Bryantball

VANCOUVER — U.S. skiing star Lindsey Vonn is worried a badly bruised right shin will keep her out of the Vancouver Olympics.

   Vonn revealed Wednesday that she was injured in a slalom training run Feb. 3 during pre-Olympic practice in Austria.

   “I’m sitting here today questioning whether, you know, I’ll be even able to ski,” Vonn said at a news conference. “I have to play it by ear.”

   It was a startling announcement so close to the start of a Winter Games that has been shaping up as a showcase for Vonn. As a two-time reigning overall World Cup champion, the 25-year-old who lives and trains in Vail, Colo., has been considered a contender to win multiple medals.

   Asked whether she could be forced to sit out altogether, Vonn replied: “Yeah, that’s a possibility.”

  “It was very painful right away,” Vonn said of the injury. “I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know how bad it was until I took off my boot … and then I couldn’t walk, so I knew it was [worse].”

   She hasn’t skied since getting hurt and said it’s even been painful to simply put on a pair of ski boots in her hotel room to test the leg. Vonn said the bruising covers about a 6-inch swath of her lower right leg, but she refused to get any X-rays to check whether she broke a bone because she didn’t want to know.

   “I kind of stuck my fingers in my ears and pretended like I didn’t hear what was going on,” Vonn said of the doctors wanting an X-ray. “I didn’t want to hear my shin was fractured because at the time that’s what it looked like.”

   She described her mindset as “very emotional, very scared. Not the positive way you want to be starting the Olympics.”

   The first women’s Alpine race is the super-combined on Sunday. Vonn said she figures she will know a lot more about her status for the Olympics once she takes a run down the slope at Whistler Mountain. The first official training run for women is Thursday.

   Vonn is slated to compete in all five women’s Alpine events and has been widely seen as the favorite to win gold medals in the speed events: downhill and super-G.

   She is no stranger to injuries — or to ignoring them on the slopes.

   At the 2006 Turin Olympics, she took a harrowing spill at somewhere around 50 mph in downhill training, a fall that bruised her back and sent her to the hospital. Less than 48 hours later, Vonn — then known as Lindsey Kildow, because she wasn’t yet married — was back in the starting gate and finished eighth in the downhill.

   This season, in late December, she lost control during a World Cup giant slalom in Austria, thudded to the ground and worried she had broken her left wrist. It turned out it was a bad bruise, but Vonn was right back out there racing in a slalom the next morning, wearing a brace to protect the tender arm. Less than two weeks later, she was stringing together a three-race winning streak.

   Earlier that month, Vonn’s knee slammed into her chin as she sped down a downhill in Lake Louise, Alberta, making her teeth chomp on her tongue, causing blood to pour out of a corner of her mouth as she crossed the finish line.

   Vonn said she is using various treatments and therapy to reduce swelling and stimulate healing, including wrapping her leg in Austrian “topfen” cheese.

   “You put cheese on your leg to get swelling down,” Vonn explained. “So far, it seems to be working very well.”

   Vonn hinted at the severity of the injury in an interview with NBC’s “Today,” which aired Wednesday morning.

   “I’m coming into these Olympics a lot more unsure than I was, um, a few weeks ago,” Vonn said.

   “I at least want people to know what’s going on and if I don’t perform well, why that is,” Vonn said in the interview, “but I can guarantee you that I’m going to do everything I can to be as ready as I can with this injury and still try to ski well.”

   That won’t be easy and might not even be possible, she said.

   “When I tried my boot on, I was just standing in the hotel room barely flexing forward and it was excruciatingly painful, and I’ve got to try to ski downhill at 75, 80 miles an hour with a lot of forces pushed up against my shin,” Vonn said in the interview. “I don’t honestly know if I’ll be able to do it.”

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

Dallas — The NBA All-Star players were announced today.

The East’s roster is: Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Joe Johnson, Chris Bosh, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Gerald Wallace, and Al Horford.

Analysis: The Allen Iverson selection obviously shows there are flaws in the NBA All-Star voting system. Iverson has had a career worst season. The rest of the starters were obvious picks. First timers are Rose (Bulls), Wallace (Bobcats), Horford (Hawks), and Rondo (Celtics).

The West roster is: Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Amare Stoudamire, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Pau Gasol, and Zach Randolph.

