Portal:American football/News/archive/2006

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• December 31: The 2006 regular season of the National Football League (NFL), the first season contested during the commissionership of Roger Goodell, the first featuring a flexible scheduling system for games to be selected for play on NBC Sunday Night Football, and the first featuring the Run to the Playoffs, a series of live game telecasts on NFL Network, the league's specialty cable channel.
  • For the third time in his career, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning leads the league in passing touchdowns completed, having made 31 against just nine interceptions, and finishes the year also as the leader in passer rating, having, in view of his having completed 362 of 557 passes attempted for 4397 yards, posted a mark of 101.0; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, having completed 356 of his 554 passes attempted, totals 4418 passing yards to outpace Manning by 21 yards and Saint Louis Rams quarterback Marc Bulger by 103 to be the league's leading passer. San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, having over the season displaced Shaun Alexander—in 2005 with the Seattle Seahawks a scorer of 28 touchdowns—atop the enumeration of players by touchdowns scored in a single season, Priest Holmes—in 2003 with the Kansas City Chiefs a scorer of 26 rushing touchdowns—atop the enumeration of players by rushing touchdowns scored in a single season, and Paul Hornung—in 1960 as a placekicker and halfback with the Green Bay Packers a scorer of 176 points, comprising thirteen rushing and two receiving touchdowns, fifteen field goals, and forty-one points after touchdown, across a twelve-game season—atop the enumeration of NFL players by single-season points scored, ultimately finishes his season having scored 31 touchdowns–twenty-eight rushing and three receiving–and two two-point conversions for 190 points to lead the NFL in each category and having rushed for 1815 yards on 348 carries to become the seventh different player to claim the league rushing title since 2000. Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson catches 103 passes to finish five clear of Detroit Lions wide receiver Mike Furrey, theretofore principally a defensive back, and eight clear of Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison, betwixt 1999 and 2002 twice the league's leading pass catcher, to finish atop the NFL in total receptions, but tallies just 1147 yards and five touchdowns; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson accumulates 1369 yards on 87 receptions to finish three yards clear of Harrison, of whom Detroit Lions wide receiver Roy Williams and Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne finish 56 yards adrift, for the league lead in the former statistic, whilst Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens records 13 touchdowns amongst his 85 receptions to lead the league, as in 2001 and 2002, in the latter category, having finished one touchdown clear of Harrison. New England Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel and Denver Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey finish the season having each totalled ten interceptions, the former across but 15 games, to finish atop the league in interceptions made and Samuels defenses 24 passes to finish two ahead of ahead of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Anthony Henry and Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister and three ahead of Bailey for the league lead in the latter metric. Despite having been suspensed for four games for contravention of the NFL's substance abuse policy upon his testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone, San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman finishes the season having registered 17 quarterback sacks, one-and-one-half more than league runner-up Green Bay Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman and three more than Buffalo Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel, in 2005 the league's fifth-leading sacker, as Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Simeon Rice fails to finish amongst the league's top seven for the first time since the 2000 season. Placekickers Robbie Gould (Chicago Bears) and Jeff Wilkins (Saint Louis Rams) finish the season having each successfully kicked 32 field goals, three more than Jason Hanson (Detroit Lions) and Joe Nedney (San Francisco 49ers), and Gould converts 47 points after touchdown to finish the season having scored 143 points, more than any player save Tomlinson, seven more than Chargers placekicker Nate Kaeding and twelve more than Wilkins. Denver Broncos placekicker Paul Ernster posts a kickoff average of 67.9 yards to finish .5 yards clear of Arizona Cardinals placekicker Neil Rackers as the longest kickoff kicker, whilst Dallas Cowboys punter Mat McBriar finishes atop the league in gross punting, having stricken 56 punts with an average of 48.2 yards and with 10 touchbacks. Tennessee Titans cornerback Pacman Jones averages 12.9 yards per punt return and scores three punt return touchdowns to lead the league in either category, the latter jointly with Chicago Bears cornerback Devin Hester, whilst New York Jets cornerback Justin Miller aggregates 1304 yards on his 46 kick returns to record a league-leading 28.3-yard average; Miller scores two return touchdows to finish in equal first with Hester, who averages 26.4 yards per return, better than any player save Miller and Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew.
