Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 41

8C TIMES MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 1998 NFL CUTS, MOVES CBiogp gefts rid if 01 Mow pick for Mirer last year, expected him to be their starter. But Erik Kramer beat him out and. Mirer, at one point, sank to third string. Minnesota released Brown, the Super Bowl MVP in 1996 with Dallas, but agreed to pay the Aocltd Prt Rick Mirer, once considered one of the league's future stars, is on the unemployment line. Mirer, the second overall pick by Seattle in BASKETBALL Houston has shot to repeat its feat Defending champ Comets like their chances after tying best-of-three series.

AMoclld Prit cornerback three games worth of his '98 base salary, $48,000, as an injury settlement The Jets settled their kicking competition by releasing Conway, a former Green Bay draft pick, in favor of incumbent John Hall. Cary Blanchard, a '96 Pro Bowl kicker for Indianapolis, was cut by coach Jim Mora for the third time in his career. Blanchard lost out to rookie Mike Vanderjagt, a star in the CFL the past two years. Linebacker Andre Royal, who told NFL investigators he participated with some of his New Orleans the 1993 draft, was released Sunday by Chicago as teams scrambled to get down to the league-required 53-player roster limit Mirer was the biggest name among players cut The list also included former Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown, Colts kicker Cary Blan-chard and Jets kicker Brett Conway. Cincinnati unexpectedly decided to keep quarterback Jeff Blake.

The Bengals reportedly tried to trade Blake after Neil O'Donnell won the starting job in the third preseason game. They also asked him to restructure his contract and take less than the he will get in Holmgren keeps him on the sideline. Levens ended his six-week holdout Sunday by signing a one-year tender for which allows him to report to the Packers while the finishing touches are put on a five-year, $25-million package. "My thoughts are he should have been here in May," general manager Ron Wolf said. "But I'm happy he's here now when we need him.

I think what that does is that puts together the finest offensive unit in the NFC." By signing him to the tender, Green Bay will be able to retain its franchise player designation and put it on another player, such as wide receiver Antonio Freeman, who stood to cash in as a free agent after this season, providing a long-term deal with Levens is completed this season. The Packers said Levens would report to the practice field today, but how much he will play in the season opener against Detroit won't be determined until the team sees how well-conditioned he is. PANTHERS: First-round pick Jason Peter ended his nearly six-week holdout Peter, the 14th overall pick out of Nebraska, signed a four-year deal that contains an option by the team for a fifth season. The deal, which includes a signing bonus of could end up being worth about $200,000 more than what was offered at the start of training camp. The end of Peter's holdout leaves former FSU defensive end Andre Wadsworth, taken No.

3 by Arizona, as the only unsigned first-rounder from this year's draft The Bears used a first-round pick to acquire Rick Mirer last season. HOUSTON Having sur-' vived a near-collapse to reach Tuesday's decisive Game 3 against the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA final, the Comets relish the fact that both teams' seasons are on the line. The Comets remain alive in the best-of-three series because they came back from a 12-point deficit with seven minutes left teammates in the hazing of rookies, was traded to Indianapolis for tight end Scott Slutzker. Green Bay traded 33-year-old linebacker Seth Joyner to Denver for past considerations. Other veterans who failed to make the roster were defensive back Terry McDaniel and defensive end Eric Curry, a former Bucs first-round pick in '93.

Pack: Levens signing clinches 'finest offensive unit in the NFC GREEN BAY Pro Bowl halfback Dorsey Levens missed the off-season, but the only time hell be a holdout now is when coach Mike base salary this year, but he declined. The Bengals chose to keep him after backup Paul Justin struggled in the preseason finale. Former UF and Marshall quarterback Eric Kresser was cut instead. The Bears were unable to find a taker for Mirer and his $10-million contract. Under terms of the collective-bargaining agreement any team that signed Mirer would have had to pay him at least "I hope everything goes good for Rick, wherever he ends up," said Mark Hatley, Chicago's vice president of player personnel.

