Polamalu, Hawk, Antonio Smith fined
NEW YORK — Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu, the 2010 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was fined $10,000 Friday by the league for talking on a cell phone while in the bench area in Sunday’s win over Jacksonville.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Polamalu was calling his wife to assure her he wasn’t seriously injured. He sustained what the team called a “very mild” concussion and was removed from the game as a precaution.
Polamalu kept his helmet on save for a brief phone conversation with his wife. Possession of cell phones in the bench area during a game is prohibited beginning 90 minutes before kickoff through the end of the game. Tomlin said it was a team doctor’s phone that Polamalu used.
Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk was fined $10,000 by the NFL for an obscene gesture during last week’s win over St. Louis. Hawk gestured to the Packers’ sideline after making a play and was caught by television cameras.
Teammates Clay Matthews, a linebacker, and Tramon Williams, a cornerback, were fined $5,000 each for wearing nonconforming shoes with their throwback uniforms against the Rams.
Houston DE Antonio Smith was docked $7,500 for unnecessary roughness. He pulled off Ravens guard Andre Gurode’s helmet, and a brief altercation broke out afterward.
The biggest fine went to Bengals RB Cedric Peerman for an illegal blindside block on a special teams play against Indianapolis, costing him $20,000.
Redskins LB Brian Orakpo was fined $15,000 for roughing the passer with a helmet-to-helmet hit on Philadelphia’s Michael Vick. Also nailed for $15,000 for the same infraction were San Francisco LB Aldon Smith, who struck Detroit’s Matthew Stafford below the knee, and Minnesota DT Kevin Williams for hitting Chicago’s Jay Cutler in the head/neck area.
Official: NBC Sports relocating to Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. — NBC Sports has agreed to move from New York City to Stamford to take advantage of tax breaks, adding to a growing film and TV presence in the southwestern Connecticut city, a state official said Friday.
The agreement, which could bring hundreds of jobs, would be part of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s signature economic development program, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Malloy and Democratic leaders of the legislature hope to announce a deal next week.
Chris McCloskey, a spokesman for NBC Sports, and a spokeswoman for Malloy declined to comment.
Stamford made a strong play during the 1980s and ‘90s for financial services companies that do business in New York City, just 35 miles away. More recently, it has branched out into entertainment, luring production companies with lower taxes and more space than producers can find in New York.
In 2009, Maury Povich’s “Maury” left New York for Stamford, joined by two other NBC Universal properties, “The Jerry Springer Show” and “The Steve Wilkos Show,” which relocated from Chicago. The city also has become home to the headquarters of WWE and the sports network Versus.
“We have a real cluster and it’s growing,” said Kevin Segalla, chief executive of the Connecticut Film Center, a Stamford company that provides production and financial services and facilities for the film and TV industries.
Segalla, a former New York resident, said he left the city reluctantly, but he does not regret it. He said the rail and highway access to Stamford makes it easier to reach from Manhattan than parts of some outer boroughs such as Queens.
“This is a real city. There’s diversity here. The arts are here,” he said.
Malloy, who was the mayor of Stamford before he was elected as governor last year, negotiated to bring NBC Sports to Connecticut as part of his “First Five” initiative, which is intended to consolidate various tax credits to draw the first five businesses that invest $25 million in Connecticut and create 200 jobs over five years.
So far, he has struck deals with ESPN, which is based in central Connecticut in Bristol, as well as insurer Cigna and the online ticket exchange TicketNetwork Inc. All three companies already operate in Connecticut, but Cigna agreed to move its headquarters from Philadelphia. Malloy said in August when the ESPN deal was announced that negotiating to bring companies from outside Connectic ut is more complicated because office and manufacturing space must be acquired.
The government official said details about the tax credits in the latest deal still have to be worked out between the legislature and NBC Sports.
A spokesman for the New York City Economic Development Corp. declined to comment because the deal has not been officially announced.
A city of 117,000 people, Stamford breathed a sigh of relief in August when financial services giant UBS agreed to keep a minimum of 2,000 jobs at its Connecticut headquarters in exchange for $20 million in state loans over five years. UBS, which runs the world’s largest trading floor out of its Stamford facility, had been rumored to be exploring a return to New York City.
David Cadden, a business professor at Quinnipiac University, said Stamford has held appeal for executives who want to work closer to the suburbs where many of them live since an exodus from Manhattan in the 1970s.
“CEOs were tired of commuting. They wanted their headquarters in their backyards,” he said.
Stamford is now the largest international business center between New York City and Boston, according to Jack Condlin, president and CEO of the Stamford Chamber of Commerce. He said the recent growth in the film and television industry represents the natural growth of other businesses.
“The more diverse uses you get in a city the better,” he said.
Jets told Revis to hang up on radio host
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Darrelle Revis shuts down wide receivers — and radio hosts.
The New York Jets All-Pro cornerback abruptly hung up during a radio interview Friday, at the urging of Jared Winley, the team’s director of media relations, when the conversation turned testy.
Mike Francesa, who has a long-time beef with the Jets, was talking to Revis on 660 WFAN in New York when he tried to get the cornerback to acknowledge that he committed a penalty on Miami wide receiver Brandon Marshall before his 100-yard interception return for a touchdown Monday night.