  • Tomlinson earns the Most Valuable Player Award, capturing 44 of 50 votes cast under the single plurality system employed by the Associated Press, to outpoint Brees (four votes) and Manning (two); he also claims the Offensive Player of the Year Award, that with 38 votes, ahead of Brees (eight), Manning (three), and Saint Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson, who finishes the season having gained 1528 yards and 13 touchdowns over 346 rushes and 806 yards and three touchdowns over 90 receptions. Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, who across the season records 13.5 sacks and 60 tackles, makes two interceptions, forces ten fumbles and recovers two, and defenses ten passes, wins Defensive Player of the Award honors, garnering 22 of 50 ballots cast; Bailey, who supplements his ten interceptions with 73 tackles and 11 other passes defensed, finishes six votes adrift, ten votes ahead of Merriman, who over his twelve games records 62 tackles, intercepts one pass, and defenses eight. Chicago Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, who finishes the season having made 141 tackles and having intercepted three and defensed six other passes, earns four votes in his attempted defense of the 2005 award, whilst Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis—the 2000 and 2003 winner—and defensive lineman Trevor Pryce earn each one vote. Vince Young, by the Tennessee Titans the third overall selection in the 2006 NFL draft, becomes just the third quarterback to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, earning, in view of his completing 184 of 357 passes attempted for 2199 yards and 12 touchdowns, gaining 552 yards and seven touchdowns on 83 carries, and helping his side to a six-game winning streak through the season's penultimate week, 23 votes to outpace by 12 Jones-Drew and Saints wide receiver Marques Colston, whilst Houston Texans middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, a second-round draft choice, who completes the season having made 156 tackles—including 123 solo, more than any other player—having posted 3.5 quarterback sacks, having defensed eight passes, having forced one fumble, and having made one interception, wins the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, garnering 36 votes to finish well clear of University of Alabama Crimson Tide teammate Chicago Bears defensive end Mark Anderson (five votes) and Green Bay Packers outside linebacker A.J. Hawk (four). Saints head coach Sean Payton, having in his first year helped the Saints, winners of just three games in 2005, to a 10-6 record and the National Football Conference (NFC) South division titlist, is selected on 44 ballots to be chosen Coach of the Year; Jets head coach Eric Mangini, as Payton in his first season, finishes second with three votes.
  • Having notched 492 points over the season, the Chargers, by virtue of the side's winning 14 games the champion of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division and the top-seeded team in the league playoffs, finish as the league's highest-scoring team, whilst the Ravens, winners of thirteen games—second-best in the NFL—and, as champion of the AFC North division possessors, as the Chargers, of a first-round bye, concede only 201 points and 4225 yards to rank as the league's best-performing defense. The Saints, which team finish the regular season as the NFC's second-seeded side, behind running backs Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush and wide receivers Colston and Devery Henderson, who each record at least 565 yards, gain more total yards–6264–than any other team and accumulate 205 passing yards more than Colts to lead the league in the latter category; the Atlanta Falcons, having finished last in the league in passing yards, on the strength of running back Warrick Dunn and quarterback Michael Vick, who total 2179 yards over 409 rushes, lead the league in rushing. The Colts and New England Patriots win respectively the AFC South and East divisions for the fourth consecutive season, winning 12 games each to earn the third and fourth AFC playoff berths, and the Jets—winners in 2005 of only four games but in 2006 of ten—and Chiefs—winners, as the Broncos, of nine games, one more than Super Bowl XL victor the Pittsburgh Steelers, but possessors of a superior West division record—claim wild card playoff positions. In the NFC, the Bears, having won thirteen games, capture the NFC North division and finish as the conference's first seed, and the Seahawks, the defending conference champion, lead the NFC West division for the third straight season; the East division, the Philadelphia Eagles, Cowboys, and New York Giants of which win respectively ten, nine, and eight games, places three teams, seeded respectively third, fifth, and sixth, in the playoffs for first time since 1992.
• December 17: Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre completes, in the second quarter of a game betwixt his side and the Detroit Lions contested at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, a 21-yard pass, the 4,968th of his National Football League career, to wide receiver Carlyle Holiday to displace Dan Marino–across sixteen seasons principally a starting quarterback with the Miami Dolphins–atop the ranking of quarterbacks by career completions tallied.
• December 17: At Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, having one week thither displaced running back Shaun Alexander—in 2005 with the Seattle Seahawks a scorer, as the league's offensive player of the year and most valuable player, of twenty-eight touchdowns—from the first position on the enumeration of players by touchdowns scored in a single season, rushes for two touchdowns, the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth such scores of his season, in his team's home defeat of the Kansas City Chiefs to supplant running back Priest Holmes—with the Chiefs in 2003 a scorer of twenty-seven rushing touchdows—atop the enumeration of players by rushing touchdowns scored in a single season; in tallying his first touchdown, Tomlinson increases to 180 his total of points scored across the instant season to surmount Paul Hornung—in 1960 whilst a halfback and placekicker with the Green Bay Packers a scorer of 176 points, comprising thirteen rushing touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns, fifteen field goals, and forty-one points after touchdown, across a twelve-game regular season—to advance to clear first on the enumeration of NFL players by single-season points scored.
• December 16: Atlanta Falcons placekicker Morten Andersen, having ostensibly retired from professional play in 2004 but having returned to the National Football League (NFL) prior to the third week of its 2006 season after having served as a television analyst for NFL Europe games, successfully converts a point after touchdown try in the second quarter of a game between his team and the Dallas Cowboys played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta in the eponymous state to raise to 2,435 his career NFL points tally; he ascends to the top of the list of players by career points scored, surpassing Gary Anderson, as Andersen a member of the league's 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams, with whom Andersen continues to share first place on the list of players by career field goals made.
• December 15: The single-elimination tournaments contested to decide the 2006 champions of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA), Division II, and Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics conclude.
