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For more than 30 years I have worshipped at the Norm Chow tabernacle of football. Most of it was because his BYU quarterbacks used to take my school apart every year, hang 70 points on the lovable Utah State Aggies and never change expressions.

For the first time in school history, a former athlete is one of Ralphie Handlers.

Brad Lidge was right in the middle of three celebrations this month, getting the last out when the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the division, advanced in the playoffs and won the pennant. For a guy who temporarily lost his closer's job with a week left in the regular season, that's an impressive turnaround. Lidge's resurgence came at a perfect time for the Phillies. The defending champions needed someone to step up in the bullpen during the postseason, and Lidge has done just that.

Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris was inactive for a game against the Bengals after missing practice all week. Chicago had announced that Harris, who has a sore left knee, would likely miss the game on Sunday, along with running back Adrian Peterson, who also has a bad knee. The Bears' linebacking unit got shuffled again because of Pisa Tinolsamoa's knee injury, with Hunter Hillenmeyer moving from middle to outside and Nick Roach starting in the middle.

LONDON - Wes Welker was a high school soccer star and remains a fan of the game, so it was no surprise he looked right at home yesterday on the Wembley Stadium pitch, which usually hosts a different type of football.

A fight over the shoes Michael Jordan's son will wear at the University of Central Florida could cost the school as much as $3 million.Freshman guard Marcus Jordan is refusing to wear shoes made by adidas, the brand the university has a contract with for all its sports. He says he will only wear his father's Nike Air Jordan shoes because it holds special meaning to his family.The problem is UCF has a $3 million, six-year contract with adidas that requires coaches an

Who saw this coming? Iowa is 8-0 for the first time in school history, despite some questionable talent. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is pulling all the right strings, Dennis Dodd says.

Who saw this coming? Iowa is 8-0 for the first time in school history, despite some questionable talent. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz is pulling all the right strings, Dennis Dodd says.

Both NCAA golf studs, both in a playoff for the PGA Tour Frys.com Open, both tied for second place. Rickie Fowler and Jamie Lovemark turned a few heads last week. And this week, they turn in different directions: Fowler stays on the PGA Tour, playing the Viking Classic. Lovemark heads to a first-stage Q-School qualifier. Was it just a few years ago that Hank Haney wrote an article in one of the major golf magazines suggesting that playing college golf was hurting young American golfers? And that was before Ryo Ishikawa, Rory McIlroy and Danny Lee emerged on the international scene, all without college experience. Fowler (Oklahoma State, turned pro after sophomore season) and Lovemark (Southern Cal, 2007 NCAA champ, turned pro after junior season) put the lie to that contention. As do one of Fowler's playing partners on Sunday, Ryan Moore (2004 NCAA champ, winner on the PGA Tour a month ago), and the winner of the Frys.com Open, Troy Matteson (2002 NCAA champ). Just goes to show what

The Vikings haven’t played up to their potential defensively and it’s starting to get some of the defenders frustrated. Brad Childress talked about the keys to turning that around. Plus, the Vikings are in the middle of a two-game stretch facing a couple of the best safeties around. See what the coaches and players had to say, along with our look at what’s going well and what needs to improve.