Falcons get Peerless Price
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga., March 7 (UPI) -- The Atlanta Falcons, looking to provide Michael Vick with a deep threat, will announce the acquisition of wide receiver Peerless Price Friday afternoon.
The Bills will receive a first-round pick, the 23rd overall selection in the 2003 draft for Price, a free agent, who was designated as a franchise player by Buffalo and was very unhappy about it.
Price, 26, enjoyed a breakout season in 2002 with Drew Bledsoe as his quarterback, catching 94 passes for 1,252 yards and nine touchdowns, but he wanted to play in Atlanta, where he makes his offseason home, and the Falcons wanted him to stretch defenses for Vick.
"The Falcons give me the opportunity to be a No. 1 receiver, and it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play with Mike Vick," Price said. "(Vick) creates so many more opportunities for me with his ability to scramble. That creates more offense for me."
The Bills assured themselves of receiving some type of compensation for Price by placing a franchise tag on him. The Arizona Cardinals failed to use that strategy with unrestricted free agent wide receiver David Boston, and received nothing in return when Boston signed with San Diego.
By slapping Price with a franchise tag, the Bills were required to tender a salary equal to the average of the top five wideouts, a figure set at $5.01 million, and were guaranteed of receiving two first-round picks as compensation if Price signed elsewhere.
He moved into the starting lineup during his second season in 2000 and has started all 48 games for Buffalo since. He has finished second on the Bills in receiving in each of the last three seasons.
Price finished his collegiate career at Tennessee third on the school's all-time receiving liss with 147 catches for 2,298 yards and 19 touchdowns.
He capped his collegiate career with four receptions for a bowl-record 199 yards and a 71-yard touchdown catch in the Volunteers' 23-17 Fiesta Bowl win over Florida State that gave Tennessee the national title.
The Falcons were not willing to yield two first-round picks, but did give up their top selection in April. That was good enough for Bills' General Manager Tom Donahoe, who was seeking to recoup the first-round pick he lost when he acquired Bledsoe from New England last season.
Blake done with Ravens
BALTIMORE, March 7 (UPI) -- Veteran quarterback Jeff Blake is now unemployed after the Baltimore Ravens took their latest contract offer off the table.
The Baltimore Sun reported Friday that Coach Brian Billick was angry and upset that Blake continued his free agent tour with a visit to Chicago on Thursday.
"We're done," Billick told the paper. "It was my intention when I went down to Florida (last week) to meet with Jeff to communicate with him as directly as I could what my intentions were, and what my commitment was under a great deal of duress from the community. My intentions were to give him an opportunity to take leadership of this team, to show this team that his commitment was to come here and be their quarterback. Jeff's right is to take himself into free agency, but in doing so, it made it very clear that he was not interested in what I was offering him. When they chose not to take advantage of that, that was the final straw."
Last season, he split time with Chris Redman, who now has been named the starter next season.
The Sun also reported that many in the organization were troubled by Blake's reputation for not taking responsibility for his role in losses and his behavior at the conclusion of a season-ending loss to Pittsburgh. Moments after he threw a game-ending interception, Blake was seen laughing and hugging Steelers Coach Bill Cowher.
Blake has played 11 seasons in the NFL. He is 1,593-of-2,828 for 19,281 yards, with 119 touchdown passed and 83 interceptions in stints with the New York Jets, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Baltimore.
Collegiately at East Carolina, he set or tied 32 school records while passing for 5,133 yards and 43 touchdowns.
Brand goes to IL
BOSTON, March 7 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Clippers Friday placed Elton Brand on the injured list with a stress fracture in his lower left leg.
The move will sideline the star forward for the final five games of a six-game road trip.
Brand, who is averaging 18.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, and nearly three blocks per game this season, had missed the Clippers' previous five games, all losses, with the injury.
This marks the first stint on the injured list in Brand's four-year NBA career, and it could not have come at a worse time for interim Coach Dennis Johnson, who is 0-2 since replacing Alvin Gentry on Monday.
The Clippers, who have lost seven straight overall, play the Boston Celtics on Friday.
Brand, who turns 24 on Tuesday, also will miss road games at Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and San Antonio before the Clippers return home to face Toronto on March 16.
The 6-8, 265-pound Brand was acquired by Los Angeles from the Chicago Bulls in June 2001 for a first-round pick, and is eligible to become a free agent at the end of the season.
The Clippers activated forward Tremaine Fowlkes to replace Brand on the roster. Fowlkes had missed the Clippers' last 23 games with a strained right shoulder.
He is averaging 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest this season.
Report: Nets axing Childs
NEW YORK, March 7 (UPI) -- It looks like veteran point guard Chris Childs of New Jersey is being dumped.
The New York Times reported Friday that the team negotiated a buyout with Childs, and likely will waive him, pending league approval.
Childs, 35, was in the first year of a two-year, $3.5 million contract, but played in just 22 games, averaging 1.3 points in 8.8 minutes per contest.
"We have an agreement," New Jersey President Rod Thorn told the paper. "We just need the league to sign off on it."
Childs, signed in August to serve as a backup to Jason Kidd, immediately incensed the Nets when he reported to training camp overweight and was slowed by an Achilles' tendon injury. New Jersey suspended him for the first 18 games of the season, but that was only the start of his trouble.
