Behrings, Officials Meet
Two top King County officials say they’re more optimistic about retaining the Seattle Seahawks after a meeting owner Ken Behring, but they won’t say why.
The meeting was arranged at the suggestion of NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue to try to unsnarl a legal wrangle over Behring’s attempt to break his Kingdome lease and move the club to Los Angeles, County Executive Gary Locke and County Council budget committee chairman Peter von Reichbauer said.
“It may take several days or maybe a few weeks to try and pursue some of these options that are available to us,” Locke said.
Also at the meeting in Behring’s corporate office in Danville, Calif., was Behring’s son, Seahawks president David Behring.
“Both of them took big steps that they have not taken before to bring us closer to a resolution of the current impasse and to a resolution of bringing the Seahawks back here where they belong,” von Reichbauer said.
Speaking at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport upon returning from Southern California, neither would say what those steps were nor what options were discussed. But both dismissed talk of an impending sale or an expansion franchise.
Seattle’s Lamar Smith faces another trial on a vehicular assault charge stemming from an accident that left a teammate paralyzed, prosecutors said.
The San Diego Chargers’ big gamble paid off when they acquired defensive end Marco Coleman from the Miami Dolphins, who failed to match an offer for $9.6 million over three years.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Santana Dotson, 26, an unrestricted free agent, signed a three-year deal with Green Bay which is expected to average about $1.6 million a season.
Linebacker Michael Brooks, the leading tackler for the New York Giants the last two seasons, signed with the Detroit Lions. Brooks, an unrestricted free agent, signed a two-year, 3.6 million contract that included a $1 million signing bonus.
The Arizona Cardinals signed free agent quarterback Kent Graham. Graham, an eighth-round draft choice by the New York Giants in 1992, spent last season with Detroit, but never was activated.