Chicago Sun-Times

Former NFL running back Chuck Muncie dies at 60

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:56:29 -0500

Chuck Muncie, a three-time Pro Bowl running back and a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints whose career was shortened by drug abuse, died Tuesday of a heart attack at the age of 60, the Saints announced.

Upcoming Super Bowl sites to be announced

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:50:00 -0500

BOSTON — NFL owners will vote on the sites of the 50th and 51st Super Bowls on Tuesday at their spring meetings. The San Francisco area, where a new stadium is being built in Santa Clara, and South Florida are competing for the the 50th edition, to be held in February 2016. The loser in that bidding will go against Houston to host the 51st game the following year. A three-quarters majority of the 32 owners is required on the first ballot. If neither city gets that, then a simple majority wins on the next ballot. The 49ers’ new home …

Ex-lawyer says O.J. Simpson knew his companions had guns

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:52:01 -0500

LAS VEGAS — The lawyer who unsuccessfully defended O.J. Simpson against armed robbery charges in Las Vegas says his client knew two companions had guns in a 2007 confrontation with memorabilia dealers. Miami attorney Yale Galanter is testifying Friday at a hearing in which Simpson is seeking a new trial on grounds of ineffective legal representation. Galanter has been contradicting much of what Simpson testified to earlier this week. On a key point, Galanter says he decided not to claim Simpson didn’t see guns during the incident because Simpson confided to him that he’d asked companions to bring guns. The …

Charles Woodson to visit Raiders

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:58:01 -0500

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Charles Woodson has another team interested in signing him. Woodson’s agent, Carl Poston, tells The Associated Press that the 36-year-old defensive back will visit with The Oakland Raiders on Tuesday. The 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year would’ve traveled to Oakland from Denver after meeting with the Broncos on Wednesday, but he had charity obligations this weekend to support Mott Children’s Hospital. Poston says the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers along with a couple other teams, who he says don’t want to be mentioned, have also contacted him about the eight-time Pro Bowl player. …

VIDEO: O.J. Simpson takes the stand in bid for retrial

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:30:21 -0500

LAS VEGAS — More than four years after the world last heard from O.J. Simpson in court, one of the nation’s most famous prisoners spoke again Wednesday in a bid to win freedom from a sentence that could keep him behind bars until he dies. Simpson took the stand to testify about his legal representation by attorney Yale Galanter in the case involving a strange hotel room confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers that led to a robbery-kidnap conviction. Under questioning by his co-counsel, Patricia Palm, Simpson began discussing his background with Galanter. “Yale had a good relationship with the media,” …

Vikings new stadium looks more like a church

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:39:30 -0500

Opening the roof over the new home of the Minnesota Vikings would have forced planners of the $975 million project to eliminate some of the fancy features.

Manti Te’o practices with Chargers vets for 1st time

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:06:17 -0500

SAN DIEGO — Philip Rivers thought Manti Te’o had a decent first interaction with San Diego Chargers veterans. “It didn’t seem like he was lost or anything ... he didn’t stand out, which was a good thing,” Rivers said after the first practice of organized team activities, which are practices in helmets, jerseys and shorts, but no pads. Te’o did get matched up with star tight end Antonio Gates a few times, which was “a quick welcome, Day 1,” Rivers said. “Today was a good first day,” said inside linebacker Donald Butler, who will be paired with Te’o in the …

O.J. Simpson returns to Las Vegas court in bid for new trial

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:16:05 -0500

LAS VEGAS — The shackles and blue prison garb seemed to weigh down O.J. Simpson as he returned to a Las Vegas courtroom on Monday to ask for a new trial in the armed robbery-kidnapping case that sent him to prison in 2008. Looking grayer and heavier, the 65-year-old former football star and TV pitchman was flanked by guards as he nodded and raised his eyebrows to acknowledge people he recognized in the audience. A marshal had warned onlookers not to try to communicate with Simpson, and no words were exchanged. Still, a close friend saw a flash of the …

O.J. Simpson seeks new trial in Las Vegas heist

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:58:00 -0500

LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson will return next week to the Las Vegas courthouse where he was convicted of leading an armed sports memorabilia heist to ask a judge for a new trial on the grounds that his lawyer botched his case. Simpson will take the witness stand to testify that the Florida lawyer who collected nearly $700,000 is to blame for his armed robbery and kidnapping conviction in 2008 and his failed appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court in 2010. Simpson’s testimony in open court will offer a first look at the aging 65-year-old former football star since he …

Carrie Underwood takes over for Faith Hill on ‘Sunday Night Football’

Tue, 07 May 2013 16:08:01 -0500

Carrie Underwood will take over the theme song for “Sunday Night Football,” with NBC sticking to the formula of a female country music star for its intro.

Aaron Rodgers makes TV debut on NBC’s ‘The Office’

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:24:01 -0500

Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers is making his prime-time television acting debut.

Tim Tebow offered contract by Omaha Beef

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:28:11 -0500

The Omaha Beef have a job waiting for Tim Tebow if he wants it — and the Nebraska indoor football team will even pay him $75 a game.

MORRISSEY: Tim Tebow was everything to everybody — except an NFL quarterback

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:43:33 -0500

RICK MORRISSEY: I feel bad for Tim Tebow. I mean that. By virtue of his strong religious beliefs, his squeaky clean lifestyle and his good looks, he found himself held up as something more than he was.

Tim Tebow era over in New York after Jets waive quarterback

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:19:54 -0500

NEW YORK — Tebow Time is over in New York — before it ever got started. Tim Tebow was waived by the Jets on Monday, the end of an unsuccessful one-season experiment in New York. Coach Rex Ryan said in a statement by the team in announcing the move that had been expected for months: “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped.” The Heisman Trophy winner attempted just eight passes after his ballyhooed arrival in a surprising trade from the Denver Broncos in March 2012. He threw for 39 yards and rushed 32 times for …

Ex-Bear Brendon Ayanbadejo speaks for gay marriage

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 15:04:18 -0500

Former Baltimore Ravens reserve linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo called on professional athletes Tuesday to stand up for marriage equality because he said it is “the right thing to do.”

Security beefed up for NFL draft

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:26:00 -0500

The NFL is increasing security for this week’s draft at Radio City Music Hall, with everyone subject to screenings, including use of metal detectors and pat-downs, and searches of personal property.