Brady fights rumors

Tom Brady was looking for a place to work out when he called Barry Bonds’ personal trainer “five or six years ago” but the two never got together, the New England Patriots quarterback said Thursday.

“That was the first of it and the last of it,” Brady said after practice. “I never heard from him again.”

Government lawyers are investigating whether Bonds lied under oath when he told an earlier grand jury he didn’t know whether his trainer, Greg Anderson, gave him substances that were steroids.

In a statement to federal prosecutors unsealed on Wednesday, Anderson said he had also spoken to Brady on the phone.

“I had only one brief conversation with Tom Brady regarding a potential future workout,” Anderson said. “I never had another phone conversation with him and never discussed it with anyone.”

Brady confirmed what Anderson said and stressed that he never did work out with Anderson. “No athlete likes to be brought up in stuff like that,” he said.

Brady, who attended the same Bay Area high school as Bonds, said he was back home one off-season and got the names of a few trainers who could help him work out.

He reached Anderson, who was out of town at the time.

Seau may return as a Patriot

Junior Seau is looking to join the Patriots, just three days after the San Diego Chargers threw him a lavish retirement party.

“Junior left a message for Chargers president Dean Spanos alerting him that he may sign a contract and play for the New England Patriots,” the Chargers said in a statement.

The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported on its Web site that Seau was heading to Boston for a tryout and could sign by the end of the week. Seau’s agent, Marvin Demoff, did not return several calls from The Associated Press.

Diversity rule pays off

The NFL’s rule that at least one minority candidate be interviewed for each head coaching vacancy is the reason there are now a record seven black head coaches, six more than 16 years ago, the author of several sports diversity studies said.

The University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport credited the league’s “Rooney Rule,” adopted in late 2002, for the improvement.

Thursday’s games

Giants 17, Chiefs 0: At East Rutherford, N.J., Eli Manning threw for a touchdown and set up another and the New York starters and backups dominated in a preseason victory over Kansas City.

If the game showed anything, it was that the Giants (2-0) have the talent to repeat in the NFC East and that Edwards, the former Jets coach, has a lot of work ahead to get the Chiefs (0-2) back to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

Ravens 20, Eagles 10: At Baltimore, Musa Smith had a 43-yard touchdown run and Baltimore rallied for a victory.

Ex-WSU wide receiver Devard Darling finished with five catches for 121 yards for Baltimore, bolstering his case for a starting position with the team.