What about Bob?

We seemed to have surfed a wave into the Cowboys' fans blogosphere with our previous post about Terrell Owens complaining again.

So now that there are a few more details about T.O. complaining about the Cowboys' offense trickling out, let's try again!

How 'bout them Cowboys?!?!?

It appears our man Owens was involved in a post-game discussion with his man Tony Romo after the loss to the Redskins on Sunday.

Of course, Cowboys fans chided us for our East Coast bias when we posted our previous entry suggesting that T.O. might be about to burst. But if you're reading us again, please remember, your favorite receiver has somewhat of a well-chronicled history of not getting along so well with his quarterbacks and his coaches. If you Google "Terrell Owens" and "quarterback" and "coach" and "problems," you should come up with a few entries. A few million entries, that is.

... of course, none of this has anything to do with Jessica Simpson, other than the fact that she is Romo's girlfriend, and her name seems to attract more page views than most pure sports blogs ordinarily do.

Yesterday Scott Linehan. Today Lane Kiffin.

For what it's worth, this is the first time that two coaches have been fired in the same season before the fifth game.

Coles simply gave Berger the nickname "Little Media Man" during Berger's days as Newsday's Jets beat reporter.

But Berger has since moved on to cover hoops, and he made big news yesterday when Knicks embattled star Stephon Marbury gave the little man a hug for all to see. Stephon expressed outrage that LMM would rip him so forcefully in a recent column, and then said he would pray for him. He followed that up with the most uncomfortable public hug in the history of professional sports.

It made the back page of today's Newsday!!

Evidently, the hug didn't work, because Berger poured it on in today's column.

I think we need I505 to jot down some random thoughts on this one. And if anyone else cares to chime in, have at it.

1. Giants (3-0) (2): Well, that didn’t last long. Cowboys had top spot before losing at home to vastly improved Redskins, so Giants re-claim Power Rankings throne for the week.

2. Titans (4-0) (6): This team is really, really good. Especially on defense. Especially in the running game. They had no problem swatting away the Vikings at home. No rest for the weary, though. At Baltimore on Sunday.

3. Redskins (3-1) (11): Wins over the Saints and Cardinals at home? Fine. The Redskins are improved. A win over the Cowboys on the road? Whoa. The Redskins are now a factor.

4. Cowboys (3-1) (1): Pokes lose at home, the defense looks ordinary for a second straight week, and T.O. says he wants the ball more. Uh-oh.

5. Bills (4-0) (4): Bills need second-half comeback against awful Rams, but hold serve to go 4-0 for the first time in 16 years.

6. Steelers (3-1) (5): Ben Roethlisberger flipped out on his teammates in the locker room at halftime, and Steelers respond with huge, yet costly, win over Ravens in OT. RB Rashard Mendenhall done for the year. Willie Parker still has knee problems. Is Shaun Alexander a possibility?

7. Eagles (2-2) (3): Donovan McNabb was in the lineup, but Brian Westbrook wasn’t, and that seemed to be all the difference against the Bears. That and two missed field goals by David Akers, who simply can’t be counted on from beyond 40 yards. Westbrook should be back for Sunday’s huge NFC East home game against the Redskins.

8. Panthers (3-1) (9): Panthers make quick work of Falcons, as Steve Smith contributes in a big way for the first time since coming off a suspension.

9. Buccaneers (3-1) (12): What an emotional game for Matt Bryant, who kicks three field goals – including the eventual game-winner – just four days after his 3-month old son died. How did the guy do it?

10. Broncos (3-1) (7): We told you last week that having no defense would eventually catch up. It did. Broncos were pushed around by Larry Johnson’s Chiefs to fall out of the unbeaten ranks.

The Jets should feel good about their bounce-back win over the Cardinals yesterday ... but ... the defensive collapse the last two weeks is reason for concern.

The defense was horrendous against the Chargers last Monday night, and in the second half against the Cardinals yesterday, they were equally pathetic. A 34-0 lead at halftime suddenly turned into a game when the Jets gave up 21 unanswered points to allow the Cardinals to make a game of it.

Had it not been for Brett Favre's record-setting performance with six touchdown passes, who knows how it would have turned out.

The Jets' defense has really been a problem all season, allowing 116 points through just four games. That's more than every team except the Broncos (117) and the Rams (147).

Work to be done during the bye week? You bet.

Read Boland's stuff to get the details of how Eric Mangini plans to shore up the defense ... oh, wait, coaches don't give details on that sort of stuff. But read Boland anyway.

