Judge: Bears’ Johnson can play in Super Bowl

Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson will play in the Super Bowl -- with court approval and a warning from a judge to stay out of trouble.

Cook County Judge John Moran granted a defense request Tuesday to allow Johnson to leave the state of Illinois as he awaits trial on gun possession charges. The Bears will play the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl in Miami on Feb. 4.

Moran set no special restrictions on Johnson, but said he must obey the law “or dire consequences will result.”

Defense attorney Lorna Propes said Johnson was grateful.

“He is a young man who is right now having the opportunity of a lifetime,” Propes told reporters after the hearing.

Johnson was arrested Dec. 14 after police raided his home in Gurnee, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago. Prosecutors say officers found three rifles, three handguns and ammunition in Johnson’s home. He faces 10 counts of possession of firearms without a state gun-owner identification card.

Arrested three times in 18 months, Johnson has pleaded not guilty to the most recent charges. The previous arrests involved a scuffle with a police officer, in which the charges were dropped, and a misdemeanor weapons charge.

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The AFC championship game between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots Sunday was the most-watched program of the 2006-07 television season.

The Colts’ dramatic 38-34 victory on CBS was watched by an average of 46.7 million viewers at any one time, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The last AFC title game to draw more viewers was New England’s 31-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins in 1986, which attracted 47.5 million viewers.

The game handily beat the season debut of Fox’s “American Idol,” which aired in two installments last week on consecutive nights.

The premiere episode of “American Idol” last Tuesday drew an average of 37.4 million viewers. The next night, the show attracted 36.9 million.

The 43.2 million viewers for Sunday’s NFC championship game on Fox made it the second most-watched television program of the season.

-- Larry Stewart

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Less than a week after he canceled Donovan McNabb’s news conference, Philadelphia Coach Andy Reid dismissed reports that his standout quarterback was unhappy with the organization.

“I think that people are making a lot of things up here that aren’t true,” Reid said. “That’s how it works. I just hate to see people making things up that aren’t really true.”

One report, citing unidentified sources close to McNabb, said the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback was upset Reid wouldn’t allow him to travel on the team plane for the Eagles’ playoff game at New Orleans. Since Reid came to Philadelphia in 1999, he has had a rule that states players on injured reserve don’t travel with the team.

The newspaper report also said McNabb may feel others prefer backup Jeff Garcia to start over him, and it claimed he was bothered by the way the media and fans have portrayed his mother, Wilma, since her comments that watching the Eagles win without her son is “bittersweet.”

“He knows what’s the truth and what isn’t the truth. I’m not worried about that,” Reid said.

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Russ Grimm was hired as the Arizona Cardinals’ assistant head coach and offensive line coach, two weeks after he interviewed for the head coaching position.

Grimm’s hiring comes two days after erroneous reports that the Pittsburgh Steelers had chosen him to replace coach Bill Cowher, who stepped down this month. Grimm wanted the Steelers job, but said he was happy to reunite with Cardinals Coach Ken Whisenhunt, a former Steelers staffmate.

“It’s about 23 degrees and snowing, so I’m looking forward to the weather,” Grimm told reporters on a conference call from Pittsburgh.

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Dallas’ search for a coach to replace Bill Parcells is off to a slow start. Jeff Fisher, thought to be a candidate, had his extension picked up by Tennessee and the Titans won’t grant the Cowboys permission to talk to him. Bob Stoops, another possible candidate, said he was staying at Oklahoma.

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San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers won’t play in the Pro Bowl because of a foot injury. Chargers spokesman Bill Johnston said Rivers sprained his right foot against Arizona on Dec. 31 and aggravated it in the Chargers’ 24-21 playoff loss to New England.

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The Houston Texans hired Jethro Franklin as their defensive line coach.

Franklin, 41, was the defensive line coach in Tampa Bay last season. He was the defensive line coach at USC during the 2005 season.