Pro Bowl Heights Reached by Moss

Minnesota Viking receiver Randy Moss came up big against the AFC’s best defensive backs.

Moss set records with nine catches for 212 yards, and Mike Alstott scored three touchdowns in the NFC’s 51-31 victory Sunday at Honolulu in the highest-scoring Pro Bowl.

“We had a lot of fun,” said Moss, selected the most valuable player. “With Alstott rumbling through there, we did some good things. I’m not really into individual awards and things like that, but I guess I’ll take them when they come.”

Moss, at 6 feet 4, used his height advantage to outleap the AFC defensive backs, particularly 5-11 Sam Madison of Miami and 6-0 James Hasty of Kansas City.

“He’s one of the best,” Madison said. “They put him in a situation to make plays, and that’s what he did.”

Moss’ last reception was for a 25-yard touchdown from Carolina’s Steve Beuerlein with 1:05 to play.

Arizona’s Aeneas Williams and Tampa Bay’s Derrick Brooks returned interceptions for touchdowns as the NFC dominated the game from the start in ending a losing streak at three games..

The 82 points broke the record of 64 set in 1980. The score seemed to bring out some hard feelings as the teams accused each other of breaking Pro Bowl rules that prevent blitzing and rushing the kicker.

Alstott, the Tampa Bay fullback, scored on runs of one, three and one yards. He had 13 carries for 67 yards.

St. Louis’ Kurt Warner, the Super Bowl most valuable player, was eight for 11 passing for 123 yards and no touchdowns.

Jacksonville receiver Jimmy Smith had eight catches for 119 yards and three touchdowns. His last touchdown, on a 52-yard play from Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning, made the score 44-31 with 6:30 to play.

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Two of the three co-defendants accused with former Carolina Panther receiver Rae Carruth in his girlfriend’s murder have criminal histories, while the third has no criminal record.

Van Brett Watkins, 44, accused in records of firing the shots that killed Cherica Adams, spent much of his adult life in trouble with the law. Also convicted of crimes in the past is Michael Eugene Kennedy, 24, of Charlotte, N.C., the Charlotte Observer reported Sunday.

Kennedy’s friend, Stanley Drew “Boss” Abraham Jr., 19, has never been in trouble with the law before now, according to records.

Carruth and the other suspects are charged with murder and conspiracy in the drive-by shooting of Adams in Charlotte on Nov. 16.

Adams died four weeks later. She was pregnant at the time of the shooting and delivered a baby who survived.

All four men face the death penalty if convicted. Carruth has been called the attack’s instigator by prosecutors.