  • Having entered the Football Championship Subdivision tournament seeded first, the defending champion Appalachian State University Mountaineers outscore the Coastal Carolina University Canticleers and the 1984 champion Montana State University Bobcats, 83-45, across the championship's first two rounds to reach a home semifinal in which they overcome fourth-seeded four-time national champion Youngstown State University Penguins to earn, having conceded just one game over the regular season and playoffs, a berth in the title game, in which, at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the side, behind running back Kevin Richardson, who rushes for 179 yards and four touchdowns, and placekicker Julian Rauch, who converts four extra points, defeat the University of Massachusetts Amherst Minutemen, 28-17, to become just the fourth team to earn consecutive national championships. The Minutemen, seeded third, having in the first and second rounds respectively dispatched the Lafayette College Leopards and University of New Hampshire Wildcats and having advanced to the title game upon their defeating, 19-17, the second-seeded University of Montana-Missoula Grizzlies, twice a national champion and thrice a runner-up, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, are led in defeat by running back Steve Baylark, who with his 24 carries and three receptionss achieves 157 yards, and wide receiver Brad Listorti, amongst whose five receptions is a 17-yard touchdown.
  • Three-time Division II national champion the Grand Valley State University Lakers, having earned a quarterfinal win over the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux—in 2001 by three points the champion over the Lakers—and having dispatched 2000 champion the Delta State University Statesmen, a quarterfinal victor over Southeast regional top-seed and theretofore undefeated North Carolina Central University Eagles, 49-30, to reach, as the top seed in the Northwest region and with a 14-0 record, the national championship game alongside, as in the 2005 final, captured by Grand Valley State, 21-17, the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats, quarterfinal winners over the theretofore undefeated Chadron State College Eagles—as champion of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference the Southwest region's second seed and a 43-17 second round victor over Lone Star Conference champion the West Texas A&M University Buffaloes—in a game in which the team permit Harlon Hill Trophy-winning running back Danny Woodhead just sixteen rushing yards, and semifinal winners over the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania Huskies; on the strength of a fourth-quarter four-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cullen Finnerty, who ultimately accumulates 115 rushing yards on 23 carries and 225 passing yards on 33 attempts, the Lakers, at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama, outpoint the Bearcats, 17-14, to claim the side's fourth national title since 2002 and to make Finnerty, after Jeff Bentrim (Fighting Sioux) and Cody Gross (University of North Alabama Lions), just the third Division II quarterback to earn three championships. The Bearcats are led in defeat by running back Xavier Omon, amongst whose 26 rushes is a seven-yard touchdown that advantages his side by four, and wide receiver Kendall Wright, who makes eight receptions for 85 yards and completes a 26-yard touchdown pass to Raphael Robinson.
  • For the tenth time since the 1993 season, the Mount Union College Purple Raiders, eight times a national champion, reach the Division III tournament final, this upon the team's having won games across the first and second rounds by a combined tally of 84-3 before having in a quarterfinal, as in 2005, overcome the Capital University Crusaders, ranked fifth in the country and a loser over twelve games of but one, that in Ohio Athletic Conference play to the Purple Raiders, the former 17-14, and having thereafter outpointed the Saint John Fisher College Cardinals, 26-14, in which the side are joined by the similarly undefeated University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks, behind the Purple Raiders the 2005 national runner-up, who reach the Stagg Bowl with a 17-14 quarterfinal victory over the Saint John's University Johnnies—in 2003 the national titlists over Mount Union—and a 44-7 semifinal victory over the Wesley College Wolverines—which team enter the semifinal having not lost a game across the regular season; behind quarterback Greg Micheli, who in view of his completing 18 of 22 passes attempted for 202 yards and three touchdowns—two to wide receiver Pierre Garcon—his rushing nine times for 42 yards and one touchdown, and his serving as his side's punter, is named game most outstanding player, Mount Union outscore Whitewater over the game's final half, 21-3, to claim the national championship, 35-16, at Salem Football Stadium in Salem, Virginia. Whitewater, in the squad's final game under retiring head coach Bob Berezowitz, are led in defeat by placekicker Jeff Schebler, who converts each of his three field goal tries and one extra point and posts a kickoff average of 52.8 yards, and running back Jeff Beaver, who gains 94 yards on 23 carries.
  • The University of Saint Francis Cougars, having lost the 2004 and 2005 NAIA national championship finals to four-time national titlist the Carroll College Fighting Saints, enter the 2006 tournament undefeated and seeded first and dispatch the eighth-seeded Bethel College Wildcats in a quarterfinal tie to advance to the semifinal level, in which the side defeat, 49-20, the Saint Xavier University Cougars—one round thither victors over defending champion Carroll, betwixt 2002 and 2005 the loser of just four of fifty-seven games played—to achieve a third consecutive finals appearance but fall in the national title game once more, this 23-19 to the finally undefeated University of Sioux Falls Cougars—victor in 1996 of the NAIA Division II championship and NAIA runner-up to the Georgetown College Tigers in 2001—which team, seeded second, displace thirteen-seed the Morningside College Mustangs, a first-round winner in double overtime over third-seed Saint Ambrose University Fighting Bees, and complete a seven-point semifinal victory over the Missouri Valley College Vikings to reach the title tie. Sioux Falls are paced in the championship final by quarterback Chad Cavender, who completes 15 of 21 passes attempted for 155 yards and one touchdown to earn game offensive most valuable player honors, and kick returner Trey Erickson, who records an 89-yard touchdown to draw his Cougars even with Saint Francis, 13-13, in the first first quarter, whilst Saint Francis are led by running backs Daniel Carter and Doug Wasylk, who combine to tally 160 yards over twenty rushes and six receptions, and defensive end Tim Farrell, who earns game defensive most valuable player honors in view of his making three tackles, one quarterback sack, and one interception and returning the latter 46 yards.