Analysis: Steve Nash dashed in front of a close call to another flaw in the system. Nash passed Tracy McGrady, who played only 6 games this season. Making their first apperances were Durant (Thunder), Williams (Jazz), and Randolph (Grizzlies).

101       93

Chicago — Derrick Rose knows he has to fill the scoring void of the departed Ben Gordon. And he showed it tonight.

   Rose had 30 and Luol Deng added 14 points. Taj Gibson had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

   The Bulls had a 90-75 lead before the Magic closed the gap. It was 96-93 after a Redick  three. But Rose put it away with 2 free throws.

   The Bulls improved to 14-17, and the Magic fell to 24-9.

  122     111

Indianapolis – Roy Hibbert and Luther Head each scored 21 points and the Indiana Pacers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-111 on Saturday night to snap an eight-game losing streak.

   Brandon Rush scored 16 points and Mike Dunleavy added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers.

   Al Jefferson scored 23 points, Wayne Ellington had a career-high 16 and Kevin Love also scored 16 for the Timberwolves, who have lost four straight.

   Indiana played without Troy Murphy, who is day-to-day with a sprained left ankle. Pacers coach Jim O’Brien shuffled his lineup after Wednesday’s loss to Memphis, giving Josh McRoberts his first career start and inserting Earl Watson at point guard in place of T.J. Ford, who did not play.

   Indiana led by 29 points in the first half and by 13 at the end of the third quarter before barely holding on.

   The Timberwolves cut Indiana’s lead to 115-111 on Love’s three-point play with 53 seconds to remaining. On Indiana’s next possession, Hibbert found a cutting Watson, who converted an acrobatic reverse layup and was fouled on the play. Watson made the free throw to extend Indiana’s lead to 118-111 with 33 seconds to play.

   O’Brien said before the game that Ford wouldn’t play, and that Watson and rookie A.J. Prce would split those minutes because they gave the team the best opportunity to win. Ford had started 25 of Indiana’s first 31 games. Watson and Price combined for 22 points, nine assists and three turnovers, and the Pacers, one of the league’s worst teams in giveaways, committed only nine turnovers.

   Indiana led 32-26 at the end of the first quarter then went on a 17-2 run over the first three minutes of the second to take control, making six of their first seven shots in the period.

   The Pacers tied their season high for points in a half on a 3-pointer by Rush that put them up 69-40 with 1:51 left in the second quarter. Indiana shot 61 percent in the period and led 73-45 at halftime.

   Minnesota scored 40 points in the third quarter to cut Indiana’s lead to 98-85 heading into the fourth.

   But the Pacers hung on.

   The Pacers improved to 10-22 and the Timberwolves fell to 7-28.

97     86

Washington — Tim Duncan scored 23 points and reserve Roger Mason Jr. added a season-high 20 to lead the San Antonio Spurs to their fifth straight victory on Saturday night, 97-86 over the Washington Wizards, who remained enveloped in a gun controversy surrounding Gilbert Arenas.

   Tony Parker had 12 points for the Spurs, whose winning streak matches a season high. San Antonio has won four straight on the road and nine in a row against the Wizards.

   Duncan’s jump-hook gave the Spurs an 81-80 lead with 6:21 left in the game, and he followed that with two free throws as part of a decisive 12-2 run.

   Caron Butler scored 24 points and Arenas added 23 for the Wizards, who have dropped four straight. Antawn Jamison had 17 points and nine rebounds.

   Arenas did not comment before the game on investigations by the NBA, U.S. Attorney’s Office and District of Columbia police over allegations that he stored unloaded firearms in his locker in the team’s Verizon Center locker room.

   Arenas missed five of his first seven attempts from the floor before hitting a running 37-footer as time expired at the end of the first quarter.

   Wizards coach Flip Saunders hinted at changes in the wake of a slipshod defensive effort in Tuesday’s home loss to Oklahoma City, then made only minor adjustments: inserting Andray Blatche at forward in place of guard Randy Foye and moving swingman Butler from guard to forward.

   Washington responded by quickly falling behind 18-10 as Duncan made his first four shots from the field. The Wizards used a 10-0 run in the second quarter to erase the lead, going ahead 43-40 when Butler scored on a layup with 5:47 left in the first half and followed it with a 19-foot jumper.

