Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401060095
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Rice, who also won the award in 1987 when he had 22 touchdown catches in 12 games, is the all-time leader in scoring catches with 118. He had 15 this season, along with 1,503 yards on 98 catches.
Early next season, Rice should pass Jim Brown's NFL mark of 126 touchdowns. Rice has 124 touchdowns, including six rushing.
"This feels really good because it's been awhile since I've received an award like this," Rice said. "You've got to have guys around you to complement you, but you also have to have an inner drive in yourself to get the job done."
Rice's closest competition in voting by 81 national media members was teammate Steve Young, who won the award in 1992. Rice had 28 votes, the Niners' quarterback received 21.
Young was the leading passer in the NFL this year, with a 101.5 rating, the third consecutive season he has had a ranking of 100.0 or better, also an NFL first.
Emmitt Smith of Dallas finished third with 12 votes, followed by John Elway of Denver, Sterling Sharpe of Green Bay and Troy Aikman of Dallas.
Rice attributes his continued success to his work ethic.
"People say I'm a natural, like it comes easy to me," he said. "It doesn't come easy to me. I work hard. I study defensive backs. I run out patterns, whether it's a running play or a pass somewhere else. I don't ever want to be predictable."
In other NFL news:
\ STUBBLEFIELD HONORED: Dana Stubblefield spent his rookie season showing there was more to the San Francisco 49ers than offense.
Those efforts were rewarded when the tackle drafted out of Kansas was voted The Associated Press 1993 Defensive Rookie of the Year by a national panel of 81 media members.
"It's a great feeling because I feel like I accomplished something in my first year. It proves to me that I can play in the NFL," Stubblefield said.
He led the 49ers with 10 1/2 sacks and had 64 tackles, tops among the club's defensive linemen.
Stubblefield received 55 votes in balloting announced Wednesday.
Washington Redskins defensive back Tom Carter was second with 18 votes. Chris Slade of New England, an end-linebacker out of Virginia, was third with four votes.
\ ALM INTOXICATED: Jeff Alm of the Houston Oilers was legally drunk, the effects enhanced by a prescription barbiturate, when he committed suicide after a car crash that killed his best friend.
Alm's blood-alcohol level was .14, above the .10 legal limit for Texas drivers, said Joseph Jachimczyk, chief medical examiner for Harris County, Texas.
Jachimczyk added that the drug Fiorinal, a commonly prescribed muscle relaxant, was found in Alm's blood. The defensive tackle was recuperating from a leg fracture at the time of his death. Jachimczyk said he assumed the drug was prescribed for that purpose.
"He was .143 drunk, but the effects were greater because of the presence of the barbiturate," Jachimczyk said at a news conference.
Alm, 25, was driving his new Cadillac Eldorado shortly before 3 a.m. on Dec. 14 when he crashed into a barrier on a southwest Houston highway ramp. His best friend, Sean Lynch, 25, was ejected from the passenger seat and thrown down an embankment.
Jachimczyk said Lynch died from a broken neck and head injuries.
Alm, apparently grief-stricken after the accident, took a shotgun from his trunk and fired three shots into the air. He then fired a single shot into his mouth. His body was found slumped against a guardrail.
\ TV DEALS SET: NFL owners approved four-year national television agreements worth $4.42 billion.
Fox is paying $1.58 billion per season through 1998, followed by ABC at $950 million and NBC at $880 million. CBS was knocked out of the running and will not televise the NFL for the first time since 1956.
The NFL agreement with ESPN is worth $520 million, and the agreement with Turner Broadcasting's TNT network is worth $490 million.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB