PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : NFC : Taylor Takes On 5-5 1/2 Sportswriter

Lawrence Taylor, on what was supposed to be an inspirational visit to the winless New York Giants, grabbed a reporter around the throat after the two exchanged expletives. Taylor, 6 feet 4 and 250 pounds, and Ernie Palladino, 5-5 1/2 and 162, of Gannett Suburban Newspapers were quickly separated after the incident and they apologized to each other about an hour later.

Palladino, who was not injured, also got a All-Madden team jacket along with Taylor’s apology. “You’re crazier than I am,” Taylor said.

The trouble started when Taylor refused to talk with reporters. Palladino confronted him, told Taylor he was wrong and uttered an expletive. Taylor, in turn, grabbed Palladino by the throat and threw in some expletives of his own.

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Steve McLaughlin, the Rams’ rookie kicker who missed three of four field-goal attempts in last Sunday’s 31-10 victory over Carolina, kept his job by beating two free agents, Cary Blanchard and Sean Wright, in a kicking competition.

“He struck the ball very well today,” Coach Rich Brooks said. “It was going end over end, it was exploding off his foot.”

The Rams also announced they will be without defensive end Sean Gilbert for Sunday’s game against Chicago. Gilbert needed arthroscopic knee surgery after being injured in the Carolina game.

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Deion Sanders, responding to what he perceived as criticism from Jerry Rice, said he was puzzled and hurt.

After Sanders signed with Dallas, an angry Rice blasted the media for turning the Sanders’ signing process into a circus and complained about Sanders’ portrayal as the key figure in the 49ers’ championship season. Other 49er players also said they felt Sanders’ contributions to the team had been over-emphasized.

Sanders said he has spoken to some of his friends on the 49ers, but not to Rice.

“That was a personal shot,” Sanders said. “That’s not cool. All I did last year was praise the guys I played with. To say I got too much credit for the Super Bowl is very unfair. I don’t appreciate it.”

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Carolina Coach Dom Capers, frustrated by the performances of Frank Reich and Jack Trudeau, said he is reopening the competition for starting quarterback, with rookie Kerry Collins included.

Carolina does not play again until its Oct. 1 home game against Tampa Bay.