   Arenas had six points as the Wizards used an 11-2 run late in the third quarter to take a 71-66 lead. San Antonio was limited to one field goal in the final 4:44 of the period — Keith Bogans’ follow of Mason’s miss to make it 71-70 with less than a second remaining.

114       80

Miami — Dwyane Wade scored 25 points in only 28 minutes, Jermaine O’Neal added 19 points on 6 of 7 shooting against his former team and the Miami Heat enjoyed their largest victory margin this season by topping the Indiana Pacers 114-80 on Sunday night.

   Michael Beasley scored 16 points and Udonis Haslem added 13 for Miami, 5-1 in its last six games. The Heat started 8 of 8 from the field for a 17-3 lead and never looked back, building a 66-44 advantage that was their largest at halftime since January 2007.

   Troy Murphy scored 16 for Indiana, which dropped its sixth straight. It could have been so much worse for the Pacers, too — they actually outscored Miami 14-0 during one first-half stretch, a brief blip in what was otherwise a Miami romp.

   What’s up in Indy?

   Guard Dahntay Jones has obviously been struggling on the offensive end. And 1 day after he replaced Brandon Rush in the lineup, he is already playing less minutes than Rush and Luther Head.

   Head, out of Illinois, has scored 19 and 9 in the past to games (Atlanta and Miami), and tonight, played the most at the position.

   We’ll see how things play out, but theirs a possibility, with Rush and Jones struggling, that Head should get more time, or, possibly, start.

   95             89

Cleveland — Boston’s Big Three — plus Rasheed — spoiled Cleveland’s overhyped season opener on Tuesday night with a 95-89 win over the new-look Cavaliers, who may have LeBron James and Shaq, but appear to be a long way from true title contenders.

    Paul Pierce scored 23 points, Ray Allen 16 and Kevin Garnett 13 in his first regular-season game since last March as the Celtics, overlooked by some this preseason, ended an 11-game losing streak in Cleveland and snapped a 16-game skid by visiting teams in games between the Eastern powers who figure to meet again sometime in May or June.

    “It was a good Day One,” Pierce said. “Psychologically, you want to go into a team’s building and win, especially in a place where we haven’t won in a few years. It’s great to come here and get a win. We know when we come here next time that we can do it again.”

   Pierce made two crucial jumpers and two free throws in the final 1:03 to pace the Celtics, whose drive to a second straight title was derailed when Garnett injured his knee late last season. Rasheed Wallace, added as a free agent during the offseason, had 12 points.

   James scored 38 and O’Neal added 10 points — just two after halftime — and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won their first 23 home games last season but are already 0-1 on their floor.

    Cleveland’s offense never found a rhythm as the Cavs tried to figure out how to best use the 7-foot-1, 325-pound O’Neal.

    “We’d like to start off 1-0, but there are 100 games left,” said O’Neal, who was just 1 of 5 from the floor in the second half and missed his only two free throws. “We’ll be fine. I’ve been on teams that started 0-1, 0-5, 5-0, 10-0. Nothing matters unless you win the whole thing.”

    Because of the 14-time All-Star O’Neal’s addition, the Cavaliers have gotten the bulk of the preseason attention and are a trendy pick to win their first NBA title.

    The Celtics may have other plans.

    “We just carry on, handle our business and understand we have one goal in mind,” Pierce said. “We really don’t care what people say about us. We know what our goal is.”

    Garnett looked fully recovered from surgery to repair his right knee. Allen stroked a couple 3s, and Pierce was his cold-blooded best down the stretch. After James missed a 3-pointer that would have brought Cleveland within one, Pierce stuck a 15-footer to make it 89-83.

    Cleveland turned it over when newly acquired Anthony Parker couldn’t handle a pass from James, and Pierce made the Cavs pay again with a second dagger from the outside.

   Pierce had 11 rebounds, Garnett 10 and Rajon Rondo added 10 assists for Boston, whose reserves outscored Cleveland’s 26-10.

    “I liked what happened tonight because everyone contributed,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “It was as much of a team win as you can get.”

    James was in MVP form, but this wasn’t the debut the Cavs envisioned. Their offense sputtered as coach Mike Brown feared, and their defense didn’t do a good job on the perimeter and was missing one of its key components, guard Delonte West, who was inactive for the game and whose future seems uncertain in Cleveland.

