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Rams owner Chip Rosenbloom has indicated consistently that he wanted to evaluate Haslett over the entire 12 remaining games of the season after Haslett replaced the fired Scott Linehan. As expected, that makes the two remaining games of the season far from meaningless for Haslett, the current coaching staff and the players. But as the number of games has dwindled and a critical offseason nears, an outline has begun to take shape: • The head-coaching search will be conducted by "football people." More specifically, executive vice president of player personnel Billy Devaney is expected to be the point man for the job search. He will identify candidates, interview them and present a finalist or group of finalists to Rosenbloom. At the end of the day, Devaney is expected to make a recommendation, with Rosenbloom giving final approval with input from fellow owners Lucia Rodriguez and Stan Kroenke. • The Rams will abide by the NFL's Rooney Rule, meaning at least one minority candidate will be interviewed for the job. • Other than sitting in on the finalist interviews and offering his opinion if asked by Rosenbloom, team President John Shaw will not be involved in hiring process. "We're desperate to get out of this," Bill Guerin, their 38-year-old center and captain, said. Tuesday's wrenching overtime loss to Washington was their seventh defeat in a row, dropping the Islanders' record to 10-18-3, 14th in the NHL's 15-team Eastern Conference. Loyal fans are considering wearing bags over their heads. But at least they are still going to games. In wintry weather Tuesday, the Coliseum was about half-full, perhaps 8,000 fans, although the crowd was announced at 11,655. Officially, attendance has dropped only slightly this season to an average of 13,195, which is about 2,000 more than in 2000-1. Nevertheless, the Islanders are last in the 30-team league in attendance. It was not supposed to be this way. Scott Gordon, 45, a coach with solid American Hockey League credentials, was hired Aug. 12 to put in an aggressive forechecking system, but the Islanders have been damaged by injuries. "We're there at times," Gordon said Tuesday, "but when we get going in the right direction in one area, we're not in another." Clark Hunt did not end a long-term relationship with Carl Peterson without purpose. The logical conclusion to reach based on Hunt's action is that he has identified two targets to be the next general manager of the Kansas City Chiefs, according Pittsburgh Tribune Review. There's going to be fierce competition for general managers this offseason. The Detroit Lions dumped Matt Millen early in the season and have had a head start on the Chiefs. The Cleveland Browns might make a move on Phil Savage and be in the market for a GM. Hunt would be foolish to wait to join the race for a personnel difference-maker. There are two no-brainer options: 1. New England Patriots vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli. 2. An experienced front-office executive with strong ties to and the ability to deliver former Steelers coach Bill Cowher. If Hunt wants to instantly revitalize the Chiefs' organization, restore faith and credibility among his fan base, those are his two options. Something else might very well work in the long run, but we'd have to take a wait-and-see approach. I think Hunt is zeroed in on landing Pioli or someone who can land Cowher. He wants to hit his first pitch out of the park. Pioli or a FOB — friend of Bill's — would be a grand slam. The injury initially was listed as being to a knee, but Colts coach Tony Dungy said Wednesday it was a hamstring. Harrison underwent an MRI test but the results have not been released. Harrison has played in every game this season after missing a career-high 11 last year with a knee injury. Safety Bob Sanders (knee) and running back Joseph Addai (shoulder) will be game-time decisions, but Dungy was optimistic both would play." Unhappy Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jordan Farmar met with head coach Phil Jackson looking to clarify his role, according to the the Los Angeles Times. By Tuesday night, Farmar seemed disgruntled, the telling sign coming when Jackson yanked him out of the game against New York 4:01 into the fourth quarter and the 6-foot-2 guard stormed off the court and exchanged words with his coach. Farmar played just nine minutes against the Knicks. On Wednesday after practice, Farmar sounded more disillusioned about his role when he talked about his meeting in Jackson's office at the team's practice facility. "He didn't call me up there, I asked to talk to him — to vent," Farmar said. "Just trying to get some things across." It was as if Farmar popped into the "principal's office," Jackson said. "I felt he was frustrated." The New York Giants were embarrassed and angry after their 20-8 loss in Dallas Sunday night — their second consecutive awful performance. Their offense was searching for answers. And the team could sense everything — the No.1 seed, their momentum, even a first-round bye — beginning to slip away. Apparently sensing that feeling among his players, Coughlin decided not to pile on. He told his team in its morning meeting to turn their frowns upside down, and to put the last two weeks out of their minds. "What two weeks?" Coughlin said. "What are you talking about? What two weeks? I have no idea what you are talking about. It's what's up front, what's coming up. Let's go. Forget about Wednesday. Wednesday doesn't matter. What matters is this coming weekend." Considering what's at stake this weekend in a winner-take-all battle for the No.1 seed with the Carolina Panthers (11-3), it really wasn't a difficult concept for Coughlin to sell. The Giants feel terrible about the way they have played the last two weeks, especially on offense where they have produced just 13 points in two games. But the big picture is still a pretty one for the defending champions. "We're not the 0-14 Detroit Lions," linebacker Antonio Pierce said. "Did anybody think we'd be 11-3? 
Unnamed sources within the St. Louis Rams told the the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday that there will be a full-fledged search for a head coach, adding that current coach Jim Haslett will be one of the candidates.
The New York Islanders are bad again. Maybe they are not as awful as they were eight seasons ago, when they lost 51 games, but they are plummeting out of contention fast, the New York Times reported.
Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison will miss Thursday night's game with a hamstring injury suffered in Sunday's win over Detroit. He did not travel to Jacksonville.
Earlier in the season, Jackson allowed Farmar the freedom to run the fastbreak, to run more pick and rolls on offense and less of the triangle offense. Now, Farmar said, Jackson wants him to be more precise, to run the triangle offense and throttle down on the fastbreak when it's not there.
Sunday in Seattle, New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre will cross paths w