My Sports News Digest

Reuters

Miami is looking for a quarterback.  And a quarterback that first came up with the Dolphins is now looking for work.

Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com writes that Sage Rosenfels wants back into the NFL after a “mysterious blood infection” plagued him in August.

The Giants released Rosenfels from injured reserve after placing him on the season-ending list before the season. Rosenfels is now a free agent and looking for work.

We’ve always thought of Rosenfels as one of the better backups in the league. He had a strong showing early this preseason and would make sense for a team like Miami that is looking for depth.

AP

Long-time NFL assistant coach Mike Heimerdinger died September 30, after battling cancer for most of the last year.  A prviate memorial service for family and friends will be held on October 14.

The service will be closed to the media.

In lieu of flowers, the family has established the Mike Heimerdinger Memorial Fund, which will be used to support Heimerdinger’s family and numerous charities.

Checks can be made payable to the Mike Heimerdinger Memorial Fund, and mailed to the following address:  Mike Heimerdinger Memorial Fund, 2020 Fieldstone Parkway, Suite 900-206, Franklin, TN 37069.

Mike is survived by his wife, Kathie, a son, Brian, and a daughter, Alicia.

Getty Images

Despite the many signs that the economy is struggling, some NFL teams have found ways to sell naming rights to the venues in which they play.

It helps if the place is scheduled to host a Super Bowl.

Several weeks ago, the site of the 2014 NFL title game ceased being known as the New Meadowlands Stadium and became MetLife Stadium.  Now, the building in which the 2013 Super Bowl will be played is poised to be known as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Saints and the State of Louisiana will announce on Tuesday a 10-year deal that will, as a practical matter, generate enough revenue to end Louisiana’s financial obligations to the team.

The deal comes six years after a hurricane ravaged New Orleans, turning the Superdome into a place of refuge that quickly was overwhelmed by the many people seeking shelter there.

In that same time, the Saints have become an elite NFL team, with 73,000 seats sold out for the season and a waiting list in excess of 50,000.  And the Mercedes-Benz Superdome has been fully renovated, tying the Saints to New Orleans, presumably for decades to come.

Getty Images

Despite the many signs that the economy is struggling, some NFL teams have found ways to sell naming rights to the venues in which they play.

It helps if the place is scheduled to host a Super Bowl.

Several weeks ago, the site of the 2014 NFL title game ceased being known as the New Meadowlands Stadium and became MetLife Stadium.  Now, the building in which the 2013 Super Bowl will be played is poised to be known as the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Saints and the State of Louisiana will announce on Tuesday a 10-year deal that will, as a practical matter, generate enough revenue to end Louisiana’s financial obligations to the team.

The deal comes six years after a hurricane ravaged New Orleans, turning the Superdome into a place of refuge that quickly was overwhelmed by the many people seeking shelter there.

In that same time, the Saints have become an elite NFL team, with 73,000 seats sold out for the season and a waiting list in excess of 50,000.  And the Mercedes-Benz Superdome has been fully renovated, tying the Saints to New Orleans, presumably for decades to come.

The singer of the lead-in song to Monday Night Football may have some time on the bench after comments made on FOX News Channel.

Hank Williams Jr., who sings the weekly preview song to the NFL’s Monday night game, disparaged President Obama and his summertime golf summit with House speaker John Boehner during the week of the U.S. Open.

He said on the network’s Fox & Friends, “It would be like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli leader) Benjamin Netanyahu.”

According to USA Today, ESPN has declined comment. The network recently admonished golf commentator Paul Azinger for tweeting his political views.

Getty Images

Former Giants teammates Plaxico Burress and Tiki Barber both tried to get back into the NFL after long absences this season. Burress was welcomed back with open arms and signed with the Jets. Barber was largely ignored and has been described as devastated and flabbergasted that no one will sign him.

It turns out that Burress is flabbergasted that no one will sign Barber, too.

“It’s crazy,” Burress told the New York Post of Barber’s failure to find a team. “He’s better than half the backs in the league.”

It’s true that when Barber and Burress last played together — in 2006 — Barber was better than half the backs in the league. You could make a case that Barber, who topped 2,000 yards from scrimmage in each of his last three seasons, was better than all the other backs in the league. But it’s 2011 now, and the idea that Barber, at age 36, is still better than half the backs in the league is farfetched.

Still, Burress holds out hope for his old teammate.

“I’m very surprised he’s not on somebody’s roster,” Burress said. “But it’s just Week 4. Maybe somebody will call him.”

That’s doubtful. The Dolphins called him in for a workout, and after getting a look at Barber declined to bring him into training camp. And no other team has even gone so far as to kick the tires on Tiki. If any NFL team believed Burress might be right that Barber is better than half the backs in the league right now, Barber would be in the league right now.

Getty Images

Members of the United States Congress continue to pressure the NFL and the NFLPA to implement HGH testing sooner rather than later.

According to the Associated Press, leaders of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have invited NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith to a meeting regarding the issue.

“We believe the league and its players remain best positioned to implement an HGH testing regime, but concerns have been raised about the status of these efforts,” Darrell Issa (R-Cal.; pictured) and Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) said in letters to Goodell and Smith. “The purpose of this meeting is to understand the concerns of the players and the league and to strongly convey our universal interest in protecting the health of millions of younger athletes across the country.”

Though the NFL and the NFLPA have agreed in their new labor deal that HGH testing will be implemented this year, the union has declined to accept the testing program proposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The invitation to meet follows multiple letters expressing concern regarding the absence of HGH testing.  Eventually, a hearing could be held regarding the situation.  At some point, legislation could be introduced to compel the NFL to surrender all or part of the control over its drug-testing program to the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Thus, in time, Congress may foist upon the NFL and NFLPA that which the NFL and WADA are trying to persuade the NFLPA to do.

And that may be the only way the NFLPA ever submits to HGH testing.  There’s currently speculation in league circles that the players simply don’t want to engage in blood testing for HGH, and that the official commencement of a blood testing program at the agreement of NFLPA leadership could result in a change in NFLPA leadership as of March 2012, when Smith’s three-year contract expires.

Getty Images

The Carolina Panthers have the hottest young rookie in the NFL.  But that wasn’t enough to sell out the non-premium tickets at Bank of America Stadium for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, without a little help.

According to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer, Anheuser-Busch and WBTV, the CBS affiliate in Charlotte that will televise Sunday’s game, purchased the remaining tickets.  As of Tuesday, 1,200 tickets remained.  The tickets will be given to local charities, members of the military, and police, fire, and EMS first responders.

Presumably, the cost for the remaining tickets was 34 cents of each ticket dollar, an approach that league rules permit when it comes to buying the balance of any non-premium seats.

Sunday’s game, featuring Cam Newton against Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert, will be Carolina’s 87th straight sellout.