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© St. Petersburg Times, published September 18, 2002
BALTIMORE -- With the wail of bagpipes filling the cathedral and his coffin covered in white lilies and roses, Johnny Unitas was remembered as "the greatest," a quarterback who made the impossible possible.
Before more than 2,000 relatives, fans and friends, the Hall of Famer was honored Tuesday as a leader who forever changed the NFL and made everyone around him better. Unitas died Wednesday of a heart attack at 69.
Former Baltimore Colts receiver Raymond Berry, Unitas' most frequent target, told the crowd his teammate was a "once-in-a-lifetime quarterback."
"You elevated all of us to unreachable levels, whether we were in the stands or on the field," Berry said.
Berry was joined at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen by NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Ravens coach Brian Billick and players Ray Lewis, Peter Boulware and Michael McCrary. Also attending were Unitas' former Colts teammates Art Donovan and Tom Matte, and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.
"He was mythic," Tagliabue said. "He symbolizes football, and, more importantly, he symbolizes leadership."
Outside the cathedral, a small plane flew overhead with a banner that said, "Unitas We Stand" in big red letters. Near the coffin stood a painting of Unitas walking into the distance in his No. 19 blue Colts jersey.
Unitas' six sons were the pallbearers. Chad Unitas choked back tears as they prepared to take the coffin out of the hearse and a bagpiper played Edelweiss.
"We remember the cheers that rang out from 33rd Street, celebrating a man in black hightop shoes," said Cardinal William Keeler, the archbishop of Baltimore, recalling Unitas' glory days at Memorial Stadium.
"He humbly and generously dealt with everyone, whether a grandson beginning to play football or a fan seeking an autograph. He led and he touched others by his integrity and loyalty."
ASHBURN, Va. -- Steve Spurrier felt he'd better give an explanation when he unexpectedly walked out of Redskins Park on Tuesday afternoon.
After all, there was plenty of gloom in the building the day after his offense failed to score a touchdown for the first time in 10 years.
"I'm not quitting," Spurrier said before anyone could ask. "I've just got to go get a haircut."
Spurrier came back an hour or so later with shorter hair, but he's still got the same quarterbacks.
Shane Matthews and Danny Wuerffel each played a half, and both struggled in Washington's 37-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, again raising doubts whether either of the ex-Florida players can be a quality NFL starter. In addition, Matthews' left, non-throwing shoulder was hurt when he was hit late in the first half, prompting Spurrier to make the halftime switch.
An MRI on Tuesday showed a bad bruise. Spurrier said Matthews will be limited in practice this week, but he remains the No. 1 quarterback going into Sunday's game at San Francisco.
"We'll check his shoulder situation and so forth, and if he's 100 percent, Shane will still be the starter," Spurrier said.
Also, police defended the use of pepper spray during the game, saying it was needed to break up a fight in the stands and stop a fan from being kicked on the ground.
The spray drifted onto the field during Monday night's game and caused an eight-minute delay.
The fight broke out with about 61/2 minutes to play and Washington on its way to a 37-7 loss. By that time more than half of the 84,982 fans had left FedEx Field.
Cooling fans on the field pulled the pepper spray residue behind the Eagles' bench and Philadelphia players scattered onto the field. Players and fans in the stands on that side of the stadium held their noses.
FALCONS: Winless Atlanta shook up its roster, cutting defensive end Ronald Flemons, cornerback Rodney Heath and receiver Kahlil Hill, and signing defensive end Reggie McGrew, cornerback Kevin Mathis and receiver Damon Gibson.
49ERS: Safety Jason Moore signed to bolster the club's depth at a thin position.
San Francisco had three safeties on its active roster when Zack Bronson sprained his shoulder last week.
PATRIOTS: New England re-signed wide receiver T.C. Taylor to the practice squad and released linebacker O.J. Brigance.
VIKINGS: The team reached terms with kicker Gary Anderson, two days after Doug Brien missed two extra points and a field goal in an overtime loss to Buffalo. Brien will remain to handle kickoffs and long field goals.
Terms weren't disclosed and a call to Anderson's agent wasn't immediately returned. Coach Mike Tice declined comment.
Anderson, 43, is the NFL's oldest active player, in his 21st season, and is the league's leading scorer with 2,133 career points.