    The Cavaliers began their quest for a title without the troubled but valuable West, who has had a turbulent offseason dealing with medical and personal issues. General manager Danny Ferry and a support team helping the guard decided West was not ready to play.

    West has bipolar disorder and blamed an arrest last month on weapons charges near his home in Maryland on not staying with his medications. As the Cavs were introduced before the game, West leaned against a wall in the tunnel leading to Cleveland’s locker room.

    James finished with eight assists, made four 3-poiners and delivered two spectacular chase-down blocks.

    Wearing a pair of headphones with blue Yankees pinstripes and NY logo, James, who can become a free agent after the season, stretched out before the game in the locker room listening to Young Jeezy’s “24, 23,” a song that includes lyrics about Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and James.

    “I used to play Kobe, but now I play LeBron,” James rapped loudly while eyeing a flat-screen TV.

    He wasn’t singing afterward.

    “Boston is a great team,” James said. “I think we can all say that we probably will see each other in the postseason. We will be around.”

    The circus-like atmosphere outside the arena was more befitting an NBA finals game in June than an October opener. Cleveland fans have been waiting months for this night, the tip-off to a season already unlike any in the franchise’s 40-year history.

    On the other side of Ontario Street, a billboard said, “It Begins.” What matters to the Cavs, though, is how it ends.

    “They’re going to be great,” Rivers said of the Cavs. “Shaq’s a great player and LeBron, if he’s not the best, he’s 1A. I’ve heard a lot of talk about Shaq clogging up stuff, but you can’t leave Shaq so it’s going to actually open it up more for LeBron. They’re going to be a tough basketball team.”

    James had a basket taken away when the officials reviewed a layup in the final minute. It was the first use of the NBA’s expanded instant-replay system, which allows officials to check to see if a shot has gotten off before the 24-second shot clock expires.

I talked with Bears backup quarterback Caleb Hanie recently, and here’s how it went:

 
Q: Hey Caleb! Do you think a lot about getting a starting gig somwhere at some point?

A: That’s always in the back of my mind. It’s my ultimate goal.

 Q:  Do you prefer to play in cold weather?

A: No, I’d prefer to play in 70 and sunny. But, don’t mind the cold weather too much.

Q: What other team in the NFL other than the Bears would you like to play for?

A: I grew up a Cowboys fan, so probably them.

Q: Most important question of all – ready to beat the Lions Sunday?

A: Definitely. Hope to put them back on a losing streak. Thanks man.

   19             14

Detroit — The Detroit Lions are in the W section now.

   The Lions (1-2) beat the Washington Redskins (1-2) Sunday to end their 19 game skid, which is 2nd all-time behind the 76′-77′  Tampa Bay Buccaners who had a 26 game losing streak.

   Detroit was up 13-0 at half.

   The Redskins answered with a 57 yards pass from quarterback Jason Campbell to receiver Santana Moss. And then, with 2:36 left, the Redskins came within 5 points.

   Washington did not receive the ball again.

   “We went a whole season without feeling like this, so you have to take it in and enjoy,” Detroit center Dominic Raiola said.

  Detroit rookie Matthew Stafford was 21 for 36 and 241 yards and 1 touchdown.

   Detroit is now 1-2 and plays at the Chicago Bears at 1:00 p.m. ET. Washington is now 1-2 and hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaners at 1:00 p.m. ET. They both play next Sunday.

   17           14

Chicago – Jay Cutler is back. And so are the Chicago Bears (1-1). They beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1) Sunday evening in a thriller.

   Cutler was 27-38 for 236 yards and a touchdown coming off a carrer worst 4 interception game against the Green Bay Packers.

   And the amazing thing: No interceptions by Cutler.

   After going back and forth all game, kicker Robie Gould hit a 44 yard field goal to win the big game over the defending world champions.

   Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was 23-35 for 221 yards, a touchdown and a interception.

   “We knew Robbie was gonna make it,” Cutler said afterwards, “He’s made them in 5 degree weather, made ‘em in the wind and rain, and we knew he would make it.”

   “He was good as Gould,” said Bears coach Lovie Smith about Robbie.

   Gould out kicked Pittsburgh kicker Jeff Reed easily, who missed 2 possible game winning field goals.

