Sports in 2 Minutes

From The Associated Press

Young speaks, promises he is committed to Titans

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Titans quarterback Vince Young insists he never wavered in his commitment to football.

All that concern over his mental state? He says he was upset as he dealt with his first serious injury, and he didn’t realize he had to tell his mother where he was going anymore.

Then the media went overboard.

Young spoke publicly Thursday for the first time since Titans coach Jeff Fisher called police for help in locating the quarterback Monday night because of concerns over his emotional well-being. His mother, Felicia Young, also told a local newspaper that the quarterback had indicated he didn’t want to play football anymore because of all the negativity he faced.

Young took questions from reporters for 16 minutes after watching his teammates practice. His message? Don’t question his commitment.

“Football, this is my life. This is my dream. All I did all these years growing up to get to this point and never had an injury like this before in my life,” he said.

“It’s a hard time because I’m a competitor, and I definitely want to be out on the football field with my teammates.”

Tressel: RB Wells now doubtful for USC game

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Thursday it is doubtful that starting tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells will play Saturday night against No. 1 Southern California.

Tressel said there was lingering soreness for Wells in his right foot after he worked out on Wednesday night. Wells did not practice with the team Thursday morning just before it departed for Los Angeles.

“We were hoping he’d wake up this morning and feel even better than yesterday,” Tressel said shortly before boarding the team bus to the airport. “But it didn’t happen. We’ll see from here.”

Wells injured his right foot in the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ opener against Youngstown State, did not play last week against Ohio and has not had contact in partial practices this week. He flew with the team on Thursday afternoon.

Tressel did not rule out the possibility of the junior seeing action, but did not sound optimistic.

Ike forces Washington St-Baylor to Friday

WACO, Texas—The Washington State-Baylor football game has been moved up to Friday night to avoid complications with Hurricane Ike on the Texas coast this weekend.

The game was originally scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Saturday to be broadcast on FSN. Kickoff is now scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday night.

Baylor officials said the approaching hurricane would cause travel problems for Washington State fans, as well FSN production crews, many of who are in the greater Houston area. Houston may be directly impacted by Ike.

Baylor officials said television or webcast information of the game could be announced later.

Texas had already postponed its game Saturday against Arkansas in Austin, about 100 miles south of Waco. TCU, which is located in Fort Worth about 100 miles north of Waco, moved kickoff for its game Saturday against Stanford from 6 p.m. to noon.

Colston out 4-6 weeks with thumb injury

NEW ORLEANS—Marques Colston, the New Orleans Saints’ top receiver during the past two seasons, had surgery on his left thumb and will miss four to six weeks.

Colston said he had a torn ligament resulting from a play Sunday when he reached forward to make a catch while taking a helmet-first hit to his hands from Ronde Barber.

“I don’t know if my thumb just got caught in an awkward position. It just bent all the way backward,” said Colston, who was wearing a cast over his left hand. “I guess the only silver lining is that I’m going to have a chance to come back and play a good portion of the season and hopefully be back in time for that playoff push.”

Colston tried to continue playing with the injury during the Saints’ 24-20 victory over Tampa Bay, but finished with only three catches for 26 yards. He made one catch after the injury.

Colston was a seventh-round draft choice out of Hofstra in 2006. At 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, he provides quarterback Drew Brees a big target and emerged as one of Brees’ favorite receivers during his rookie year. Colston went on to compile 2,241 yards receiving for 19 touchdowns in his first two seasons.