Saban's denial

For the second time in a week, coach Nick Saban vehemently denied any interest in the coaching job at the University of Alabama. The Huntsville [Ala.] Times reported Sunday that Saban is expected to interview this week for the job.....


Browns QB Charlie Frye may have broken his right wrist during Sunday's win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Frye got hurt on Cleveland's first offensive series when he braced himself while being knocked down. He stayed in and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Braylon Edwards before being taken to the locker room for X-rays. Frye returned with 5:53 left before halftime, and drove the Browns to a tying score with 19 seconds left. However, when Cleveland came out for the second half, Frye was wearing a large brace on his wrist and an orange jacket but no shoulder pads. "I tried to fight it off for a while," said Frye, who also hurt his left ankle on the same play. "At halftime, the trainer pulled the plug on it. I should know tomorrow just how serious it is.....

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Monday that Rams QB Marc Bulger was not happy with his team's effort vs. Arizona in Week 13. "Obviously, we have guys in here who think it's OK just to show up and play, and not prepare all week and just think it's going to get done. It doesn't work that way," Bulger said. "There's more than one guy in this locker room that could care less if we're losing or thinks it's OK to make mistakes. I've made a hundred mistakes; I'm not perfect on the football field. But I care; we lose, it hurts. But there are definitely guys that don't care. That's what bugs me." Bulger wouldn't name names, but cleared teammates Steven Jackson, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce.....

KHOU-TV in Houston is reporting that Bengals rookie WR Reggie McNeal was arrested on Sunday and charged with resisting arrest after pushing an off-duty police officer who denied him access to a downtown Houston club. McNeal is a Texas native who went to Texas A&M.....

The Patriots will not discuss a contract extension with cornerback Assante Samuel until the end of the season, which means he's likely to become an unrestricted free agent. Don't be surprised to see the Jets leap into the bidding in a big way.....


With the wind at his back, a brilliant full moon over the Meadowlands and Parcells' reputation for making magical personnel moves on the line, Gramatica kicked a 46-yard field with 1 second left to give the Dallas Cowboys a 23-20 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday and a comfortable two-game lead in the NFC East with four games left....

The Bears probably would have wound up losing Sunday before the frozen masses at Soldier Field, and then all hell would have broken loose. As it was, they ended up spending the postgame defending themselves after beating up the Vikings 23-13 to capture the NFC North title for the second straight year.....


For a while early yesterday afternoon, it appeared that the old ‘on any given Sunday’ adage would play out in spades. Indeed, both Arizona and Detroit, which entered this week’s play virtually tied for the #1 pick overall at the 2007 draft, held leads on the road deep into their respective games. In the end, the Cardinals were able to prevail over the Rams in St. Louis, however, Detroit despite a game effort in New England lost to the Patriots down the stretch. As a result, the Lions, who dropped to 2-10, would have the first pick were the 2007 draft held today. Oakland, which lost to Houston to also drop to 2-10, moves up to the second pick, while Arizona drops to #3 with Tampa Bay and Green Bay rounding out the top 5 with the 4th and 5th picks respectively. As usual, we’ll have the full, updated selection order for the first round of the upcoming draft after Monday night’s game.....

CFB NEWS AND NOTES


2006-07 Bowl Schedule

http://www.sportsline.com/print/collegefootball/story/9443142


The Cactus Bowl, the annual all-star game for Division II players has been postponed for this year. Organizers, though, hope to resurrect the game in 2008. The Cactus Bowl has been played in Kingsville, Texas over the years… Meanwhile, Florida DT Marcus Thomas will reportedly not be playing his wares for NFL scouts at any of this year’s all-star games. Thomas, who would rate as one of the top 4-5 DTs in the 2007 draft class but was kicked off the team after failing several drug tests. Officials from several bowl games have indicated that a player normally should be in good standing with his college team in order to be allowed to participate in one of this year’s games.....

Brian Kelly accepted the coaching job at Cincinnati on Sunday, three days after he led Central Michigan to the Mid-American Conference championship.....


Ohio State's Jim Tressel did not vote in this week's USA Today coaches' poll to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest, a move the newspaper said could jeopardize his future in the selection process.