• December 10: At Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson rushes for three touchdowns in a game betwixt his team and the Denver Broncos to tally the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth touchdowns of his 2006 season of the National Football League; Tomlinson, with twenty-six rushing and three receiving touchdowns, displaces, having played but thirteen of sixteen regular season games, Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander—in 2005 a scorer of twenty-eight touchdowns and the league's offensive player of the year and most valuable player—atop the enumeration of players by single-season touchdowns scored, on which list Kansas City Chiefs running back Priest Holmes, with 27 touchdowns across the 2003 season the record-holder between 2003 and 2005; Saint Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk, with 26 touchdowns across the 2000 season the record-holder between 2000 and 2003; and Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith, with 25 touchdowns across the 1995 season the record-holder between 1995 and 2000, fall respectively to third, fourth, and fifth.
• December 10: The 2006 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) regular season concludes; the composition of the bowl games to be played subsequent thereto is determined and the awards for play therein are presented.
  • The Ohio State University Buckeyes, having begun the season ranked first in the Associated Press, Harris Interactive, and USA Today Coaches Polls and having not fallen from first across the eight iterations of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings, complete the season as champion of the Big Ten Conference and with a 12-0 record to reach the BCS National Championship Game—the first stand-alone BCS championship, to be contested at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona—alongside the University of Florida Gators, by virtue of a title game victory over the University of Arkansas Razorbacks champion of the Southeastern Conference, which side reach the national championship game ahead of the University of Michigan Wolverines, who, having lost only to the Buckeyes, are narrowly passed the Gators in the final BCS poll. Michigan are selected to play Pacific Ten Conference champion University of Southern California Trojans in the Rose Bowl, after which is to be contested the Fiesta Bowl, this betwixt the University of Oklahoma Sooners—victors over the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big 12 Conference championship game—and the Boise State University Broncos—champion of the Western Athletic Conference, and, by virtue of the team's eighth overall BCS ranking, an automatic BCS selection and, after the 2004 University of Utah Utes, just the second side representing a team from an athletic conference not amongst those in the BCS to be selected to participate in a BCS bowl. The Orange Bowl is announced as also matching two conference champions—the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons, champion over the Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the University of Louisville Cardinals—champion of the Big East Conference—whilst two at-large teams—the Louisiana State University Tigers, the fourth-ranked side in the final BCS poll and the loser of but two games, one each to Florida and the Auburn University Tigers, ranked ninth in the ultimate BCS poll; and the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a regular season loser to Michigan and to Southern California and finally the eleventh-ranked side—are selected to contest the Sugar Bowl. In total, sixty-four squads earn selection to the thirty-two bowl games to be held; amongst the thirty-two are four debutant games: the BCS National Championship Game, the PapaJohns.com Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl, and the International Bowl—to be contested at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and thus to be the first bowl game held outside the United States since the 1937 edition of the Havana, Cuba-situated Bacardi Bowl.
  • The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award, presented to the most outstanding collegiate football player, devolves on Ohio State University Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith—one week thither the winner of the Walter Camp and Davey O'Brien Awards and of selection as a consensus All-American and the seventh-ever Ohio State winner—who outpoints, in the Borda count voting system employed for the award, by outpointing by 1662 Doak Walker Award-winning University of Arkansas Razorbacks running back Darren McFadden and by 1758 University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, who garners the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Maxwell Awards. Amongst the twenty-six individual awards conferred are two for best defensive player—the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award, which are captured respectively by Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis and Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions linebacker Paul Posluszny—and two for best head coach, the younger of which—The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award—is claimed by Rutgers University Scarlet Knights coach Greg Schiano.
