QB McNair Retiring From NFL

Gritty QB blazed a trail for black franchise players in the NFL

(NEWSER) - Steve McNair had plenty of hype to live up to at the beginning of his professional career, and rose to the occasion, not only proving himself but also paving the way for black franchise quarterbacks from Donovan McNabb to Vince Young, writes Tom Curran for MSNBC. He had both grit and style, efficiency and explosiveness, and could scramble or pass from the pocket. More»

Kazemi shot with gun touching head

(NEWSER) - Three of the four gunshots that killed Steve McNair came from more than 3 feet away, while the fourth was close-range, the football star's autopsy concludes. His girlfriend’s wound came from a contact shot, meaning the gun was touching Sahel Kazemi’s head, the Tennessean reports. But that doesn’t show conclusively that it was a suicide, the medical examiner noted in detailing the results yesterday. “All the autopsy tells us is that her wound is potentially self inflicted.” More»

Weapon sold less than 48 hours before shooting deaths: cops

(NEWSER) - Steve McNair's girlfriend bought a gun on Thursday, less than 2 days before she and the retired NFL quarterback were shot to death with the weapon, Nashville police say. A spokesman refused to say who sold Sahel Kazemi the gun but did say it fired five shots, the Tennessean reports. Police have stopped short of calling the crime a murder-suicide. "It may well be that we'll never know exactly why this happened," said the spokesman. More»

Each game this round is a rematch, but don't expect similar results

(NEWSER) - All four match-ups for next weekend's NFL playoffs are been-there, done-that this season, but the outcomes aren't necessarily givens, USA Today reports:

• Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco's interceptions helped the Titans as much as Kerry Collin's 80-yard touchdown drive in defeating the Ravens, but Flacco's seen a lot of play since then.

Peyton confident this won't be Eli's last trip to the big game

(NEWSER) - The NFL marketing department would love this scenario—Manning vs. Manning for the league title. Peyton won't rule it out as he praised the work ethic and noted the bright future of his younger brother, writes the New York Times. "I feel very strongly this will not be the last Super Bowl that he will play in," he said of Eli. More»