Critical game for Patriots, Titans
NASHVILLE, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Tennessee Titans host defending world champion New England Monday night in a critical clash for both teams.
The Titans have won seven of their last eight games after a 1-4 start, and are one-half game behind Indianapolis for first place in the AFC South. Also, they hold the tiebreaker edge because of a sweep of the season series.
The Pats also need a victory to move into a first-place tie. They are hoping to repeat the formula of their Super Bowl winning season of 2001, when they won their last six games to finish 11-5.
New England is one-half game behind Miami in the AFC East. It closes the season with home games against the New York Jets and Miami.
Even with a loss Monday, the Pats can win the division with wins in the final two games, but Coach Bill Belichick wants a first-round bye as well as a division title, and knows he will probably have to beat the Titans in order to get the bye.
"We'll just put everything into the Tennessee game Monday night," Belichick said. "It will take our best effort."
Belichick was able to fluster former Pats quarterback Drew Bledsoe with his defensive schemes in last week's 27-17 win over Buffalo, but now he must deal with Steve McNair, who has the mobility to escape the pocket and do damage with his legs as well as his arm.
McNair threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns in a come-from-behind 32-29 win over the New York Giants on Dec. 1, and was 19-of-23 for 237 yards and a score in a 27-17 victory over Indianapolis last week.
"I don't think I've ever been around a tougher guy week in, week out, day in, day out," said Titans Coach Jeff Fisher. "It's hard to describe what he's doing."
New England's Tom Brady isn't doing too bad, either. He leads the NFL with 26 touchdown passes, and cut down his interceptions from seven in the team's four-game losing streak in September-October to only two in the past six games.
In last week's win over Buffalo, the Patriots scored on their first four possessions and Brady hit 10 different receivers to keep the defense off balance.
The Titans likely will employ their best cover corner Samari Rolle on Troy Brown, who has 79 catches for 742 yards and nine touchdowns, but Brady has plenty of weapons, with receivers Deion Branch, Donald Hayes, David Patten and tight ends Christian Fauria and Daniel Graham along with third down back Kevin Faulk.
Tennessee will try to pound away with Eddie George, who has rushed for 873 yards, to complement McNair's passing. Derrick Mason is the Titans' leading receiver with 67 catches for 870 yards.
New England leads the series, 18-14-1, and has won six of the last eight meetings.
Nails out with torn Achilles
MIAMI, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Miami Dolphins left guard Jamie Nails will miss the remainder of the season with a torn left Achilles' tendon.
Nails, who has helped pave the way for star running back Ricky Williams, suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 23-17 victory over the Oakland Raiders, ironically while blocking for Williams on a running play.
"This just crushes me," Nails said. "I worked so hard to get to this point, and everything was going so well."
Miami Coach Dave Wannstedt said Monday that Nails will undergo surgery in the next few days, and likely need "five-to-six months of rehabilitation."
After being out of football last season, Nails signed with the Dolphins as a free agent in March. The 6-6, 335-pounder has helped Williams rush for 1,601 yards, which is second in the NFL.
With Nails sidelined, third-round pick Seth McKinney, the club's backup center, will replace Nails in the starting lineup.
Miami (9-5) is in first place in the AFC East, one-half game ahead of New England. The Dolphins close the regular season with road contests against Minnesota and New England.
McFarland done for 2002
TAMPA, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Tampa Bay starting defensive tackle Anthony McFarland will miss the remainder of the NFL season with a broken right foot.
McFarland suffered the injury in the first half of Sunday's 23-20 victory over the Detroit Lions.
"Anthony McFarland has a right foot fracture and is out for the remainder of the season," Tampa Bay Coach Jon Gruden said Monday. "Obviously, that is a big blow to our team."
Earlier this season, McFarland missed four games with a broken forearm. In 10 games, he had collected 1 1/2 sacks and 31 tackles.
The Buccaners (11-3) lead the NFL in total defense and allow just 12.6 points per game. Tampa Bay is tied with Philadelphia and Green Bay for the NFL's best record.
