Gary Kubiak

I've finally realized, after all those subtle hints from my bosses, that I'm in the wrong profession. So I hereby submit my resignation from The Sun so I can pursue an NFL coaching job. Hey, it's not like I need previous experience. That might hold me back. The trend these days is to hire guys who are brand new to the position. The more raw, the better. That's how I eat my steaks. I never imagined it would be a good approach to take with my career. Mike McCarthy (Green Bay Packers), Eric Mangini (New York Jets)

(Last week's ranking in parentheses) 1. Chicago (1) Up next is Miami, so chalk up another win. 2. Indianapolis (2) Peyton Manning kept perfect season alive vs. Broncos. 3. New England (4) Starting to get that unbeatable look again. 4. N.Y. Giants (6) Four straight wins thanks to improved defense, Eli Manning's arm and Tiki Barber's legs. 5. Denver (3) Defense went belly-up in loss to Colts. 6. San Diego (8) Bolts manhandled Rams behind LaDainian Tomlinson brilliance. 7. Ravens (9)

Panthers showing no playoff push It looks less and less likely that Carolina will make a serious push in the postseason. The Panthers lost in Washington, when quarterback Jake Delhomme threw his eighth and ninth interceptions of the season. The Panthers are the worst third-down offensive team in the league, and that reflects on the quarterback. New low for Vikes? Quarterback Brad Johnson awakened the somnolent Vikings offense with three touchdown passes in a 31-26 win over the Cardinals.

Derrick Mason played six seasons for the Ravens, and he also saw them just two weeks ago while he was with the New York Jets. That prompted the obvious question to Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak on whether the decision to acquire the veteran receiver Tuesday night was motivated partly by a desire to get more information on the Ravens, their opponent Sunday.   "Not at all. We're going through some issues right now as a football team," Kubiak said this morning on a conference call with Ravens reporters.

SAN DIEGO -- Heard at the Super Bowl:When San Diego played host to its only other Super Bowl, in 1988, Bobby Beathard was general manager of the Washington Redskins. They routed the Denver Broncos, and Sports Illustrated touted him as the smartest man in pro football.Now Beathard is the San Diego Chargers' general manager, and three years after putting together a Super Bowl team, his job could be in jeopardy.The word is that owner Alex Spanos was so upset after a 4-12 season in 1997 that he wanted to fire Beathard and bring in former San Francisco 49ers coach George Seifert to run the team.

The New England Patriots' proposed trade of the top pick in the National Football League draft, likely to be Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, to the Dallas Cowboys expired last night.Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson set an early-evening deadline for the Patriots to accept a deal of multiple picks in Sunday's draft.Negotiations broke off, apparently because the Patriots wanted to raise the stakes."We came close, but there's no deal," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.The Cowboys proposed exchanging the Nos. 11 and 14 picks in the draft, plus two players, for Ismail, plus the No. 28 pick.

Ravens safety Bernard Pollard has tangled with too many tight ends and pass-catching running backs to recall. But his toughest assignment may take place Sunday when Owen Daniels and the Houston Texans visit M&T Bank Stadium. Pollard, a former Texan, said he likes Daniels, a Pro Bowl tight end, but those feelings won't matter when the game begins. “He's a guy who's going to get hit,” Pollard said Thursday. “Once he catches that ball - if he catches a ball - he's going to get hit. But I respect him.” Pollard, who is expected to start at strong safety if Tom Zbikowski (concussion)

Baseball National League -- Suspended Cincinnati Reds P Rob Dibble 3 games for throwing at Houston Astros SS Eric Yelding. Suspended Yelding 1 game for charging mound. Both have appealed.Houston Astros -- Placed P Mike Scott (0-2, 12.86 ERA; rotator-cuff tendinitis) on 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 14. Called up P Jim Corsi from Class AAA Tucson.Oakland Athletics -- Placed SS Walt Weiss on 15-day DL.San Francisco Giants -- Optioned P Eric Gunderson (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 1 save in 2 appearances)

Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak has emerged as the front-running candidate for the head coaching position at the University of Colorado, a move that could have significant impact on the availability of Chris Palmer as one of the lead candidates for the Ravens' coaching job.Palmer, the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator, interviewed for the Ravens' job Tuesday and was in strong consideration for the same position at Northwestern University...

Every morning, Monday through Friday, blogger Matt Vensel will hook you up with reading material -- mostly on the Ravens but with some other Baltimore sports stuff, too -- to skim through as you slug down coffee and slack off at the start of your workday. That way he'll have an excuse to do the same to start his workday, too. RUNNING IT BACK It's only fitting that the path to the Super Bowl goes through Foxborough again . ... Backup linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo apologized for comments he made about the New England Patriots on Sunday.