Tiki Barber makes trip to Israel, visits with children

Giants running back Tiki Barber arrived in Israel this past week at the invitation of former Prime Minister Shimon Peres.
One of his first orders of duty: teaching children how to throw a football.
Barber visited the Palestinian territories Wednesday and was greeted by dozens of giddy children. One of them had a football, but no one knew how to use it. Soon, Barber began showing the children how to catch and throw the ball.
"I thought, 'Now I feel comfortable, now I'm home,'" Barber said Thursday. "I was telling them to keep their elbows up ... they did well."
The nine-year NFL player went to Israel thanks to Peres, who met the football player during a trip to New York earlier this year.
Barber visited religious shrines and also made an appearance on behalf of the Peres Center for Peace. One of the ways the center tries to improve relationships between Israelis and Palestinians is through children playing sports together.
After visiting the Palestinian children, whose freedom of movement is restricted because of Israeli security measures, Barber talked about places in New York where kids think the Hudson and East rivers are their boundaries.
"I'd like to work toward providing young people and older people with opportunities to see something else, allowing them to have ideas in their heads they never would have thought about," he said.
Watching children playing sports together on mixed teams in East Jerusalem, Barber said all the children looked the same to him.
"They're just kids, and I think that gives them a chance as a generation to solve this conflict," he said.
Speed racer
Willie Gault made a name for himself in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Raiders, using his speed to become one of the top playmakers in the league. Now he is using his speed for something else.
Gault set the American 40-and-older record in the 200 meters at 21.80 seconds on June 11 at the Southern California Association USATF Masters Championships in Culver City, Calif. The old American record for the 200 in the M40 age group was 21.86, set by Bill Collins in 1992.
The 44-year-old Gault won USATF athlete of the week honors for his performance. Then last Sunday at the U.S. championships in Carson, Calif., Gault won a masters exhibition 110 hurdles race in 13.87.
Of course, Gault is no stranger to the track. He starred in football and track at Tennessee, and qualified for the 1980 Olympics, which the U.S. boycotted. He also won gold at the 1983 world championships in the 400 relay.
"It's almost like breathing for me -- it's my life's quest, it's my life's ambition," Gault told The Washington Post. "I run because I love it. I run because it makes me happy, I run because it's good for me and I'm going to run until I die."
Rookie learning
The NFL held its ninth annual rookie symposium this week in West Palm Beach, Fla. The four-day orientation introduced the 2005 draft class to life in the NFL before training camps begin.
"This helps the rookies get off to a good start with regard to the new lifestyle they are about to enter," said NFL vice president of player and employee development Michael Haynes, a Hall of Fame cornerback. "The lessons learned at the rookie symposium help players develop personal and professional goals that will sustain them during and beyond their playing careers."
The agenda featured topics including personal finance, life skills, personal conduct, life as a rookie, media policy, substances of abuse, personal experiences, family issues, player development, football operations, NFL security, success in the NFL and life after football.
Good guy
Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was selected the NFL's No. 1 Good Guy by The Sporting News in its annual awards to athletes from the NFL, NBA, NASCAR and major league baseball.
Nominated by their teams and leagues and chosen by the staff of the magazine, the Good Guys awards honor those athletes who serve and improve their communities by donating their time, energy and money.
Each year, Warner takes up to 10 kids faced with life-threatening illnesses and their families to Disney World for a week. He visited tsunami victims in February, adopted a group home for foster kids in December, taking them all to Christmas Eve dinner, and handed out game tickets to kids touched by faith-based social service outreach agencies.
Last month, Warner participated in the opening ceremony for the Arizona Special Olympics 2005 Summer Games and also represented the Cardinals at the 45th Annual Pop Warner Scholar All-American Banquet in Anaheim, Calif.
Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn was chosen as the magazine's overall "No. 1 Good Guy in Sports" out of a record 500-plus nominations.
Backstage pass
Paul McCartney gives fans a backstage look at the Super Bowl halftime show during an hour-long program airing on the NFL Network on July 3.
The behind-the-scenes look at the show in Jacksonville last February starts with McCartney's arrival five days before the game between New England and Philadelphia. The show takes viewers through the rehearsals, meetings, news conferences, wardrobe selection, interviews and his entire four-song set.
Cameras followed McCartney from the time he landed in Jacksonville all the way through his departure in this never-before-seen footage.
Not so fast!
It is not so easy to get a quick touchdown against the AFC East. Since the start of the 2003 season, the Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots and New York Jets have surrendered the fewest touchdowns in the NFL on scoring drives of four plays or less.
Each club has allowed only five such touchdowns in the last two years.
The Bills allowed an NFL-low one touchdown on a drive of four plays or less last season. The last team to give up only one such touchdown in a season was the 2001 Chicago Bears.
"We stress that we don't want to give up any big plays early and that we want to make offenses work to get first downs," Bills defensive coordinator Jerry Gray said. "The longer the opposing offense is on the field and the more they have to work for yards, the greater the chance that they will make a mistake, which our defense can capitalize on."

Andrea Adelson / Associated Press