   The Bears are now 1-1 and play at Seattle next week. The Steelers are now 1-1 and play at Cincinati next week.

   13           16

Seattle — Without Matt Barkley, USC wouldn’t have the number 3 in the nation slot. That showed this evening.

   USC backup quarterback Aaron Corp, a redshirt sophomore making his first career start, was 13 for 22 for 110 yards with one interception against the Huskies in their 13-16 loss in the final seconds that starts their Pac 10 season.

   After a Joe McKnight fumble and a long Washington drive to the USC 4. Washington called timeout and called kicker Erik Folk out on to the field with 7 seconds remaining. From 22 yards, Folk hit the field goal for the lead, 16-13.

   Now 3 seconds to go, Folk squibbed it. Running out the time.

   “Our kids played very hard. I don’t know if we played very good, but we played hard,” Huskies coach Steve Sarkisian said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s what we were hoping for. We’re trying hard.”

   USC  is now 2-1 (0-1) and hosts Washington State next week, Washington is now 2-1 (1-0) and will play at Stanford next week.

   24        25

New England – Tom Brady is back.

   Down 24-13 with 5:25 left, in his throwback AFL red, Tom Brady led his New England Patriots back to a win. He was just coming back from a big knee injury that kept him benched for all of last season. 

   It started to turn from the Buffalo Bills with 2:10 left when Brady hit tight end Benjamin Watson in the endzone from 18 yards out.

   On the ensuing kickoff, Pats kicker Stephen Gostkowski kicked it into the endzone where Bills Cornerback Leonis McKelvin decided to return it. What a mistake it was. McKelvin fumbled, where Gostkowski recovered it. It only took a few plays for a touchdown. Brady hit receiver Ben Watson again in the endzone making it 25-24, Pats.

   The Bills ended throwing desperation laterals to each other, and finally, they went down.

   Brady was 39 for 53 for 378 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Teammates Randy Moss had 12 receptions for 142 yards.

   Bills quarterback Trent Edwards was 15 for 25 for 212 yards and 2 touchdowns. In wide out Terrell Owens first games as a Bill, he had only 2 receptions for 46 yards.

   “That’s not how we drew it up, but I’ll take it,” Brady said right afterwards. “We did a lot of things poorly but we got the win.”

   The Patriots play the New York Jets next weekend in New York at 1:00 E.T, while the Bills host the Buccaneers on Sunday at 4:05 E.T.

Charlotte– Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has a fractured rib on his lower left side, coach Andy Reid said Sunday afternoon.

   It is unknown how long McNabb will be sidelined, but Reid said “there’s a chance,” he would play next week against the New Orleans Saints.

   McNabb will be examined further on Monday after the team returns to Philadelphia.

   McNabb scored on a 3-yard run in the third quarter to give the Eagles a 38-10 lead. He didn’t immediately get up after the touchdown, and was attended to by Eagles trainers before eventually leaving the field on his own.

   While he was on the ground, quarterback Michael Vick was captured on TV standing in a stadium suite to watch McNabb. Vick is suspended for the first two regular season games to complete penalties for bankrolling a dogfighting ring.

   McNabb was replaced by Kevin Kolb.

  
Golden State — After a half-season stint with the Boston Celtics, Mikki Moore is going back to the West Coast.

   Moore’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN.com on Monday that the free-agent center agreed to a one-year contract with the Golden State Warriors over the weekend.

   Moore’s deal is for the $1.3 million, the veteran minimum.

   He signed with the Celtics in March after negotiating a buyout with the Sacramento Kings after the trading deadline but struggled to make an impact with the Celtics, averaging only 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.6 minutes in the playoffs.

   Guard Nate Robinson was arrested Tuesday for driving without a license.

   Police said Robinson was pulled over at around 5:30 PM in the Bronx because of unpaid ticket that was mailed to his Seattle address.

   And when he couldn’t get to it and pay it of, it resulted in a suspended license.

   Robinson apoligized ot the fans, the Knicks, and family. He also thanked the arresting officer.

   Brandon Marshall has no problem working with the scout team while he plays his way back into Pro Bowl form.

   What bugs him is the way the Denver Broncos handled his acquittal on misdemeanor battery charges last week.

