Young’s Injured Shoulder Sends Him Home Early
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, who has missed three games with a bruised left shoulder, left practice early Thursday because of continued pain.
Replacing Young in practice was Elvis Grbac, who had sprained his left ankle but was upgraded from questionable to probable for Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
“It (Young’s shoulder) was getting a little sore, and we didn’t want to push the thing, so Elvis finished the day,” said coach George Seifert.
Seifert said he believed Grbac would be able to play at Dallas if Young could not. Grbac said he wasn’t so sure.
“The swelling has gone down,” he said. “But I really haven’t had to plant (the foot) or cut or anything.”
Young, who officially remained questionable for Sunday’s game, did not comment as he left the practice field.
Seifert said he was in constant contact with team doctor Michael Dillingham about Young’s status.
“We’ll see how he is Saturday and make up our minds Saturday or Sunday morning who’s going to play the game,” Seifert said.
Young originally hurt his shoulder in the season’s second game when Atlanta linebacker Jessie Tuggle leveled him after a pass. He played through that shoulder injury and was just about recovered when he took two more shoulder hits Oct. 15 at Indianapolis. He has not played since.
Grbac sprained his ankle during last Sunday’s 13-7 loss to Carolina. Cary Conklin played the final series in his place.
Ryan answers charge
Arizona Cardinals coach Buddy Ryan is brushing off a St. Louis agent’s claim that he helped divert two players to other agents, including his son.
“It’s a bunch of bull,” Ryan said. “Everybody else knows it is, but my lawyer says I can’t comment. You know how that bothers the hell out of me. I like to comment.”
Harold Lewis claims in a lawsuit against the Cardinals, Ryan and James Ryan Jr. that Buddy Ryan and other Cardinals officials told Larry Tharpe and Bernard Wilson they would receive better contracts if they left Lewis’ National Sports Agency.
Another defendant, Scottsdale, Ariz., agent Jeff Irwin, was dropped from the suit Thursday on the motion of Kevin Sirop, Lewis’ attorney, who said he expects the case to be settled within a year.
Lewis seeks $66,000 in damages in the action, filed last month in St. Louis County Circuit Court. He says he sued out of a feeling of betrayal by the Ryan family.
Striking back
More advertisers fled the Baltimore-bound Cleveland Browns, and one company attacked the team in a 22-county radio commercial.
“With your recent shocking announcement, you have made it clear that you no longer want ‘your’ team to be a part of ‘our’ community,” an advertising cooperative of 257 McDonald’s restaurants said in the 60-second commercial.
The ad played on 55 stations across northeast Ohio began as “an open letter to Art Modell,” the team owner who announced Monday that the Browns would move to Baltimore in 1996.
Because the team is abandoning Cleveland, “We no longer wish to support your team,” the advertisement said.
Gary Gottfried, marketing director for the Browns, did not respond to phone messages seeking comment on the abandonment by McDonald’s, based in Oak Brook, Ill., a pizza company, a drugstore chain and others.
The mayor of Cleveland suspects Modell may have been thinking about leaving town for more than 10 years.
Mayor Michael White said the city has uncovered signs that Modell’s plan to move the team to Baltimore was in the works for years - perhaps as long ago as 1984, when the Colts left Baltimore for Indianapolis.
Around the league
Carlton Haselrig, a starting offensive guard for the New York Jets, was arrested early Monday morning in Bayonne, N.J., and charged with disorderly conduct, tailgating and driving without a license, all misdemeanors. He was released on $150 bond… . Thurman Thomas says he’s ready for his first start in three games when the Buffalo Bills play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Thomas, hobbled by a pulled hamstring since Oct. 23, was thrilled after going through his first full practice in weeks and not experiencing any tightness in his left leg… . Bills linebacker Bryce Paup plans to sue the NFL for defamation of character if it does not rescind a $12,000 fine against him. Paup was fined for a hit on Indianapolis quarterback Paul Justin, and he believes the action by the NFL makes him look like a dirty player… . Jeff Hostetler practiced Thursday and the Oakland Raiders quarterback is expected to play against the New York Giants despite a cracked bone in his left hand… . A worsening shoulder condition will keep Philadelphia Eagles guard Joe Panos out for the rest of the season, the team announced… . San Diego running back Natrone Means will not play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs because of an injured groin.