Bledsoe’s Leap Didn’t Affect Play

The story still isn’t Everclear.

New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe and coach Pete Carroll gave their views of last Thursday’s nightclub incident and its affect or lack thereof on the team’s performance Sunday in an abysmal 27-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bledsoe, speaking on his WEEI radio show, apologized publicly for the incident at the Paradise - in which he and teammates Scott Zolak and Max Lane dived off the stage into a mosh pit, though they deny reports that one injured a female patron, Tameeka Messier.

But Bledsoe maintained there was no link between the incident and the game.

“On Thursday night, I went to see a band, Everclear,” said Bledsoe. “It’s my favorite band. They’re from Portland, Ore. It’s not the first concert I’ve been to and probably not the last, though I probably won’t be out of the house after the way this thing came down. After the show, (band members) invited us to go on stage. That’s what I regret.

“If I had to do it again, I’d stay in my seat and say, ‘No thanks; I enjoyed the show,’ and go home. I went up onstage and got caught up in the moment. The crowd was beckoning us to jump in, and so we dove into the crowd. It was an unfortunate situation. I regret doing it. I apologize for any embarrassment I caused the team, any embarrassment that I caused the organization, and I apologize for any distraction I might have caused leading up to the game.”

He added, “As far as whether that incident affected the way I played Sunday” - when he completed 13 of 25 passes for 117 yards and 2 interceptions - “I would say unequivocally no. I practiced very well all week. I knew what I was doing. I had thrown the ball well in practice. There is no connection with the incident on Thursday and what happened on Sunday.”

Carroll wouldn’t say whether he fined or disciplined the three players. “We’re handling all that internally,” he said Monday at his weekly press conference.

Some thought this would have been a good time for Carroll to make a strong statement and take tough action against the players, but apparently, that didn’t happen.

“We’re not taking bed checks on these guys at night on Wednesday and Thursday,” said the coach. “Guys have a right to go out and do what they want to do. Given a situation that involved judgment, you have to make the right decision. Somewhere in there, they were coaxed onto the stage. You have to make a decision: ‘I’m not going.”’

More trouble for Morris

Baltimore Ravens running back Bam Morris was charged Monday with assault for allegedly choking a woman at a birthday party - adding to his list of legal troubles.

Foley out, O’Donnell in

New York Jets quarterback Glenn Foley will miss at least one game with a sprained left knee he suffered in Sunday’s win over the Chicago Bears.

Neil O’Donnell, the Jets’ starter for most of the season, will start in this Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Ex-Chief dies

Aaron Brown, 53, a starting defensive end on the Super Bowl-winning 1970 Kansas City Chiefs, died when he was struck by a car while walking on a northeast Houston street.

Colts waive Torretta

The Indianapolis Colts waived Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta six days after he was signed to bolster a quarterback corps that had lost a different starter to injuries three weeks in a row.