Tom Benson could be buying the New Orleans Hornets

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Well, Sean Payton may have a job in 2012, after all.

Saints owner Tom Benson is closing in on buying the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets, according to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.  The league’s Board of Governors currently is meeting in New York, considering offers submitted by Benson and by a group led by California swimwear manufacturer Raj Bhatal.

Benson has owned the Saints since 1985  The Hornets joined the NBA three years later, along with the Miami Heat.

Originally in Charlotte, where the team once boasted high-level talent like Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson, the Hornets moved to New Orleans in 2002, filling the void created when the Jazz moved to Utah.  (Amazingly, the Jazz never changed their name to something that better fit their new surroundings.)

The league’s cross-ownership rules once prohibited owners from owning teams in other major sports leagues.  When Wayne Huizenga bought the Dolphins, at a time when he owned baseball’s Marlins and the NHL’s Florida Panthers, the NFL adjusted the rule to allow NFL owners to own other teams that play in the same market.

And while the first line of this item largely was typed in jest, perhaps Benson could find something for Payton to do in connection with the Hornets, in order to keep Payton occupied during the 2012 football season.  The most difficult part of Payton’s suspension, which starts in three days, will come from going from full-speed, pedal-to-the-metal hard work to shutting down the engine and sitting in the garage.

AP

In 2012, the Saints’ defense fell apart during a season marked by suspensions for the bounty program run by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. In 2013, one Saints player says, they’re going back to that old Gregg Williams mentality.

Minus the bounties, of course.

Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins says new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is a lot more like Williams than he was like last year’s defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo. And Jenkins likes the toughness and aggressiveness that Ryan preaches.

“Personality-wise they are very similar,” Jenkins told the Associated Press. “They’re cut from the same cloth in that they know that players and matchups are what defense is all about and they have a lot of personality and they’re aggressive in their play-calling.”

Williams was an assistant to Rob’s dad, Buddy Ryan, and both Williams and Rob Ryan have said many times that Buddy Ryan’s influence was extremely important.

“They’re all from the same school, the Buddy Ryan defense, so there are a lot of similarities between what Gregg was running and what Rob is bringing,” Jenkins said. “But I think Rob has a few more wrinkles with the 3-4 and everything, and I think we’re going to have fun.”

Jenkins says the Saints under Ryan will have a defense that the rest of the league fears.

“There’s a line and you don’t cross it, but you want to get as close to that line as you can,” Jenkins said. “We definitely want to be a physical, feared defense.”

Williams did cross the line. But a physical, feared defense is just what the Saints want Ryan to bring.

AP

Rams tight end Lance Kendricks is sitting out Organized Team Activities with a knee injury.

Coach Jeff Fisher announced that Kendricks had been dealing with knee issues this offseason and ultimately a knee scope. Fisher said Kendricks is doing well, but he is not participating in OTAs as he rehabs.

A 2011 second-round draft pick, Kendricks played in all 16 games last season, starting 14, and had 42 catches for 519 yards and four touchdowns.

AP

In four NFL seasons, Mike Goodson has totaled 160 carries for 722 yards and three touchdowns, with seven fumbles. Those aren’t exactly the kinds of numbers that would seem to justify the three-year, $6.9 million contract the Jets gave him this offseason.

And that’s before we get into his off-field problems.

Goodson was arrested last week on drug and weapons charges, and that kind of issue arising apparently came as no surprise from NFL people who knew Goodson’s background. ESPNNewYork.com quotes a scout from another team saying of the Jets, “Do these guys do background checks?” The Jets say they do, in fact, investigate players before signing them, although they declined to comment specifically on Goodson’s past.

That past, according to ESPN, includes a slew of lawsuits over everything from child support to repeated failure to pay his rent to refusing to pay the bill after buying jewelry on credit to skipping his car payments.

Goodson has been sued by three different women for child support for a total of six children he fathered with them. He also didn’t pay a $56,465 bill at a jewelry store, and after the store sued him, the amount he owed was garnished from his Raiders paychecks. And when Goodson was playing for the Panthers, he failed to pay his rent so often that he was sued for it three times and received two eviction notices. Goodson was also sued by a man who sold him a $49,000 Mercedes and said Goodson didn’t make the payments.

So either the Jets knew all that about Goodson and wanted him anyway, or they signed him without fully exploring his background. It’s tough to say which would be worse.

AP

With last year’s leading receiver, Michael Crabtree, out an estimated six months with a torn Achilles tendon, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh says he’s confident someone will step up to fill the void.

Harbaugh isn’t totally sure who that “someone” will be, though.

Harbaugh said on 95.7 The Game that he believes the most likely candidates to take Crabtree’s place in the offense are last year’s first-round pick A.J. Jenkins and this year’s fourth-round pick Quinton Patton as well as Ricardo Lockette, who has never played in a game for the 49ers but spent most of last year on the roster and has reportedly looked good in practices.

