
Saints, coach Sean Payton agree to terms on deal
The New Orleans Saints and suspended coach Sean Payton will indeed be together again next season as the bounty scandal fades into history and the bid ...

Saints say NFL bounty probe took a toll on season
Blame the bounty scandal. That's what many in New Orleans are doing, including some Saints. They blame it for overshadowing their entire season, for ...

Saints hold off Cowboys rally for 34-31 OT win
This miserable season without their suspended coach won't end in a playoff appearance for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. So they helped damage ...
Lions WR Johnson living up to $132 million deal
The Detroit Lions have gotten quite a return on the $132 million, eight-year investment they made in Calvin Johnson nine months ago. "He's not trying ...

Falcons top Lions 31-18 for home-field advantage
Matt Ryan got what he wanted. Calvin Johnson was forced to settle for what he could get. Ryan matched a career high with four touchdown passes, two ...

Column: An ugly year in sports _ or was it?
Good riddance, 2012. The year that almost was left us with a string of hideous story lines. From the ongoing repulsiveness of the sexual abuse scandal ...

Niners-Seahawks a late-season classic
Under normal circumstances, Seattle's CenturyLink Field rocks from the noise of the 12th Man. Imagine how far across Puget Sound the crowd's cheers ...

Broncos gallop into top spot in AP Pro32 rankings
A nine-game winning streak has Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos on top of the AP Pro32 NFL power rankings for the first time. The latest win came ...

ON FOOTBALL: Predicting the NFL is a fool's game
So you think you know the NFL? Perhaps you can predict the future, tame the weather and forecast winning lottery numbers, too. Those claiming to know ...

Falcons make big statement in 34-0 rout of Giants
Maybe now, the Atlanta Falcons will get a little respect. Certainly, no one can accuse them of lacking a quality win. Not after the pounding they gave ...

Ryan throws 3 TD passes, Falcons rout Giants 34-0
The Atlanta Falcons wanted to make a statement. Boy, did they deliver one Sunday to the defending Super Bowl champions. Coming off an ugly loss and ...
Vilma urges rejection of Goodell motion to dismiss
Jon Vilma urged a federal judge Friday to reject NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed against him by the ...

Saints coach: Witnesses lied in NFL investigation
Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt said Thursday witnesses in the NFL's bounty investigation of the New Orleans Saints have lied about him and the ...

A pick 6 of football flippin', floppin', flyin'
There's been a whole lot of flipping, flopping and flying in football recently, from the Carolinas to the frozen tundra and, appropriately, just off ...

Vilma advances defamation case, Brees blasts NFL
One day after his suspension in the NFL's bounty probe was overturned, Jonathan Vilma moved forward with his defamation claims against Commissioner ...

Goodell: Bounty players should be punished
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he "fundamentally disagrees" with former league boss Paul Tagliabue's decision not to discipline players in the ...

Williams testified he wanted to stop bounties
Former New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams testified that he tried to shut down the team's bounty system when the NFL began investigating ...

Column: Tagliabue shows Goodell how it's done
"Round up the usual suspects." Funny how that line near the end of "Casablanca" provides a fitting epitaph for Bountygate, too. Like Capt. Renault in ...

Tagliabue overturns Goodell on Saints suspensions
In a sharp rebuke to his successor's handling of the NFL's bounty investigation, former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue overturned the suspensions of four ...

Could winning out save coaches on the hot seat?
Andy Reid got such a hearty hug on the sideline from Howard Mudd that the 70-year-old assistant with the artificial hip actually lifted the burly head ...
Falcons a little closer to getting new stadium
After about two years of discussions, the Atlanta Falcons are a step closer to getting a new downtown stadium. The state agency that owns the ...

Western Kentucky hires Petrino as football coach
Now that Bobby Petrino is back in the coaching ranks, he wants to make the most of his second chance. Petrino was introduced Monday as Western ...
AP source: Tagliabue bounty ruling coming Tuesday
Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue will rule Tuesday afternoon on the latest round of player appeals in the NFL's bounty probe, and any potential ...