... but I won't believe it until I see him back in the lineup and back throwing passes with the kind of effortless motion that has been his trademark.

Palmer was held out of yesterday's game against the Browns with what was termed "an inflamed" elbow.

In quarterback-speak, that is not good. I'm hoping it's not more serious than that.

Yes, for the zillionth time in his career, Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens has voiced a complaint about not being more involved in the offense.

This, in spite of the fact he figured on 20 of the Cowboys' 58 offensive plays they ran against the Redskins yesterday. He was thrown to 18 times and had two rushing attempts for 11 yards.
He finished with seven catches for 71 yards, including a touchdown.

Asked if he got the ball enough in the Cowboys' loss, Owens said: "I would say no. I'm a competitor, and I want the ball. Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half. I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it. I didn't quit. I kept fighting and trying to keep running my routes and trying to get open."

Welcome to the beginning of the Cowboys coming unglued. It probably won't happen all at once, but with a team of me-first guys - topped by Owens - it's bound to happen eventually.

On a personal note, I'd like to thank Mr. Owens for spouting off after the game. After all, it's the end of the month, we're always glad for more page views, and Owens is Google search engine magnet when it comes to getting hits. The only more effective way to draw page views for Cowboys' stuff is to mention Jessica Simpson ... and ... well ... we just did.

The Rams have the worst defense in the league, but defensive coordinator Jim Haslett will take over on an interim basis for Scott Linehan, who was fired after the Rams fell to 0-4.

I'd thought the team might give the gig to offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who also has head coaching experience. But Haslett has been a head coach more recently.

Besides, whoever got the job would simply be warming the seat for another head coach, because the Rams will look elsewhere once the season ends.

Hmm. There's an assistant in San Francisco who is doing some pretty good things with the 49ers' offense ... nah. The Rams have already been there, done that with Mike Martz.

Jet of the week: Um, is there really even a question about this? It’s Brett Favre, who threw a career-high six touchdown passes, including three to Laveranues Coles. Not even as a kid did Favre throw that many TD's. Clearly, this isn’t the Favre the Jets expected when they traded for him. This was even more than they could have expected. Bravo. (Word of caution from Favre himself: It's only one game.)

Offensive player of the week: Well, it’s Favre, of course, but we need to spread the wealth here, so we’ll go with Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, who rushed for 198 yards and two touchdowns in Kansas City’s shocking 33-19 upset of the previously unbeaten Broncos.

Defensive player of the week: Derrick Brooks, OLB, Buccaneers. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the kind of dominating play from Brooks that we saw yesterday, but part of it is traceable to hamstring problems. He came up huge against the Packers, intercepting a pass and forcing a fumble that Jermaine Phillips returned for a TD in Tampa’s 30-21 win over the Packers.

Special teams player of the week: Matt Bryant, K, Buccaneers: Still mourning the loss of his 3-month-old son, who died four days earlier, Bryant kicked three field goals, including the eventual game-winner in the fourth quarter. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Upset of the week: Redskins 26, Cowboys 24. The feeling here was that Rock's Redskins were much improved, but not yet ready to keep up with the Cowboys just. Jason Campbell & Co. took care of that notion with a brilliant performance at Texas Stadium.

Coaching second-guess: Perhaps it’s piling on, because he’s out of a job. But did Scott Linehan think there was anything to be gained by going with Trent Green to jump-start the winless Rams? Or maybe Linehan simply hastened the inevitable. Rams were beaten by the Bills, and Linehan was shown the door after an 0-4 start.

Ironman Award: Deuce McAllister, RB, Saints. Playing on two reconstructed knees, McAllister’s power running game helped the Saints grind out a 31-17 win over the 49ers. Deuce ran for 73 yards on 20 carries and scored a fourth-quarter TD to help the Saints get to 2-2.

Have-to-start-somewhere award: This one goes to Boland’s Beloved Browns (BBB), who beat a Carson Palmer-less Bengals team 20-12 in Cincy. It wasn’t pretty, 1-3 sure beats 0-4. BBB QB Derek Anderson did just enough to win it, throwing a fourth-quarter TD pass to Braylon Edwards.

Fourth quarter collapse award: Actually, we’re not too sure anyone would want to win this dubious honor, but it goes to the Raiders, who went into the fourth quarter with a 15-3 lead over San Diego, but wound up surrendering 25 fourth-quarter points in a 28-18 loss. Does Al Davis finally pull the plug on Lane Kiffin?