  • December 8: The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award, presented to the most outstanding collegiate football player, devolves on Ohio State University Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith—one week thither the winner of the Walter Camp and Davey O'Brien Awards and of selection as a unanimous consensus All-America and the seventh-ever Ohio State winner—who outpoints, in the Borda count voting system employed for the award, by outpointing by 1662 Doak Walker Award-winning University of Arkansas Razorbacks running back Darren McFadden and by 1758 University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, who garners the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm and Maxwell Awards. Amongst the twenty-six individual awards conferred are two for best defensive player—the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Chuck Bednarik Award, which are captured respectively by Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis and Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions linebacker Paul Posluszny, in front of each of whom Patrick Willis of the University of Mississippi Rebels garners the Dick Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker—and four for best head coach, of which two, the Walter Camp Coach of the Year and The Home Depot Coach of the Year Awards, are claimed by Greg Schiano of the Rutgers University Scarlet Knights. Smith is equalled as a unanimous All-America by West Virginia University Mountaineers running back Steve Slaton, Clemson University Tigers defensive tackle Gaines Adams, and five players—Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who wins the Fred Biletnikoff Award; University of Wisconsin Badgers offensive tackle Joe Thomas, who wins the Outland Trophy; Mountaineers center Dan Mozes, who wins the Dave Rimington Trophy; University of Michigan Wolverines defensive end LaMarr Woodley, who wins the Lombardi and Ted Hendricks Awards and claims Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors ahead of Laurinaitis and Posluszny; and Baylor University Bears punter Daniel Sepulveda, who, having captured the award in 2004, becomes the first multiple winner of the Ray Guy Award—who, as Smith, earn end-of-season awards.
• November 19: The 2006 season of the Canadian Football League, the 49th in league history, concludes. The British Columbia Lions—having finished the regular season atop the West division having won thirteen games and having conceded just five and having thereby earned a bye into the division finals—having one week thither claim the Scotiabank West championship and concomitant N. J. Taylor Trophy, 45-18, over the Saskatchewan Roughriders—one week thither victors of a division semifinal, in which the side trail 21-12 at halftime, one week thither over the Calgary Stampeders—behind quarterback Dave Dickenson–who completes three touchdown passes, including two to wide receiver Paris Jackson–and running back Joe Smith–who rushes for 116 yards–garner the franchise's fifth-ever league championship, overcoming, at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the Montréal Alouettes, 25-14, to claim the 94th Grey Cup, led by Dickenson, who completes 18 of 29 passes attempted for 184 yards to earn game most valuable player honors, and placekicker Paul McCallum, who is named game most valuable Canadian in view of his converting six field goals, including three in the first quarter, in the tie. The Alouettes, which reach the Cup having won the East division by virtue of the team's having twice defeated the Toronto Argonauts, which side, as the Alouettes, finish the regular season having won ten games and having lost eight, and thus having earned a bye into the East division finals and having thereafter defeated the Argonauts—one week thither the winner of a semifinal match against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, which team are paced by running back Charles Rogers, who rushes for 179 yards and two touchdowns across his thirty carries, and which team lead the game, 27-17, in the fourth quarter before quarterback Michael Bishop tallies two touchdowns in the game's final eight minutes to complete a 31-27 Toronto victory—to earn the squad's fifth James S. Dixon Trophy since 2000 are led in defeat by running back Robert Edwards, who scores the team's sole touchdown, and slotback Ben Cahoon, who, having captured most valuable Canadian honors in 2003 at the 91st Grey Cup, records 11 receptions for 137 yards; the Alouettes defence does post two safety touches and force one fumble in the loss.
• October 22: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning completes, in his team's regular season game against the Washington Redskins, four touchdown passes—two to wide receiver Marvin Harrison and one each to wide receiver Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark—of which the last is the 256th of his National Football League career; Manning, in his ninth NFL season, earns sole tenth place on the enumeration of NFL players by career passing touchdowns—he surpasses Sonny Jurgensen (255) and Dan Fouts (254).
• October 22: Having four weeks thither surpassed Art Monk and three weeks thither surpassed Andre Reed to claim clear fourth place on the enumeration of National Football League players by total career receptions and having two weeks thither extended to 159 the number of consecutive regular season games—dating to the 1996 season, in which, having been selected ninteenth overall by the Colts in the league draft, he started sixteen games—to begin his career in which he had at least one reception, which was better by one than that of Colts and Saint Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk and greater than that of any other player in league history, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison, in the second quarter of a game betwixt his team and the Washington Redskins, catches, for nine yards, a pass from quarterback Peyton Manning to displace, with 12,786 career receiving yards, Irving Fryar for eighth place on the enumeration of NFL players by total career receiving yards.
