Female official makes history
Shannon Eastin has made NFL history.
Eastin was the line judge in Sunday’s game featuring the Rams against the Lions in Detroit, making her the first woman to be an official in a regular-season game.
She is among the replacement officials hired by the league while the regular officials are locked out. Replacement officials are working games for the first time in 11 years.
Eastin became the first female official to work an NFL preseason game last month as the line judge when Green Bay played at San Diego.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has the hat and whistle she used during that preseason game, and they’ll be displayed in Canton, Ohio.
The 42-year-old resident of Tempe, Ariz. has worked as a referee in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference — college football’s second-highest level — and has 16 years of officiating experience.
MEAC officials declined comment on Eastin, as did the NFL in the days leading up to the groundbreaking assignment.
“Commenting on individual officials is not something we do,” league spokesman Greg Aiello said. “Her place in league history speaks for itself.”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said having Eastin on the field is a great opportunity for her and the league.
“She’s well prepared for it, and I think she’ll do terrific,” Goodell said last month. “So we’re excited about that.
“And there are more coming, by the way. We’ve been working to properly train and prepare a female official, and now we have the opportunity.”
At the same game, replacement official Paul Caldera left the game in the third quarter with a left hamstring injury.
Caldera, a side judge, was tended to on a training table on the Detroit sideline, causing a brief delay before he was replaced on the crew by alternate Curtis Adams — a replacement for the replacement.
Caldera was eventually able to get up and walk off the field and down the tunnel.
Texans
Quarterback Matt Schaub signed a four-year contract extension. Schaub, acquired in 2007 in a trade from Atlanta, announced his new deal and thanked team owner Bob McNair, general manager Rick Smith and coach Gary Kubiak after the Texans opened the season with a 30-10 win against Miami. “I’m very excited to continue to make Houston our home,” Schaub said. “My wife and I are raising our kids here, so we’re very excited to be a part of this community. Just excited for this opportunity. At no point was this ever going to be a distraction for me,” Schaub said. The Texans also extended defensive end Tim Jamison’s contract by two years, now through 2014.
Patriots
Tom Brady might have broken his nose in the Patriots’ 34-13 win against the Tennessee Titans. The two-time NFL MVP said he never has had a broken nose before. Brady was hurt in the second quarter when sacked by Titans defensive end Kamerion Wimbley but didn’t miss a play. Trainers taped up his nose, and he finished off the game by throwing for 236 yards and two touchdowns. He talked to reporters after the game wearing a suit with a fresh bandage covering his nose. Brady joked that it’s not his usual look but he doesn’t mind a little blood.
Rams
Offensive tackle Rodger Saffold has movement in his arms and legs after being carted off the field with a neck injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Saffold crumpled awkwardly after disengaging from Lions safety John Wendling on a long St. Louis pass. Saffold remained down for several minutes. He was eventually lifted onto the cart but did not appear to be moving much. But coach Jeff Fisher said after the game Saffold had movement in his limbs and would undergo a CT scan.
Jets
Curtis Martin was decked out in a Jets green tie and shoes, looking sharp as ever on another big day for the Hall of Fame running back. The Jets retired his No. 28 jersey at halftime of New York’s seasonopening game against the Buffalo Bills. Martin, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last month, joined three of the biggest names in franchise history — Joe Namath (No. 12), Don Maynard (13), who were both in attendance, and Joe Klecko (73) — as the only players to receive the prestigious honor. Martin was also joined at midfield by former Jets teammates Ray Mickens, Victor Green and Fred Baxter.