Saints coach, general manager take blame for bounty system

Almost a week after the NFL pointed to them for failing to stop a bounty program involving some two dozen New Orleans Saints players, Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis apologized and took the blame for violations that “happened under our watch.”

“These are serious violations and we understand the negative impact it has had on our game,” Payton and Loomis said Tuesday in a statement. “Both of us have made it clear within our organization that this will never happen again, and make that same promise to the NFL and most importantly to all of our fans.”

Payton and Loomis also said New Orleans owner Tom Benson “had nothing to do” with the bounty pool.

“We acknowledge that the violations disclosed by the NFL during their investigation of our club happened under our watch. We take full responsibility,” they said.

The league’s investigation, released Friday, said the bounty program was funded primarily by players for the last three seasons and was overseen by former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. He admitted to running the program and apologized within hours after the report surfaced.

The NFL said it confirmed Benson was unaware of the program, and that he told Loomis to stop it immediately, but that Loomis did not. The league also said Payton, though not directly involved, was aware of the bounty pool, but did nothing to stop it.

Williams now is defensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams. He met with NFL security officials Monday as part of the league’s ongoing investigation.

Once it concludes — the league says there is no timetable — Roger Goodell likely will hand out the stiffest penalties of his 5 1/2 years as commissioner.

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The Saints held a workout with veteran receiver Randy Moss, who is trying to make a comeback after spending a year out of pro football. Loomis confirmed the workout took place, but the club did not provide any details on how the 35-year-old Moss performed.

ETC.

New York Mets ace Johan Santana pitched two scoreless innings in an 8-6 win against St. Louis in his first game facing major league hitters in 18 months.

Santana gave up one hit and one walk. He threw 29 pitches, 17 for strikes, for a Mets split squad in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

The two-time Cy Young winner last pitched to big league hitters on Sept. 2, 2010, in a game against Atlanta. Two weeks later he underwent surgery on his left shoulder.

This time last year, Santana was working toward a potential return in June, but the Mets shut him down in August after he pitched just five innings with the Class-A St. Lucie Mets.

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Infielder Carlos Guillen, a three-time All-Star and veteran of 14 major league seasons, announced his retirement. The 36-year-old Guillen hit .285 during his career with the Seattle Mariners (1998-2003) and the Detroit Tigers (2004-11).

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Sidney Crosby’s head is clear. The superstar’s return, however, remains murky.

The Pittsburgh Penguins captain participated in his first full practice since concussion-like symptoms resurfaced in December and there is growing optimism he’ll be back before the playoffs begin next month.

The ever-cautious Crosby insists there still is no timetable on when he’ll be cleared to play in a game, but he looked crisp while spending more than an hour on the Consol Energy Center ice.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed center Mikhail Grabovski to a $27.5-million, five-year contract extension.

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Senior guards Ashley Corral and Briana Gilbreath of USC and Rebekah Gardner of UCLA joined junior forward Markel Walker of UCLA on the 15-member All-Pac-12 Conference women’s basketball team.

Gilbreath also was selected to the conference’s All-Defensive Team. Forward Ariya Crook of USC made the All-Freshman Team.

Senior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike of Stanford was player of the year for the second time in three years, and her sister, Chiney, a sophomore forward for the Cardinal, was defensive player of the year. Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer was coach of the year for the second straight year and 12th time in her career. Jazmine Davis of Washington was freshman of the year.