Associated Press
The NFL notebook …
MINNEAPOLIS ó The NFL hasnít wavered in this message to its locked-out players: Get out of the courts and come back to the bargaining table.
Reiterating that mantra, lawyers for the league issued written arguments Thursday that a recent legal response by players does not dispel ěserious doubtsî previously expressed by an appeals court about a federal judgeís order that the lockout end immediately.
Repeatedly during this dragged-out, employer-employee dispute over the future of this lucrative, ever-popular professional sport, the NFL has insisted the only path to a new agreement is through face-to-face talks.
RETIRING
OWINGS MILLS, Md. ó Former Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover announced his retirement Thursday, ending a career that spanned two decades in the National Football League.
A one-time Pro Bowl selection who provided much of the offense for the Ravens’ Super Bowl championship team in 2000, Stover leaves the NFL as the fourth-ranked scorer in the league’s history with 2,004 points and 471 field goals. He is the Ravens’ all-time leading scorer with 1,464 points.
“No regrets,” the 43-year-old kicker said during a news conference at the Ravens’ training complex. “I gave it all I had. I can look back at that and say I did all I could to be everything I could be.”
He also ranks seventh in the league in field goal accuracy with an 83.7 percent success rate.
Stover will be inducted into the Ravens’ Ring of Honor on Nov. 20 at M&T Bank Stadium. He kicked for the Ravens for 13 years after spending the early portion of his career with the original Cleveland Browns.
PACKERSí RINGS
GREEN BAY, Wis. ó Lockout or not, the Green Bay Packers will receive their Super Bowl rings in a June 16 ceremony at Lambeau Field.
Although contact between players and team officials generally is prohibited during the league’s ongoing work stoppage, the team says the NFL granted a special exemption allowing it to hold the ceremony.
In a statement posted on the Packers’ website, president and CEO Mark Murphy says the team is excited to “celebrate all the hard work that went into the championship.”
REDSKINS
ASHBURN, Va. ó The Washington Redskins three-day player-run minicamp has come to an end. Plans for another one are already in the works.
About 40 players took part each day in the workouts at a Virginia high school. Some players are staying in town for an extra day to play golf together.
Linebacker London Fletcher said the players will reconvene, probably in June, if the NFL lockout continues.
Players said the professionalism of the workouts shows they can get things accomplished even when the coaches aren’t around.
LIONS HIRE A FISHER
ALLEN PARK, Mich. ó The Detroit Lions have hired Jeff Fisher’s son to assist their defensive coaching staff.
The move to add Brandon Fisher came Thursday.
His father coached the Tennessee Titans from 1994-2010. Lions coach Jim Schwartz worked for Fisher as Tennessee’s defensive coordinator before getting his first shot to lead a team.