Alexander wins MVP; Mora fined $25,000
Shaun Alexander was getting tired of having golfing partner Marshall Faulk remind him who owned an Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award. So Alexander went out and got himself one -- in record-breaking style.
Alexander set an NFL mark with 28 touchdowns, led the league in rushing and ran away with the MVP voting Thursday.
He received 19 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL and ended the two-year reign of Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who received 13 votes.
You never know how voting goes, so you can't get caught up in that," Alexander said. "But everyone wants to put themselves in a position where you can say you are one of those top players. And that's how you get to the Super Bowl. And that's how you win 13 games. That was our goal.
Alexander spearheaded the Seahawks' rise to the best record in the NFC, 13-3, including a victory over the league's only 14-2 team, the Colts.
It was the most productive season in Seahawks history, one in which Alexander scored 28 touchdowns and rushed for 1,880 yards.
Alexander became the only player in NFL history with at least 15 TDs in five straight seasons and the fourth with consecutive 20-touchdown years. He became Seattle's career rushing leader this season.
Trailing Manning in the balloting were New England quarterback Tom Brady with 10 votes, New York Giants running back Tiki Barber with six and Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer with two.
Atlanta: Coach Jim Mora was fined $25,000 by the NFL for using a cell phone on the sideline during an overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Dec. 24. Mora was fined under a rule adopted in March prohibiting the use of cell phones or any other form of communications by coaches or players on the field -- other than regular phones used by teams to communicate between the sideline and press box.
Buffalo: Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy was hired as vice president of football operations, returning to the team he led to an unprecedented four straight Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s. In becoming the NFL's oldest active front office executive, Levy -- who referred to himself as "an 80-year-old rookie" -- takes over a struggling team that's coming off a 5-11 season and missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year. The move comes a day after the Bills fired president and general manager Tom Donahoe.
Houston: The Texans are looking inside and outside the organization to find a replacement for fired coach Dom Capers. They met with one of each Thursday: receivers coach Kippy Brown and Kansas City offensive coordinator Al Saunders.
NFL: The NFL set an attendance record for the third straight year, with an average of 66,453 fans attending regular-season games. Total paid attendance for the season was 17,011,986, about 11,000 more than last season, when the NFL topped the 17-million mark in tickets sold for the first time.
New England: The Christmas season arrived and Tedy Bruschi thought again about his trials of 2005. A stroke. Uncertainty about when -- if ever -- he would play again. His gradual progress to walk normally and regain his strength and then agonizing over when to return to a sport where he collides with 300-pound opponents. Bruschi was rewarded for efforts Thursday by sharing The AP Comeback Player of the Year. He and wide receiver Steve Smith of Carolina received 18 votes each. "With the new year turning," Bruschi said, "and the holidays, you have time to reflect. Sometimes in life you've got to get through certain things and there are tough obstacles to overcome.
source : freep.com
Alexander set an NFL mark with 28 touchdowns, led the league in rushing and ran away with the MVP voting Thursday.
He received 19 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL and ended the two-year reign of Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who received 13 votes.
You never know how voting goes, so you can't get caught up in that," Alexander said. "But everyone wants to put themselves in a position where you can say you are one of those top players. And that's how you get to the Super Bowl. And that's how you win 13 games. That was our goal.
Alexander spearheaded the Seahawks' rise to the best record in the NFC, 13-3, including a victory over the league's only 14-2 team, the Colts.
It was the most productive season in Seahawks history, one in which Alexander scored 28 touchdowns and rushed for 1,880 yards.
Alexander became the only player in NFL history with at least 15 TDs in five straight seasons and the fourth with consecutive 20-touchdown years. He became Seattle's career rushing leader this season.
Trailing Manning in the balloting were New England quarterback Tom Brady with 10 votes, New York Giants running back Tiki Barber with six and Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer with two.
Atlanta: Coach Jim Mora was fined $25,000 by the NFL for using a cell phone on the sideline during an overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Dec. 24. Mora was fined under a rule adopted in March prohibiting the use of cell phones or any other form of communications by coaches or players on the field -- other than regular phones used by teams to communicate between the sideline and press box.
Buffalo: Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy was hired as vice president of football operations, returning to the team he led to an unprecedented four straight Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s. In becoming the NFL's oldest active front office executive, Levy -- who referred to himself as "an 80-year-old rookie" -- takes over a struggling team that's coming off a 5-11 season and missed the playoffs for the sixth straight year. The move comes a day after the Bills fired president and general manager Tom Donahoe.
Houston: The Texans are looking inside and outside the organization to find a replacement for fired coach Dom Capers. They met with one of each Thursday: receivers coach Kippy Brown and Kansas City offensive coordinator Al Saunders.
NFL: The NFL set an attendance record for the third straight year, with an average of 66,453 fans attending regular-season games. Total paid attendance for the season was 17,011,986, about 11,000 more than last season, when the NFL topped the 17-million mark in tickets sold for the first time.
New England: The Christmas season arrived and Tedy Bruschi thought again about his trials of 2005. A stroke. Uncertainty about when -- if ever -- he would play again. His gradual progress to walk normally and regain his strength and then agonizing over when to return to a sport where he collides with 300-pound opponents. Bruschi was rewarded for efforts Thursday by sharing The AP Comeback Player of the Year. He and wide receiver Steve Smith of Carolina received 18 votes each. "With the new year turning," Bruschi said, "and the holidays, you have time to reflect. Sometimes in life you've got to get through certain things and there are tough obstacles to overcome.
source : freep.com
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