"It just didn't work out here." The Bears, who gave Seattle a first-round Bucs fromIC ARIZONA CARDINALS: Placed WR Anthony Edwards and DE Brad Ottia on injured reserve. Released LB Lyron Cobbing, DE Jomo Cousins, WR Kevin Drake, CB Dell McGee and OL Joe Wolfe. ATLANTA FALCONS: Released DT Ben Huff, LB Eddie Sutter, WR Keith Crawford and CB Lenny McGill. Placed RB Byron Hanspard, OT Nate Miller and Corey Louchiey on injured reserve. BALTIMORE RAVENS: Released Greg Montgomery, TE AJ.

Ofodile, OL Alex Bernstein, DL Chris Ward, DL Chartric Darby and LB Sylvester Wright. Reached injury settlement with DB Rondell Jones. Placed OL Sammy Williams on injured reserve. BUFFALO BILLS: Released WR Fred Coleman, LB Joe Cummings, LB Dwayne Sabb, DT James Grier, CB Ray Hill, OT David Mudge and Dan Williams. CAROLINA PANTHERS: Signed DL Jason Peter to a four-year contract.

Released QB Dameyune Craig, LB Ernest Dixon, DT Viliarni Maumau, Mark Rodenhauser and OT David Sutton. Placed OL Bucky Greeley, OL Jamie Wilson, DL Chuck Wiley and WR Jim Turner on injured reserve. Reached an injury settlement with DB Dedrick Dodge. CHICAGO BEARS: Released Mike Zandofsky, DE Martin Harrison, QB Rick Mirer, DT Carl Simpson, TE Hayward Clay, CB Clyde Johnson, WR Eric Smith, FB Tremayne Allen, LB Chris Draft and Greg Williams. Signed LB Jim Schwantz.

CINCINNATI BENGALS: Placed Scott Brumfield on injured reserve. Waived QB Eric Kresser, LB Canute Curtis, RB Brandon Bennett, DL Harry Deligianis, Mike Doughty and TE Damian Vaughn. DALLAS COWBOYS: Released LB James Bates, DE Denny Fortney, QB Daniel Gonzalez, CB Zebbie Lethridge, FB David McCann, CB Terrell Sutton and DE Brett Williams. DENVER BRONCOS: Sent WR Patrick Jeffers to Dallas and acquired LB Seth Joyner from the Green Bay Packers, both for past considerations. DETROIT LIONS: Released Kerlin Blaise, TE Werner Hippler, TE Keith Jennings, WR Deon Maddox, FB Travis Reece, Kywin Supernaw and LB Phillip Ward.

GREEN BAY PACKERS: Signed RB Dorsey Levens to a one-year contract. Traded RB Glyn Milburn to the Chicago Bears for an undisclosed draft choice. Released DB Terry McDaniel, OT Bruce Wilkerson, DE Eric Curry, WR Ronnie Anderson, DB Anthony Fogle and TE Anthony McKinney. Reached injury settlement with FB Emory Smith. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: Released WR Willie Jackson, LB Eddie Robinson, Ricky Parker, DT Ed Philion, Mark Nori, TE Mark Thomas, OT Steve Zahursky, OT Jason Baker and DE Lamanzer Williams.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: Released Rob Selby, RB Greg Robinson, LB Terry Wooden. Placed WR Reggie Jones, WR Marcus Dowdell and RB James Bostic on injured reserve. MIAMI DOLPHINS: Released Jim Bundren, TE Chris Fontenot, RB Ray Neafy, FB Jamie Reader, WR Nate Jacquet, WR Brian Manning and WR Phil Savoy. Terminated the contract of Anthony Redmon. MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Released CB Larry Brown, CB Antonio Banks, WR Tony Bland, LB Chester Burnett, TE Ryan Collins, QB Jay Fiedler, RB Scottie Graham, DT Ben Williams and Cory Withrow.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Traded DE Mike Jones to St. Louis for a 2000 fifth-round draft pick. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: Released DE Rob Lurtsema, WR Andy McCullough, WR Alonzo Johnson, Ricky Siglar and TE Nicky Savoie. Placed WR Gunnar Twyner on injured reserve and TE John Farquhar on the reserve-physically-unable-to-perform list. Traded LB Andre Royal to Indianapolis for TE Scott Slutzker.