Cheap shot award: Again, you don’t want to win this one, but it goes to Jets S Eric Smith, who launched head-first into Anquan Boldin in the fourth quarter of the Jets’ win over the Cardinals. The way we see it, the NFL should come down hard on Smith, who deserves at least a one-game suspension.

Back on track award: Steve Smith, WR, Panthers. Nearly two months after slugging teammate Ken Lucas in a training camp altercation, Smith had five catches for 96 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown, in a win over the Falcons.

Unsung hero: Smith teammate Muhsin Muhammad quietly produced eight catches for 147 yards, including a 36-yard TD.

Team defense award: Da Bears. They looked like the unit that led Chicago to the Super Bowl two years ago in holding off Philly in a huge NFC showdown last night at Soldier Field.

They’re-for-real award: The Bills are 4-0 for the first time in 16 years. In a division without Tom Brady to worry about, the AFC East is theirs for the taking.

There is really no other way to deal with his vicious hit on Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin in the final seconds of the Jets' win over Arizona.

As Boldin was leaping in mid-air to catch a would-be touchdown pass from Kurt Warner, Smith launched himself - helmet-first - into Boldin. The helmet-to-helmet contact caused both players to lay on the ground for several minutes, and Boldin was immobilized on a back board before being carted off the field.

Take a look at the hit yourself.

He is expected to be ok, and Smith left the stadium without receiving any additional medical attention.

I expect the NFL will act quickly and forcefully on this one, especially in light of commissioner Roger Goodell's memo to all teams reminding them of player safety and avoiding precisely this kind of cheap shot tackle.

Smith needs to sit for at least a game, and I would have no problem with two games. The hit reminded me of some of former Cardinals safety Chuck Cecil's unconscionable helmet-to-helmet hits several years ago. It's an unncessary and illegal tackling technique, and Goodell needs to make a very strong case here.

I expect he will.

... jot them down, if you would ... in the comments section, not just on a piece of paper.

There's always this yawning gap in blog activity at the very moment you want it most. (Or something like that.)

In any event, there is a lot that happens on an NFL Sunday, from Brett Favre throwing 6 TD's, to Anquan Boldin nearly getting decapitated, to the Titans running to a 4-0 start, to ... well, you know.

If you want to talk, just talk. Black N Gold, Islander505, get 'er going.

The Cardinals' receiver, who was hit hard by Jets safety Eric Smith in the final seconds of today's game, has movement in his extremities and was conscious when he left the stadium for observation.

We talked to Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt afterward, and he confirmed that Boldin was alert and able to move his extremities despite being taped to a backboard and removed from the field.

Whisenhunt said Boldin wanted to get up, but was told by doctors on site that he needed to be still for precautionary reasons.

Thank goodness.

Are the Bills for real? In a word, yes. They’re 3-0 after last Sunday’s comeback win over the Raiders, and they’re on the road against the pathetic Rams on Sunday. If the Bills win, they’d become the eighth team in the last five years to start a season 4-0 after finishing the previous season 1-3 or 0-4. All of the previous seven teams went to the playoffs, including the 2004 Jets and 2007 Packers. Depth is a key for the Bills. Beset by injuries last year, they’re in much better position now. With return man Roscoe Parrish on the shelf, look for rookie Leodis McKelvin to step in. He was the best kick returner in this year’s draft. Offensively, the Bills are in steady hands with second-year pro Trent Edwards, who is 8-4 as a starter …

If Buffalo beats St. Louis, I think you’ll see Rams coach Scott Linehan fired within 24 hours. Linehan pulled a panic move by benching quarterback Marc Bulger, even though the bigger problem lies with a pathetic defense. Fossil Trent Green gets the start. If Linehan is fired, offensive coordinator Al Saunders makes the most sense as an interim replacement (For what it's worth, I wrote this item on Friday afternoon for the Sunday newspaper, a day before Peter King of Sports Illustrated and NBC said essentially the same thing on Satursday) ...

If the Jets don’t beat the Cardinals, this thing could spiral out of control before you know it …

With no Tom Brady for the rest of the season, the Patriots are trying to figure out a way of getting Randy Moss more involved in the offense. Moss had a career year last year with 23 touchdowns, but he doesn’t have any so far. He has just 12 catches for 163 yards . . .

