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Riding on road to glory

Forget the Heisman Trophy. Drew Brees will have his own city street.

Sonya Margerum, the mayor of West Lafayette, Ind., will name a street for Brees, who led the Boilermakers to the Big Ten football championship and their first Rose Bowl appearance in 34 years.

It will be called “Brees Way.”

“We wanted to show our appreciation, not only for his great football talent but for his community service,” Margerum said.

Brees, who has helped local efforts with the United Way, March of Dimes and American Lung Association, finished third in this year’s Heisman Trophy voting as the nation’s top college player.

Margerum said she decided to name the street for Brees about a week ago but had to check with the Purdue athletic department.

Coach Joe Tiller first thought the street was going to be named for him, Brees said.

“When he found out it was me, he said he just slid out of his chair under his desk,” Brees said. “Coach Tiller definitely needs a street. I don’t know what they’d call it, though.”

Reward for job not well done

Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “What did Colorado’s 3-8 record do to Gary Barnett? It gave him a contract extension through 2005, that’s what.

“Barnett didn’t get a raise, according to Denver papers, but will have to struggle along on $720,000 a year.”

Just being a Sapp

The waterboys in Tampa Bay now must answer to Buccaneers defensive tackle Warren Sapp.

Late in the fourth quarter a few Sundays ago, Sapp wandered onto the Buffalo sideline and helped himself to some water. Sapp, though, was flagged for taunting and later received a $2,500 fine.

Referee Ed Hochuli informed Sapp his stunt was inciting a riot.

“So I said, ‘You can honestly tell me that’s in the rule book,”’ Sapp said. “I told him, ‘You’ll never get another drink in this stadium. I don’t care if it’s 120 degrees. I really don’t care. You’ll never, ever drink any more Buccaneer water, if I got anything to do with it.

“If my people come on to the field and you walk into my huddle and ask for water, you must leave. You can’t have any.’ I told him this, and I will enforce this rule as long as I’m a Buccaneer.”

The last word …

“The great thing about it is, people can look back and say everybody had you dead and gone, and here you are sitting in Tampa. It’s not words from a madman. I was talking to Cornelius Bennett and told him back in the wild, wild West, they used to bury people alive, and they’d be pounding on their coffin… . `Let me out of here. We’re not dead, yet.”’

- Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay on the prospects of his underachieving team making the Super Bowl.