NEW YORK GIANTS: Released Rodney Young, OL Bryan Stoltenberg, TE Grant Baynham, LB Jason Nevadomsky and Jason Whittle. Placed OL Rob Zatechka on injured reserve. Announced the retirement of CB Robert Massey who will remain as a coach. NEW YORK JETS: Waived Ray Austin, WR Chris Brazzell, Brett Conway, RB Robert Farmer, LB Matt Finkes, TE Lawrence Hart and WR Brian Musso. OAKLAND RAIDERS: Released LB Rob Holmberg, RB Joe Aska, RB Tim Hall, DE Vince Amey, LB Myron Smith and OL Scott Whittaker.

Waived Kenyan Branscomb and WR Jason Shelley. PITTSBURGH STEELERS: Released QB Mike Quinn, NT Aaron DeLaTorre, DE Matt Harper, LB Eric Ravotti and WR Corey Holliday. Traded LB Steve Conley to Indianapolis for an undisclosed draft pick. Placed TE Troy Sadowski on injured reserve. Reached injury settlement with WR Curtis Marsh.

ST. LOUIS RAMS: Released DT Jeff Zgonina, DT Chris Maumalanga, DE Bryan Robinson, WR Malcolm Floyd, OT Jeremy McKinney, TE Mitch Jacoby and LB Jason Chorak. SAN DIEGO CHARGERS: Placed DE Cedric Harden on injured reserve. Re-signed Greg Jackson. Released QB Casey Weldon, TE Wendell Davis, LB Jon Haskins, CB Clifford Ivory, Lloyd Lee, WR Tyrone Taylor and DE Van Tuinei.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: Released RB Brock Olivo, DT Albert Reese, DB Tyrone Smith, LB Vernon Strickland and DE Troy Wilson. Placed Harris Barton on injured reserve. Reached an injury settlement with Tommy Thompson. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: Released WR Bobby Shaw, Chris Brymer, DE Reggie Lowe, DT Carl Hansen, CB Joey Eloms, LB Michael Barber, Greg Bloedorn and RB Michael Black. TENNESSEE OILERS: Released QB James Ritchey, RB Spencer George, DL Mike Halapin, Stewart, DL Bryant Mix, TE Josh Bradley, OL T.J.

Washington and OL Evan Pilgrim. and get them (after clearing vaw-ers)." A magnetic resonance imaging test on Hunter's injured right knee Sunday revealed an abnormal anterior cruciate ligament It is not expected to keep him out of Sunday's season opener at Minnesota, making Copeland, who caught 1 15 passes for 1,977 yards (17.2 average) and seven touchdowns in five seasons, expendable. Copeland appeared to be on his way to his best season when Dungy was hired in 1996, but the former University of Miami standout sustained a season-ending knee injury during a preseason game Aug. 10 against Atlanta. Copeland worked hard that off-season.

He started 11 games, making 33 catches for 431 yards and a touchdown last season. "He got off to a great start last year, had a couple of big games early Miami, Minnesota, come to mind," Dungy said. "But I don't think he was 100 percent last year. This off-season I thought he was catching the ball real well in our off-season program. And I thought he was back to running his routes and running with confidence and really had a good camp.

"Horace brought a lot to the table. He did some things for us as a first-down receiver, especially in terms of catching the deep ball and blocking some of the things we really need in a first-down receiver. But as we went in camp, it became apparent that Rei-del and Bert would end up starting so that would kind of limit his opportunities that way. In our packages, substitution packages, Karl and Brice Hunter and Jac-quez could do some different I LJ Time photo THOMAS M.GOETHE Horace Copeland came back last year after sustaining a season-ending knee injury in the '96 preseason. "You're not quite sure if you've made the right decision.

