NEW YORK (AP)—Longtime NFL announcer Pat Summerall will receive the Vin Scully Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports Broadcasting.

The former NFL kicker and tight end with the New York Giants and Chicago Cardinals will receive the award May 2 in New York.

After his playing days, Summerall’s broadcasting career spanned six decades, mostly as a partner with John Madden in NFL games.

Summerall is a member of the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.

The award is named for the longtime Dodgers broadcaster, who won the Frick Award in 1982. Scully helped form Fordham’s radio station WFUV, which is the award’s sponsor, and joined the Dodgers broadcast crew in 1950.

INDIANAPOLIS — Jerry Reese didn’t divulge much when it comes to his plans for the draft.

But the New York Giants general manager did sound like a man who is looking for a linebacker.

Reese described the play of his linebackers as “OK” this past season. Linebacker Keith Bulluck’s contract is up and the team needs more speed and athleticism at linebacker.

As for Jonathan Goff, who finished his first season as the starter at middle linebacker, Reese said he would like to see improvement this season.

“Jon did OK,” Reese said of Goff, who finished with 80 combined tackles and one sack. “I think he can play better. I think we can get better production from that position, but all things considered, a first-year starter, Jon did well.”

Reese also will be looking at offensive linemen in the draft. Giants coach Tom Coughlin said on Friday that center is an area of concern with Shaun O’Hara (foot), Rich Seubert (kneecap) and Adam Koets (ACL) all recovering from surgeries.

When the Giants pick at No. 19 in the first round, plenty of offensive linemen, mostly tackles, should be available, according to prognosticators.

With so many injuries to his offensive line and age creeping up on the starters, Reese may look hard at taking an offensive lineman. With a potential lockout complicating what teams will be able to do in free agency, the Giants may have to cover themselves in this draft.

“Obviously, our top three guys coming off surgery, I understand they’re on the mend and on the way back,” Reese said of his three injured centers. “A couple pretty catastrophic injuries at that position, so center, we’re always looking to improve every position.”

The general manager said he wants to add speed and he has needs at linebacker, offensive line, cornerback, safety and tight end.

The Giants also could add another running back with Ahmad Bradshaw’s contract expiring. Bradshaw has been told that he will be a priority as the team wants to bring him back, and it would be surprising if Bradshaw doesn’t return. But the team’s starting running back did wonder if the Giants can afford to keep him and Brandon Jacobs.

Jacobs is slated to earn $4.65 million in 2011 and $4.9 million in 2012.

“We’ll see, time will tell,” said Reese. “We’ll see after we have more information about everything, we will see how that plays out.”

When asked about defensive tackle Barry Cofield, whose contract is also up, Reese said the team is “in a little bit of a holding pattern.” Reese has said he likely will wait for a new collective bargaining agreement to be reached before dealing with free agents.

Reese was asked about Plaxico Burress again, and he reiterated that he will investigate bringing Burress back as he does with all free-agent situations.

But Coughlin said there hasn’t been much discussion about the former Giants receiver, who is expected to be released from prison in June. He is serving a two-year sentence on weapons charges after shooting himself in the leg at a New York nightclub in November 2008.

“Right now that’s really nothing to talk about,” Reese said. “His situation is what it is until that changes. If that changes, we’ll investigate that.”

Ohm Youngmisuk covers the Giants for ESPNNewYork.com.

Follow Ohm Youngmisuk on Twitter: @notoriousohm

CHICAGO (AP)—Family and friends remembered former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson as a generous man whose caring nature belied his reputation as a ferocious hitter on the 1985 Chicago Bears championship team.

They attended a packed memorial for Duerson at a southside Chicago church on Saturday.

A four-time Pro Bowl pick who played on Super Bowl winners with the Bears and New York Giants, Duerson committed suicide last week at his home in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla. He was 50.

Duerson’s death rocked former teammates and coaches, who recently said he had seemed to be in good spirits after going through financial problems and a divorce the past few years. At a reunion of the 1985 Bears championship team a few months ago, he told them he was planning to get married again in April and seemed optimistic about his future.

His youngest son, Brock, gave one of several eulogies on Saturday, along with 1985 Bears teammate Otis Wilson and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

“My dad, Dave Duerson, was a kind and generous man who believed in helping others,” Brock said. “Who would ever think that a small-town boy from Muncie, Ind., would become such a success in sports, academics and business. I’m extremely proud to be a Duerson.”

The New York Times reported that Duerson had sent text messages to his family asking that his brain be examined for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative disease tied to depression, dementia and suicide.

His brain was donated to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine and was to undergo studies looking for any disease or abnormality but focused on CTE, which has been found in numerous athletes.

