Sports briefs

Prep football coach slain; ex-player arrested

PARKERSBURG, Iowa — A high school coach who helped launch several professional football careers was gunned down by a former player Wednesday in front of students taking part in an offseason workout, authorities said.

Mark Becker, 24, who was supposed to have been taken to a hospital psychiatric ward after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase Saturday night, unloaded several rounds into Aplington-Parkersburg High School football coach Ed Thomas and was arrested at a nearby home soon afterward, said Kevin Winker, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

Winker said he couldn't discuss what Becker's motive for the slaying might have been, or what Becker might have been up to in the days leading up to the shooting.

"Motive is one of those things we're looking into," Winker said.

School was not in session, and Becker did not threaten any of the students in the room, he said.

Thomas, 58, died at a Waterloo hospital. His shooting stunned the rural community of 1,800 residents 80 miles northeast of Des Moines, and it reverberated through NFL circles, where he was remembered as much for his Christian faith as his winning record.

"Coach Thomas was very special to me and many other young men from the Aplington-Parkersburg communities," said Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman. "His legacy for many will be associated with his tremendous success as a football coach. However, I believe his greatest legacy comes not in how many football games he won or lost but in the fact that he was a committed follower of Jesus Christ."

Named the NFL's 2005 high school coach of the year, Thomas amassed a 292-84 record in 37 seasons as a head coach — 34 of them at Aplington-Parkersburg. He coached several players who went on to the NFL, including Green Bay Packers linebacker Aaron Kampman, Jacksonville Jaguars center Brad Meester, Detroit Lions defensive end Jared DeVries, and Denver Broncos center Casey Wiegmann.

Peppers ends stalemate with Panthers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Julius Peppers' stalemate with the Carolina Panthers is over, leaving the defensive end rich and the NFC South champions free from worrying about a holdout.

Peppers signed his one-year, $16.7 million tender on Wednesday, five months after the four-time Pro Bowl selection first announced he wanted to play elsewhere next season. It means Peppers, Carolina's all-time sacks leader, should be present for the start of training camp.