Marshall said Wednesday in his first public comments about the matter that he was miffed a member of the team’s public relations staff told his teammates not to gloat over his acquittal in an Atlanta courtroom on Friday.

   The Broncos offense relies on Brandon Marshall. No receiver in the NFL was targeted more than Marshall was in 2008. The target leaders:

   Marshall was told the staffer was acting on his own in an attempt to be sensitive, but he believes the directive came from higher in the organization and he suggested the episode fostered distrust between him and the Broncos.

   There’s a hazard this latest imbroglio could lead to an irreparable rift between the team and its superstar receiver who already is unhappy that the Broncos haven’t reworked his contract or traded him.

   “Unfortunately, I think it gets to that point,” Marshall said. “There are trust issues on both sides. It’s understandable. We’ve got to try our best to move forward.”

   Trust issues were at the root of the offseason quarterback predicament in Denver that ended with Pro Bowl passer Jay Cutler getting traded after rookie coach Josh McDaniels considered acquiring former pupil Matt Cassel.

   Cassel ended up in Kansas City, Cutler was sent to Chicago and Kyle Orton came to Denver.

   Marshall, set to make $2.2 million this season, had hoped the verdict in his trial would give him leverage for a new contract, and his agent, Kennard McGuire, met with McDaniels on Monday. Both men have declined to say whether McGuire asked again for a big raise or, barring that, a trade, and Marshall also sidestepped the question.

   “From Day One, I never asked the Broncos for more money, and that’s from the summertime. The biggest thing was I really disappointed that … on one of the best days for the past three years of my life, some of my teammates were [told], ‘Don’t say you’re happy for Brandon,’” Marshall said.

   “I felt like we ned to sit down with the guys upstairs and try to figure out what’s really going on.”

   So, Marshall and his lawyer, Harvey Steinberg, met with Broncos chief operating officer Joe Ellis, who apologized to Marshall.

   The Broncos have declined to discuss their side of the story, saying it’s an internal issue.

   “Some things you can’t control,” McDaniels said Wednesday when asked about Marshall’s reaction. “That situation, we feel like we’ve tried to handle it the best we could after something like that came out. [We're] trying to get everybody’s mind back on football and focus on practice and what we have to do to get ready for Seattle” on Saturday night.

   Marshall made it clear when camp started that he wasn’t happy in Denver anymore, but he said Wednesday that he had started to come around before hearing about the staffer’s admonition.

   “I thought we were moving past that and it was just Friday when players were coached to say they weren’t happy for me, so it’s tough,” Marshall said. “It’s tough.”

   Marshall thought he was going to get traded this summer following a meeting with team owner Pat Bowlen. So, does Marshall feel like the Broncos broke a promise?

   “In that meeting with ownership it was told to me that they’ll do their best to accommodate me with that wish and I’m still here,” Marshall said. “I’m a Bronco and all I can do is try my best to get in the best football shape and be that player I was the last three years.”

   Marshall said he has no ill effects from his hip operation or the hamstring he pulled early in camp but is way behind on the playbook, which prevents him from taking snaps with the starting offense.

   Marshall insisted he didn’t mind running with the scout team, though, suggesting: “I really want to take those reps and go against Champ Bailey, [Andre'] Goodman and [Brian] Dawkins and those guys, so I’m just taking advantage of the talent we have on the defense.”

   Bailey and Dawkins, however, weren’t at practice Wednesday.

   “You can’t go out there and take reps with the 1s if you don’t know what you’re doing out there,” Marshall said. “I’ve got to do my best to catch up in the playbook.”

   He said he was “not close at all” to mastering McDaniels’ intricate new offense and wasn’t sure if he’ll play Friday night at Seattle.

   Tony Dungy isn’t necessarily saying the Chicago Bears need help at receiver, but if Lovie Smith were to ask Dungy about Marvin Harrison, the endorsement would be strong.

   “I think he definitely can play, and I would encourage Lovie to sign him if they had an opening,” Dungy said Wednesday on the “Waddle & Silvy” show on ESPN 1000.

   Dungy coached Harrison for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. Dungy retired last year and is an NBC analyst. The 36-year-old Harrison is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, and the free agent is waiting to catch on with a team.

   “Marvin can play the game,” Dungy said. “Marvin can get open and catch the ball.

   “Marvin’s whole thing is precision. He’s a guy who needs work in a system.”