• October 28: The Lions, winner of thirteen games, three more than the Alouettes, Argonauts, and Stampeders, and six more than the Edmonton Eskimos–which side, having claimed the 93rd Grey Cup in 2005 score only fourteen points in the final regular season standings, fewer only than the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who finish with a 4-14 record, and fail to qualify for playoff play for the first time in thirty-five years–in the eighteen-game regular season, having completed the season having scored 555 points and having permitted just 355, finish the season having scored more points than any other side and having permitted fewer than any side save the Argonauts (343), place two offensive players–wide receiver and slotback Geroy Simon and offensive tackle Rob Murphy–and five defensive players–defensive end Brent Johnson, defensive tackle Tyrone Williams, linebacker Barrin Simpson, defensive back Korey Banks–by British Columbia the sixth overall selection in the dispersal draft conducted upon the suspension from 2006 play of the Ottawa Renegades franchise upon the team's loss of pecuniary support–and safety Barron Miles—on the league's all-star teams, on which the Blue Bombers (with wide receiver Milt Stegall; Roberts, the winner of the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner; defensive tackle Doug Brown; linebacker Barrin Simpson; and special teamer Albert Johnson III) and Stampeders (with running back Joffrey Reynolds, offensive guard Jay McNeil, linebacker Brian Clark, cornerback Coby Rhinehart, and placekicker Sandro DeAngelis) also place at least five players, and field eight of the nine players to win Rogers CFL awards. Simon, a 2004 all-star, having won the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy, is selected, in view of his scoring 15 touchdowns and tallying 1856 receiving yards over 105 receptions, as the league's most outstanding player and in online balloting by fans as the Rogers Fans' Choice whilst Johnson, as in 2004 and 2005, wins the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy and thereafter over Lew Hayman Trophy winner Brown the most outstanding Canadian award and also claims the most outstanding defensive player award, having, across the season, accumulated 22 tackles, 16 quarterback sacks, two interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. Murphy, the winner of the DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy as the West division's best offensive lineman, tops Flory, for the third time the Leo Dandurand Trophy winner as the East division's best lineman, for the most outstanding offensive lineman award, and teammate defensive tackle Aaron Hunt, having won the Jackie Parker Trophy as the West division's best rookie, overcomes Alouettes linebacker Étienne Boulay, the Frank M. Gibson Trophy winner, to garner the most outstanding rookie award. DeAngelis, having successfully stricken 56 field goals and 46 conversions to score 214 points, more than any other single player, is placed first on 37 of 49 ballots cast in Borda count voting by the Football Writers of Canada to capture the John Agro Special Teams Award.
• October 10: In the third quarter of a game betwixt his team and fellow Atlantic Ten Conference side University of Richmond Spiders, University of New Hampshire Wildcats wide receiver David Bell catches, whilst situated in the end zone, a one-yard pass from quarterback Ricky Santos to record the fifty-first receiving touchdown of his collegiate career; he supplants Jerry Rice of Mississippi Valley State University Delta Devils atop the list of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-AA players by career touchdown receptions and Rice and Troy Edwards—with the Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs the 1998 Fred Biletnikoff Award winner—atop that of all Division I players.
• October 8: Having two weeks thither surpassed Art Monk and one week thither surpassed Andre Reed to claim clear fourth place on the enumeration of National Football League players by total career receptions, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison, in his team's game against the Tennessee Titans, catches a three-yard pass from quarterback Peyton Manning to extend to 159 the number of consecutive regular season games, dating to the 1996 season, in which, having been selected ninteenth overall by the Colts in the league draft, he started sixteen games, to begin his career in which he has at least one reception, which mark is better by one than that of Colts and Saint Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk and is greater than that of any other player in league history.
• September 19: Placekicker Morten Andersen, having apparently retired subsequent to the league's 2004 season, returns to the National Football League (NFL) prior to the third week of its 2006 season. Andersen, aged forty-six years and most recently employed as a television analyst for NFL Europe games, agrees to a contract with the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he previously played betwixt the 1995 and 2000 seasons and for whom he will attempt all extra points and those field goals of fewer than fifty yards; Andersen replaces Michael Koenen. He returns to the NFL having over his career tallied more points (2,358) and converted more field goals (520) than any player save Gary Anderson, who, having, as Andersen, been a member of the league's 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams, leads the latter by 73 career points and 17 career field goals.
• September 4: At Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen, the reigning Canadian Football League (CFL) Most Outstanding Player Award winner, formerly of the Edmonton Eskimos, Ottawa Rough Riders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and British Columbia Lions, in his team's eleventh game of the 2006 season and in his twenty-second CFL season, having three weeks thither become the first player in league history to have totalled more than 70,000 career passing yards, completes a 29-yard shovel pass to wide receiver Arland Bruce III to surpass Warren Moon for first place in the ranking of players by career CFL-National Football League passing yards.
• August 20: Toronto Argonauts quarterback Damon Allen, the reigning Canadian Football League (CFL) Most Outstanding Player Award winner, formerly of the Edmonton Eskimos, Ottawa Rough Riders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and British Columbia Lions, in his 22nd year, becomes pro-football's all time pass leader (70,596) in the Labour Day Classic game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. This mark surpasses Warren Moon (70,553) in passing yards.
• August 18: Outside linebacker Junior Seau, having played thirteen seasons for the San Diego Chargers and three for the Miami Dolphins and having, over his career, been named to the National Football League's 1990s All-Decade Team and, on twelve occasions, to the Pro Bowl, announces his retirement; four days thence, he elects to sign a contract to play the 2006 season for the New England Patriots. Seau's brief retirement follows by three weeks that of offensive tackle Willie Roaf, who joined Seau on the 1990s All-Decade Team and, in his thirteen seasons with the New Orleans Saints, who selected Roaf from Louisiana Tech University with the eighth overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, and Kansas City Chiefs, started 189 regular season games and earned Pro Bowl honors eleven times.
