SPORTS
OMAHA WORLD-HERALD
TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2014
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTES
NFL
Lopers are enthused
over new uniforms
KEARNEY, Neb. — The
University of Nebraska at
Kearney unveiled its new Under
Armour football uniforms for the
2014 season on Monday.
UNK’s new home jersey is
blue with gold numbers and
letters outlined in black. The
away uniform is white with blue
numbers and letters outlined
in gold, and blue and gold trim
under the arms and highlighting
the neckline. Both jerseys have
“Lopers” across the chest.
A third, alternate jersey is black
with gold letters and numbers
outlined in blue. It also features
“Lopers” across the chest and
includes blue and gold accents
under the arms and around the
neckline.
“It’s been really fun seeing the
facial expressions of our studentathletes when they see the new
uniforms,” UNK Athletic Director
Paul Plinske said.
In January, UNK announced its
partnership that made Under
Armour the official outfitter. The
multiyear agreement — which
went into effect July 1 — gives
Under Armour the right to provide
on-field and training gear to
UNK’s 17 varsity sports.
“We love the new look.
Everybody likes these a lot,” said
quarterback Bronson Marsh.
“The uniforms are functional and
serve a purpose, too. They have
a very tight fit that will make it
hard for people to grab onto.
We’re really excited to take the
field in these for the first time.”
T H E A S S O C I AT E D P R E S S
Kansas City Chiefs workhorse running back Jamaal Charles isn’t modest about his goals. “It’s all about staying consistent,” the two-time All-Pro
said. “I want to be in the Hall of Fame when I retire. I want to win a championship. That’s what it’s all about.”
Charles in a rush to join elite
Running back closing in on Chiefs’ records, but wants more
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — At some point
this season, likely within the first couple of
games, Jamaal Charles will slide past Larry Johnson and breeze past Priest Holmes
to become the Chiefs’ career rushing
leader.
It’s a goal, sure. But it’s only a rest stop
on the way to loftier expectations.
After arguably the best season of his
career and now armed with a new contract extension, Charles has his sights
set on the Hall of Fame. The two-time
All-Pro running back wants his name to be
mentioned in the same breath as Emmitt
Smith and Barry Sanders, players he grew
up idolizing in Port Arthur, Texas, and who
will forever be considered some of the best
to play the game.
“It’s all about staying consistent,”
Charles said. “I want to be in the Hall of
Fame when I retire. I want to win a championship. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Chiefs certainly want him to accomplish all of that with them.
When he was putting up Madden-like
numbers last season, including a dazzling
five-touchdown performance against Oakland, the franchise was quietly reaching
out to his agents about a contract extension. The Chiefs knew there was no way
Charles would play for the relatively paltry
sum that he was making, so they were
proactive in working out a way to fairly
compensate him.
The negotiations finally became public
as training camp approached, and the deal
was consummated the day before Charles
was to step on the field for the first fullsquad workout.
The new deal adds about $18.1 million to
Charles’ contract, but more important to
him, keeps him in Kansas City through the
2017 season. And if he matches his production of last season, which included more
than 1,200 yards rushing, four more years
would mean eclipsing 10,000 for his career
— more than Hall of Famer Earl Campbell,
another product of Texas.
“Jamaal is our best player,” said linebacker Derrick Johnson, who works out
with Charles in the offseason. “He’s a guy
that we look up to. We put a lot of pressure
on him to be our horse.”
More than just a horse in Andy Reid’s
offense, though.
In the ever-evolving world of the NFL
running back, where versatility is in high
demand, Charles has become one of the
game’s most dynamic players. The Vikings’
Adrian Peterson may remain the best pure
runner in the league, but Charles proved
last season that he can do much more than
that, catching a career-best 70 passes for
693 yards and seven touchdowns.
Despite his slight stature, he’s also proven to be a rare every-down player in an era
of running backs by committee. Charles
touched the ball 329 times last season, finished second to the Eagles’ LeSean McCoy
in yards from scrimmage, and has proven
himself as a pass blocker.
“When it’s in the heat of the battle, and
• 3C
it’s kind of crunch time, you want your
guys on the field, and that’s the bottom
line,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug
Pederson said. “Jamaal’s a part of that
and he’s going to be on the football field
regardless of how many touches he’s had
early in the game, or how many plays he
has leading up to that point.”
Besides, how else is he to continue his
rapid climb in the record books?
Charles needs 248 yards rushing and
333 carries to become the Chiefs’ career
leader in each of the categories. He needs
to merely maintain his average of 5.6 yards
per carry to shatter the NFL’s career mark
of 5.22, held since 1965 by Hall of Famer
Jim Brown.
They are important milestones for
Charles, ones that will help to define his
legacy.
“I let other people decide who the best
is. I go out there and play football,” Charles
said. “At the end of my career, I want to be
in the Hall of Fame. I don’t judge ‘who’s the
best, who’s this and that.’ Everybody has
different talents.”
Charles would turn 32 in December of
the final year of his contract, a relatively
advanced age for his position. But asked
whether he’ll be able to play out his deal,
Charles had no doubts.
