Bledsoe Remains Doubtful for Sunday

Another day, more X-rays and the same old prognosis for Drew Bledsoe’s broken finger. Don’t expect him to be ready for New England’s playoff game Sunday at Jacksonville.

Not even the importance of his return can rush him back for a game that could end the Patriots’ season.

“The pressure that’s out there, none of that stuff matters,” Bledsoe said Monday. “If I can play, I’ll play. I’m not going to play because there’s pressure on me to play.”

Bledsoe had a splint on his finger after another trip to Massachusetts General Hospital for X-rays.

Coach Pete Carroll is not optimistic.

“It’s really unlikely that he’s going to be able to pull this off,” he said of Bledsoe.

Bledsoe missed the last two games with the injured right index finger after playing three games with it. His replacement, Scott Zolak, struggled in Sunday’s 31-10 loss to the New York Jets after playing well in a 24-21 win over San Francisco.

“I just prepare like I’ve been preparing and getting ready to start,” said Zolak, who hasn’t been in a playoff game since the Patriots drafted him in 1991.

*

Consumer activist and Connecticut resident Ralph Nader predicted that constitutional and environmental challenges will thwart the state’s plan to build a football stadium for the New England Patriots.

Nader and the Connecticut Green Party are trying to gather opponents of the $374-million Hartford stadium plan in a group called “Stop the Stadium.” He intends to lobby and fight in court.

“This stadium will never be built,” Nader said.

Legal scholars plan to scrutinize the bill that passed the Legislature for signs that it would violate the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution by offering incentives to lure the Patriots from suburban Boston to Hartford, Nader said. The commerce clause states that only Congress may regulate commerce among the states.

The proposal faces environmental challenges because old contamination of the site along the Connecticut River must be cleaned up.

NFC / Reeves Returns in a Limited Role

Dan Reeves resumed limited coaching duties with the Atlanta Falcons, taking part in a meeting while stressing that he doesn’t “want to distract from the team,” in his first public comments since heart bypass surgery two weeks ago.

Reeves, a leading candidate for coach of the year after leading the Falcons (14-2) to the best season in team history, appeared slightly pale and out of breath as he walked to the meeting room. He admitted that his leg was aching from having blood vessels removed for the quadruple-bypass, but otherwise seemed healthy.

“I feel better,” said Reeves, adding that he underwent a physical in the morning and his recovery seemed on track. “I’m slowly working back into it. I working up my endurance every day.”

Reeves plans to be “somewhere in the stadium” when the Falcons play host to an NFC divisional playoff game Jan. 9, their first home playoff game in 18 years. But he might be confined to the press box booth while taking blood thinner medication.

“My safety is important, too,” he said. “The sideline is not the safest place to be.”

He intends to be at the Falcons’ training complex every day this week, though he’s not sure of the extent of his involvement. He probably will watch some film and assist in preparing the game plan.

*

The St. Louis Rams fired offensive coordinator Jerry Rhome after the team finished the season with of the NFL’s 27th-ranked offense. The Rams, who ended the season with a 4-12 record, were outscored, 378-285.