• August 15: Outside linebacker Junior Seau, having played thirteen seasons for the San Diego Chargers and three for the Miami Dolphins after having been, from the University of Southern California, where he was an All-America, the fifth overall selection in the 1990 NFL Draft, announces his retirement. A twelve-time Pro Bowl selection, Seau retires having started 227 regular season games, over which he recorded 1566 tackles, 52 quarterback sacks, and 15 pass interceptions, and having been named as a member of the league's 1990s All-Decade Team. Seau's retirement follows by three weeks that of offensive tackle Willie Roaf, who joined Seau on the 1990s All-Decade Team and, in his thirteen seasons with the New Orleans Saints, who selected Roaf from Louisiana Tech University with the eighth overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, and Kansas City Chiefs, started 189 regular season games and earned Pro Bowl honors eleven times.
• August 12: Fifteen players and five coaches are inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as the 2006 enshrinement class in a ceremony in South Bend, Indiana, United States. Amongst the twenty inductees are Notre Dame University quarterback John Huarte, the 1964 winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy Award as the most outstanding player in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I; University of Idaho quarterback John Friesz, the 1989 winner of the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in Division I-AA; Mississippi Valley State University quarterback Willie Totten and wide receiver Jerry Rice, who helped the Delta Devils average 59 points per game during the 1984 season, for which each earned All-America honors; and Saint John's University head coach John Gagliardi, the winningest-ever coach in college football who, between 1952 and 2005, led the Johnnies to 24 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics titles and two Division III national championships.
• August 8: Chief operating officer Roger Goodell is elected by the owners of the teams of the National Football League to be that league's commissioner; Goddell, who helped to negotiate the league's collective bargaining agreement and establish the league's cable specialty channel NFL Network, will assume control on or about September 7, when the 2006 NFL season begins, replacing Paul Tagliabue, who has led the league since 1989.
• August 5: The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducts its 2006 class, comprising five players—quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Warren Moon, offensive tackle Rayfield Wright, linebacker Harry Carson, and defensive end Reggie White—and one coach—John Madden—in Canton, Ohio, United States.

• Warren Moon, who played seventeen seasons in the National Football League having first completed a six-year career in the Canadian Football League, during time which he led the Edmonton Eskimos to five consecutive Grey Cup championships, garnering two Grey Cup Most Valuable Player Awards, in view of which he was enshrined into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001, becomes the first African American quarterback to earn entry into the Hall; Moon retired from the NFL in 2000, having, over his career, earned selection to the Pro Bowl nine times, and ranking amongst the top five quarterbacks in NFL history in total passing yards, total touchdowns thrown, and total passes completed.
• Offensive tackle Rayfield Wright, a seventh-round pick from Fort Valley State University by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1967 NFL Draft, having, over his career of thirteen years, during seven of which he was team co-captain, earned election to the Pro Bowl six times, participated in five Super Bowl and six National Football Conference Championship Games, and been selected to the 1970s All-Decade Team and the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, is enshrined, having retired subsequent to the 1979 season, as a senior nominee.
• Linebacker Harry Carson is inducted two years after he disclaimed interest in being elected, having objected to the role of print media in the selection process, and is recognized for his having earned election to nine Pro Bowls over his thirteen years with the New York Giants, during ten of which he was defensive captain and over which he made eleven interceptions and forced fourteen fumbles.
• Nearly two years after his death, defensive end Reggie White, who, over his career, recorded 198 quarterback sacks, more than any other player save Bruce Smith, earned election to 13 Pro Bowl games, won, with the Philadelphia Eagles, the 1986 Pro Bowl MVP, 1987 Defensive Player of the Year, and 1987 and 1991 United Press International NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and, with the Green Bay Packers, the 1995 Defensive Player of the Year and 1998 UPI Defensive Player of the Year Awards, and was selected to the 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams and the 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, is enshrined; his wife Sara accepts on his behalf.
• John Madden, like Wright a senior nominee, is inducted as a coach, having, between 1969 and 1978, led the Oakland Raiders to the Super Bowl XI championship and seven American Football Conference Championship Games (including the final American Football League title game, and having accumulated the best regular season winning percentage (75.0%, with 103 wins, 32 losses, and 7 ties) of any head coach in league history to have won at least 100 games.
• Three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Troy Aikman, the Super Bowl XXVII Most Valuable Player and also a six-time Pro Bowl selection with the Dallas Cowboys, for whom he played all twelve of his NFL seasons, having retired subsequent to the 2000 season and thus in his first year of eligibility for election, is, one year subsequent to his selection to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor and the attendant de facto retirement of his jersey, inducted, having, after having entered the league as the first overall selection in the 1989 NFL draft, passed for 141 regular season and 24 playoff touchdowns.

• July 27: National Football League center LeCharles Bentley, the 2002 Sports Illustrated Offensive Rookie of the Year, traded from the New Orleans Saints, for whom he was twice a Pro Bowl player, including once as a guard, to the Cleveland Browns, with whom he agreed after the 2005 season to a contract that would pay him more yearly than that of any center in league history, tears his patellar tendon during his team's training camp; Bentley is declared unable to play during the 2006 season.
• July 24: Offensive tackle Willie Roaf, who played 13 seasons in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and the Kansas City Chiefs, announces his retirement. An eleven-time Pro Bowl selection, Roaf retires having started 189 regular season since being selected by the Saints from Louisiana Tech University with the eighth overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and having been named as a member of the league's 1990s All-Decade Team.