“I’m still fresh, I’m still feeling good,” he
said. “If I continue to work hard, I can go
far. My philosophy is that hard work pays
off. If I continue to work hard, things can
still come to me.”
Texas QB Ash says ‘good to
be back’ after injuries
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas
quarterback David Ash met with
reporters for the first time in
almost a year Monday, declaring
it feels “good to be back” after
concussion symptoms wiped out
most of his 2013 season.
Ash said a lot of people told
him to give up football but he
never really considered it. He
said team doctors told him he
could play again. Ash also said
he had a lot of talks with his
family about his return.
Ash was injured in the second
game last season and played
only one more half before he was
injured again.
He spent the rest of the
season watching from afar.
Sometimes, Texas officials
wouldn’t even let him stand
under the bright lights of the
stadium. Now Ash has been
cleared by team doctors for full
participation, and is the starter
going into training camp.
“I’m so thankful I get to do
this. Nothing’s guaranteed and
I for sure learned that. I feel
so blessed that I get another
opportunity to play this game,”
Ash said.
In other news
» Colorado: Auburn transfer
Shane Callahan has been
declared eligible to play for the
Buffaloes this fall.
Colorado submitted a waiver
appeal to the NCAA asking that
Callahan be allowed to compete
immediately based on family
reasons instead of having to sit
out a year like most transfers do.
» LSU: Junior safety Jalen
Mills has been reinstated to the
team after his charge of seconddegree battery was reduced to
misdemeanor simple battery
Monday.
Mills, who has been a two-year
starter, allegedly punched a
woman near his apartment last
May. After his arrest in June,
LSU coach Les Miles suspended
Mills indefinitely.
» California: Attorneys
representing the family of former
player Ted Agu are planning to
file a wrongful death lawsuit
against the regents of the
University of California.
Agu died following an offseason
training run Feb. 7. Los Angelesbased firm Panish, Shea & Boyle
said in a release Monday that
Cal’s training staff took too long
to respond to Agu’s symptoms of
“extreme fatigue” during the run.
The Alameda County Coroner’s
office said in April that Agu died
of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,
which is an excessive thickening
of the heart muscle.
» Minnesota Duluth: Senior
running back Austin Sikorski was
stabbed in the abdomen over the
weekend, and authorities said he
is in stable condition.
A Minneapolis Star Tribune
report said the 22-year-old was
stabbed Saturday morning.
Duluth police spokesman Jim
Hansen said Sikorski was
stabbed in the lower right side
of his abdomen about 1:55 a.m.
after a street fight. Hansen said
alcohol appears to have been a
factor in the altercation.
Police have identified a “person
of interest” in the stabbing but
made no arrests as of early
Monday afternoon.
— World-Herald Press
Services
The University of Nebraska at Kearney unveiled its new Under Armour
football uniforms for the 2014 season.
NFL NOTES
Packers will retire
Favre’s No. 4 in 2015
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Brett Favre
is returning to Titletown.
The quarterback, estranged
from the franchise that he helped
resurrect during his 16-year career,
will be inducted into the Green Bay
Packers Hall of Fame and have his
number retired July 18. Favre’s No.
4 will be unveiled on the Lambeau
Field north end zone facade at
halftime of a yet-to-be-determined
game during the 2015 season.
“I’m truly honored,” Favre said
Monday via conference call
from his home in Hattiesburg,
Mississippi. “It is time to come
back.”
Favre, who holds virtually every
meaningful NFL career quarterback
record, famously retired at a
tearful press conference in March
2008. He then decided later that
year that he still wanted to play,
setting up an awkward showdown
between him and the team he’d
come to embody while winning
three NFL MVP awards and a
Super Bowl title.
He was traded to the New
York Jets for what would end up
being a third-round draft pick, an
acrimonious parting of the ways
that divided the Packers’ loyal fan
base. After one year with the Jets,
Favre retired a second time, only
to join the rival Minnesota Vikings,
for whom he played two seasons.
Former Packers president/
CEO Bob Harlan served as the
intermediary and brought the
two sides back together. General
manager Ted Thompson and coach
Mike McCarthy, who made the
decision to part ways with Favre in
2008, attended Monday’s press
conference but did not speak with
reporters.
“It’s great to have old friends
home again,” Harlan said.
Harlan said the team, the
Packers Hall of Fame and
the Favre family had agreed
in principle to the idea last
November.
“In all honesty, I was probably
more ready sooner than everyone
else was,” Favre said. “I knew this
moment would come ... and I’m
just glad we’re here, it’s in stone,
and it will be done.”
Bengals QB Andy Dalton
signs multiyear deal
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati
Bengals on Monday made Andy
Dalton one of the highest-paid
quarterbacks in the league.
Dalton signed a six-year
extension. According to multiple
reports, the deal is worth up to
$115 million and will prevent
Dalton playing out the final year of
his rookie contract.
The deal was announced at a
press conference Monday, but
financial details were not released.
