Quick Kicks

Another sporting gesture …

Jeff George was greeted by Falcons fans in Atlanta Sunday with a chorus of boos, and he left the Georgia Dome field amid a shower of debris and taunts.

None of that was anything the former Atlanta quarterback wasn’t accustomed to during his three unhappy years at the Falcons’ helm. This time, however, he had a smile on his face.

After leading the Oakland Raiders past his former team, George wanted those very fans who booed his every move to see that smile. He did so by taking a prolonged lap around the field, with both arms raised and the game ball in his right hand.

He had a dream

The new Washington Redskins stadium in Landover, Md., came to life Sunday, fulfilling a $180 million dream that the late Redskins owner, the flamboyant and often-cantankerous Jack Kent Cooke, never lived to see.

Cooke, the longtime owner who died last April at age 84, had struggled for a decade to build a new home for his team, finally settling on a spot east of Washington, five miles from aging RFK Stadium where the ‘Skins played for 36 years.

It took only 17 months to build the three-tier, oval structure, the NFL’s second largest stadium with 80,116 seats. It includes 280 luxury boxes, 73 restrooms and the latest in electronic gadgetry, including two giant scoreboards and 1,000 televisions scattered throughout.

Hello, bullpen?

Chargers coach Kevin Gilbride wanted to replace quarterback Stan Humphries one series before Humphries was sacked for the seventh time and fumbled for the third time. But backup Jim Everett was not warmed up, Gilbride said.

Everett said by the time he started warming up, he had thrown just one pass before San Diego’s Junior Seau intercepted a pass from Kerry Collins.

Today’s hometown hero

Mead High School grad Jason Hanson, who later played at Washington State, kicked four field goals and two extra points for Detroit to assume fourth place on the Lions career scoring list.

Hanson has 543 points. He passed Doak Walker, who had 534.

By the numbers

The Colts have gone 13 periods and 194 minutes, 17 seconds in the regular season without scoring a TD on offense… . Denver’s John Elway moved into second place in NFL history in career pass attempts with 6,474, topping Fran Tarkenton (6,467)… . Baltimore running back Ernest Byner registered his 500th career reception… . Green Bay extended its winning streak at Lambeau Field to 24 games, 17 in the regular season.

Noteworthy

Atlanta quarterback Chris Chandler, who left last week’s game with a concussion, bruised his sternum when he was driven to the turf by Oakland’s Darrell Russell in the third quarter… . Linebacker Sam Mills remains the only player to start all 37 games in Carolina history… . San Diego’s Darren Bennett, a former Australian Rules Football star, had gotten off 175 punts before Carolina’s Rae Carruth blocked his first-quarter kick… . The Cardinals returned a blocked punt for a touchdown for the first time since Oct. 1, 1972.

A final thought

“There’s a joy, a feeling of fulfillment, of being out there …”

- Steve Young, 49ers quarterback.

, DataTimes