Don Pierson

Wade Wilson is the old Mike Tomczak, an outsider whose patience was rewarded. An eighth-round draft choice in 1981, Wilson has paid more dues than 1985 free agent Tomczak and...

Defense won for the Buffalo Bills last year, but their No. 4 ranking was only one better than the defense of the New England Patriots. The Bills are the consensus...

Plan B was either half good or half bad, depending on one`s point of view. The National Football League`s first experiment with unrestricted free agency resulted in 229 marginal players...

The issue of crowd noise got louder last Monday night when referee Gene Barth penalized the New Orleans Superdome fans four times for disrupting the signals of the Cincinnati Bengals....

Women have nothing on athletes scorned. Otis Wilson makes Jim McMahon look like Mike Ditka`s best man. ''Me and Ditka never got along, never will,'' Wilson said. ''For some reason...

Chicago wasn`t big enough for Mike Ditka and Jim McMahon, which is why only one of them owns a restaurant. But McMahon`s trade to the San Diego Chargers is bigger...

Hugh Culverhouse claims he has joined Pete Rozelle, Tex Schramm, Bill Walsh, Tom Landry and Bobby Beathard on the sidelines of the National Football League this season. ''I`m out of...

Tampa Bay quarterback Vinny Testaverde knows what Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman faces Sunday when the Cowboys` No. 1 draft choice makes his preseason debut in a nationally televised exhibition against...

With four preseason games, 16 regular-season games and three playoff games to go, the Minnesota Vikings are the odds-on favorites to win the Super Bowl. After all, they`ve never done...

Four operations on each knee have not scarred Dan Hampton`s outlook, humor or, apparently, his ability. The Bears` defensive tackle is counting on this one more season, and hoping for...