Steelers receiver Hines Ward and Ravens linebacker Bart Scott meet on Monday night for the first time since last season, when Scott threatened Ward during the Steelers’ 38-7 rout of the Ravens at Heinz Field. Ward took out free safety Ed Reed and then Scott with a pair of hits that enraged Scott. “He threatened to kill me after the game,” Ward told reporters this week. “I got a big laugh out of it.” Is Ward worried? “It’s just words. Words don't hurt me. I'm pretty sure if I see Bart out in the street, outside of football, I'm pretty sure he's not going to kill me. Tell him I said, ‘Hello.’ ” Could be. “I don't have a rivalry with anybody,” Scott said. “Just trying to get ready for a football game.” …

The Titans attempt to go 4-0 for the first time in franchise history, dating back to 1960. They host Minnesota …

The Colts aren’t crazy about taking their bye so early, but it might be a good thing. After all, the offensive line is banged up, Peyton Manning is still not right after missing all of training camp with a knee injury, and the run defense is averaging 199.3 yards per game. Defensive player of the year Bob Sanders is now several weeks away from returning from a sprained ankle and knee surgery. Manning’s 59.2 completion percentage is the fourth lowest after three games since his arrival in Indy in 1998. He has only three TD passes and four INTs …
NFL games are averaging a healthy 44.1 points per game for the first three weeks. That’s the highest level since 2002 (44.7) . . .

Six rookie running backs lead their respective teams in rushing, and four are on pace to finish with 1,000 yards for the season. The four: Matt Forte of the Bears (304 yards), Chris Johnson of the Titans (276), Darren McFadden of the Raiders (252) and Steve Slaton of the Texans (159). Jonathan Stewart (Carolina, 145) and Kevin Smith (Detroit, 102) also lead their teams as rookies …

Another rookie running back will join the fray on Monday night, when Rashard Mendenhall fills in for the injured Willie Parker in Pittsburgh’s home game against the Ravens. Mendenhall, who has had some problems with ball security, has just 10 carries for 28 yards so far …

I just don’t see the Redskins being able to keep up with the Cowboys. Washington is improved, but not in a league with the Cowboys just yet …

The Lions should take a look at the Giants’ front office for some ideas about a replacement for Matt Millen, who was fired as general manager on Wednesday. Giants assistant GM Kevin Abrams, Director of Pro Personnel Dave Gettleman, VP of player evaluation Chris Mara, and director of college scouting Marc Ross are all worthy of consideration …

The Broncos’ 114 points tie for fifth most over the first three games of a season since 1970 …

Seems like it’s only a matter of time before Texans coach Gary Kubiak pulls the plug on quarterback Matt Schaub. In two games, the former Falcons backup has one TD, five INTs, a lost fumble and a rating of 50.3. He has been sacked eight times. Time for Sage Rosenfels? Not yet, says Kubiak. Schaub gets the start against the Jaguars, but one more bad outing, and he might be holding the clipboard ...

The 0-3 Browns face the 0-3 Bengals in the “Battle for Ohio” on Sunday. Some battle. The Browns are now 0-3 for the fifth time in franchise history, and the Bengals are 0-13 for the 13th time . . .

Now that Broncos center Tom Nalen is on injured reserve with a left knee injury, the Broncos don’t have any players on their current roster who played on the team’s back-to-back Super Bowl winners in 1997-98.

Curious that our WatchDog would take a weekend off from blogging. Especially after we find out that one Neil Best has been disciplined this weekend for allegedly gouging an opponent's eye during the heat of battle.

Maybe the greatest actor of our time.

From his roles in "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money," to "Exodus," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," and "The Sting," Newman was a transcendent performer.

My personal favorite: "Slap Shot," where he was a player/coach for a minor league hockey team suffering from tough financial times. I've probably seen the movie 10 times. I could see it another 10 and not get tired of it.

... but not off the field.

Former Broncos quarterback John Elway is getting married to a former Raiders' cheerleader.

Not with his decision to bench quarterback Marc Bulger and replace him with 38-year-old Trent Green, who has made more news in recent years because of getting his noggin knocked around than winning games at quarterback.

The Rams' locker room is in near revolt over the coach's move. If the Rams don't beat the Bills on Sunday, I think Linehan is gone within 24 hours.

... but Brian Westbrook may not be so fortunate.

McNabb practiced today and seemed fine after suffering a bruised chest in last week's win over the Steelers.

Westbrook missed another day of practice with a sprained ankle and may or may not play against the Bears on Sunday night.

The Bengals' quarterback insists he backed off from practice late in the week because his right elbow was sore. Let's just hope sore really means sore, and not the beginning of a bigger problem for one of the league's better quarterbacks.

Palmer went from not appearing on the injury report at all to being listed as questionable, which means there's a 50-50 chance he'll play. The winless Bengals play the winless Browns on Sunday.

