Quick Kicks

Other than that…

The New York Giants said they didn’t want to make excuses for their loss to the Redskins. They made them anyway. Stung by several calls that didn’t go their way, the Giants left the field fed up with the officials.

“Definitely some things were one-sided out there and not by players,” Michael Strahan said. “Take that however you want to take it. You just can’t go out and fight 15 people. You just can’t do it.”

There was a questionable pass interference call that left Phillippi Sparks “baffled” and set up the Redskins’ first touchdown and another one that wasn’t called on Sam Shade in the Redskins’ end zone. There was an apparent TD catch by Sean Bennett that was disallowed and then not reviewed because juggling the ball was deemed not to be reviewable.

But the one call that most of the Giants were muttering about was an obvious retaliation by Percy Ellsworth against Redskins lineman Jon Jansen. Jansen blocked Ellsworth after a play in the final minutes but the Giants safety lost his cool and fell on top of Jansen. The official was right there to throw the flag that kept the Redskins’ drive alive and denied the Giants a final chance.

“That was very frustrating,” coach Jim Fassel said. “I know he thought the guy hit him late and maybe he did but you can’t … I told the team last night we had to play smart football.”

It’s about time

Ozzie Newsome, a tight end for 13 years with Cleveland, received his Hall of Fame ring during pregame ceremonies Sunday in Cleveland before the Browns’ loss to the Carolina Panthers.

“This is special today because I finally get a chance to take a bow in front of the fans I loved playing for,” Newsome said.

Newsome, the Browns’ career leader in receptions and receiving yards, became the 14th Cleveland player to be inducted into the Hall in August.

Cleveland’s new front office was criticized for not attending Newsome’s induction ceremony.

Just do it

Kicker Jason Hanson agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Detroit Lions.

“He’s one of the best kickers. That’s why we made him one of the highest-paid kickers,” Chuck Schmidt, Detroit’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said Sunday.

The deal, which runs through the 2004 season, was completed just before the start of the season and was not officially announced by Hanson or the team.

“We just did it,” Hanson, a Mead High School and Washington State University graduate, told The Detroit News in a story Sunday. “I didn’t care if anybody knew about it. I just wanted to get it done.”

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Worth waiting for

St. Louis Rams linebacker Mike Jones had no touchdowns in 8-1/2 seasons in the NFL, but now he has two in two games.

Jones had a 44-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Rams’ victory over the 49ers on Sunday. He had a 37-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the Rams’ victory over Carolina last Sunday.

“I can’t explain it,” Jones said. “I don’t know why it has happened. I just hope it happens again.”

The last word …

“The mystique has ended. There are a lot of problems in San Francisco right now. Maybe it’s time for the Rams to dominate.” - St. Louis coach Dick Vermeil.