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NFL
Notebook: Hall of Fame tackle Brown dies

By Seattle Times news services

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MANSFIELD TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Roosevelt Brown, the Hall of Fame offensive tackle whose blocking helped the New York Giants reach six NFL championship games, has died. He was 71.

Mr. Brown died Wednesday after collapsing in his garden, Police Chief Jim Humble said.

A 27th-round draft pick out of Morgan State in 1953, Mr. Brown started for 13 straight seasons at left tackle. He was chosen for the NFL's 75th anniversary team.

"Rosey is a Hall of Fame player, and I wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame if it weren't for him," former Giants halfback and flanker Frank Gifford said.

"Our two favorite plays were 48 pitchout and (Vince) Lombardi's 49 sweep, and Rosey was the key man in all of that," Gifford said.

While he was later hobbled by hip and knee injuries, Mr. Brown had the speed and athleticism to be a tight end in today's game, Gifford said.

Mr. Brown was small by current standards for offensive linemen, weighing 255 pounds. However, he was recognized as one of the best to play the game.

Mr. Brown was voted to the All-NFL team for eight consecutive seasons and selected to nine Pro Bowls. In 1956, he was chosen as the league's lineman of the year. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1975.

With Mr. Brown, the Giants made it to NFL title games six times between 1956 and 1963. New York won the championship only in '56.

Law, Patriots make up
 
FOXBORO, Mass. — Cornerback Ty Law now says he wants to retire with the New England Patriots, an about-face that comes after he declared he wanted to leave and called his coach a liar.

Law met with coach Bill Belichick on the first day of the team's minicamp and emerged to say all was well between him and the team.

"It's just time to move on. The past is the past," Law said. "Things happen. This is a business. I'm a Patriot and I'm glad to be."

Notes

• Tight end Jeremy Shockey may miss the final week of the Giants' offseason program because of a sore foot.

• Denver Broncos linebacker John Mobley should skip the 2004 season because of a bruised spinal cord, a neck specialist recommended. Coach Mike Shanahan said Mobley would be re-examined in a month or so, but doctors were not sure anything would change.

• Quarterback Tim Couch remained in limbo as paperwork held up his release from the Cleveland Browns.

• The Atlanta Falcons placed Keion Carpenter on injured reserve, meaning the backup free safety will miss the entire season. Carpenter tore his anterior cruciate ligament during a workout last week and had knee surgery.

• Sean Jones, Cleveland Browns rookie defensive back, is likely to miss the season after tearing a ligament in his left knee. Jones was the Browns' second-round draft pick out of Georgia.