SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2006
4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NFL
Rams release Isaac Bruce
BY R.B. FALLSTROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS - Wide receiver Isaac Bruce is a free agent for the first time in his career after the St. Louis Rams released him with the hopes of eventually bringing him back.
The team cut its longest-tenured player Sunday night. The sides weren't talking Monday, but the Rams remained optimistic in an agreement that would bring Bruce back for a 13th season.
"This CBA deal has kind of put things a little bit out of whack," Linehan said. "I feel very positive about resuming talks and getting that uniform back on our guy.
The 35-year-old Bruce had a salary cap figure of $10 million for next season. He was due a $1.5 million roster bonus Monday, the first day of the free agency period, as part of an $8.1 million salary. But the opening of free agency has been delayed for three more days.
Coach Scott Linehan termed the release a "temporary setback." He blamed the lack of a collective bargaining agreement for the move.
"We'll do whatever we can to make that happen."
The Rams reportedly offered a three-year deal worth about $9 million, including a $5 million contract in the first season.
Bruce was entering the final year of a seven-year. $42 million contract he signed in 2000.
Isaac has been an integral and valuable member of our organization for a long time, both on and off the field," said Jay Zygmunt, the team's president of football operations. "This has been a difficult process."
"However, we remain optimistic that a contract extension can be completed in the near future."
Bruce has been with the team since 1994, the year before it moved to the Midwest from Los Angeles, and has been to four Pro Bowls. He considered holding a news conference but decided against it.
Bruce is the Rams' career leader in receptions (813), yards receiving (12,278) and touchdowns receiving (77). He also caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the Rams' lone Super Bowl victory after the 1999 season.
His yards receiving rank 12th in NFL history.
Last season, Bruce missed five games with turf toe and had 36 receptions for 525 yards. In 2004, his last full season, he had 89 catches for 1,292 yards with six touchdowns.
Over his career, he's been durable. Bruce has played every game in seven seasons and late last season he felt pretty much like the player the Rams drafted in the second round in 1994.
The Rams have only two wide receivers under contract, Torry Holt and Dane Looker. Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald are restricted free agents.
Linehan said it was much to soon to worry about life without Bruce.
"Obviously, we've got to have a contingency plan, but I'm going to look at it from the standpoint that we're going to get it done," Linehan said. "We'll address that if we have to.
Heads up!
"We're talking about a guy that, to me, you don't replace."
Rangers Nacho Novo, center, clashes with Villarreal's goalkeeper Sebastian Viera, bottom left, during the Champions League soccer match against Villarreal at the Estadio el Madrigal, Valencia, Spain, on Tuesday.
Danny Lawson/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NCAA BASKETBALL
UNC freshman earns rookie of the year award
BY KEITH PARSONS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. As expected, Tyler Hansbrough turned the competition for the Atlantic Coast Conference's Rookie of the Year into a one-man race.
unanimous first-team all-conference honors.
The North Carolina center received all 108 votes for the award announced Tuesday, a day after he became the first freshman in ACC history to earn
"That part is mind-boggling beyond your wildest dreams," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "I thought Tyler would be a major force for us. In my mind, he would be a starter from day one, and he would be extremely important from day one."
It worked out exactly that way, as Hansbrough probably will become the first freshman in school history to lead his
team in scoring and rebounding.
He ranks second in the league in scoring (19 points a game) behind only Duke's J.J. Redick, and he is seventh in rebounding (7.6 rebounds a game).
"I didn't have any individual goals, but I would say it's a good accomplishment," Hansbrough said. "I thought there were some things that I struggled with at the beginning. I tried to improve on those. With this team, I got a lot of experience early, and I
think I adjusted well."
Along the way, the native of Poplar Bluff, Mo., set a Dean Smith Center scoring record with 40 points in a victory against Georgia Tech, which also broke the ACC's single-game mark for a freshman. Hansbrough capped the regular season with 27 points and 10 rebounds in North Carolina's upset at Duke. That performance helped him win his 10th rookie of the week honor.
The University of Kansas School of Law presents its first annual
Diplomat's Forum