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Show StatesmanSpprtS Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 Page II NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Young committed to Titan football NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Titans quarterback Vince Young insists he never wavered in his commitment to football. All that concern over his mental state? He says he was upset as he dealt with his first serious injury, and he didn't realize he had to tell his mother where he was going anymore. Then the media went overboard. Young spoke publicly Thursday for the first time since Titans coach Jeff Fisher called police for help in locating the quarterback Monday night because of concerns over his emotional well-being. His mother, Felicia Young, also told a local newspaper that the quarterback had indicated he didn't want to play football anymore because of all the negativity he faced. "I was never depressed," Young said. He took questions from reporters for 16 minutes after watching his teammates practice. His message? Don't question his commitment. "Football, this is my life. This is my dream. All I did all these years growing up to get to this point and never had an injury like this before in my life," he said. "It's a hard time because I'm a competitor, and I definitely want to be out on the football field with my teammates." Questions about his mental state and attitude started Sunday when the third-year quarterback was booed heavily by fans upset at his second interception, and he appeared as if he didn't want to return to the game. Fisher pulled his headset off and talked to him before the quarterback joined the rest of the offense. Four plays later, Young sprained his left medial collateral ligament when Jaguars linebacker Daryl Smith crashed into his left knee. Young didn't go to the Titans' headquarters Monday, and Fisher went to his quarterback's house. The Titans also sent a psychologist and another team official to talk with Young. He was described as being emotionally down. Young said Thursday that lasted half a day and he was upset over his two interceptions. Fisher told Young to go take the MRI exam needed to determine the extent of the damage to his knee. Young didn't go. But with so many people at his TENNESSEE f ITANS QUARTERBACK VINCE YOUNG answers questions at the team's football trainingfacilityThursday in Nashville,Tenn. Young spoke publicly for the first time Thursday since Titans head coach Jeff Fisher called police for help in locating the quarterback Monday night because of concerns over his emotional well-being. AP photo house, Young said, he needed space to think. "Let the cloud go away for a minute, and that's what I did. I left. My mom seen me; she thought I wasn't in my right mind. At the same time, I was watching the game, watching Aaron Rodgers do his things ... eating some hot wings," Young said. The quarterback said he didn't realize he had to tell his mother where he was going. "Even though you're paying your own bills at your own house, you still got to tell your mama where you are going now." OJ. jury selection in home stretch LOS ANGELES (AP)-The judge in the robbery and kidnapping trial of O.J. Simpson and a co-defendant approved the last of 40 jury prospects Thursday, including a man who wrote on his jury questionnaire that the former football star was "a murderer and got away with it." Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass told lawyers to O.J. SIMPSON ARRIVES at the Clark County Regional Justice Center as jury selection process for his trial continues in Las Vegas,Thursday. AP photo return later in the day to exercise peremptory challenges and choose the final 12 jurors and six alternates. Defense attorneys clashed with the judge in the final hours of four days of jury questioning when she refused to remove a retired policeman who repeatedly said Simpson was a murderer. He said he filled his questionnaire with such statements for shock value. "I wanted to scare you so I wouldn't have to be here," he told defense attorney Gabriel Grasso. "I was hoping they would say, 'Oh, this guy is crazy,' and they would move on." But the man said he later decided he wanted to serve and would put his opinions about Simpson aside and give him a fair trial. "I'm a firm believer in the system," he said. "He won. He's a free man until he comes here." The potential juror had written that co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart was a murderer, too, but said he made a mistake. Stewart's lawyer unsuccessfully challenged him for cause. The man also said a friend of his took a photo with Simpson after his 1995 murder acquittal and sent it out as a Christmas card. "I thought it was funny," the man said. Asked if he stood by his statement that Simpson got away with murder, he said, "I did mean it. It was an honest answer. But it was used to get out of serving. Now is now. Today is today. Everyone is starting with a clean slate." i , ;. r t . . . , , we know. Dollar Ml Menu |