• July 14: The 2006 National Football League Supplemental Draft, for which players who elected not to declare themselves eligible for the 2006 draft but thereafter renounced collegiate eligibility or resolved other concerns, is conducted; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Ahmad Brooks, named by The Sporting News as a first-team All-America in 2004, when he was a sophomore playing for the University of Virginia Cavaliers, and a 2004 Dick Butkus Award finalist who was dismissed from the Cavaliers team prior to the 2005 season, is the only player selected.
• June 16: The 2006 Canadian Football League regular season begins, with the Ottawa Renegades', in view of financial difficulties, having suspended operations prior to the season, after which a dispersal draft, directing the allocation of Renegades players, was held, and with coaches' being permitted, for the first time, to challenge the calls of officials, in a fashion not unlike that employed by the National Football League. Former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams, having been suspended for the 2006 NFL season for violating the League's substance abuse policy for a fourth time, agrees to a contract with the Toronto Argonauts, although he announces that he plans to return to the Dolphins in 2007.
• June 14: Offensive tackle Brad Hopkins, who played all of his 13 seasons with the Tennessee Titans, announces his retirement. A Pro Bowl selection after the 2000 and 2003 National Football League seasons, Hopkins retires having started 188 regular season games, the third-most by any player in franchise history, and 10 playoff games, during which time he blocked for 14 quarterbacks and 19 running backs.
• June 12: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a victory in Super Bowl XL, becoming, aged just 23 years and 11 months, the youngest quarterback ever to win the National Football League's championship game, is injured in a motorcycle accident, sustained while he was not wearing a helmet. Roethlisberger suffers fractures to his mandible, maxilla, and nose and various lacerations and bruises. Doctors aver that Roethlisberger will be physically able to play when the Steelers begin the 2006 season at Heinz Field against the Miami Dolphins.
• June 11: In Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League, who finished the regular season with a losing record and earned only a wild card birth into the playoffs, defeat the Orlando Predators, 69-61, to win ArenaBowl XX. Rush quarterback Matt D'Orazio passes for six touchdowns, including three to offensive specialist Bobby Sippio, to claim offensive player of the game honors; defensive back Dennison Robinson returns an interception 44 yards for a touchdown to win the defensive award.
• June 11: Khari Jones, a Canadian Football League quarterback who was named the league's outstanding player after the 2001 season, announces that he is likely to retire after being released by the Edmonton Eskimos. Jones, who continues to hold several career and single-season passing records with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, led the Winnipeg team that reached the 89th Grey Cup in 2001.
• June 7: Steve McNair, a 2003 co-National Football League most valuable player and three-time Pro Bowler, is traded by the Tennessee Titans to the Baltimore Ravens for a fourth-round pick in the 2006 NFL draft. McNair is expected to supplant Kyle Boller as Ravens starting quarterback.
• May 28: Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams, having been suspended for the 2006 NFL season for violating the League's substance abuse policy for a fourth time, agrees to a contract with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League; he announces that he plans to return to the Dolphins in 2007.
• May 27: At the LTU Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany, the Frankfurt Galaxy, behind the rushing of game most valuable player running back Butchie Wallace, defeat the Amsterdam Admirals, 22-7, to win World Bowl XIV.
• May 26: The remaining two Minnesota Vikings players to have been charged criminally after the October 2005 boat cruise scandal, cornerback Fred Smoot and offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie plead guilty to two misdemeanors, though under the terms of a plea agreement each will have his record expunged should he pay a fine and perform community service.
• April 29: Mario Williams, a defensive end from North Carolina State University, is drafted first overall in the 2006 National Football League draft by the Houston Texans. 2005 Heisman Trophy winner running back Reggie Bush is drafted second overall by the New Orleans Saints, while his teammate at the University of Southern California, 2004 Heisman winner quarterback Matt Leinart, unexpectedly falls to tenth before his drafted by the Arizona Cardinals.
• April 4: The Buffalo Bills trade Eric Moulds to the Houston Texans. Moulds agrees to a four-year contract.
• April 4: Daunte Culpepper is cleared of misdemeanor charges stemming from a party boat scandal.
• March 31: The Cincinnati Bengals sign Sam Adams to a three-year contract.
• National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue announces that he will retire from his position sometime in August 2006, having spent nearly 17 years as the league's chief executive. Among those rumored to be candidates to replace Tagliabue is Florida governor Jeb Bush, but Bush disclaims any interest in the post.
• March 4: the Chicago Bears sign guard Terrence Metcalf for six years.
• March 3: the Pittsburgh Steelers release former starting quarterback Tommy Maddox and cornerback Willie Williams for salary cap reasons.
• March 3: the Cleveland Browns resign running back Reuben Droughns for three years and $1.5 million.
• February 26: New York Giants safety Brent Alexander retires.
• February 24: The Chicago Bears signed lineman John St. Clair for three years.
• February 24: The Indianapolis Colts signed defensive lineman Raheem Brock for five years.