Childs, who began his nine-year career with the Nets in 1994-95, was activated in January, but could not adjust to the motion offense of Coach Byron Scott. Also, he was held up at gunpoint outside a New York nightclub in December.
Known as a tenacious defender, Childs has averaged 7.0 points and 4.9 assists per contest in 529 career games, also playing for Toronto and New York.
He enjoyed his best season in 1995-96 with New Jersey, averaging 12.8 points and 7.0 assists, before signing a six-year, $24 million contract with New York.
Report: Cougars to fire Graham
BRISTOL, Conn., March 7 (UPI) -- It appears that even beating arch-rival Washington will not save Paul Graham.
ESPN.com is reporting that Graham, who is in the fourth season of a five-year contract at Washington State, will be fired on Monday, two days after the Cougars conclude their season with a contest against the Huskies.
The Web site said Graham, who is just 31-77 at Washington State, was informed of the school's decision earlier this week.
Washington State Athletic Director Jim Sterk issued a statement Thursday saying he would address the matter of returning from the Pac-10 women's tournament in San Jose, Calif.
"Paul Graham and I have talked this past week and we will do so again early next week," Graham told ESPN.com. "It would be inappropriate for me to make any comments before next week."
Washington State, which is in last place in the Pac-10 with a 7-18 overall record and 2-14 in the conference, has been eliminated from the Pac-10 tournament.
The Cougars beat Washington, 98-76, last Saturday, giving them just their second two-game Pac-10 winning streak during Graham's tenure, but the Cougars dropped to 0-46 all-time at Pauley Pavilion with Thursday's 86-71 loss to UCLA.
They have been decimated by injuries all season. Eight players missed a total of 50 games.
Jenifer leaves Virginia hoops
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., March 7 (UPI) -- Troubled Keith Jenifer, the former point guard at the University of Virginia, has left the men's basketball team.
Coach Pete Gillen told the Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress that Jenifer has asked for and was granted his release from his UVa scholarship and likely will transfer to another program.
"He asked for his release and it will be granted," Gillen told the paper. "He asked for it and we said yes."
Jenifer and a fellow student got into a fight outside a bar in Charlottesville last month. He told police he did not start the fight, and claimed the alleged victim hit him first after he tried to ignore him as he "talked trash."
The victim had indicated that he would be filing suit against Jenifer. Charges had been filed against both men, but they were thrown out last Friday by Charlottesville General District Court.
Jenifer was suspended by Gillen on Feb. 3 for what was termed "conduct detrimental to the team." The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that the suspension was connected to the altercation.
That paper also said Jenifer was visibly upset on the sideline on Jan. 23, when the Cavaliers knocked off highly-regarded ACC foe Wake Forest, a game televised nationally by ESPN2.
Two nights earlier, they were thrashed, 73-55, by in-state rival Virginia Tech. Gillen changed his starting lineup for the Wake Forest game, and Jenifer was benched.
The 6-3 Baltimore native started 14 games. At the time of his suspension, he was leading the Cavaliers in assists with 104 (5.5 per game), and was averaging 5.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest.
This was the second suspension for Jenifer, who was held out of U.Va.'s first exhibition game in November for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
As a freshman during the 2001-02 season, Jenifer played in all 29 of the Cavaliers' games and started 15. He averaged 4.0 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.0 rebounds a game, and was an honorable mention selection to the 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team.
Virginia is 2-7 since the beginning of the Gillen-ordered suspension, and is in the throes of a seven-game losing streak.
Overall, the Cavaliers are 14-14 (5-10 ACC), and will not be qualified for the NCAA Tournament because of a losing record in the ACC if they lose their regular-season finale against defending national champion and No. 12 Maryland Sunday night.
New deal for Baxter
FOXBORO, Mass., March 7 (UPI) -- The New England Patriots have re-signed unrestricted free agent tight end Fred Baxter and exchanged draft picks in two separate trades.
In one trade, the Patriots sent offensive tackle Greg Randall to the Houston Texans for a 2003 pick. In the other deal, they traded its third- and fifth-round picks in this year's draft for a third-round selection in the 2003 draft and a fourth-round selection in the 2004 draft.
Baxter, 31, joined the Patriots on Dec. 24, 2002, and appeared in the team's final game against the Miami Dolphins.
The 6-3, 260-pounder originally was taken by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 1993 draft out of Auburn.
After eight seasons with the Jets, Baxter signed with the Chicago Bears in 2001. In 10 NFL campaigns, he has started 34 of 122 games, and has 100 career receptions for 1,008 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Randall, 24, originally picked by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2000 draft out of Michigan State, has started 22 of 35 games in three seasons with the team.
Withdrawals from Qatar Open continue
DOHA, Qatar, March 7 (UPI) -- The numbers of withdrawals from the Qatar Open on the European Tour now has risen to 35.
The event runs, amid growing concerns over political unrest, runs from March 13-16.
With neighboring Iraq potentially on the verge of war, the 12th event on the European Tour schedule could be in trouble and, at best, will be depleted.
Many players are heeding advice from the British government, despite assurances of tour Executive Director Ken Schofield.
"All preparations, including golf course, accommodation, and transportation are complete and secure," said Schofield.
Qatar has been placed on the list of countries the Foreign Office is advising should be visited only for essential business.
Among those who have pulled out are Nick Faldo, Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Paul Lawrie, and Seve Ballesteros. Also, defending champion Adam Scott will not play.
