Chris Henry

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher may not decide until this weekend if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will start Monday night in Jacksonville, even if Roethlisberger already seems to have decided he is playing. Roethlisberger missed the Steelers' opening 28-17 victory over Miami Thursday night after having an appendectomy Sept. 3. He is listed as questionable, meaning there is a 50-50 chance he will play against the Jaguars. The quarterback is convinced he'll be ready for the only Monday night game this season for the Super Bowl champs.

The head coach was dry as he ran off the field after clinching the AFC North title - no celebratory sideline dousing. Players’ eyes were dry, too - all the tears had been wrung out. In their finest moment, the Cincinnati Bengals didn’t act like champions. Maybe it was the ugly way they won. Maybe those tearful practices and wrenching eulogies had something to do with it as well. Either way, they were in the playoffs. Carson Palmer’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Chad Ochocinco completed a 98-yard drive in the closing minutes yesterday, sending Cincinnati to a 17-10 home victory over the...

Kyle Orton was named the Chicago Bears starting quarterback by coach Lovie Smith yesterday, beating out Rex Grossman for the job. Orton, the fourth-year player from Purdue, will start the Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Indianapolis Colts. "I think I've just continued to get better in the preseason - in the games and in practice - so this will be another step to take," Orton said. Orton and Grossman began battling for the starting spot in May minicamp and the workouts in June.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Chris Henry was no stranger to trouble. Indeed, his multiple arrests during a five-year NFL career were among the factors prompting the league to toughen its personal conduct policy. But to hear his teammates tell it - even the team’s owner - the Cincinnati Bengals receiver was determined to leave behind his troubled past and move ahead toward a bright future. Tragically, his efforts were cut short when he died from injuries in what police said was a domestic dispute with his fiancée.

Cincinnati receiver Chris Henry lost his job while in jail awaiting arraignment on assault charges yesterday. The Bengals cut him after his fifth arrest since 2005. An attorney for Henry, 24, entered not guilty pleas for him after Henry was accused of punching an 18-year-old man in the face and breaking his car window with a beer bottle. Municipal Court Judge Bernie Bouchard set bond at $51,000 on charges of misdemeanor assault and criminal damaging. Noting Henry's previous arrests involving drugs, guns, and alcohol, the judge called Henry "a one-man crime wave.

Bengals receiver Chris Henry is “battling for his life’’ after falling out of the back of a pickup truck yesterday during what police described as a domestic dispute with his fiancee. Henry was found in the road in Charlotte, N.C., “apparently suffering life-threatening injuries,’’ according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Police spokesman Robert Fey said officers were stationed near the 26-year-old Henry’s hospital room. He had no information on Henry’s condition, but said he was alive.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Chris Henry was no stranger to trouble. Indeed, his multiple arrests during a five-year NFL career were among the factors prompting the league to toughen its personal conduct policy. But to hear his teammates tell it - even the team’s owner - the Cincinnati Bengals receiver was determined to leave behind his troubled past and move ahead toward a bright future. Tragically, his efforts were cut short when he died from injuries in what police said was a domestic dispute with his fiancée.

The San Diego Chargers, some of them forced from their homes by the threat of wildfires, worked out yesterday at the Arizona Cardinals' training facility in Tempe, Ariz., and awaited word on where and when their next game will be played. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders planned to decide today whether the Chargers will be able to play Houston as scheduled Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. "We're waiting as long as we can to assess the need for a shelter as large as Qualcomm," Fred Sainz , the mayor's spokesman, said.

CINCINNATI -- President Bush swooped through here last Monday afternoon, campaigning for a Republican senator, but when Cincinnati Enquirer subscribers opened their newspaper the following morning, there was only a small, cropped photo of the chief executive on the right side of the front page, below the fold. There was, however, a much larger picture of Marvin Lewis, the coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. Above the fold. Atop the photograph of a clearly agitated Lewis, the team's fourth-year head coach, was a headline that read, "I am not pleased.

