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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Chiefs’ Allen Says ‘97 Season His Last

From Wire Reports

Marcus Allen, one of the most prolific running backs in NFL history, said he will play one more year for the Kansas City Chiefs before retiring.

Allen, who has two years remaining on the contract he signed last year, said during an Internet chat session that he plans to retire after the 1997 season.

Allen set the NFL record for career rushing touchdowns last season, surpassing Hall of Famer Walter Payton. He has rushed for 112 touchdowns and ranks second on the career touchdown list with 134.

He is the only player to have rushed for 10,000 yards and caught passes for 5,000 yards.

“Kansas City certainly is my last stop in the NFL,” Allen said. “I couldn’t think of a better place to finish my career. An organization with a tremendous amount of class, integrity and genuine care for not only the athlete, but the athlete’s family as well.”

Mirer visits Bears

Quarterback Rick Mirer has visited the Chicago Bears’ headquarters and met with club officials in what could be the first step in trade talks between the Bears and Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks on Thursday gave the Bears permission to talk to Mirer and his agent, and Mirer visited the Bears’ facility on Friday.

Mirer is bound for a trade this off-season. He was 2-7 as a starter for the Seahawks last season, and his quarterback rating of 56.6 was the lowest in the AFC by almost 12 points.

In addition to the Bears, the Buffalo Bills, San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles have contacted the Seahawks about acquiring him.

The trading period begins Feb. 14.

Pro Bowl features Favre, Bledsoe

Super Bowl quarterbacks Brett Favre and Drew Bledsoe go at it again today in Honolulu, although each will have a lot of backup and the stakes are considerably lower than a week ago.

Favre, the two-time league MVP for Green Bay, will start for the NFC and New England’s Bledsoe will open for the AFC in the Pro Bowl.

“We didn’t win the Super Bowl, so I’m glad he did,” said Bledsoe, a friend of Favre’s. “It would be nice if we could win the Pro Bowl, since there’s so much talk about the NFC being the dominant conference and winning all the Super Bowls.”

Bledsoe a rental risk

Bledsoe has a $42 million contract to play for the Patriots, but he’s still just a 24-year-old kid to the rental car companies.

Bledsoe rented a car in Honolulu where he’s going to play in the Pro Bowl, but the rental car company took it back when they discovered he’s not 25.

Lombardi sighting?

In Green Bay, they don’t have Elvis sightings, they have Lombardi sightings.

A Milwaukee photographer took what seemed to be a routine photo of the buses snaking the way through the crowds during the Packers’ victory celebration last Monday in Green Bay, Wis.

One thing about it wasn’t routine.

In the lower right hand corner of the picture, there was a break in the crowd and one man stood by himself with his back to the camera. He had a hat, a tan overcoat with his hands in his pockets.

Where have we seen that before?

Yes, it looked just like Lombardi. Making it even stranger is that no one has come forward to say he was the man in the photo.

Draft prediction

If the NFL draft were held today, and Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning declared his eligibility, Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News predicts the top five picks would go in this order: Manning, offensive tackle Orlando Pace of Ohio State, defensive tackle Darrell Russell of Southern Cal and cornerbacks Shawn Springs of Ohio State and Bryant Westbrook of Texas.

Free-agency developments

All-Pro guard Randall McDaniel will be free to test the market when he becomes a free agent this month, Minnesota Vikings vice president Jeff Diamond said, revealing that the Vikings will not pay the $3.2 million annual salary necessary to make McDaniel their franchise or transition player. … Pro Bowl tight end Shannon Sharpe of the Denver Broncos is eligible for free agency and has hired agent Marvin Demoff to help him land what he expects to be his final NFL contract. Although Demoff is a longtime ally of the Broncos organization (he represents quarterback John Elway and wide receiver Anthony Miller), Sharpe said his selection of Demoff won’t influence his decision on whether to return to Denver.