“We’ll put Jenkins, Patton, Ricardo Lockette at the same position and let them compete and emerge,” Harbaugh said. “The good news is that somebody will emerge because they have to.”

Harbaugh also said he believes the 49ers have a lot of depth at the receiver position.

“Then on the other side, Anquan Boldin, Chad Hall, Marlon Moore has been doing some really nice things in the offseason,” Harbaugh said. “Joe Hastings will compete on the other side. Kyle Williams eventually will come back from his injury. He’s doing real well, coming along very nicely. And Mario Manningham — probably a little bit later than Kyle, but he’s on track to be healed up and ready to go, as well. A real good chance for some young guys to emerge, get some reps and contribute. I very much anticipate that will happen.”

For the 49ers, it needs to happen. Crabtree was the 49ers’ best wide receiver and a big reason that Colin Kaepernick settled into the starting quarterback job so smoothly last year. He won’t be easy to replace, but the 49ers have no choice but to find someone who can do it.

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Former Bears, Lions and Rams defensive tackle Dick Evey passed away Thursday at age 72 in Knoxville, Tennessee, multiple media outlets reported.

A three-time letter winner at Tennessee, Evey was the Bears’ first-round pick in 1964 (No. 14 overall). He played six seasons for Chicago before moving on to Detroit (1970) and Los Angeles (1971) to finish out his career.

At the time, Evey was Tennessee’s fourth-ever first-round pick and its first since 1953, when the Browns took future Hall of Famer Doug Atkins. Evey and Atkins were teammates for Evey’s first three seasons in Chicago.

Evey’s daughter told the Knoxville News Sentinel that her father, who suffered from an illness, was a member of the 88 Plan, a program designed to help retired NFL players pay for the treatment of medical conditions such as dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Dave Costa a four-time AFL All-Star in the 1960s, has died at the age of 71, according to the Broncos’ website.

A defensive tackle from Utah, Costa was selected by the Rams in the 1963 NFL draft and by the Raiders in the 1963 AFL draft. Costa ultimately decided to go with the Raiders, where he came in second place in AFL Rookie of the Year voting.

Costa had his most successful seasons in Denver, where he played from 1967 to 1971 and was chosen to the AFL All-Star team in each of his first three seasons. Costa played for the Chargers in 1972 and 1973 and finished his career with the Bills in 1974.

In all five of his seasons with the Broncos, Costa was chosen as the team’s defensive captain.

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A settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed by two massage therapists against Brett Favre, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The lawsuit stemmed from allegations that Favre, who played for the Jets in 2008, sent suggestive text messages sent to one of the masseuses. The Jets and another club employee were also named in the suit.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed by the therapists’ attorney, according to the AP.

The Jets released Favre, who indicated he was retiring, after the 2008 season. However, the quarterback came out of retirement to play for the Vikings in 2009 and 2010.

AP

Washington coach Mike Shanahan says quarterback Robert Griffin III isn’t just a good young quarterback. Griffin is, according to Shanahan, a unique talent who has the potential to be the best ever to play the game.

Shanahan told Albert Breer of NFL Network that players like Griffin come along so rarely that a blockbuster trade like the one Washington pulled off to draft Griffin is a bargain.

“That’s why you give up two 1s and a No. 2 for him. You give those things up because you see something very, very special,” he said. “You see what type of athlete he is and what type of ability he has. He can make every throw on the field, he’s extremely bright, he’s got great work ethic, and he’s got passion for the game. Those are the things you look for. Now, the rest is taking it to the field.”

Most quarterbacks improve significantly in their ability to read NFL defenses and run NFL offenses after their rookie seasons, but Shanahan said that even if Griffin doesn’t get any better, he’ll be one of the all-time greats simply by playing the way he played last season.

“If Robert plays like he did [in 2012] the rest of his career,” Shanahan said, “he’ll go down as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.”

That’s high praise, but it’s not unreasonable to think that Griffin can be a truly great player. Which is why Shanahan’s No. 1 priority has to be making sure Griffin gets healthy and stays healthy.

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While it’s probably too soon to claim progress, considering the two sides haven’t agreed on much to date, there is at least some movement between the NFL and the NFLPA on HGH testing.

According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, the league submitted a new proposal in April which will keep alive the hope for player testing in 2013.

The proposal reportedly did not include game-day testing, which was part of previous NFL suggestions.

Union officials relayed the news to player representatives this week on a conference call, and they’re working on a counter-proposal which could be in the league’s hands in the next week.

Considering the contentious nature of previous talks, it’s probably wise to take this one with a grain of salt.

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Everyone’s looking ahead to the Memorial Day weekend, but there’s still some business to do before everyone heads out to enjoy the next few days.

One of those things still on the to-do list is the Friday edition of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN. Ravens defensive tackle Chris Canty will join Erik Kuselias for a conversation about his adjustment to Baltimore after playing for the Giants the last few years. We’ll find out how Canty thinks the defense is coming together after losing several key contributors from last year’s team and whether his experience with the Giants last season gives him any insight into the best ways to defend a Super Bowl title.