I have no problem with fans saying just about whatever they want. It's their right, it's their passion, and if they go overboard, so be it. Read it and move on, is what I say.

But in this case, what one Seahawks fan did this week was unforgivable, and needs to be addressed.

On a Seahawks fan website called Seahawkshuddle.com, a fan wanted to stoke the rivalry with the Giants (actually, there isn't much of a rivalry, but whatever) by making fun of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The fan posted pictures of the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, and wrote a bunch of jokes that literally turned my stomach and brought back memories of that awful day.

I choose not to post the pictures or the jokes, but whoever published this despicable rant ought to be ashamed, and I think the website owes it to every self-respecting American citizen, no less NFL fan, to make a very public apology.

In the meantime, if you'd like to post your own comments below, I will send this link to the site.

(UPDATE: I decided to remove the link because of the unfortunate nature of the subject matter. It's out there is you want to find it.)

(UPDATE: Seahawkshuddle.com has issued a formal apology on the home page of its website. It was the right thing to do. I think we're all pretty raw about this subject, as the comments indicated. But I also think it's best to talk it out, not to simply ignore it and hope it goes away. The beauty of our country is that we can openly discuss and disagree and then move on, better for the dialogue.)

I'm sure Best was a tad nostalgic that he saw me on the latest installment of "Giants Online," where the suspension of Plaxico Burress was discussed at great length.

Best's name came up a couple times during the spot, which you might find amusing. At least I wore a nice suit and my tie was straight. And I was happy to sneak a word in edge-wise on New York Post Giants beat reporter Paul Schwartz, who sits next to where Best used to sit in the press room.

T-Rock now uses that seat. So far, I haven't seen him put his head on the desk and wonder aloud what he's doing with his life - something Best did fairly regularly in his 10 years on the beat.

The five most compelling story lines for Week 4:

1. Are the Redskins for real? Washington is off to a surprising 2-1 start after an opening loss to the Giants. But after impressive home wins over the Saints and Cardinals, they take on the big boys in Big D on Sunday. My sense is that Washington realizes that the improvement won’t translate into a win over the Cowboys, who are playing the best football of anyone right now.

2. We’ll learn something more about Brett Favre: Specifically, just how he’ll respond after Monday night’s clunker in San Diego. He was under duress the entire game and had one of those nights he’d much rather forget. Jets fans would rather forget it, too. Now let’s see what happens when Favre takes on another graybeard quarterback in Kurt Warner when the Jets host the Cardinals. My hunch is that he and the Jets will bounce back.

3. Donovan McNabb goes home again. The Chicago area native faces the Bears in what is a huge game for both teams. The Eagles hope to continue the momentum from their win over the Steelers, while the Bears look to stop the bleeding after two straight losses. McNabb has a bruised chest, but he’ll almost certainly play. The bigger issue is whether Brian Westbrook recovers from a bum ankle. I think he’ll play. I think the Eagles will win.

4. Are the Ravens for real? At 2-0, they couldn’t have asked for a better start. But beating Cincy and Cleveland is one thing; beating the Steelers – on the road – is quite another. I think Joe Flacco gets roughed up in this Monday night matchup.

5. Kerry Collins is back in the mix: It has been a long and occasionally strange journey for the former first-round pick, but he keeps hanging around and now he gets his latest opportunity to run the show. His Titans are 3-0 now that he has settled down the quarterback position. But he’ll be up against Minnesota’s furious pass rush, so the running game will have to be at its best to keep Jared Allen & Co. at bay. I like the Titans in this one.

Picks (straight up, not against the spread):

Panthers over Falcons: Panthers bounce back from poor performance in Minny.

Browns over Bengals: It’s desperation time in Cleveland. One more bad outing, and Derek Anderson is out.

Jaguars over Texans: It’s only a matter of time before Texans coach Gary Kubiak pulls the plug on Matt Schaub.

Broncos over Chiefs: Even the Chiefs can score a few points on Denver’s sieve-like defense. Just not enough. I think it might be closer than you think, though. (Take the Chiefs and the points.)

Jets over Cardinals: Imagine the fallout if the Jets don’t win?

Buccaneers over Packers: Close one. In the end, I like Tampa’s defense.

Titans over Vikings: Chris Johnson and LenDale White the keys for Tennessee. Not to mention Titans’ underrated defense.

Chargers over Raiders: I’d pick Central Islip over the Raiders.

Bills over Rams: Scott Linehan’s last game in St. Louis? It is if Trent Green can’t save his hide.

