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NFL Notebook
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Published: July 17, 2008
Players to be watched for gang signs
■ The NFL is stepping up its monitoring of on-field player activities to ensure that no one is flashing hand signals of street gangs.
The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that the league had hired experts to look at game tapes and identify players or team officials who might be using suspected gang signals. Violators would be warned and disciplined if the episodes recurred. League officials said that avoiding gang-related activities has long been stressed.
They said that scrutiny increased after cornerback Darrent Williams of the Denver Broncos was shot to death in 2007 after a dispute with known gang members.
The NFL took further notice after Paul Pierce of the NBA's Boston Celtics was fined $25,000 in April for what the league said was a "menacing gesture" toward the Atlanta Hawks' bench. Pierce said in a statement: "I 100 percent do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it. I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way at Saturday's game."
■ The Carolina Panthers signed Mackenzy Bernadeau, their seventh-round draft choice, the team announced yesterday.
A 6-4, 308-pound guard from Bentley (Mass.) College, Bernadeau started all 37 games he played in during his college career, splitting time between left tackle and left guard.
The Panthers also announced that free agent defensive tackle Anthony Harris has been waived.
■ The Houston Texans signed linebacker Xavier Adibi, their fourth-round draft pick.
Adibi, who is 6-1 and 236 pounds, played at Virginia Tech and was the 118th overall selection in the 2008 draft.
Adibi started 40 games for Virginia Tech, recording 291 tackles and 11 sacks and forced five fumbles. Adibi was a college teammate of offensive tackle Duane Brown, the Texans' first-round pick.
■ The Kansas Chiefs agreed to three-year deals with draft picks Kevin Robinson and Brian Johnston yesterday.
Robinson, a receiver, was one of Kansas City's two sixth-round picks. He caught 178 passes for 2,485 yards in 46 games at Utah State and set school records with 1,104 yards and four touchdowns on punt returns and 2,725 yards and four touchdowns on kickoff returns.
Johnston, a defensive end, was one of the Chiefs' two seventh-round picks. He had 268 tackles and 21 sacks in four years at Gardner-Webb. He also forced 10 fumbles, recovered three and blocked one kick.
■ Bob Papa, the radio play-by-play voice of the New York Giants for the past 13 seasons, will replace Bryant Gumbel as the announcer for the NFL Network's eight Thursday night games. Papa will team with Cris Collinsworth on the broadcasts and will continue his work with the Giants.
■ The Denver Broncos signed seventh-round pick Peyton Hillis, a fullback from Arkansas.
Hillis gained 2,624 all-purpose yards and scored 23 touchdowns as a three-year starter at Arkansas and set school records for running backs with 118 career catches, 1,195 yards receiving and 11 touchdown catches. He also rushed for 959 yards and a 4.7-yard average.
■ Dolphins quarterback Josh McCown has decided to quit using chain saws.
A brush with a chain saw two weeks ago left McCown with a cut on the index finger of his throwing hand that required six stitches. But he expects to be ready for the start of training camp next week, said his agent, Mike McCartney.
"He has been throwing the football, and he's even playing golf," McCartney said.
The accident occurred while he and his brother, Tampa Bay quarterback Luke McCown, were cutting a tree stump.
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