Steelers And Bears Storm Into Dublin For Some Irish Fun
Some hit the pubs or the golf links, others their beds as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears arrived Tuesday for this Sunday’s first NFL game in Ireland.
The 312-strong Steelers’ contingent arrived in the morning to general astonishment from locals who are not used to seeing men their size.
“They’re running about like the bulls at Pamplona,” said Sharon Murtagh, a guest staying at the same south Dublin hotel as the Steelers.
About 380 Bears and their supporters had a rougher crossing, facing a lengthy delay over luggage confusion, spending 10 hours in their chartered plane and not arriving until the afternoon.
“The Bears weigh 900,000 pounds when we’re traveling,” said team spokesman Bryan Harlan, who has traveled with the Bears for three previous overseas ventures - to London in 1986, Goteburg, Sweden in 1988, and Berlin in 1991.
“There’s 90 players, 15 coaches, about 40 others affiliated with the team, and most brought their spouses,” he said.
Many players from both teams went straight from their shared practice field at University College Dublin to inspect the city’s range of restaurants, pubs and clubs.
“It’s all to beat the jet lag,” joked Pittsburgh center Jim Sweeney.
Colts linebacker retires
Linebacker Trev Alberts retired after three injury-plagued seasons with the Indianapolis Colts that kept him from fulfilling the promise that made him the No. 5 pick in the 1994 NFL draft.
The Colts announced Alberts’ retirement a day after he failed to show up for scheduled reconstructive surgery on his right shoulder, ending a training camp soap opera.
Alberts could not be located for comment.
Alberts complained of pain in the shoulder earlier this month while participating in the team’s early training camp for rookies, free agents and veterans who were injured at the end of last season.
Favre close to deal
Brett Favre said his agent is flying into Green Bay on Thursday in hopes of wrapping up a contract extension that would make him the NFL’s highest-paid player.
The impending deal is worth between $44 million and $49 million over seven years and includes a signing bonus of between $10 million and $11 million.
Even on the low end, Favre’s deal would bump Detroit’s Barry Sanders, who signed a reported six-year, $34 million deal on Sunday, to become the league’s highest-paid player.
Falcons ground run-and-shoot
Who are those strange guys lining up in the Atlanta Falcons offense? A tight end? A fullback? They haven’t been seen in these parts in a while.
When the Falcons fired June Jones at the end of last season, they also signaled the end of an era: The run-and-shoot is dead.
In the early 1990s, the Falcons jumped on the run-and-shoot bandwagon, believing it was a logical step in the progression of pass-oriented NFL offenses: Scatter receivers all over the field and burn the defense with short throws.
The run-and-shoot piled up some impressive statistics, such as when Jeff George threw for a team-record 4,143 yards in 1995 and three players had more than 1,000 receiving yards.
Around the league
Veteran backup quarterback Bill Musgrave surprised the Denver Broncos by announcing his retirement. … Darrell Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, signed a seven-year, $22.05 million contract with Oakland. … After three mysterious days wondering what forced Arizona star Simeon Rice to miss five practices, the Cardinals said the 260-pound defensive end has a severe viral infection. … The Carolina Panthers, looking to add depth to a corps of outside linebackers depleted by the holdout of Kevin Greene, signed free agent Sedric Clark. … Jamie Sharper, the Baltimore Ravens’ top pick in the second round, arrived at camp during the team’s afternoon workout after ending his nine-day holdout by agreeing to a three-year, $1.7 million contract.