League fines Rolle for slash gesture
Tennessee Titans cornerback Samari Rolle was fined $12,500 by the NFL yesterday for a throat-slash gesture and celebrating an interception against the New York Jets. Rolle said he plans to appeal both fines. Rolle was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct after catching a ball in the end zone in the first quarter of the Titans' 24-17 loss to the Jets. He waved his right hand twice near his neck, was flagged by the officials, and was fined $5,000 for the banned gesture. Rolle, who has three interceptions in four games, said he was also fined $7,500 for high-fiving teammate Andre Dyson after intercepting a pass in the end zone. Rolle had previously been fined $5,000 by the NFL for dancing during the Titans' 30-17 victory over Miami Nov. 9. Meanwhile, Titans defensive end Jevon Kearse practiced for the first time since spraining his left ankle Nov. 16. Quarterback Steve McNair, who didn't practice at all last week with an injured right calf, took some snaps as he split work with backup Billy Volek . . . Drew Bledsoe returned to practice, a day after experiencing dizziness from a second hit to the head in consecutive weeks. The Bills quarterback wasn't made available to the media, and his status is unclear for Sunday's game against the New York Jets. Team spokesman Scott Berchtold said Bledsoe took part in alternating practice periods, and added the quarterback told him he was prepared to participate more . . . 49ers running back Garrison Hearst, who leads the team with 768 rushing yards, will miss Sunday's game against Arizona after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee . . . Packers safety Antuan Edwards will miss Sunday's game against the Bears because of a torn right hamstring that might sideline him the rest of the season . . . The FBI is investigating hate mail sent to black NFL players and other black men during the past year. A memo sent Nov. 18 to all NFL teams by the league's security department said all the threatening letters came from the same person and were postmarked Cleveland; Youngstown, Ohio; and Erie, Pa.
MISCELLANY
Track head: Lifetime ban for steroids
USA Track & Field chief executive Craig Masback presented a zero-tolerance drug testing plan, urging federation members to approve a lifetime ban for steroid cheaters for the good of the sport. The proposal was approved unanimously by USATF's board of directors and is to be voted on by the full membership Sunday, the final day of the annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C. . . . The International Olympic Committee ruled out punishing governments that fail to pay their annual dues to the World Anti-Doping Agency. The IOC executive board rejected proposals to penalize nonpaying countries, including the United States, by banning their national flags and anthems from ceremonies at the Games. The IOC also gave the go-ahead to retest drug samples from the Salt Lake City Olympics for the steroid THG . . . The University of Mississippi's Eli Manning won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation's top senior quarterback, an honor his brother, Peyton, received in 1997. Eli Manning threw for 3,341 yards and 27 touchdowns this season . . . Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley, 71, left an Athens, Ga., hospital, three days after going to the emergency room because of an ulcer . . . Flyers forward Claude Lapointe has entered the NHL's substance abuse treatment program. The team did not elaborate on Lapointe's condition . . . Catholic Memorial High School is dropping an appeal of the MIAA board of directors' ruling that hockey coach Bill Hanson violated Rule 40 by conducting out-of-season practices in November 2002. Hanson cannot coach in CM's first seven games against MIAA schools.