Revis denied committing a penalty, but Francesa said Revis is the only one who doesn’t think so. Revis said he didn’t care what anyone thought. He grew increasingly agitated and Winley told him to hang up. Winley later sent a statement saying he apologized to the radio show’s producer, and WFAN said in a statement that Francesa accepted the apology.
A’s bring back Curt Young as pitching coach
OAKLAND, Calif. — Bob Melvin is bringing back a familiar face to guide the Athletics’ pitchers.
Pitching coach Curt Young is leaving the Boston Red Sox to return to Oakland and work under Melvin, who received a three-year deal in September to be the club’s permanent manager.
The A’s announced Friday that Young had signed a one-year deal to rejoin the club that originally drafted him in the fourth round in 1981.
Melvin won’t have to worry one bit about Young getting up to speed with the staff. The A’s figured the timing was right to reach out to Young with the uncertainty of Boston’s field staff after manager Terry Francona was let go last month.
“It’s great for a number of reasons,” Melvin said in a phone interview Friday. “One, his history with the organization and he is one of the more respected pitching coaches in the game. We knew it would be difficult to get him but we thought it was a good time to ask. We’re thrilled to get him. His familiarity with the organization and the pitchers was a comfort for me.”
The 51-year-old Young, who pitched 10 of his 11 big league seasons for the A’s, left Oakland last year for a stint in Boston after spending 23 years in the A’s organization. He guided the 2010 group that had an AL-best 3.56 ERA and a league-leading 17 shutouts while holding opponents to a .245 batting average.
During Young’s tenure from 2004-2010, A’s pitchers led the American League with a 4.03 ERA and held opponents to an AL-low .257 average while allowing the fewest home runs (1,062) in the league. Young spent four years as a minor league coach in the organization before becoming pitching coach.
Melvin and Young spent a short time as teammates during the 1992 season with Kansas City. They have golfed together, too.
“This move provides Bob with not only an experienced pitching coach on his staff but also someone who has a lot of experience specifically with the organization and with the pitchers on this team,” A’s assistant general manager David Forst said. “On a personal level, Curt has always been well-liked by everyone in Oakland, and it’ll be nice to have him back on our side this season.”
Also Friday, the A’s said they named Mike Henriques strength and conditioning coach for 2012.
Atlanta hires Greg Walker to coach hitters
ATLANTA — The Braves have hired Greg Walker as their hitting coach, ending a 3½-week process to replace Larry Parrish.
Atlanta general manager Frank Wren made the announcement Friday.
Walker, the Braves’ third hitting coach in three seasons, worked in the same capacity since 2003 with the Chicago White Sox. First baseman Paul Konerko routinely praised Walker for helping him revive his career as a slugger.
But Walker didn’t fare well this year with high-priced designated hitter Adam Dunn, who posted career lows.
Parrish’s one season ended with the Braves falling from first in NL on-base percentage in 2010 to 14th. Hitting woes contributed to Atlanta blowing an 8½-game wild card lead in September.
Right fielder Jason Heyward, whose numbers dropped off dramatically last season, will be one of Walker’s early projects.
Winfield doubtful for game against Packers
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Minnesota Vikings are preparing to play the undefeated Green Bay Packers without their top cornerback and starters at center and safety.
The Vikings listed cornerback Antoine Winfield, center John Sullivan and safety Jamarca Sanford as doubtful for the game Sunday against the Packers. Barring significant improvements from all three players on Saturday, they will not play.
Winfield, who has already missed three straight games with a neck injury, practiced on a limited basis all week. Coach Leslie Frazier said the injury showed improvement, but not enough to make him optimistic for this weekend.
“He moved around a little bit,” Frazier said. “We’ll see how he feels (Saturday), but I’d say he’s doubtful for the game on Sunday.”
Sanford and Sullivan both came out against Chicago last weekend with concussions and have yet to pass the required tests to be cleared to play.
Assuming Sanford will not play, the Vikings (1-5) will go into the game against the pass-heavy Packers without half of their starting secondary. Tyrell Johnson would start for Sanford, while the Vikings would continue to use a combination of Chris Cook and Asher Allen to fill in for Winfield. Rookie safety Mistral Raymond also likely will be active for the first time in his young career.
Against Aaron Rodgers and the wide-open Packers, who like to flood the secondary with receiving options, those young defensive backs will be challenged in a way they haven’t been all season.
“They do a lot of four- and five-wideout sets; more so than most teams that you play,” Frazier said. “You would like to have all hands on deck, but the guys that are going to play are going to be ready to go and we are going to need them to step up and play big for us.”
Joe Berger likely will get the start for Sullivan at center, snapping the ball to rookie quarterback Christian Ponder, who will be making the first start of his career. Receiver Percy Harvin (ribs), right tackle Phil Loadholt (knee), special teamer Kenny Onatolu (hamstring), linebacker E.J. Henderson (left knee) and left guard Steve Hutchinson (knee) are all listed as probable.
Henderson has been bothered for most of the season by his knee injury, which has led to a reduced role in the team’s nickel defense. His brother Erin has filled in for him in passing situations to take some of the load off, and that likely will continue this week.
“He doesn’t quite have that explosion back that you need for some of the things you have to do in coverage,” Frazier said. “It’s something we have to look at. He is working towards getting that back and hopefully it will continue to come. He has made some progress, but is still not where he would want to be.”
— From Wire Reports