Interception

POTH, Texas - Tom Janik, a former AFL-NFL player who intercepted a pass by Joe Namath in 1968 and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown, has died. He was 69. Vinyard Funeral Homes says Mr. Janik died Saturday in Poth, about 35 miles from San Antonio. A defensive back and punter, Mr. Janik made 25 interceptions in eight AFL seasons with Denver, Buffalo, and Boston. The touchdown return against Namath and the New York Jets was one of six in Mr. Janik’s career. He played one year with the Patriots after the AFL-NFL merger.

The New England Patriots have signed free agent linebacker Bobby Carpenter. Carpenter, 28, has played six NFL seasons for Dallas, Miami and Detroit. He was originally a first-round pick by the Cowboys from Ohio State. In his career, he has started 10 games with 165 total tackles, one interception that he returned for a touchdown, 3.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Last year, Carpenter played in 16 games for the Lions, starting three, and recorded 29 total tackles. Against Dallas, he returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown.

PHILADELPHIA -- Johnny Sample, a defensive back who was on the winning side in two of the NFL's landmark games, died yesterday, the medical examiner's office said. He was 67. The cause of death was not available. Mr. Sample had an interception for the New York Jets in their 16-7 upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969. That game, for which the Jets' Joe Namath "guaranteed" victory, established the old AFL on a par with the NFL after the two leagues had merged. Mr. Sample had played for the Colts in the 1958 NFL championship game against the New York Giants that...

Japan's defense minister on Friday ordered missile units to intercept a rocket expected to be launched by North Korea next month if it flies over Japan. The order from Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka came at a meeting of Japan's national security council. It followed instructions issued earlier in the week for the military to prepare to intercept the satellite rocket if it enters Japanese territory. The Unha-3 rocket is expected to fly past western Japan after its launch from North Korea's west coast sometime between April 14 and 16. The plan has raised concerns that a failed launch,...

The New England Patriots have signed free agent linebacker Bobby Carpenter. Carpenter, 28, has played six NFL seasons for Dallas, Miami and Detroit. He was originally a first-round pick by the Cowboys from Ohio State. In his career, he has started 10 games with 165 total tackles, one interception that he returned for a touchdown, 3.5 sacks and one fumble recovery. Last year, Carpenter played in 16 games for the Lions, starting three, and recorded 29 total tackles. Against Dallas, he returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown.

The Patriots are Super Bowl-bound for the seventh time in franchise history and the fifth time in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era, but some readers are looking ahead for New England and wondering who could be coming and going once the season ends. There's also a little bit of second-guessing on one play call in the AFC Championship game and a status update requested on Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallet. Q: How is rookie quarterback Ryan Mallet progressing? Is Brian Hoyer or Mallet a better choice for the replacement should Tom Brady get knocked out of the game...

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said during his weekly contractually obligated appearance on WEEI that his deep pass intended for Matthew Slater Sunday that ended up as an interception kept him awake that night. "We hadn't really taken any shots, so I thought we were trying to get them to fall asleep on a play," Brady explained of the decision to try the home-run ball. "Matt was running hard and Pollard got his hand on it and Jimmy Smith made a great interception. We learned from it. I certainly wish I didn't throw that interception, that was probably the play that...

NEW ORLEANS - The Saints have tied their best start ever. Drew Brees had 308 yards passing, Pierre Thomas scored two touchdowns, and Jabari Greer returned an interception for a score to help the Saints improve to 7-0 with a 35-27 victory over the Atlanta Falcons last night. Only the 1991 Saints began with as many wins. Greer’s touchdown was the Saints’ fifth score on an interception this season, tying a season franchise mark set in 1998. Tracy Porter also had an interception on the Saints 1-yard line on a pass tipped by Jonathan Vilma in the fourth quarter,...

DETROIT -- The Atlanta Falcons dominated the Detroit Lions so thoroughly, Michael Vick was able to kick back and relax. Vick threw two touchdown passes to Alge Crumpler, and Warrick Dunn ran for 116 yards to lead Atlanta to a 27-7 victory over Detroit yesterday. "It's always nice when you get an opportunity in the fourth quarter to sit down, enjoy the moment and the victory," Vick said. Atlanta (7-4) took advantage of playing the lowly Lions (4-7), closing the gap behind NFC South co-leaders Carolina and Tampa Bay to a half-game after losing two straight at home.