It's very, very close and you've got guys you know can play winning football in the NFL To let them go is harder. things. So it just seemed to be the best way to go." Of the six other players released, only Ingram, Willis and Mathews appeared in an NFL regular-season game. Lee and Harris were part of the Bucs' five-man practice squad last season. There are only nine new Bucs this season, including draft picks Green, defensive back Brian Kelly, linebacker Jamie Duncan, center Todd Washington and defensive tackle James Cannida.

"It kind of speaks of where we've come especially, I think, the offensive guys that we had to release the three offensive linemen and Horace Copeland, particularly can play winning football in the National Football League," Dungy said. "That hopefully will translate to us being a better offensive team." The Bucs retained players they had a history with: tackle Pete Pierson vs. Mathews (free agent, Colts); and Kevin Dogins vs. Willis (Saints). Dungy said the cuts were the most difficult in his three seasons.

"We've let three or four or five guys go that have been with us, and that's never easy," he said. WNBA CHAMPIONSHIP. Game 3, Phoenix at Houston, 8 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN. Saturday, sent the game to? overtime and won 74-69.

nix won the first game on its home court With the series even and two days to mend various the Comets say they are primed 1 to defend their title. "I think we'll be relaxed, Tuesday," coach Van Chancel- i lor said. "Going into (Satur-; day's) game, 1 thought the pres- sure was all on us." Two-time league MVP Cynthia Cooper, who led the late, charge and finished with 27" points despite frenzied double-, and triple-team defenses, complimented her teammates on -the winning effort "When we came together as a team, we put team first before anything else," said who berated several teammates for individual play earlier this' month. "We won this game cause we came together." The Mercury hasn't surrendered, though another sellouts crowd awaits it in the Coach Cheryl Miller doesn't an-; ticipate having to make any mo- tivational speeches. "There's no reason to try to keep this team up.

It's the last-game of the season, so I think" that's enough motivation in it-' self," she said. Miller said she wasn't sur-' prised Houston rallied to tie the, series. "Did you not expect Houston to get back in this game?" she said. "Come on, they're cham- i pions." A key to Houston's success was the failure of Mercury center Jennifer Gillom, who fiV ished with just eight points on' 3-for-15 shooting. Miller refused to character- ize the Mercury's collapse as" disheartening.

Cooper said she doesn't care how Phoenix re-, acts in Game 3. "That's their problem," Cooper said. "We're trying to keep, on a high note and continue to play well." NBA BUCKS MAKE KARL HAPPY: No' it's not his dream job, but new Milwaukee coach George with a four-year, $20-million deal, figures this is a perfect fit "I can't deny that Sen. (Herb) Kohl has been very generous-and bordered on an offer I couldn't refuse. And I have a lot of respect for that," said who was hired days after the; Bucks dismissed Chris Ford.

Karl's arrival as the sixth coach in 11 seasons was as much about authority as it was about money. "Over the summer, I had a lot of months to talk about what I wanted in my next opportunity, and Milwaukee gives me all of that" Karl said. "It gives me the respect it gives me the opportunity to build a team and contend very quickly." As important, it gives Karl, 47, the chance to be heard, something he lacked in Seattle. Kohl and general manager Bob Weinhauer promised this was a partnership. Pledged Weinhauer: "George and I will communicate on everything." Karl said he saw a situation similar to the one seven years ago when he took over the Son: ics and turned them into a contender.

"I think this is a team you can win with and build with," Karl said. "As a coach, this is special. In the next two years, this will probably be as good a situation as comes along." "Horace will end up playing for someone in the league. The tough part of it is the contributions that guys have made, especially someone like Horace who had the real severe injury our first year, worked hard, came back off that, helped us into the playoffs last year. Those are the difficult parts of it" Final cut leaves only 9 new faces on roster BUCS NOTEBOOK PARTING SHOTS: Most of the players released Sunday took the news well.

