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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2009
SPORTS
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Linebacker's release saves money
ASSOCIATED PRESS
the final year of
ST. LOUIS—The St. Louis Rams released linebacker Chris Draft on Thursday after the 11-year veteran declined to take a pay cut in
the final year of a three-year contract.
The 33-year-old Draft made 16 starts in two seasons with St. Louis and had been listed first on the depth chart heading into Sunday's game in Seattle.
Last year, Draft made nine starts and had 41 tackles.
"In our business we've learned to kind of adjust on the fly, and that's what it's going to take."
Linebacker Quinton Culberson, who had been among the final cuts last week, was re-signed to fill the roster spot in upheaval three days away from the opener.
STEVEN JACKSON
Rams running back
didn't learn of the move until just before practice. David Vobora, a seventh-round pick who inherits Draft's starting spot, noticed the position meeting room was shy one player, and didn't get a chance
to thank the veteran for his help.
"In our business we've learned to kind of adjust on the fly, and that's what it's going to take," Jackson said. "We're going to need those young guys stepping up and becoming leaders. It may be a
little faster than you'd want ideally"
Coach Steve Spagnuolo had little to say about the move, which saved the Rams $380,000. He declined to judge Draft's performance and emphasized it was a team decision.
"None of these moves are easy," Spagnuolo said. "It's a tough business in a lot of ways. We've got a lot of respect and appreciation for Chris Draft and what he did both on and off the field."
Vobora, the last overall pick of last year's draft, got a lot of work with the first string both in preseason games and practice. That included this week, and Spagnuolo said "there was a chance" he would have started the opener in any case.
"Hopefully," the coach said, "we won't skip a beat."
Draft was the third-oldest player with the Rams, who have been transformed from one of the oldest teams in the NFL to the third-youngest since the end of last season. He previously played for the Bears, 49ers, Falcons and Panthers with 88 career starts in 142 games.
St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo, right, talks with linebacker Chris Draft during NFL football training camp at the Rams' training facility in St. Louis. In a move announced Thursday, the Rams have released Draft, an 11-year veteran who started 16 games in his two seasons in St. Louis.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANNIVERSARY
Friday night football changes to remember lives lost
BY JON KRAWCZYNSKI
Associated Press
BLAINE, Minn. — Those famed Friday night lights will be shining for more than just high school football players this week.
For the first time, the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks falls on a Friday — a night owned by prep football around the country. Some schools are going all out to remember those who died in the attacks and served in the two wars that have followed.
Veterans, for instance, will get free admission to see the Blaine Bengals play Minnesota prep rival Centennial. Before kickoff, color guards from all four branches of the
military will march onto the field. where a gigantic American flag
will be introduced to the 50-yard line. The school band, accompanied by fireworks, will play each branch's song with a silent tribute to those who have died in combat coming next.
people remember and honor the people that are there, we'll do it."
"The amount of support we receive now makes our job over there so much easier."
A moment
later, four T-6 Thunder airplanes will perform a flyover, followed by a handshake by the two teams.
TOM JUNEAU Veteran
"I think it's going to bring some tears to eyes," said Blaine coach Shannon Gerrey. "If we can help
In Ohio, New Albany High School will hold a moment of silence before its game against DeSales. Groveport Madison, just outside of Columbus, is painting a red, white and blue ribbon on both sides of the field.
In Florida, ROTC cadets will hand out mini flags to fans who attend the game between Fort Pierce Central and Melbourne in St. Lucie County. The flag will be dropped to half staff during a pregame remembrance of those who
In Florida. ROTC
have died, then raised again once the game begins.
Defensive assistant coach Steve Guider organized the ceremonies in Blaine, outside Minneapolis.
"Ive always been pretty patriotic," he said. He said he has wanted to have a military appreciation night for one game and the anniversary "just added some motivation to make things bigger and better and get it done this year."
For him and the Bengals, the chance to capitalize on the drawing power of high school football to honor veterans and military families could not be passed up.
Families like the Juneaus.
Sue Juneau's son, Tom, played football at Blaine earlier this
decade and was recently honorably discharged from the Army after deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her cousin, Bill Juneau, was a civilian security contractor who was killed when a roadside bomb struck the Humvee he was driving in Iraq in 2007.
And her youngest son, Stephen, is a junior safety on the team and will be singing "America The Beautiful" with the choir before the game.
been repeated and how many times people haven't had the support that we've had and how many people are just left alone to deal with their sadness."
That won't be the case on Friday night, when thousands will pack the football stadium in Blaine, waving miniature American flags while they cheer for their heroes — and the Bengal football team.
"I think it's great," Tom Juneau said over dinner at his parents' home. "The amount of support we receive now makes our job over there so much easier. I never could imagine how it was in Vietnam where they didn't quite have the patriotism that we have now."
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Golfer returns to home turf
Stacy Lewis, who won the 2007 NCAA championship while at the University of Arkansas, will be on familiar turf for the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship. Lewis was the first-round leader at this event two years ago, when the rest of it was called off because of bad weather.
"It's become home for me the last couple years, so it's so nice to be back and sleeping in my own bed this week," Lewis said.
ROGERS, Ark. — Michelle Wie might not even be the most watched rookie at this week's LPGA Tour event.
BY NOAH TRISTER
Associated Press
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Lewis hasn't won on tour, but she led the U.S. Women's Open after three rounds last year before finishing five shots back. That only increased expectations for the Rogers event, and Lewis struggled after a good start.
15-minute drive from where Lewis went to college, and she's played in this event since it started in 2007. Last year Lewis finished tied for 49th. She said she was exhausted after a week of distractions.
"It was the week after the U.S. Open, and just the magnitude of that. I wasn't prepared for it," Lewis said. "I was looking forward to this year, because I knew what to expect. I knew what was coming, and I knew the week was going to be busy."
Wie, of course, is also trying for her elusive first win. Like Lewis, she showed potential long before this, her rookie season on the LPGA Tour. Wie finished in the top five of four straight majors in 2005-06, and although she struggled after that, she's now showing signs of a breakthrough. She's 17th on the money list this year despite missing the cut last weekend at the Canadian Women's Open.
Wie has finished in the top 10 six times this year and helped the U.S. win the Solheim Cup last month. "I've known her since she was 12 years old, and we've become very good friends. She is a great kid. She really is," said Cristie Kerr, the tour's leading money winner this year. "And I say 'kid' because she's still 19. I'm 31 now."
Lewis said she's happy with the field, considering the tournament is sandwiched between last weekend's event in Canada and next weekend's in California.
"I think it's, you know, a learning experience for me. I have never done this before. My parents have never done this before." Wie said. "So I make really good decisions, which I'm proud of, and I make bad decisions, which I learn from."
CRIME
Former football player found not guilty of death
WHEATON, Ill. — A former Michigan State football player charged with murder for throwing a neighbor from a third-floor apartment balcony has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.
An Illinois judge on Thursday ruled Hubert D. Thompson was insured when he hurled 66-year-old James Malone to his death March 30, 2007. Thompson will be confined to a high-security state mental institution and receive treatment.
A psychologist testified that Thompson was delusional. Thompson had said he believed Malone was trying to kill him.
Thompson was once the nation's top-rated defensive end prospect.
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