Brock Duerson said after the service that the family will start a charity to help athletes deal with mental illness. He said the family won’t get the results of the brain tests for three to six months.

Duerson starred at Notre Dame before getting drafted by the Bears in the third round in 1983.

Two years later, with Todd Bell sitting out the season in a contract dispute, he became a starter on one of the greatest defenses ever assembled.

“It was real joy to work with Dave,” Wilson said. “He couldn’t do anything halfway.”

With Hall of Famers Mike Singletary, Dan Hampton and Richard Dent, the Bears left a trail of battered opponents while shuffling all the way to the championship. Duerson did his part in the backfield with five interceptions and made the first of four straight Pro Bowls.

A year later, he picked off a career-high six passes while setting what was an NFL record for sacks by a defensive back with seven. That mark stood until 2005, when Arizona’s Adrian Wilson(notes) had eight.

Duerson would go on to win another Super Bowl with the 1990 Giants after being released by the Bears and spend three years with Arizona before retiring after 11 seasons.

He remained active in the union and served as a trustee on the NFL Players Association’s retirement board. He clashed with Ditka over the way former players’ claims were distributed, but the coach said they eventually made up.

Duerson was also involved in several businesses after his career.

He owned a few McDonald’s franchises and later helped to grow a company that supplied fast-food restaurants. He left to start his own company in 2002.

His life took some hard turns in the years that followed, though. His food-supply company was forced into receivership in 2006, and Duerson filed for divorce from his wife Alicia a year later. He lost his Chicago-area home to foreclosure and his position as Notre Dame trustee after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor domestic battery charge.

His brother Mike Duerson, 52, said after the memorial that he’s donating his brain to the same Boston clinic. He said he’s had health problems since playing college basketball his freshman year at IUPUI. He said he got a concussion after taking a charge and was paralyzed on his left side for six months.

“I’ve been diagnosed with just about everything—they call it alphabet soup, as far as psychological problems,” Mike Duerson said.

He said he hopes something positive comes out of his brother’s death.

“I don’t know if it’s a wake-up call for the NFL, but it may be for colleges,” he said.

INDIANAPOLIS — Mathias Kiwanuka is still gathering information from doctors on his neck injury and whether he can resume playing.

New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese said reports so far on Kiwanuka’s herniated disk in his neck have been positive. But eventually Kiwanuka will need clearance to play and confirmation that he can proceed.

Reese acknowledged that the defensive end will have to make a decision whether he wants to play again, considering the potential risk, but he believes Kiwanuka will want to play if he is cleared.

“I don’t think he is quite out of the woods yet with the doctors’ investigation on the neck, but he has been getting good reports, so that is good for us,” Reese said during his news conference at the NFL scouting combine.

When asked if there is a possibility that Kiwanuka would not be able to play again, the general manager said, “It is a possibility. Who knows? When you are talking about neck injuries — Antonio Pierce, he had a neck injury, boom, it was over just like that. So neck injuries are serious injuries and you have to be careful with those things.

“I think if [Kiwanuka] gets cleared by the doctors, I think he’ll play,” Reese added. “The No. 1 variable in the situation is, What are the doctors saying? Are you going to risk your health by playing football or are you going to be OK? I think that’s what he is looking for and I think he is trying to get everybody to confirm that. He’s been to a lot of doctors so we are hoping for the best.”

Head coach Tom Coughlin said Friday that Kiwanuka has been able to avoid surgery so far. Kiwanuka is the Giants’ most versatile defensive player and was thriving in Perry Fewell’s system. He had four sacks in his first three games of the season, even playing some linebacker for Fewell, until he was sidelined with the neck ailment that eventually ended his season.

Kiwanuka’s contract is up and Reese has said the Giants will have to determine what to do financially. He admitted that the Giants could offer the defensive end a one-year deal to re-establish his worth coming off the injury.

“We’ll figure that out,” Reese said. “The first bridge that we have to cross [is], is he available to play?

“I’m waiting for the doctors’ report, everybody’s report. And he’s got to make a decision, Do I want to play? There’s risk, period. But when you have a neck injury, you have to be careful.

“He’s been all over the place to try to get the right information so he can make the best decision, if he is going to play again next fall. I think there are a couple more doctors that he wants to get some confirmation from and our doctors want to huddle up and make sure everybody is saying the same thing, that everybody is on the same page with that.”

Ohm Youngmisuk covers the Giants for ESPNNewYork.com.

Follow Ohm Youngmisuk on Twitter: @notoriousohm

February 25, 2011, 9:17 AM EST

By Darrell Preston and Aaron Kuriloff

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) — Governments that subsidized $7 billion of National Football League stadium construction will be the biggest losers if the New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys and other teams lock out players March 4.

