November 11, 2005 in Sports

Tentative deal would bring NFL back to L.A.

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The NFL and city officials have reached a preliminary agreement on terms to bring a team back to the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue made the announcement Thursday on the steps of City Hall.

But he didn’t identify a potential tenant or speculate when Los Angeles might get the team.

He also spoke positively about a team playing at a facility proposed for the Angel Stadium parking lot in Anaheim and didn’t rule out the Rose Bowl in Pasadena as a possible home field, either.

“We’re one step closer, two or three steps closer,” said Tagliabue. “Whether it’s 2009, 2010, or 2000-whatever, our goal is to have definitive agreements on all subject matters well before our league meetings in March.”

The Los Angeles area, the second-largest television market in the country, has been without an NFL team since the Raiders moved from the Coliseum back to Oakland and the Rams moved from Anaheim to St. Louis before the 1995 season.

Former Steeler Courson killed

Steve Courson, the former offensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers who developed a heart problem after becoming one of the first NFL players to acknowledge using steroids, was killed when a tree he was cutting fell on him.

Courson, 50, was using a chain saw to cut down a dead 44-foot tall tree with a circumference of 5 feet when it fell on him, according to state police. The accident happened at his home in Henry Clay Township, Fayette County, in Pennsylvania.

A coroner’s investigator said Courson was apparently trying get his dog out of the tree’s way when the tree fell on Courson and the dog. The dog was injured and taken to a vet.

Courson made the Steelers in 1978 as a free-agent guard from South Carolina. He started more than half of the Steelers’ games before he was traded to Tampa Bay in 1984, where he played another two seasons before being waived.

He ended his career after the 1985 season.

Courson was an early outspoken opponent of steroid use in the NFL, though he had used them himself and blamed them on a heart condition he had.

Seahawks cut Urban a break

The Seattle Seahawks rescinded the release of Jerheme Urban, placing the receiver on injured reserve after his termination sparked protests from players.

Urban, 24, suffered a foot injury Sunday. The Seahawks released him Tuesday under terms of a waiver Urban signed upon rejoining the team last month. Urban re-injured the bone in his left foot where a stress fracture occurred last season.

Placing Urban on injured reserve means the third-year player will receive about $70,000 in salary for the remainder of the season. He will also be eligible for team-supervised rehabilitation.

McNabb puts Owens behind him

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, speaking for the first time since Terrell Owens was booted off the team for his constant criticism of the Eagles – specifically McNabb – said the team is ready to focus only on football.

“It’s unfortunate what the end result was with him not being able to get on the football field with us, but you have to move on,” McNabb said. “Some things in life that you’re a part of just don’t go as well as you want them to.”

Around the league

Quarterback Joey Harrington is getting another chance to start for Detroit. With Jeff Garcia still bothered by a sore leg, Lions coach Steve Mariucci that Harrington will start Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. … Duane Starks was placed on injured reserve with a bad shoulder, ending the season for the cornerback who replaced Ty Law in the New England secondary. … Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis and safety Sean Taylor were fined by the NFL for uniform violations in last Sunday night’s game against Philadelphia. Portis was fined $20,000 for wearing black shoes, which did not match the rest of the team, and also for wearing striped socks and an unapproved eye shield. Taylor was hit for $5,000 for the striped socks.

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