With Mike Florio off in Cleveland waiting for his close-up, Pete Najarian will join Kuselias to round up all the biggest news from around the league this week.

It all gets started at 5 p.m ET on NBCSN.

AP

The news of Rams guard Rokevious Watkins‘ one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy seemed to come at the worst possible time for the second-year guard.

After showing up to camp overweight last year, Watkins was able to win the starting left guard job but an ankle injury in the first week wound up wiping out the rest of his season. The suspension this year is just for one game, but it’s hardly a pattern of reliability for a player the Rams were looking to as a starter on the offensive line this year.

It doesn’t sound like the team’s lost their faith in him, however. Coach Jeff Fisher wouldn’t offer any details about why Watkins was suspended, but he did say that he thinks the league erred in suspending his player.

“I’ll say this, we’ve been aware of it for quite some time,” Fisher said, via Joe Lyons of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I’m not going to go into specifics of the suspension. We respect the league’s decision, but personally and respectfully, I disagree with the suspension and the circumstances regarding the suspension. That’s my opinion, but we’ll honor the league’s decision.”

Players in the substance-abuse program who test positive are usually suspended for four games, which suggests Watkins violated the policy in another way. That could mean an arrest or other run-in with the authorities, although those details mean less going forward for the Rams than Fisher’s willingness to go on the record in support of his guard.

AP

Titus Young, the troubled former Lions receiver who has been arrested three times this month and has been in jail since May 11, appeared in court today but refused to address the judge.

According to USA Today, the interaction between Young and Judge Andre Manssourian went like this:

Judge: “Good morning, sir.”

Young: No reply.

Judge: “Can you hear me?”

Young: No reply.

Judge: “Are you Titus Demetrius Young?”

Young: No reply.

When Young refused to even confirm his name, the judge called the attorneys over and had a sidebar discussion with them, during which time Young continued to stand silently. At one point Young’s father, who was in the courtroom, called out to him, but Young still did not respond. Young’s attorney later said that Young was exercising his right to remain silent.

Friends and family members have said they’re concerned about the mental state of Young, who is facing a slew of charges including burglary, battery on a police officer and drunk driving. The judge said Young “poses a danger to the community” and increased his bail from $25,000 to $50,000. Young’s family has apparently decided not to post bail, thinking he is better off remaining in jail until he receives the mental health treatment he needs.

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Maybe Argonaut is Canadian for Millen.

The CFL’s Toronto Argonauts announced they had signed former Lions draft bust Mike Williams.

The 10th overall pick in 2005, Williams never lived up to his college hype, catching 127 passes in five seasons with the Lions, Raiders and Seahawks.

That’s fewer than he caught in two years at Southern Cal, when he looked like the kind of player that was going to make a genius out of former Detroit General Manager Matt Millen.

It looked like Williams was going to resurrect his career after a 65-catch season with the Seahawks in 2010, but now he’s going north of the border to try to reclaim that magic.

AP

The Colts drafted Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen in 2012, a pair of players they likely expect to occupy the tight end position for at least the next few years.

You never know when injury might strike, however, and the team checked out a few players who could serve as insurance policies this week. Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reports that the Colts worked out Dante Rosario while Albert Breer of the NFL Network adds that they also worked out Randy McMichael and Cornelius Ingram.

Rosario had one big game for the Chargers in 2012 when he caught four passes for 48 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans in Week Two. He had just six catches and 47 yards the rest of the year, however, and pretty well fits the journeyman label after playing for four different teams in the last three years.

McMichael also played in San Diego last season, finishing with nine catches in 16 games as a complement to Rosario and Antonio Gates. McMichael, who has also played for the Dolphins and Rams, turns 34 in June. Ingram was a fifth-round pick of the Eagles in 2009, but tore his ACL in training camp. That made two straight ACL tears for Ingram, who has spent time on practice squads with the Lions and Broncos without playing in any regular season games.

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With wide receiver Michael Crabtree out for at least the next six months after tearing his Achilles, the 49ers are going to need the rest of their receiving corps to step up to cover for his absence.

One of the guys they’ll be looking to is Mario Manningham, who is set to start his second season with the team after signing as a free agent in 2012. Manningham’s first year with the Niners ended in December when he tore his ACL and PCL, an injury that coach Jim Harbaugh expectes to keep Manningham from starting training camp on the field with the rest of his teammates.

Manningham is making progress, though, and has started ramping up his physical activity during rehab.

“I have started running and cutting and doing little things,” Manningham said on Sirius XM NFL Radio, via the 49ers’ website. “When you have knee injuries, you can’t really take any time off. Every time I think about it, I’m trying to do something with my knee. I’m not rushing it but I am going hard on my knee.”

Manningham is one of several 49ers receivers whose question marks loom all the larger thanks to Crabtree’s injury. Kyle Williams is also recovering from a serious knee injury and A.J. Jenkins has to show he’s capable of producing in an NFL offense after spending almost all of his rookie season on the inactive list.