Young Works Out for Scouts

Vince Young threw sideline passes, deep routes and across the middle. Some were touch passes, others he fired as hard as he could.

Almost all were on target.

The former Texas quarterback worked out for 30 minutes Wednesday in Austin, Texas, in front of more than 100 NFL scouts, coaches and executives paying close attention to the quirky throwing motion that still raises questions despite the fact he delivered a national championship.

“Very impressed,” said new Houston Texan Coach Gary Kubiak, whose team owns the No. 1 pick. “The kid put on a show.”

Young agreed.

“You hear so much ‘Vince not working out, Vince not doing this,’ ” Young said. “I wanted to go out here and show them I had been working. That was the biggest key. I feel like I did a good job.”

According to NFL.com, Young measured 6 feet 4 5/8 and 228 pounds. He ran one 40-yard dash, timing 4.57 seconds, although Young said he was told he timed between 4.4 and 4.5.

Texas officials said Washington was the only team not represented at the workout.

One owner, the Texans’ Bob McNair, introduced himself to Young before the throwing session. Young is from Houston and has said he’d like to play for his hometown team.

Cincinnati Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer, who suffered torn ligaments in his left knee on his first pass in December’s playoff loss to Pittsburgh, said he expects to play in the season opener but is realistic about his recovery.

“I wish I knew when I was coming back,” Palmer said in his first appearance with the media since surgery Jan. 10. “The last thing I need to do is push anything too early and push back the date that I can really step on the field 100%.”

Palmer estimates his rehab is one-quarter complete and that he is “exactly where I should be at week 10” of his program.

The Oakland Raiders found a possible replacement for Kerry Collins, signing quarterback Aaron Brooks to a two-year contract.

Brooks, 29, was waived last week by New Orleans when the Saints signed Drew Brees. Brooks started 13 games for New Orleans last season, completing 240 of 431 passes for 2,882 yards and 13 touchdowns. He threw 17 interceptions.

The New York Giants signed Pro Bowl special teams player David Tyree to a five-year contract.

If the NFL doesn’t indicate by its May meetings whether it plans to move forward with an Anaheim stadium proposal, the city will begin exploring other options for the land. The venue would sit on a 50-acre parcel in the northwest corner of the Angel Stadium parking lot.

“Obviously there’s a lot of other development taking place in the Platinum Triangle,” said John Nicoletti, spokesman for the city. “A lot of developers who have done work in that area have approached the city and said there may be interest down the road in that area if the NFL negotiations were unsuccessful.”

The NFL is satisfied with its officiating but concerned that high-profile errors in the playoffs and Super Bowl left a bad impression.

So, beginning next week at league meetings in Orlando, Fla., it will tweak a few rules, dealing mostly with player safety, offensive holding and false starts, said Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee.

The committee also wants to change the rule on hits by defenders below the knee on quarterbacks. McKay said defensive players will be told they must make an effort to avoid hitting quarterbacks in the legs to avoid serious injuries, such as the hit on Palmer against the Steelers in the playoffs.

The NFL draft, which moved out of Madison Square Garden last season, will move to another New York City landmark April 29-30 -- Radio City Music Hall.

Last year’s draft was at the Javits Convention Center, moving because the NFL was upset with Garden management for opposing the proposal for a new stadium for the Jets on Manhattan’s West Side.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ruled out applying for the job of NFL commissioner, saying, “Unfortunately it came at the wrong time.”

Rice, an avid NFL fan, has long expressed an interest in the job.

JURISPRUDENCE

Judge Agrees With

Culpepper’s Claim

A judge agreed that Daunte Culpepper and former Minnesota Viking teammate Moe Williams had made a case that they were treated differently than two white men who were not charged in a boat party sex scandal.

Culpepper and Williams are seeking dismissal of misdemeanor charges of lewd conduct. The players, both black, argue that prosecutor Steve Tallen passed up a chance to charge two white men, including the captain of one of two boats on the cruise.

“I am quite convinced that these two guys could have been charged,” Judge Kevin Burke said.

Culpepper, one of four players charged with a misdemeanor in the October incident, testified that he spent his entire time shooting dice during the boat party and rejected offers from lingerie-clad dancers.

Former pitcher Dwight Gooden, 41, admitted in a Tampa, Fla., court that he violated his probation by using cocaine and probably faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced next month.

He was serving three years’ probation for speeding away from a police officer during a drunk driving traffic stop last year.

Bengal receiver Chris Henry pleaded guilty in Covington, Ky., to marijuana possession, avoiding jail time after completing a drug rehabilitation program.

Henry, who still faces firearms charges in Florida, paid a $250 fine and court costs, and prosecutors dropped a speeding charge from his Dec. 15 arrest.

MISCELLANY

Reyna Sidelined

for Up to a Month

U.S. midfielder Claudio Reyna will be sidelined for up to a month because of a shoulder injury, another setback for the Manchester City player.

Reyna, who has already sat out several games because of leg injuries, was hurt Saturday.

AllState will replace Nokia as the title sponsor of the Sugar Bowl.

Morghan Medlock, a 6-foot senior forward at City Section girls’ basketball champion Harbor City Narbonne, and Erica Inge, a 5-2 junior guard at Los Angeles Dorsey, were selected the City co-most valuable players of the year.