kickoff

Hillis was sent home sick with a high fever before practice on Friday. He came to the stadium Sunday before leaving a few hours before kickoff against the Dolphins .

Jarrett Lee threw three TDs for his best game so far, Morris Claiborne returned a kickoff 99 yards and the defense did the rest as No. 2 LSU routed 16th-ranked West Virginia 47-21.

On the day pro football returns en masse, every NFL city has its Dream Team.

NFL teams voted Tuesday to move the kickoff from the 30- to 35-yard line and prohibit a running head start of more than 5 yards for members of the coverage team.

David Wilson returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown with 2:23 to play and No.

McNabb's feet could give the Packers fits in Sunday's big game.

The Miami Dolphins fired special teams coordinator John Bonamego on Tuesday, only 12 hours after a calamitous prime-time performance against the New England Patriots.

Special teams cost Miami 21 points in a 41-14 loss Monday night. Two blocked kicks led to touchdowns, and the Patriots returned a kickoff 103 yards for another score.

Donovan McNabb walked onto the field in an empty stadium 2½ hours before kickoff, a wide smile on his face.

Joe Posnanski has seen Super Bowl hype before, and this year he is fully embracing it. The sage sportswriter offers 88 themes to the pregame madness as we await Sunday's kickoff.