Mary : about the possibility of holding their training camp at the : college beginning in late July. "It is something we would : consider, but they would have to be more specific about what they : need," William & Mary Athletic Director Terry Driscoll said. : "There are a lot of details that have to be worked out before we : could consider it." Marty Schottenheimer, the Redskins' new coach : and director of football operations, said he hopes the team will : find a new training site away from Redskins Park in Ashburn. "One : of the things I like when you go away is it tends to put your : football team in a position where they start relying on each : other a little more," Schottenheimer said. Training camp was held : at Redskins Park last summer, where they were the first team ever : to charge admission. : Transactions : ------------ : *** Thursday's Moves : BUFFALO BILLS-Named Fred Graves receivers coach. : DETROIT LIONS-Named Charles Haley pass rush specialist. : NEW ORLEANS SAINTS-Named Jim Hostler offensive assistant-quality : control and Mike Woodford defensive assistant-quality control. : NEW YORK JETS-Named Bishop Harris running backs coach. : PITTSBURGH STEELERS-Named Kenny Jackson receivers coach. : SEATTLE SEAHAWKS-Named Mark Michaels assistant special teams : coach. : TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS-Named Jim Caldwell quarterbacks coach, Joe : Barry linebackers coach, and Mike Tomlin defensive backs coach.

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