Pat Grace ran for two touchdowns and Terrell McMoore returned an interception 36 yards for what proved to be the decisive TD, giving Northern Iowa a 36-34 victory over New Hampshire last night in a Football Championship Subdivision quarterfinal game in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The third-seeded Panthers (12-2) survived a 100-yard interception runback for a touchdown by New Hampshire's John Clements to move into next weekend's semifinals against Richmond. Robert Simpson's 1-yard TD run drew New Hampshire to within 2 points, but De'Veon Harris's leaping interception stopped the Wildcats on their...

NEW YORK - Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams met Monday with NFL investigators looking into a bounty system he ran in New Orleans. Commissioner Roger Goodell did not attend the meeting. Williams was summoned to New York after apologizing for and admitting to overseeing the program the last three seasons with a pool that reached as high as $50,000. Payoffs were made for inflicting game-ending injuries on targeted players. Williams now is defensive coordinator in St. Louis.

LONDON — A sensitive conference call between FBI and British police's cybercrime investigators was recorded by the very people they were trying to catch, officials and hackers said today. Hacking collective Anonymous published a roughly 15-minute-long recording of a conference call apparently devoted to tracking and prosecuting members of the loosely-knit group. The FBI said the information ‘‘was intended for law enforcement officers only and was illegally obtained.

Michigan State's Kirk Cousins and Wisconsin's Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to lead the North to a 23-13 victory over the South in the Senior Bowl on Saturday. Purdue kicker Carson Wiggs put it away with his third short field goal, a 28-yarder with 4:11 left in the showcase for senior NFL prospects. Boise State's Kellen Moore led that clinching 13-play drive that consumed 8:36 with the help of a running clock. It snuffed out a spark provided by South quarterback Nick Foles of Arizona, who started his career with Cousins at Michigan State.

The Patriots are Super Bowl-bound for the seventh time in franchise history and the fifth time in the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era, but some readers are looking ahead for New England and wondering who could be coming and going once the season ends. There's also a little bit of second-guessing on one play call in the AFC Championship game and a status update requested on Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallet. Q: How is rookie quarterback Ryan Mallet progressing? Is Brian Hoyer or Mallet a better choice for the replacement should Tom Brady get knocked out...

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said during his weekly contractually obligated appearance on WEEI that his deep pass intended for Matthew Slater Sunday that ended up as an interception kept him awake that night. "We hadn't really taken any shots, so I thought we were trying to get them to fall asleep on a play," Brady explained of the decision to try the home-run ball. "Matt was running hard and Pollard got his hand on it and Jimmy Smith made a great interception. We learned from it. I certainly wish I didn't throw that interception, that was probably the play that...

On a rare Sunday off, Patriots players relaxed in front of their television sets to watch the only team standing between them and another Super Bowl appearance. They were impressed, though not surprised, by the Baltimore Ravens. "They're a great team," New England wide receiver Wes Welker said Monday. "They wouldn't be in this spot if they weren't. They do some great things out there. " They were good enough on Sunday to beat the Houston Texans 20-13 with the help of four turnovers in a matchup of dominant defenses.

John Greer scored off an interception and New Hampshire picked off six passes overall to earn its first Colonial Athletic Association win of the season, shutting out 11th-ranked Richmond, 17-0, yesterday in Durham, N.H. Greer, who finished with two interceptions, returned one 40 yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats (3-3, 1-2) a 7-0 lead. Mike Perkins also picked off two passes, and Dino Vasso and Kyle Flemings each had one interception. R.J. Toman, who was 20 of 29 for 166 yards, connected with Joey Orlando on a 20-yard touchdown to push 22d-ranked UNH’s lead to 14 early in the third quarter.

Rich Gannon , the 2002 NFL MVP who was knocked out of the Raiders' loss to Kansas City last Oct. 20 and had shoulder surgery in November, was 9 for 15 for 69 yards in visiting Oakland's 33-30 exhibition win over the San Francisco 49ers last night. "It went well," Gannon said. "I thought we put together some good plays. We'll get a chance to look at it on film and make the corrections and hopefully get better next week. " Kerry Collins directed Oakland's eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the second quarter that took just 3 minutes 18 seconds, capped by a pretty...

FOXBOROUGH - Unlike defensive linemen or even linebackers, a defensive back is subject to scrutiny in every game based on two statistics: How many catches did he allow, and how many yards did the receptions go for? Based on that, one might conclude that Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty had a rough go of it yesterday, since his primary responsibility, Dolphins wideout Brandon Marshall, had seven receptions for 156 yards and a touchdown. But McCourty came up with one of the biggest plays in the Patriots' 27-24 win, which clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs.