Bush plot thickens

The parents of Southern California football star Reggie Bush received $100,000 in cash from investors in a sports marketing company that hoped to sign the running back, an attorney for the investors said in a letter obtained by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported that when Bush signed with an agent who was not connected with the marketing company Bush’s family was asked to return the money, and Bush himself sat in on a tense settlement meeting between his parents and company officials.

Attorney Brian Watkins told the Union-Tribune on Friday that Bush’s parents, LaMar and Denise Griffin, asked for the money partly to resolve financial problems. Watkins said the money included an initial payment of about $30,000 to help start up the New Era Sports and Entertainment agency.

Watkins said the money was disbursed throughout 2005 and was given on more than one occasion at the home of Lloyd Lake, an investor in the company and a documented gang member. Watkins described him as a longtime friend of the Heisman Trophy winner.

Watkins said earlier this week that Bush’s parents didn’t pay $54,000 in rent during the year they lived in a house owned by a sports marketing agency investor who wanted to represent the football star.

The money dispute began after Bush signed with another agent and marketing representative, ending any chance of a deal with New Era.

McNair knows talent

Thanks to Steve McNair, the Tennessee Titans have been watching Vince Young since he first attended their quarterback’s football camp in Mississippi.

“Steve said, ‘Hey, I’ve got the next quarterback at some point in time,’ ” general manager Floyd Reese recalled. “The chances of that working out are virtually zero.”

The Titans had their choice of quarterbacks and selected the younger, faster version of the man who has been their starter for the past nine years.

McNair has been something of a mentor to Young in recent years. That relationship may not continue though – the team wants to rework McNair’s pricey contract for relief from his $23.46 million salary cap number.

Young said during a news conference at the team’s headquarters that it was strange being on the same team. Thanks again to McNair, he also knows it might not last.

“I just know that he’s behind me, just like my father figure, and he’s going to protect me if he’s there or if he’s not there. We’re still going to be very close and still going to be the best of friends,” Young said.

Packers send Walker packing

The Green Bay Packers gave Javon Walker what he wanted, trading the disgruntled receiver to the Denver Broncos for a second-round pick.

Walker, coming off a serious knee injury as he enters the final year of his contract, had threatened to retire rather than play for the Packers in 2006.

•Packers wide receiver Donald Driver said he will be at the team’s minicamp next week and is not planning any contract holdout.

In his first public comments since an ESPN report Thursday that he had asked the team to restructure his contract or trade him, Driver said he had never made those statements and intended to fully honor his contract.

Williams, Saban share pizza

On the eve of the NFL draft, Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban had dinner with a former first-round pick: Ricky Williams.

The pairing was surprising, given that the NFL suspended Williams for one year Tuesday after he violated the league’s substance abuse policy for the fourth time.

“Ricky came over to the house last night, and we sat on the porch and ate pizza and all that kind of stuff,” Saban said.

A roomful of skeptical reporters laughed, but when a Dolphins spokesman double-checked with Saban, the coach said the story was true.

“Ricky did an outstanding job for us on the field last year,” Saban said. “He’s a good competitor and a good teammate, and he was never an issue or a problem for us in any way. … We want to continue to support the player so that he has the best chance to be successful in whatever he chooses to do in his future.”

Cream of the crop

More than one quarter of the first-round talent in the 2006 NFL draft was supplied by two colleges – Ohio State and Florida State.

Ohio State had five first-round picks, including linebacker A.J. Hawk, taken fifth overall by Green Bay. Florida State had four picks, all defenders.

Jets gather Moss

University of Miami receiver Sinorice Moss landed in a familiar place: New York, where his older brother used to play.

The Giants took Moss in the second round, hoping to bolster a group in need of a speedy playmaker. Though Moss is undersized at 5-foot-8 and 185 pounds, he is fast and also can return kickoffs if needed. His brother, Santana, was a first-round selection of the New York Jets in 2001.