Ryan Lays Off Obama for Opinion on Tebow - New York Times

A day after President Obama told an Ohio radio station that he was not a fan of Tim Tebow’s being on the Jets, Coach Rex Ryan resisted taking a humorous swipe back.

“You know what’s funny?” Ryan said after training camp practice in Cortland, N.Y. “I really think that it shows how popular our game really is. I mean, every single person has an opinion, and it seems like they have an opinion on our football team or whatever. It’s amazing.”

And then, just when a few dozen eager members of the news media were certain a zinger was coming, Ryan passed on taking the bait. “I’ll say this,” Ryan said. “I respect President Obama, and I respect the fact that this is his opinion.”

During a campaign event in Ohio on Thursday, Obama told WBNS in Columbus that “I don’t like the idea of a quarterback controversy at the start of a season.”

The Jets have insisted that Mark Sanchez is their starting quarterback and that Tebow, acquired from Denver in March, will serve as the backup.

Obama said, “Sanchez is not Tom Brady yet, but he led them to the playoffs two years in a row.” He added that Tebow “seems to be a wonderful young man” and “really steps up when things count.” But he warned that “there’s going to be a lot of tension in that situation.”

Most of the Jets players laughed off Obama’s comments, as did General Manager Mike Tannenbaum.

“I appreciate the fact that the president is so interested in our team,” Tannenbaum said, “and he’s certainly entitled to his opinion.”

BULLUCK RETIRES AS A TITAN Linebacker Keith Bulluck, who made one Pro Bowl and one All-Pro team in 11 N.F.L. seasons, the first 10 with Tennessee, officially retired as a Titan on Friday.

“You play this game, and everybody wants to play to win a Super Bowl,” Bulluck said. “I never got that opportunity, but there’s no love lost for this game whatsoever. There’s great players that played this game and never played in or for a Super Bowl. I’m happy at this point in my life.”

Bulluck arrived in Tennessee as a first-round draft pick in 2000, a season after the Titans’ only Super Bowl appearance. He last played during the 2010 season, with the Giants, a year before they won the Super Bowl. He sat out last season after the lockout.

Bulluck recorded 100-plus tackles in eight straight seasons, had 21 career interceptions, forced 14 fumbles and had 11 fumble recoveries. Bulluck also had 6 defensive and special teams touchdowns in his career.

During his decade with the Titans, Bulluck played in 135 consecutive games, with 127 straight starts before a torn anterior cruciate ligament in December 2009 ended his streak.

WINNING IN CLEVELAND The new Cleveland Browns owner said he was ready to bring “winning back to Cleveland” and proclaimed there was “zero chance” he would move the team.

A day after agreeing to purchase the Browns for a reported $1 billion, the truck-stop magnate Jimmy Haslam III held a news conference at the club’s training camp.

Introduced by Mike Holmgren, the Browns’ president, Haslam said that his family was excited to be in Cleveland and that he was “100 percent committed to making the Cleveland Browns winners again.”

That has been a tough task for a club still looking for its first N.F.L. championship in nearly 50 years. The reconstituted Browns entered the N.F.L. in 1999 and have made the playoffs just once.

PAYTON SHOWING UP Sean Payton, the suspended New Orleans Saints coach, will attend the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday night in Canton, Ohio.

Payton requested and was given permission by the N.F.L. to attend the ceremony, which includes the enshrinement of the former Saints player Willie Roaf.

The league spokesman Greg Aiello said that Payton could also be at a private reception for Roaf, but could not be with the Saints or attend Sunday night’s Hall of Fame game, in which New Orleans was to face the Arizona Cardinals.

Payton was suspended for the 2012 season for his role in the Saints’ bounty system.