Sam Mills

It drove Brett Favre crazy when he was a football fan growing up in Kiln, Miss. The nearest NFL team was the New Orleans Saints, a franchise with a miserable history. "The Saints always let their best players go," Favre said. "I don't know why that is, but it's still true. " Two years ago, the Saints let another one go. This time it was linebacker Sam Mills, who, at 35, was deemed too old to merit a long-term contract. Mills went ahead and signed with the expansion Carolina Panthers.

It has been more than 10 years since that other football team in town, the Philadelphia Stars, moved to Baltimore and then vanished with the rest of the USFL. Who would have guessed that Myles Tannenbaum's squad would still be making an impact in professional football in 1996? "We were a very talented football team and organization," said Eagles defensive end William Fuller, who spent two years with the Stars. "Now you can see why we won those two straight championships and were in the championship game three years in a row. " Fuller will be reunited with a couple of Stars alumni when the Eagles play Carolina on Sunday at Veterans Stadium.

Carolina Panthers assistant coach Sam Mills was diagnosed with cancer of the small intestine yesterday, hours before he coached the Panthers' linebackers in their preseason finale. Just 2 weeks ago, Carolina linebacker Mark Fields was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. "Any time someone in your family gets ill, it's a blow," general manager Marty Hurney said. "When it's Sam Mills, someone who means so much to this organization and this community, it's a huge blow. " Mills, 44, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, spent the final three seasons of his 12-year NFL career with the Panthers beginning with their inaugural season in 1995.

La Salle added to its solid recruiting class with the signing of Cole Stefan, a 6-3 guard from Minnetonka (Minn.) High. Stefan averaged 19 points as a junior and 19.3 as a senior. "Cole has a bright future and is a perfect fit with his classmates," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "He can be part of our core group for the next 4 years. " La Salle signed three players in the fall - Tyreek Duren (Neumann-Goretti), Sam Mills (Cardinal Gibbons, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Matt Lopez (Washington Township, N.J.)

St. Joseph's signed three basketball players ranked among the nation's top 150 prospects by Rivals.com, and La Salle, which announced two signings Saturday, added a highly regarded point guard to next season's class. The weeklong fall period for recruits to sign binding NCAA letters of intent ends tomorrow. The Hawks announced the signings of C.J. Aiken, a 6-foot-9 center from Plymouth Whitemarsh; Langston Galloway, a 6-3 combination guard from Baton Rouge, La.; and Daryus Quarles, a 6-7 forward from Paulsboro.

The Carolina Panthers will honor the late Sam Mills by retiring his No. 51 at halftime of their Aug. 13 preseason game. Mills died April 18 after a nearly 2-year battle with cancer. Mills, a five-time Pro Bowler with the New Orleans Saints and the Panthers, played three seasons in Carolina. He joined the coaching staff upon his retirement following the 1997 season. He is the only player in Carolina's Hall of Honor and is the first Panther to have his number retired. "He's somebody that is a part of all of us, everybody that was here with him from ownership on down to his teammates," coach John Fox said yesterday.

Offensive guard Nate Newton showed up at the Dallas Cowboys' practice yesterday with eight stitches on his forehead and a headache. Defensive lineman Danny Noonan showed up with $1,000 less in his bank account. That was the fallout from Saturday's clash between Noonan and Newton, according to the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram. Noonan acknowledged he was fined for clubbing Newton over the head with a helmet. He declined to say how much. But several members of the organization said Cowboys coach Tom Landry fined Noonan $1,000 for the incident at the team's training camp in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Sam Mills isn't particularly sensitive about his age - 37, after all, is considered young in most walks of life - but he does strive to keep at arm's length the idea that he's too old for his job. He is bombarded from all sides with compliments about his character, about the leadership he has brought to the Carolina Panthers, about how he is teaching the youngsters how to play defense and watch film and practice hard. He has heard himself described as a "coach on the field" so often, it has begun to irk him. "I'm still a player on the field," he said.

REMEMBER Sam Mills? Built like a fireplug, hit like a fire truck, played middle linebacker for the Philadelphia Stars. Moved over to the NFL when the USFL vanished in a puff of Donald Trump's hairspray. Made All-Pro five times. Died young, pancreatic cancer. Ken Dunek remembers. "What was he, 5-8-and-a-half, 225 pounds?" Dunek asks. "Pound-for-pound, he was the best player I've ever seen. And certainly the hardest hitter. "We're playing the Generals in '84, playoff game at Franklin Field.

REMEMBER Sam Mills? Built like a fireplug, hit like a fire truck, played middle linebacker for the Philadelphia Stars. Moved over to the NFL when the USFL vanished in a puff of Donald Trump's hairspray. Made All-Pro five times. Died young, pancreatic cancer. Ken Dunek remembers. "What was he, 5-8-and-a-half, 225 pounds?" Dunek asks. "Pound-for-pound, he was the best player I've ever seen. And certainly the hardest hitter. "We're playing the Generals in '84, playoff game at Franklin Field.

Remember the Philadelphia Stars ? They played in the insurgent United States Football League , at the late Veterans Stadium , in spring and summer when the Eagles were off icing their knees and Ronald Reagan was president. The crimson-and-gold-clad Stars made it to the finals when the league debuted in 1983. The next year, they won it all. "We were the last true champion in Philadelphia football. We call it 'The Team That Time Forgot,' " says Ken Dunek , who played tight end on the team.

La Salle added to its solid recruiting class with the signing of Cole Stefan, a 6-3 guard from Minnetonka (Minn.) High. Stefan averaged 19 points as a junior and 19.3 as a senior. "Cole has a bright future and is a perfect fit with his classmates," La Salle coach John Giannini said. "He can be part of our core group for the next 4 years. " La Salle signed three players in the fall - Tyreek Duren (Neumann-Goretti), Sam Mills (Cardinal Gibbons, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Matt Lopez (Washington Township, N.J.)

St. Joseph's signed three basketball players ranked among the nation's top 150 prospects by Rivals.com, and La Salle, which announced two signings Saturday, added a highly regarded point guard to next season's class. The weeklong fall period for recruits to sign binding NCAA letters of intent ends tomorrow. The Hawks announced the signings of C.J. Aiken, a 6-foot-9 center from Plymouth Whitemarsh; Langston Galloway, a 6-3 combination guard from Baton Rouge, La.; and Daryus Quarles, a 6-7 forward from Paulsboro.

The Carolina Panthers will honor the late Sam Mills by retiring his No. 51 at halftime of their Aug. 13 preseason game. Mills died April 18 after a nearly 2-year battle with cancer. Mills, a five-time Pro Bowler with the New Orleans Saints and the Panthers, played three seasons in Carolina. He joined the coaching staff upon his retirement following the 1997 season. He is the only player in Carolina's Hall of Honor and is the first Panther to have his number retired. "He's somebody that is a part of all of us, everybody that was here with him from ownership on down to his teammates," coach John Fox said yesterday.

If Eagles fans think the hit by Greg Favors on quarterback Donovan McNabb in the NFC championship game was a cheap shot, the Carolina Panthers linebacker doesn't really care. "I know deep down in my heart, it wasn't a cheap shot," Favors said. "But, hey, who are we talking about? We're talking about Philadelphia fans. We're talking about the same fans who were booing Donovan McNabb the first half of the season. We're talking about the same fans that cheered when Michael Irvin had the leg injury at the Vet. "You've got to put them in the category [of being the worst fans]

Carolina Panthers assistant coach Sam Mills was diagnosed with cancer of the small intestine yesterday, hours before he coached the Panthers' linebackers in their preseason finale. Just 2 weeks ago, Carolina linebacker Mark Fields was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. "Any time someone in your family gets ill, it's a blow," general manager Marty Hurney said. "When it's Sam Mills, someone who means so much to this organization and this community, it's a huge blow. " Mills, 44, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, spent the final three seasons of his 12-year NFL career with the Panthers beginning with their inaugural season in 1995.

Sam Mills was standing in front of his locker after the Carolina Panthers' 23-13 preseason loss to Denver two Saturdays ago when a young guy from a 50-watt radio station in one of those Mayberry RFD-type burgs came rushing up to him, stuck a microphone halfway down his windpipe and asked, "Is it time to panic yet?" The 38-year-old Panthers linebacker stared at the young man for a couple of seconds, then forced a smile and assured him that, no, it wasn't quite time to panic yet. "It's still August and they're already using the 'P' word," Mills said in disbelief after the reporter wandered off. "Unbelievable.

It drove Brett Favre crazy when he was a football fan growing up in Kiln, Miss. The nearest NFL team was the New Orleans Saints, a franchise with a miserable history. "The Saints always let their best players go," Favre said. "I don't know why that is, but it's still true. " Two years ago, the Saints let another one go. This time it was linebacker Sam Mills, who, at 35, was deemed too old to merit a long-term contract. Mills went ahead and signed with the expansion Carolina Panthers.