Friday, January 23, 2015
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National Football League roundup

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[January 23, 2015]  Jan 22 (The Sports Xchange) - Quarterback Tom Brady followed the lead of his coach and denied any knowledge of deflating 11 footballs in Sunday's AFC Championship Game.

Hours after New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he had no knowledge of anything being done to the footballs, Brady said the same thing late Thursday afternoon as deflate-gate continued to percolate with the Super Bowl set for a week from Sunday.

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The NFL will continue its practice of using equipment managers and ball attendants independent of the participating teams for the Super Bowl. Chicago Bears equipment manager Tony Medlin will be in charge of the process for this year's game in Glendale, Ariz.

In the wake of the controversy over under-inflated balls allegedly used by the New England Patriots during their 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game last Sunday, the competition committee is likely to review its policies.

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The San Francisco 49ers reportedly promoted Eric Mangini to defensive coordinator on Thursday.

Mangini, a longtime defensive coach who coached the team's tight ends in 2014, will switch back to defense under new coach Jim Tomsula, according to reports by ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.

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Marshawn Lynch was fined $20,000 for grabbing his crotch after scoring a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of Sunday's NFC Championship game.

The Seahawks running back was previously fined for a similar gesture against the Arizona Cardinals, and the hits could keep coming.

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The NFL's sportsmanship award will be named after late Pittsburgh Steelers founding owner and Hall of Famer Art Rooney.

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Tom Benson, owner of the NFL and NBA franchises in New Orleans, announced a change in his succession plan to transfer future ownership to his wife, Gayle Benson.

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The move, which eliminates the longstanding plan to put the Saints and Pelicans under the control of Tom Benson's granddaughter, Rita Benson LeBlanc, was countered with a lawsuit filed by LeBlanc and her children on Thursday.

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All three NFL International Series games at London's Wembley Stadium next season will feature a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff time.

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New Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo is excited about the chance to work with Johnny Manziel, but that doesn't mean Johnny Football has the inside track to the starting quarterback job next season.

"We're not sure if our starting quarterback's in the building right now or not," DeFilippo said Thursday during an introductory news conference after he was hired by the Browns.

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Despite Clay Matthews' insistence that he wasn't targeting Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson with a blind-side block during Sunday's game, the NFL fined the Green Bay Packers linebacker $22,050 on Thursday for an illegal hit.

Matthews delivered the blow during a second-quarter interception by Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. (Editing by Frank Pingue)

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