Dalton said he is relieved to
have the deal finalized before the
season.
“You do have it in the back of
your mind, when is it going to get
done,” Dalton said. “Now we don’t
have to worry about it. Like (coach)
Marvin (Lewis) said, just play the
game, and I don’t have to have
this hanging over me.”
Dalton has passed for more than
3,000 yards in each of his three
seasons. He led the Bengals to
an 11-5 record and AFC North title
in 2013. He set career highs with
33 touchdown passes and 20
interceptions.
Giants RB Wilson’s career
over due to neck injury
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New
York Giants running back David
Wilson’s NFL career is over after
two seasons because of a neck
injury.
The 23-year-old Wilson was told
by doctors Monday that he risked
more serious problems if he kept
playing.
He underwent fusion surgery to
repair vertebrae and a herniated
disk in his neck in January. Then
at practice last Tuesday, Wilson
caught a pass and ran with his
head down into the back of an
offensive lineman, a hit that
caused numbness in his hands
and lower extremities.
He missed the final 11 games
last season after being diagnosed
with spinal stenosis, a narrowing
of the spinal cord.
“I don’t want anybody to feel
sorry for me, or pity me,” he said
in a statement released by the
team. “I lived my dream. A lot of
people only get to dream their
dream. I lived that dream. Now I
have a chance to dream another
dream and live that, too.”
In other news
» Browns: Josh Gordon returned
to training camp and practiced
Monday as his appeal hearing
with the NFL went into its second
day in New York. The Pro Bowl
wide receiver ended his workout
earlier than his teammates so he
could participate in the hearing via
teleconference with his legal team,
which is fighting his potential oneyear suspension for violating the
league’s substance-abuse policy.
Gordon’s hearing carried into
Monday after the sides met
for nearly 10 hours on Friday
in Manhattan. Gordon’s lawyer,
Maurice Suh, contends that the
23-year-old, who has a history of
drug issues, tested positive for
marijuana because of secondhand
smoke.
League spokesman Greg
Aiello said he did not expect an
immediate resolution and did not
know when there will be a ruling
on Gordon’s case.
Also, the Browns waived
offensive guard Jason Pinkston
after reaching an injury settlement
with the former starter whose NFL
career has been threatened by
blood clots. Pinkston may retire.
» Cowboys: Tony Romo wrapped
up his most strenuous day so
far at training camp by saying his
surgically repaired back would
get a rest: He will not play in the
preseason opener at San Diego.
The Dallas quarterback also
planned to sit out a day of practice
this week, the latest indication
that the Cowboys are closely
managing Romo’s recovery.
Romo pushed himself through a
long practice on the team’s ninth
workout day of camp Sunday. He
had been off the previous two
days and skipped two practices
earlier.
» Broncos: Running back
Montee Ball is sidelined after
having an appendectomy Monday
afternoon.
The Broncos haven’t said how
long Ball will be out, but it’s
possible that he’ll miss the entire
preseason.
In a tweet, Ball said, “I
appreciate the get well wishes
everyone! I will be ok and come
back stronger than ever!!”
Also Monday, prosecutors agreed
to drop charges against Denver
safety T.J. Ward in exchange for
four hours of community service.
Ward previously pleaded not
guilty to misdemeanor assault and
disturbing the peace charges for
allegedly throwing a glass mug at
a female bartender at a club in
May.
» Jets: Coach Rex Ryan
announced Monday that Geno
Smith will start over Michael Vick
at quarterback, as expected, in
New York’s preseason opener
Thursday night against the
Indianapolis Colts.
“I’ve been happy with the way
he’s looked, his command and
things,” Ryan said.
» Vikings: Safety Chris Crocker
signed a one-year deal with
Minnesota on Monday.
» Bears: Second-year wide
receiver Marquess Wilson is out
indefinitely after breaking his
collarbone while diving for a pass
in a scrimmage Monday.
» Steelers: Safety Mike Mitchell
practiced for the first time after
missing the first week of training
camp with a groin injury.
» Falcons: Rookie defensive end
Ra’Shede Hageman does not have
a fractured wrist stemming from
his fight with center Joe Hawley.
Coach Mike Smith said Monday
that Hageman had X-rays but
did not elaborate on the injury.
Hageman left Sunday’s practice
after hurting his wrist. Smith has
said he wants to stop the fighting
during practice.
» Jaguars: Jacksonville activated
cornerback Alan Ball from the
physically unable to perform list.
Ball returned to practice Monday in
a limited role. He missed the first
week-plus of training camp with
an ankle injury sustained during
minicamp in June.
» Redskins: Jerry Rice Jr. was
placed on injured reserve after
tearing the labrum in his left
shoulder at training camp.
» Panthers: Greg Hardy entered
a not guilty plea at an arraignment
hearing, and his jury trial has been
set for Nov. 17, according to his
attorney Chris Fialko.
The Pro Bowl defensive end is
appealing a July 15 conviction
on misdemeanor charges
of assaulting a female and
communicating threats.
— The Associated Press
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