Associated Press
The NFL notebook …
BOYS TOWN, Neb. ó New England Patriots running back Danny Woodhead jokes that if the NFL lockout goes on too long and he needs to find another job, it wonít be in sporting goods sales.
A video that has drawn more than 1.4 million YouTube views shows Woodhead posing as a Boston-area Modellís sales clerk trying to sell his No. 39 jersey to customers who donít recognize him.
ěI donít think I did that well selling those,î Woodhead said Tuesday during a visit to Boys Town.
One husky customer in the video told clerk Woodhead, that he didnít want a player Woodhead jersey because ěheís too little for me.î
That comment resonated throughout Woodheadís talk to students at the world-renowned home for troubled youth on the west side of Omaha. Woodhead was the keynote speaker at Boys Townís annual booster banquet Thursday night.
Woodhead, who stands just under 5-feet-8 and weighs 195 pounds, grew up about 300 miles west of Omaha, in North Platte, and became the leading career rusher in any division of the NCAA while at tiny Chadron State in western Nebraska. He twice won the Harlon Hill Trophy as Division IIís top player but went undrafted.
ěI tried to make the best out of it,î he said. ěBut I wasnít too happy about not getting a chance to go the University of Nebraska.î
BREES ON BUSH
NEW ORLEANS ó Drew Brees says he has been in touch with Reggie Bush and hopes the running back will see that he can still play a key role with the Saints even though the club made a trade to acquire Alabama running back Mark Ingram in the first round of last week’s NFL draft.
Brees said he saw a Twitter post in which Bush wrote, “It’s been fun New Orleans,” shortly after Ingram was drafted.
Brees said he texted words of encouragement to Bush soon after.
“I think that’s just frustration a little bit, just because they draft a guy at your position,” Brees said. “But I think the message that was sent to him was, ‘By no means look at that as … you’re getting shown the door, that we don’t want you,’ or anything like that.”
NFL LABOR
MINNEAPOLIS ó A federal appeals court agreed Tuesday to fast track the NFL’s request to put its labor lockout in place until a new deal is finally worked out.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis set a June 3 hearing, with 30 minutes of oral argument for each side, before Judges Duane Benton, Kermit Bye and Steven Colloton.