A movie about Baltimore Ravens rookie Michael Oher is due to hit the theaters later this month, with actor Quinton Aaron playing the role of the rags-to-riches offensive lineman out of Mississippi.
Oher's teammate, veteran center Matt Birk, was asked to guess who would be cast in a movie about himself.
``As a kid, Alfred E. Newman,'' said Birk, a 6-foot-4, 309-pound redhead. ``Then as a young man, Carrot Top, for his physique. And then later on in life I would be played by Ron Howard.''
Actually, a movie about Birk wouldn't be such a bad idea. He's one of few players to make it to the NFL out of Harvard, where he earned an economics degree before going on to play in six Pro Bowls as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
Birk recently pledged to donate his brain and spinal cord tissues after death to a Boston University medical school program that studies sports brain injuries.
``What will they find? Not much,'' Birk joked. ``I just kind of look at it as being an organ donor. It's not that big a deal, and obviously when I'm dead I won't need it.''
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HOLD THAT CHALLENGE: Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio threw the challenge flag, hoping to check replay to see if a Tennessee kickoff went out of bounds instead of being a touchback, as ruled on the field. Officials huddled, then informed Del Rio and the crowd the play was not reviewable. Del Rio didn't lose a timeout.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairman of the competition committee, said he didn't think it was reviewable after the challenge. He said the committee added a rule last year allowing review of a kick in or out of bounds when it relates to recovery of the ball, but that the committee hadn't discussed allowing replay review to see if a kick was fair or not.
With no review, the Jaguars ended up with the ball at their 20 on a touchback.
``Now I think replay shows that if it was reviewable then there could have been a case made that it had gone out of bounds and it didn't go inside the pylon. For our sake (Sunday) and the time in which it happens, I'm glad that it's not reviewable,'' Fisher said.
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CRABTREE'S PROGRESS: Mike Singletary is a huge fan of Michael Crabtree, yet realistic about the rookie receiver's progress, too. Crabtree, the San Francisco 49ers' top draft pick this year, selected 10th overall, missed 71 days during his contract impasse before signing a six-year deal Oct. 7. It will take time for him to get up to speed, even if he's shown many positive signs in the two games he's played.
Crabtree caught five passes in his NFL debut at Houston on Oct. 25, then had six more receptions during last Sunday's 18-14 loss at Indianapolis.
``Crabtree right now, I think he is finding that not being in training camp, he can understand now some of those things,'' Singletary said. ``He has such an incredible desire to do great, but at the same time his body is still trying to catch up, but he is getting there. He is a work in progress. Every now and then something comes up, there is maybe one play a game, or something like that, where he is a little bit off here and there and uncertain. But overall, I think he has been tremendous.''
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CITY OF BROTHERLY LVOE: The Cowboys are headed to Philadelphia this weekend and receiver Roy Williams' family is wondering what to wear.
Whatever they choose, it won't be silver and blue or have a star on it.
Williams' relatives were decked out in team gear when the Eagles crushed the Cowboys 44-6 and clinched a playoff berth. Afterward, the Williams family hailed a cab to drive back to their hotel but were kicked out.
``He wouldn't give my family a ride because they had Cowboys stuff on,'' he said.
Well, there was another issue, too.
``They got into the cab and the cab driver was like, `E-L-G-S! Eagles! Eagles! Eagles!' My brother was like, `First of all, learn how to spell,''' Williams said.
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WOMEN'S GAME: USA Football is forming a 45-woman team to play in next summer's first world championship.
The tournament will be staged in Stockholm from June 26-July 4, 2010. Six nations will partake, with the other nations to be announced next month. Austria, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, Finland, Sweden and Venezuela also play women's football competitively.
Team USA players will be selected from the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL), which consists of more than 1,800 female athletes on 51 teams across North America.
``USA Football shares in the great anticipation for this historic world championship,'' said USA Football executive director Scott Hallenbeck. ``Football unites Americans like few other things and countries around the globe mirror our passion for the sport. A multinational women's world championship underscores the game's rapidly ascending popularity. We look forward to competing for a gold medal in Stockholm.''
More than 350 American high schools offered girls-specific football programs in the 2008-09 school year, compared to 70 in 1996-97.
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BORING CHAD? During his interview session this week, Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco saw quarterback Carson Palmer nearby and urged him to stand next to him as he fielded questions about the Baltimore Ravens.
Ochocinco went on to praise the Ravens' defense, calling it ``wonderful'' and ``great.'' After a couple of minutes, a bemused Palmer walked away.
``Say something controversial,'' Palmer teased. ``You're too politically correct. It's boring.''
Boring? He's rarely been accused of that.
For years, coach Marvin Lewis and his teammates tried to get Ochocinco to understand that it did no good to infuriate opponents with his victory guarantees and trash-talking that belittled the other team. They asked him to tone it down. He talked on.
This season, that has changed.
Ochocinco has expanded his social media networking to Ustream broadcasts, endless Twitter updates and his own iPhone application. He also has started to understand there's a line he shouldn't cross when he's playing the role of entertainer.
The on-field antics and trash talk have been toned down. Lewis has noticed the receiver trying to blend in more.
``I think we have guys who are pretty content with where they are in their careers and their lives,'' Lewis said, referring to the 53-man roster. ``For the most part, it's 52 and one. I think that's fine. It's about 52 1/2 now, so we're getting closer. But somebody has to have the attention, so he might as well do it because he loves it.''
Palmer has praised Ochocinco's renewed dedication to football this season. He sometimes misses the receiver's attempts to push the envelope off the field.
``Yeah, he's changed his approach to the media,'' Palmer said. ``He's very politically correct. It's a nice change, but it's also nice to hear the old Chad every once in a while. I'm sure we'll get to that point sometime this year.''
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AP Football Writer Barry Wilner and Sports Writers Janie McCauley in San Francisco, Jaime Aron in Dallas, Joe Kay in Cincinnati, David Ginsburg in Baltimore and Teresa Walker in Nashville contributed to this story.