"In this business, you can't take things personally," guard Donald Willis said. "When you take things personally, you can't focus. Although I am disappointed, I am keeping my head up and I'm completely appreciative to the Buccaneers organization." Fullback Steve Lee indicated he might be re-signed to the practice squad. "They're both great fullbacks," he said of Mike Alstott and Neal, "so I had to do something a little more exceptional to make the team. It's just a numbers kind of thing.

I think if I keep getting better, maybe some day I can squeeze in on a roster somewhere." The only player who seemed upset was cornerback Al Harris. "I think I'm just going to move on, get somewhere else and make the best of that I think they pretty much had their minds made up on what they were going to do." RICK STROUD TAMPA The freshman class is small only nine players were added to the 53-man roster. The group is comprised of the Bucs' first five draft picks, a rookie free agent and three veterans. Considering the Bucs had the 29th-ranked offense in the NFL a year ago, it's no surprise five of the new players are on offense. The new veterans are receiver Bert Emanuel, fullback Lorenzo Neal and long-snapper Mitch Palmer.

Running back Rabih Abdullah is the only undrafted rookie. Receiver Jacquez Green, defensive back Brian Kelly, linebacker Jamie Duncan, center Todd Washington and defensive tackle James Cannida are the draft picks. "You've gone through and the whole thing has been building the team, paring it down, getting the best possible players," coach Tony Dungy said. "And now you've got your 53 players. Now it's, 'Okay, who's going to dress? Who's going to do this for Minnesota? What are we going to put This is the fun part." INJURIES: Receivers Brice Hunter (right knee) and Green (toe) are expected to be available for Sunday's opener at Minnesota.

'Technically, he's okay," Dungy said of Hunter, whose MRI revealed an abnormal anterior cruciate ligament. "They don't feel like he injured his ACL on Friday. He injured it previously or sometime when he didn't know about it He doesn't have a normal ACL and chances are he'll be ready to go." Tackle Paul Gruber, who broke a bone in his right foot in the Hall of Fame game Aug. 1, is scheduled to resume practicing Wednesday. Tackle Jason Odom, who missed two preseason games with a pulled rib cage muscle, is not expected to return until later in the week.

"Jason Odom is the only one who's a little bit iffy," Dungy said. "We were hoping he would be a little bit better but those three the two receivers and Jason are the only ones questionable right now." Shelton fromIC It didn't matter who the 49ers cut Or the Packers or the Steelers or the Vikings. The machine that was playing in McKay's office Sunday was not a ticker from the league announcing cuts, it was a television playing the Southern Cal game. "In the past, we would have been looking for two or three players that could be on our active roster," McKay said. "Maybe we wouldn't expect one to start this week, but we would want one to have the upside to start sometime during the season." Remember Dexter Manley? The Bucs scouted him for a preseason, just waiting for him to get trimmed by Arizona.

Remember Jimmy Williams? He was picked up and started the next Sunday. Remember Darryl Pollard? Same thing. It went on for years. Gerald Nichols. Tim Newton.

James Brooks. EJ. Junior. And it almost never worked out McKay and Jerry Angelo, the Bucs player personnel director, stood in a hallway at One Buc and talked about the names. Every now and then, McKay would laugh and look at the floor, shaking his head.

Not Angelo. He would cover his face with both hands at the memories. It was an ugly way to run a franchise, trying to find treasure in other team's trash. Oh, a team could help itself every now and then. Brad Culpepper was a mistake by the Vikings.

Dave Moore found success after being cut by Miami. There is such a tiling as second chances. But the waiver wire is a place to shop for only two reasons. One, if a team is awful. Two, if a team has a rash of injuries at one position and needs patching.

It is no longer a place the Bucs go to shop. You want to measure progress for the Bucs? Those are other teams picking through their discards today. Somehow, this feels better. contracts. Yet no one suspects or should suspect their finances had anything to do with it In the old days, the Bucs lived in sheer terror of paying starter's money to a backup.

So the team would trim its own depth to go with this young player or that young player, and it would talk about progress. But the amount of dollars the team has thrown at its players this off-season has garnered that rarest of things, trust Want to measure progress for the Bucs?.