With McFarland sidelined, the Bucs could move Chartric Darby into the starting lineup. Darby started four games in McFarland's absence earlier this season, and has 1 1/2 sacks overall in 14 contests.
The 1999 first-round pick out of LSU is a key member of the Buccaneers' defensive line, playing alongside perennial Pro Bowler Warren Sapp.
The 6-foot McFarland emerged as a starter in his second season, registering 6 1/2 sacks in 16 starts. He had 3 1/2 sacks in 14 starts last season.
Continental Tire Bowl sells out
CHARLOTTE, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The football game between Virginia and West Virginia on Dec. 28 is sold out.
Officials of the Continental Tire Bowl made the announcement Monday. The game, to be played at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., will be the game's inaugural. For that reason, and the fact the two schools are fairly close to each other, many analysts thought ticket sales would be slow.
With total ticket sales numbering 73,258, the Continental Tire Bowl has far exceeded expectations for a first year bowl game.
"We are extremely proud and excited to announce that the Inaugural Continental Tire Bowl is a sellout," said Executive Director Ken Haines. "The support from both the schools and the Charlotte community has been exceptional. We estimate that Virginia has sold over 20,000 tickets and West Virginia has sold over 30,000 tickets. This is probably the fastest sellout in the history of first-year bowl games, and may be the first time an inaugural bowl game has sold out."
Virginia, one of the nation's youngest teams, went 8-5 this year, 6-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers also finished second in the league after being predicted to finish seventh, and had an impressive, late-November victory over nationally-ranked ACC foe Maryland.
West Virginia completed the regular season with a 9-3 overall record, and finished second in the Big East with a 6-1 league mark. After an early season shellacking at the hands of Maryland, the Mountaineers had big wins over Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech, and suffered their only conference loss to top-ranked Miami.
Virginia leads the series between the two, 12-11-1.
Twins dump Ortiz
NASHVILLE, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Minnesota Twins Monday waived veteran first baseman/DH David Ortiz.
Ortiz apparently got caught in a numbers game with the Twins, who want to give serious playing time to shortstop Jose Morban, a 23-year-old prospect. He was chosen in Monday's Rule 5 draft.
Ortiz, 27, a native of Puerto Rico, has a .266 career batting average. Last season, he hit .272 with 20 homers and 75 RBI.
For his career, his has 58 homers and 238 RBI and a fielding percentage of .991 n 455 games. He has spent his entire six-year career with the Twins. The 6-4, 230-pounder broke in in 1997 after being acquired in a trade with Seattle.
His career was derailed in 2001, when he suffered a fractured wrist that limited him to 89 games.
He was eligible for arbitration in 2003 and the Twins felt his potential salary award would be well out of their range.
Orioles sign Cruz
NASHVILLE, Tn., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Baltimore Orioles have signed veteran shortstop Deivi Cruz, who likely will be their starter in 2003.
The Orioles need to fill a hole in their middle infield after the recent release of popular but aging Mike Bordick.
Cruz, formerly with San Diego, batted .263 for the Padres last season with seven homers and 47 RBI. He also committed just 15 errors in 151 games, and has a career fielding percentage of .978.
"His defense was really the key reason we liked him," said newly-hired Executive Vice President General Manager Jim Beattie. "We looked at a lot of shortstops and discussed the pros and cons, and what was best for this organization and we decided Deivi was the best option. He's very steady, and he has a strong arm."
Bordick leaves big shoes to fill defensively at shortstop. His career fielding percentage at the position is .982.
"We felt good about his range," Beattie said of Cruz. "We have great reports on him. He's a good athlete, and he never spends any time in the training room."
Cruz spent his first five seasons in virtual anonymity with the Detroit Tigers, having a career-best season in 2002, when he hit .302 with 10 homers and 82 RBI.
In his six big league seasons, including one with San Diego, Cruz has a batting average of .270 with 44 homers and 324 RBI.
The Cruz signing occurred on the last day of baseball's annual winter meetings in Nashville, Tn.
