Funeral Clouds Alexander’s Status

Seattle Seahawk running back Shaun Alexander will travel in the coming days to be with his family in the Cincinnati area after the death of his aunt early Monday.

Alexander said he hopes to rejoin his teammates before Sunday’s regular-season finale at Green Bay. The NFL rushing leader needs a touchdown to break Priest Holmes’ single-season record of 27.

Alexander was waiting for his family to settle funeral arrangements in Cincinnati before he could be certain of his status for the game, which is meaningless in the playoff picture. Seattle (13-2) has clinched home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Alexander said he and his brother are especially close to his mother’s sister, who died in her early 50s of complications from diabetes, because she did not have children of her own.

“We kind of got to be like her sons,” Alexander said.

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Joe Gibbs interrupted Christmas Day, his only day off in the entire season, to make an anxious phone call about the status of Mark Brunell’s knee.

“I was concerned,” Gibbs said. “I wanted to see what happened overnight. He gave me a good report.”

Washington Redskin director of sports medicine Bubba Tyer told Gibbs the knee had little swelling. There was more good news Monday, when an MRI exam confirmed the original diagnosis: a mild sprain of a ligament in Brunell’s right knee, with no further damage.

“Just a sprain. Nothing really serious,” Brunell said. “Just kind of what we thought going in.”

Gibbs and Brunell tried to be as vague as possible, but there were clear hints of optimism that the quarterback would be ready to start the game that could clinch the Redskins’ first playoff berth in six years.

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Jacksonville Jaguar quarterback Byron Leftwich has received medical clearance to return to practice Wednesday and could play in the regular-season finale against Tennessee.

Leftwich already has declared himself ready to play -- and wants to avoid being rusty for the first round of the AFC playoffs -- but Coach Jack Del Rio said he plans to wait until later in the week to decide between Leftwich and David Garrard.

Garrard played well Sunday at Houston, throwing for a career-high 292 yards and running for 40 more in the 38-20 victory. The Jaguars (11-4) are 3-1 with Garrard as the starter this season.

“I will determine who is going to play and who is going to play how much, those types of decisions,” Del Rio said. “I’m going to watch, look, evaluate, determine and I’m going to do what I think is in the best interest of this organization, this football team and make sure I give our team a chance to be as successful as possible.”

Leftwich broke a bone in his left ankle Nov. 27 at Arizona. He got off crutches about 10 days ago and ran and threw for the first time since the injury Friday.

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Jaguar defensive tackle Marcus Stroud escaped serious injury after rolling his vehicle while driving home for the holidays, authorities said.

Stroud was charged with careless driving, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Leeper said, after the Saturday night accident.

Stroud was driving from Jacksonville to his family home in Barney, Ga., after Saturday’s win at Houston when he approached a slow-moving pickup truck towing a trailer on Interstate 10 near Sanderson in Baker County, Fla.

According to the highway patrol, Stroud tried to swerve to avoid the trailer, but his sport utility vehicle struck it and overturned in the median.

Stroud was wearing his seat belt and sustained minor cuts to his left arm, Leeper said. No one in the other vehicle was injured.

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Jim Mora acknowledged that he was upset when he put an abrupt end to a radio interview after the loss Saturday that knocked his Atlanta Falcons out of playoff contention.

Still, Mora insisted “I have great control of my emotions,” adding that he is unfairly judged by those seeking to link his emotional displays with those of his father, former coach Jim Mora.

“I think part of that comes from the fact I share my last name with my dad, who’s got famous sound bites,” he said. “So everyone is always looking for one, looking for one, looking for one. So you know what? There hasn’t been any. That’s the problem. You get a penalty for yelling at an official and everyone wants to make a big deal out of it. Every coach in this league yells at officials.”

As for the episode on Saturday, he said:

“All I did was take the headphones off and slam them down and the thing bounced and I walked out. If I offended anyone I obviously apologize. That wasn’t my intent....I didn’t handle it as well as I should have.”

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The New York Giants shored up their injury-depleted linebacking corps by signing Kevin Lewis, whom they cut in September after he started all 16 games last season.

The Giants, who have clinched at least a wild-card playoff spot, can wrap up the NFC East title with a victory in Oakland on Saturday night. But they have been beset by injuries at linebacker the last few weeks, beginning with Antonio Pierce, the middle linebacker and heart of the defense.

Rookie free agent Chase Blackburn, who replaced Pierce and returned an interception for a touchdown in the Giants’ 35-20 loss in Washington on Saturday, sprained his neck in that game. Outside linebacker Carlos Emmons has been out because of an injured chest muscle.