Cowboys over Redskins: Don’t think it will be close. Especially with no Jason Taylor in the lineup for Washington.

Eagles over Bears: McNabb and Westbrook are key, but so is the Eagles’ defense. If it puts on a pass rush like last week, the Bears are toast.

Steelers over Ravens: Big Ben bounces back after lousy performance in Philly.

That's why she came up with quite a quote, one that made it to the "Final Score." Please link to it to read it. You will be astonished.

The USC coach and the legendary composer. (In my youth, his then-wife, Angie Dickinson, was one of THE hottest women on the planet.)

Thanks to Sandy for this one. I think Bacharach invites a Carroll-John Kerry combo call, but I'll go with Carroll straight up in honor of your contributions. Well played.

Central Islip's own is doing a fine job at the University of Central Florida, and Art Staple checked in with the head coach for a story.

Of course, O'Leary is best known for getting the job at Notre Dame in 2001, only to resign because it was revealed he'd lied on his resume. But he eventually joined former CI quarterback Mike Tice on the Vikings' staff, and he has since done yeoman's work at UCF.

Guess the headline writer couldn't resist, though: "UCF job looks good on George O'Leary's resume"

Oh, well.

I met O'Leary in 2002, when he was a defensive assistant on Tice's staff. I found him to be a very engaging person, if for no other reason than he openly discussed what had happened with the Notre Dame situation. I'm delighted he has found his niche.

... for saying he enjoyed one of my competitors' columns on Plaxico Burress. I'm still a little partial to my take on Plax - namely, that the Giants did the right thing in whacking him for a game.

But Matt does a very thorough job with his blog, he is a multi-media dude with his radio gig, and he is generally a very nice human being.

In other words, he is a net positive.

Neil Best, on the other hand, is a pain in my a**.

Pete the Giants fan and I often discuss the state of the Giants, his NFL team of choice. Today's discussion was about something I'd said during an appearance yesterday on ESPNews, when I was asked whether I thought the Giants would have suspended Plaxico Burress if the team's next game was against the Cowboys.

My response was that yes, they would have suspended him for the game, even though it would have had much more significance against the Cowboys than against the Seahawks. I truly believe the team had had enough of Burress' act, and that they'd have sat him down if it was Big D next on the docket.

Pete the Giants fan wasn't so sure.

Then again, we've disagreed on Giants' matters in the past. PTGF wasn't a big believer in Coughlin when the coach was scuffling a few years back and on the verge of being fired. I politely disagreed with him, even though TC was indeed having some issues.

Eventually, I won that argument.

But I will go easy on Pete the Giants fan, because he is also Pete the Mets fan, and he is having a bad, bad day. In fact, he has been having several bad, bad days over his beloved team, which could use a Heimlich maneuver about now.

It was only last week that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to the entire league reminding the teams that player safety is of paramount importance.

But the Ravens are now complaining the Browns purposely attempted to injured running back Willis McGahee, who had his eye poked during last Sunday's game.

... Troy Brown would have signed with them earlier in the year.

Instead, the Patriots' longtime receiver decided to hang 'em up. Brown officially announced his retirement today, saying he was contacted by the Jets but just didn't feel right about joining the team.

Brown said he just didn't like the look of the green-and-white.

Our deepest condolences to the family of Buccaneers kicker Matt Byrant, who lost 3-month-old
Matthew Tyson Bryant yesterday.

"Tryson enriched our lives for the short time that he was with us and we will never forget his smile," the family said in a statement issued yesterday. "We know Tryson's death has deeply touched the community and we appreciate the love and prayers from our Buccaneers fans."

Plaxico Burress' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, just said on a conference call that Burress missed Monday's activities because of a family obligation. He also said he has asked the NFL Players Association for an expedited hearing that would potentially overturn the suspension - or at least a portion of it.

"It’s a private matter and it has to do with plax and his family," Rosenhaus said. "He had some responsibility that he needed to take care of as it related to his family. There was a lack of communication and in talking to Plax, he feels bad about that obviously. It’s something that we can’t do anything about now."

Rosenhaus added: "I have talked to the team and they made their decision today. We have to respect their decision and we don’t agree with it. We have spoken to the NFL Players Association and requested an immediate hearing to get Plaxico reinstated. We do acknowledge there was an infraction and violation of team rules but not something that is tantamount to being suspended for two weeks."

Rosenhaus said he will await word from the NFLPA about whether such a hearing will be granted. It's typical that hearings are held in these cases, so it would be a surprise if there was an exception in this case.

Stay tuned.