The head coach was dry as he ran off the field after clinching the AFC North title - no celebratory sideline dousing. Players’ eyes were dry, too - all the tears had been wrung out. In their finest moment, the Cincinnati Bengals didn’t act like champions. Maybe it was the ugly way they won. Maybe those tearful practices and wrenching eulogies had something to do with it as well. Either way, they were in the playoffs. Carson Palmer’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Chad Ochocinco completed a 98-yard drive in the closing minutes yesterday, sending Cincinnati to a 17-10 home victory...

Bengals receiver Chris Henry is “battling for his life’’ after falling out of the back of a pickup truck yesterday during what police described as a domestic dispute with his fiancee. Henry was found in the road in Charlotte, N.C., “apparently suffering life-threatening injuries,’’ according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Police spokesman Robert Fey said officers were stationed near the 26-year-old Henry’s hospital room. He had no information on Henry’s condition, but said he was alive.

Kyle Orton was named the Chicago Bears starting quarterback by coach Lovie Smith yesterday, beating out Rex Grossman for the job. Orton, the fourth-year player from Purdue, will start the Sept. 7 regular-season opener against the Indianapolis Colts. "I think I've just continued to get better in the preseason - in the games and in practice - so this will be another step to take," Orton said. Orton and Grossman began battling for the starting spot in May minicamp and the workouts in June.

Cincinnati receiver Chris Henry lost his job while in jail awaiting arraignment on assault charges yesterday. The Bengals cut him after his fifth arrest since 2005. An attorney for Henry, 24, entered not guilty pleas for him after Henry was accused of punching an 18-year-old man in the face and breaking his car window with a beer bottle. Municipal Court Judge Bernie Bouchard set bond at $51,000 on charges of misdemeanor assault and criminal damaging. Noting Henry's previous arrests involving drugs, guns, and alcohol, the judge called Henry "a one-man crime wave.

The San Diego Chargers, some of them forced from their homes by the threat of wildfires, worked out yesterday at the Arizona Cardinals' training facility in Tempe, Ariz., and awaited word on where and when their next game will be played. San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders planned to decide today whether the Chargers will be able to play Houston as scheduled Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. "We're waiting as long as we can to assess the need for a shelter as large as Qualcomm," Fred Sainz , the mayor's spokesman, said.

CINCINNATI -- President Bush swooped through here last Monday afternoon, campaigning for a Republican senator, but when Cincinnati Enquirer subscribers opened their newspaper the following morning, there was only a small, cropped photo of the chief executive on the right side of the front page, below the fold. There was, however, a much larger picture of Marvin Lewis, the coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. Above the fold. Atop the photograph of a clearly agitated Lewis, the team's fourth-year head coach, was a headline that read, "I am not pleased.

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher may not decide until this weekend if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will start Monday night in Jacksonville, even if Roethlisberger already seems to have decided he is playing. Roethlisberger missed the Steelers' opening 28-17 victory over Miami Thursday night after having an appendectomy Sept. 3. He is listed as questionable, meaning there is a 50-50 chance he will play against the Jaguars. The quarterback is convinced he'll be ready for the only Monday night game this season for the Super Bowl champs.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Rasheed Marshall set a Big East career rushing mark for quarterbacks and threw three touchdown passes while leading No. 15 West Virginia over Syracuse, 27-6, last night. Marshall's 87 rushing yards gave him 1,605 for his career, breaking Donovan McNabb's mark of 1,561 for Syracuse. Jason Colson had 113 yards against the league's worst rushing defense, and Chris Henry caught two TD passes against the Orange for the second straight season. The Mountaineers (6-1, 2-0)

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Rasheed Marshall rushed for 110 yards and threw a touchdown pass and Mike Lorello had two interceptions last night to lead West Virginia to a 31-19 victory over Connecticut in the Mountaineers' Big East opener. Marshall repeatedly rescued an offense that sputtered for almost three quarters. With leading rusher Kay-Jay Harris sidelined with injuries, Marshall and Jayson Colson kept the 17th-ranked Mountaineers' ground game going, racking up 309 yards rushing.