The Tennessee Titans have settled their lawsuit with the University of Southern California over Trojans coach Lane Kiffin hiring away an assistant coach just before training camp last July. The Titans and USC announced Wednesday in a joint statement that settlement terms are private but called it an "amicable" resolution.

Reporters and cameras will be barred from a key evidence hearing in the case against four men accused of fatally shooting former Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor during a botched 2007 robbery at his home, a judge ruled Wednesday. Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy agreed with defense attorneys that the hearing on whether to allow purported confessions or incriminating statements at trial should be...

The owner of the New York Giants tried a courthouse version of the Hail Mary pass Tuesday to escape serving on a jury hearing a drug trial before a judge threw him for a loss, rejecting excuses that included the upcoming NFL draft and his role as a negotiator for team owners in the work stoppage that resulted from their dispute with players.

The NFL has awarded $1 million in grants to the charities of nearly 90 current and former players. The league said Tuesday that star quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers were among those receiving money for their foundations. NFL Charities has given more than $17 million to player foundations over two decades, and that didn't change with the lockout this...

Jets backup quarterback Erik Ainge says he is recovering from a lengthy battle with substance abuse that has derailed his NFL career. Ainge, 24, tells ESPNNewYork.com on Tuesday in a candid first-person account that he is also dealing with bipolar disorder. Ainge says he "was a really bad drug addict" and "would've made Charlie Sheen look like Miss Daisy." He adds that he...

Police in a Dallas suburb issued an arrest warrant for Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib, accusing him of firing a gun at his sister's boyfriend. Garland police said Tuesday they believe Talib and his mother, Okolo Talib, shot at the man March 21. The man wasn't injured. Earlier that day, the man had been listed as a suspect in a disturbance and was charged with assault and...

In the 18 months before Dez Bryant signed with the Dallas Cowboys, he apparently spent like a superstar. He bought at least seven men's watches and two more for women. He paid $65,500 for a diamond cross made of white gold and $60,000 for a custom charm. He ordered a set of dog tags made of white gold and diamonds, and all sorts of other rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces in various shades...

Falcons owner Arthur Blank says there will be professional football in 2011 in Atlanta. Blank and the Falcons were honored by the Georgia Legislature on Tuesday for their third consecutive winning season. He says he hopes to build on last season's success, but the NFL is mired in labor strife. There is a hearing April 6 in Minnesota in the lawsuit filed by Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees...

Former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton will get one final opportunity before next month's NFL draft to make a big impression with the Buffalo Bills. The Heisman Trophy winner will make a pre-draft visit to the team's facility in Orchard Park on Tuesday, coach Chan Gailey confirmed following a State of the Bills' address to season-ticket holders at a downtown ballroom on Monday evening.

Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams is predicting the NFL will play the 2011 season, even if it takes a few months to work out a new labor deal. In fact, he guarantees it. "It's going to be a few months here, but we'll be playing this year," Adams said Monday night. "I guarantee we'll be playing." Adams spoke to reporters Monday night before being honored with a lifetime...

NFL players are defending their decision to disband the union, saying employers cannot force workers to unionize, and dissolution is "not akin to turning off a light switch." The players made the statements Monday in a court document filed in response to the NFL's assertion decertification was "a sham." "It is established law that a union can renounce collective...

Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters is free on $628 bond after being arrested in Shreveport., La., for violating the city's loud music ordinance and resisting arrest. Police spokesman Bill Goodin said Monday that Peters refused to show his driver's license after police stopped him Saturday night because of the volume of music coming from his vehicle.

Washington Redskins kick returner Brandon Banks and a close friend were stabbed early Saturday during an altercation outside a downtown D.C. nightclub. Banks received a surface wound to his side that required stitches and was expected to be released Sunday from an area hospital, his agent James Gould said in a statement.

Titans coach Mike Munchak has filled one of the biggest openings on his staff by hiring Jerry Gray away from the University of Texas to become Tennessee's defensive coordinator. The Titans announced the move Saturday, a day after Munchak picked Gray up at the airport to interview him for the job.

Jimmy Robinson was hired Friday as receivers coach for the Dallas Cowboys, joining their staff less than a week after coaching for the champion Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl. Robinson, who spent the past five seasons in Green Bay, replaces Ray Sherman. Robinson also gets the title of assistant head coach with the Cowboys.

The New England Patriots have named quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien as their offensive coordinator. The move Friday came after the team spent the past two seasons without an offensive coordinator, although O'Brien, who retains the quarterbacks coach title, called plays and performed many of the coordinator's functions.

The Dallas Cowboys didn't obtain a permit to install temporary seating at Cowboys Stadium until about three weeks before the Super Bowl, despite being informed of Arlington's requirements five months ahead of the big game, according to records released by the city Friday. City and stadium officials then scrambled to prepare the temporary seating for the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers...

The Green Bay Packers have signed general manager Ted Thompson to a multiyear extension. The 58-year-old Thompson took over as general manager in 2005. The Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 on Sunday to win the Super Bowl, just the second time a No. 6 seed has accomplished the feat. Thompson's old deal went through the 2012 season.

Three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Shaun Rogers has paid a visit to the Washington Redskins, two days after being cut by the Cleveland Browns. Rogers met with team officials at Redskins Park on Friday as he begins his search for a new team following three seasons in Cleveland. Rogers was cut Wednesday after playing sparingly during the 2010 season due to ankle, hip and elbow injuries.