Rudd Left Enduring Legacy in Football

In 2002, Dwayne Rudd, a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns, threw his helmet in jubilation after sacking Kansas City quarterback Trent Green as the whistle sounded ending the game. Rudd was given an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty, giving the Chiefs one more play, and they kicked the winning field goal. Ron Rapoport of the Chicago Sun-Times has since presented the Dwayne Rudd Award for Dubious Distinction in the NFL “to the noteworthy blunderers, misguided strategists and unfortunate souls whose adventures add so much to our enjoyment of the game.”

This week’s winner: “Desperate to score in his team’s embarrassing 34-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Denver Bronco Coach Mike Shanahan sent out three linemen -- 325-pound Gerard Warren, 315-pound Cornell Green and 290-pound Dwayne Carswell -- as eligible receivers,” Rapoport wrote. “Green found himself in single coverage, but Jake Plummer’s pass fell incomplete.”

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Trivia time: The San Diego Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson has scored a rushing touchdown in 12 consecutive games to tie the NFL record. Name the last team to keep Tomlinson out of the end zone.

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Other candidates: Another play that made Rapoport’s list occurred in the Cleveland Browns’ loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

“Cleveland quarterback Trent Dilfer threw a pass that bounced off the head of umpire Jim Quirk into the hands of center Jeff Faine,” Rapoport wrote. “Faine was penalized for illegally touching the ball.”

And this from the St. Louis Rams’ 28-25 loss to the San Francisco 49ers: “The Rams were in trouble from the beginning, when rookie return man Chris Johnson fielded the opening kickoff near the corner of the field even though it was headed out of bounds,” Rapoport wrote. “Instead of getting the ball at the 40-yard line, the Rams’ first offensive series of the season began one foot from the goal line.”

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Light at end of tunnel: The Pittsburgh Panthers, under first-year Coach Dave Wannstedt, are 0-2 for the first time since 1984.

“Wannstedt still has the support of Pitt fans,” wrote Reggie Hayes of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) News-Sentinel, “provided he turns the team over to Nick Saban next season.”

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Fickle finger: An Australian rules football player said he plans to have one of his fingers amputated to help his game.

Brett Backwell, who plays for Glenelg, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. he has suffered from pain and restricted movement since he broke his left ring finger three years ago and believes amputating the finger is the only way to stop the pain and allow him to keep playing.

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Looking back: On this day in 1978, the Dodgers became the first major league club to pass the 3 million mark in home attendance in one season.

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Trivia answer: The Broncos at Denver on Sept. 26, 2004.

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And finally: Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle on Terrell Owens: “The man is now living in his own world, Planet Gibberish.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.