Associated Press
The college football notebook …
CHICAGO ó Terrell Owens has at least one contract offer. If he can’t latch on with an NFL team, the Chicago Rush say they’ll take him.
The arena team sent out a release Wednesday saying it is offering Owens a contract for the 2012 season “for the standard player agreement.”
The veteran wide receiver has been rehabilitating a left knee injury that required surgery. He conducted a workout near Los Angeles on Tuesday that was watched by two television networks but no NFL teams.
Owens played 14 games for Cincinnati last year, making 72 receptions with nine touchdowns.
Rush general manager and president Gene Nudo says it’s “an ideal time to approach the future Hall of Famer.”
BRADY VS. STEELERS
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. ó Heinz Field can be an intimidating stadium with screaming fans waving yellow towels while watching one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Not to Tom Brady.
The New England Patriots quarterback usually quiets the crowd with outstanding performances that have resulted in his 4-1 career mark at the home of Pittsburgh.
His next visit comes Sunday when the Patriots (5-1) return from a bye while the Steelers (5-2) go for their fourth straight win.
“The Steelers are tough to beat at home,” Brady said. “The times that we beat them we’ve had to play very, very good games. I think that’s what I’m probably most proud of. Some of our greatest games that we’ve ever played have been against them.”
Like last year’s 39-26 win in which an animated Brady yelled at his teammates on the sideline. The Patriots led only 10-3 at halftime but made it 23-3 after three quarters.
COOK SUSPENDED
MINNEAPOLIS ó Minnesota Vikings cornerback Chris Cook was suspended without pay by the team after being charged with trying to strangle his girlfriend, leaving her with a bloody nose and lip.
Cook was charged with felony domestic assault by strangulation, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine. State guidelines call for a sentence of a year and a day.
Cook was released on $40,000 bail from jail, where he’d been since his arrest early Saturday at his home in suburban Eden Prairie near team headquarters.
SEAHAWKS
RENTON, Wash. ó Seattle defensive end Red Bryant lost his cool. Now he’s about to lose “a pretty penny.”
Bryant said Wednesday that he was fined for headbutting Cleveland tight end Alex Smith in the final minute of last Sunday’s 6-3 loss to the Browns. Bryant was flagged for a personal foul and ejected from the game.
EAGLES
PHILADELPHIA ó Unhappy he was trade bait, Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel criticized management and compared the team’s front-office to people who play fantasy football.
“Couple people upstairs might not want me, but who cares. They’ve probably never played football,” Samuel said Wednesday. “It’s a business and they run it like a business and they’re going to do what they need to do. They’re playing with a lot of money, playing fantasy football, doing their thing.”
JAGUARS COACH
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ó The Jacksonville Jaguars are having some fun at coach Jack Del Rio’s expense.
Del Rio injured his left leg Monday night against Baltimore, becoming the latest coach injured in a sideline collision. He is limping and using a golf cart to get to and from the practice field.
Maybe the most embarrassing part for the hard-nosed, former NFL linebacker is that Ravens punter Sam Koch did the damage.
Assistant coach Mark Duffner nominated Koch for a weekly “Jackhammer” award, the accolade Del Rio gives out for hard hits during games. And place-kicker Josh Scobee laughed as loud as he could as Del Rio drove onto the practice field Wednesday.
Even Del Rio took a lighthearted approach with his injury.
“I got a bag of ice and a couple of Tylenol, and that’s it,” Del Rio said. “I’m good to go.”
BEARS
LAKE FOREST, Ill. ó Matt Forte continues to pile up yards and add to his bargaining power.
Unable to land the contract extension he wanted, Forte is producing in a big way for the Chicago Bears. At 4-3 and with two straight wins, they head into their bye weekend looking more like a playoff team after a rough start.
They can thank Forte, who leads the league with 1,091 yards from scrimmage and is challenging the record set by Tennessee’s Chris Johnson (2,509) in 2009.
SAINTS TWITTER
NEW ORLEANS ó The company that owns the Times-Picayune is paying five New Orleans Saints players including quarterback Drew Brees to promote the newspaper’s website through the social media website Twitter.