Mayors and city officials of Houston, Miami, Minneapolis, San Diego and Kansas City, Missouri, have written the NFL asking that it avoid a work stoppage that could cost the entire season and millions in revenue and wages for workers at stadiums, hotels, restaurants and other businesses that depend on games.

Governments that financed 65 percent of new stadiums in the past 20 years would receive an unexpected blow at a time when tight budgets are forcing them to dismiss teachers and firefighters and cut back other government services.

“We don’t want to lose a dime,” said Tony Young, San Diego City Council president, who said by telephone that the NFL’s Chargers generate at least $100 million of local spending. “We’re talking about janitors, parking-lot attendants and catering crews, people who are already struggling.”

The 2011 regular season could be in jeopardy if “serious negotiations” don’t begin soon, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a commentary posted on the NFLlabor.com website last week. The league may lose $1 billion in ticket sales if it takes until September to reach an agreement, according to Eric Grubman, executive vice president for business operations. Each week of lost games would cost the league about $400 million.

Opting Out

Owners in the U.S.’s most-watched television sport voted in 2008 to opt out of the labor deal with players as of next week, saying it didn’t account for costs such as those for building stadiums. Talks have ranged from dividing revenue and expanding the season to 18 games from 16, to a rookie salary cap and health-care benefits. Both sides agreed Feb. 17 to negotiations run by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Bondholders of both corporate and municipal debt tied to stadiums and other infrastructure would be protected by reserves of as much as 18 months of revenue or the proceeds of hotel and motel taxes pledged to repay bonds sold by municipalities. The rating company Standard & Poor’s said in 2008 that it didn’t expect the NFL owners’ rejection of the current contract to hurt repayment of seven stadium-related debt issues.

“If NFL games were not played, the stadium projects should have sufficient liquidity to withstand a prolonged labor action,” S&P’s Jodi E. Hecht and Craig Parmelee, both New York- based analysts, said in a bulletin.

Cowboy Stadium Bonds

As the deadline for an agreement has approached, prices of bonds that the city of Arlington, Texas, issued to help build a new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys have risen, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. On Feb. 23 the bonds traded at an average of 98.4 cents on the dollar, up from 93.8 cents on Jan. 19, driving the yield down to 5.14 percent from 5.55 percent.

Sal Galatioto, who has helped structure bond deals for teams including the New York Giants, said he doesn’t expect stadium bondholders to be hurt because of reserves and the fact that the national TV contract would keep paying the NFL during a work stoppage.

“You’re making plenty of money because you have no expenses,” said Galatioto, the president of Galatioto Sports Partners LLC in New York. “The bondholders would be fine.”

For NFL cities, the teams add value to the property-tax base and labor pool, said N. Edward Coulson, an economist with Pennsylvania State University in University Park, who has studied the value of sports franchises.

“People are willing to pay more to live in a town with an NFL team,” Coulson said.

Sought-After Franchises

The value leads government officials to offer subsidies as incentives to help owners finance stadiums. In Houston, bonds for the Houston Texans’ Reliant Stadium are backed in part by taxes on hotel and car rentals. Alcohol and tobacco taxes helped fund the Cleveland Browns’ stadium.

Subsidies in the Ohio city, which dismissed firefighters, and in New Orleans, which has struggled to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, would continue to be paid even if localities are cut off from the economic benefits expected from games, according to official documents and reports. Yet the cities would lose the economic benefits generated by the events.

In Minneapolis, the Minnesota Vikings’ regular-season games generate $6 million of spending that “support a wide variety of good jobs for workers in the hospitality, hotel and service industries,” wrote Mayor R.T. Rybak in a Feb. 3 letter to Goodell. Playoff games generate $9 million, the letter said.

Metrodome Situation

The city has no guarantee the Vikings will play in the Metrodome after the roof collapsed in December, leaving the team to host games at the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank stadium.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker said in her Feb. 8 letter to Goodell that the Houston Texans’ games in Reliant Stadium generate $250 million of economic activity in restaurants and other entertainment outlets.

“Any decline in these revenues would hurt working families and the city as a whole, further compounding the difficulties we are facing due to the ongoing economic downturn,” Parker wrote.

As businesses and governments that depend directly on games lose income, the impact on the economy in most NFL cities will be minimal as fans spend on other activities, said Andrew Zimbalist, who teaches sports economics at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.

“It may be devastating to the psyche of a community, but not the economy,” Zimbalist said. “Instead of spending money at the stadium, fans will go bowling or do something else.”

–Editors: Ted Bunker, Dex McLuskey.

To contact the reporters on this story: Darrell Preston in Dallas at dpreston@bloomberg.net; Aaron Kuriloff in New York at akuriloff@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net.