Report: Cutler calls off spring wedding; fiancée 'devastated'

The Chicago weather must be getting to him, because it appears Bears quarterback Jay Cutler just got some cold feet.

People.com cited a source Sunday in reporting that Cutler has called off his engagement to reality television star Kristin Cavallari after just 10 months together.

"She got dumped," a source told People. "She's absolutely devastated. She can't believe this is happening."

The couple, who were planning a spring wedding, became engaged in April, when Cutler proposed in Mexico. Cavallari had planned to move to Chicago during the upcoming football season.

A rep for Cavallari, who starred in "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills," had no comment.

Cutler led the Bears to the NFC Championship Game last season, his second with the team after three seasons in Denver. He received criticism from fans and NFL players alike when he left the NFC title game with an injury in the second half and didn't return.

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Titans' Finnegan calls NFL's crackdown on flagrant hits 'crazy'

Count Cortland Finnegan among the NFL players who dislike the league's toughened stance against flagrant hits.

The Tennessee Titans cornerback, who has been fined numerous times by the league for infractions, recently sounded off to The Tennessean, saying "a guy who has never played the game" -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell -- is putting defensive players at a disadvantage.

"You have milliseconds -- not even seconds -- and it's not like you try to do it," said Finnegan, a five-year veteran who made the Pro Bowl in 2008. "It just so happens in that split-second you have a chance to tackle a guy, and sometimes it happens to be that way. Last year, having to dive at guys' knees because you're not sure. ... If they duck, and you're still helmet-to-helmet with them, then it is your fine, it is a penalty on you.

"It has sort of taken the edge of the players who really like the physical play. But I'm not surprised. It's crazy."

Finnegan's Titans teammates agreed but said so in less-biting terms.

"It is one of those things where we're going to complain and moan when the ref throws a flag, but at the same time, we know the league is trying to protect its players," linebacker Gerald McRath said. "We have no choice (but) to respect it because at the end of the day, no player wants to see another player injured. But that still doesn't make it any easier for us."

Added cornerback Jason McCourty: "We have been playing football our entire lives, and at the highest level, the highest speed, to try and change the way you play, it is really tough. You want to try and avoid some of those penalties because they hurt your team so much, but it is tough. People pay the money to come to the games to see the offense, so you figure that's the way it's going to go."

The NFL said at its spring meeting that it planned to fine teams whose players have made multiple flagrant hits. It has become known as the "Steelers rule" after Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison's tackles drew the league's ire -- and four fines for a total of $100,000 last season. Steelers owner Dan Rooney recently expressed his displeasure with the moniker.

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Former Titans great George calls out team for lack of effort

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Transcipt of emergency calls from Brady's car crash released

BOSTON -- Police received four emergency calls in the minutes after New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was involved in a car crash, including one that reported someone "screaming and crying," according to a transcript released Thursday.

Brady didn't call 911, and none of the callers identified the quarterback as a victim of the Sept. 9 crash, according to the transcript released by police, first reported by The Boston Globe.

Brady was unhurt when his car collided with a minivan after the driver allegedly ran a red light near the quarterback's Boston home. A passenger in the minivan was seriously injured.

One caller to Boston police said there was a "huge car crash" and that someone in one of the vehicles was "screaming and crying." Another caller reported hearing "people crying" and said "there are still people in one of the cars."

An off-duty Winthrop police officer whose name was redacted also called to report the "partial rollover" after he was caught in traffic behind the wreck.

The day of the accident, Brady attended practice at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, about 30 miles south of Boston. But in a radio interview later, Brady spoke of being "scared out of my mind" and "just in shock" after the crash.

"I was just thinking, how am I going to -- I've got to call (coach Bill) Belichick. I'm going to be late (for practice)," he said. "And then once I got home, then it really hits you."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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Happy as a Bear, Peppers calls exit from Panthers 'a little sour'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Julius Peppers described his offseason departure from the Carolina Panthers as "a little sour" Wednesday, claiming the team tried to paint him in a bad light after deciding to let him leave in free agency.

In a conference call with reporters ahead of his return to Charlotte on Sunday with the Chicago Bears, Peppers said he was under the impression the Panthers decided to "do away with anybody who is making a significant amount of money" as part of a roster overhaul that has produced the NFL's youngest team.

"That's a business decision. I can understand and respect that," said Peppers, who's 30. "The problem that I had was they tried to turn the tables and make it look like I wanted out no matter what. Really, I didn't have the option to stay. It was never offered to stay."

"So when I say it ended a little sour, I felt like it could have been a little more respectful. At least a phone call to say, 'It's been good. We're going in a different direction. We're going to let you go.' They couldn't even give me that."

Peppers also disputed Panthers general manager Marty Hurney's earlier claims that they twice tried to make the the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end the NFL's highest-paid defensive player. Peppers said that happened only once, after the 2007 season, a deal he rejected.

Hurney didn't return a message seeking comment, releasing only a short statement that didn't address Peppers' criticism of the Panthers.

"Julius gave us eight great years and we appreciate everything he did for us," Hurney said.

The Panthers and Peppers were locked in a lengthy contract dispute that included his pleas to allow him to leave in free agency after the 2008 season. The Panthers refused and used the restrictive franchise tag, requiring a mammoth one-year deal that paid Peppers $18.2 million last season.

The Panthers could have used the franchise tag again this season, but at the cost of at least $20.1 million. The Panthers declined and let the 6-foot-7 Peppers, the franchise's career leader with 81 sacks, leave without compensation.

Peppers, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2002 draft by the Panthers, signed a six-year, $91.5 million deal with the Bears in March. While he said he's happy in Chicago -- he has two sacks, two forced fumbles and a blocked field goal for the Bears (3-1) -- he's puzzled with how things ended in Charlotte.

"I was kind of surprised because I was expecting to hear something from them," Peppers said. "I didn't understand what was going on. But as the weeks and the months went by, I started getting the picture of the direction they were going in and I knew I wasn't a part of it."

Now Peppers, a Bailey, N.C., native who starred in college in North Carolina, will return home Sunday to play the struggling Panthers (0-4) for the first time. After the two years of rocky contract negotiations, Peppers said he has "no idea" how he'll be received by fans.

But Peppers clearly was frustrated at the perception he doesn't play hard on every down. The reputation has stayed with him since college and was fueled by games in Carolina in which the freakishly athletic Peppers had little impact.

"I just see that as people not being able to form an opinion for themselves," Peppers said. "People will hear one thing and just run with it. ... A couple people started saying it for whatever reason, and then it followed me. And then people just kept repeating it, even though it wasn't true."

Peppers, who also ranks first in Panthers history with 29 forced fumbles and nine blocked kicks, is proud of his time with the team despite the criticism and messy ending.

"Look at a guy like Dwight Freeney, who had (84) sacks or whatever it was in eight seasons. I'm right there behind him at 81," Peppers said. "If people look at the numbers and stop just making up stuff about how I played, you'll realize I've done well and really I think I exceeded expectations when I was brought to that team."

Notes: Panthers WR Steve Smith was on crutches in the locker room after missing practice with a high ankle sprain. Smith is expected to miss at least one game. ... Safety Sherrod Martin (concussion) sat out practice, but he is holding out hope that he'll be cleared to play Sunday. ... RB DeAngelo Williams (illness) and RT Jeff Otah (knee) didn't practice, and LB Jamar Williams (neck) was limited. ... The first court appearance for WR Dwayne Jarrett, cut by the Panthers on Tuesday after he was charged with driving while impaired, was postponed from Wednesday to Nov. 12.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

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