FLOWERY BRANCH - From the time the Atlanta Falcons （Atlanta Falcons NFL jerseys ）made Tommy Nobis their first draft pick in 1966, the franchise has always had a long-term leader at linebacker.

Greg Brezina, Buddy Curry, Jessie Tuggle and Keith Brooking followed Nobis as Falcons fixtures in the middle of the defense.

When Brooking signed a three-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys ( Dallas Cowboys NFL jerseys )after the 2008 season, it was time to pass the leadership baton. So Brooking reached out to Curtis Lofton ( Curtis Lofton NFL jerseys ).

“I texted Curtis Lofton and told him he’s the guy on defense now,” Brooking said at his Falcons farewell news conference in March.corinna

After Brooking’s exit, the Falcons signed linebacker Mike Peterson( Mike Peterson NFL jerseys ), who has played a combined 10 seasons with Indianapolis and Jacksonville.

Peterson’s vocal leadership is difficult to miss, and his experience is crucial following the exits of 2008 starters Brooking and Michael Boley. But Falcons coach Mike Smith says Lofton can’t let Peterson be the only player who sets the tone on defense.

“We want Curtis to be a leader on our defense,” Smith said Wednesday. “That’s something you just can’t anoint. You’ve got to earn it.”

Falcons defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder says Peterson’s presence doesn’t change the team’s long-term plans for Lofton to take a lead role.

“That’s what we’re working toward right now,” Van Gorder said. “He’s conscious of it. He’s working at it, trying to gain that leadership role. He’s very much aware of it, and usually when a player is aware of something they have certain expectations of how that’s going to develop. It’s headed in the right direction.”

Lofton called the offseason text message from Brooking “a great honor.” Brooking was an 11-year starter who led the team in tackles each of the last eight seasons.

“Coming in as a rookie and having Keith Brooking here meant the world to me,” Lofton said. “He’s a class act. I learned a lot from him.”

Lofton started 15 games and had 108 tackles last season to trail only New England’s Jerod Mayo among rookies.

“That’s definitely what we hoped when we brought him in,” said Van Gorder of Lofton, a 2008 second-round pick from Oklahoma. “I thought he had a solid rookie year. Now in his second year he’s got to continue to get better and have more production.”

MIAMI - Venus and Serena Williams have found a new sport: pro football.

The tennis-playing sisters will become the latest celebrities to own a stake in the Miami Dolphins ( Miami Dolphins NFL jerseys ), a person familiar with the deal said Wednesday. The person didn’t want to be identified because the team plans an announcement Tuesday.

The Williamses live in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., about an hour’s drive from the Dolphins’ stadium. Their new role will be significant in part because the NFL has no African-American majority team owner.

Musicians Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Marc Anthony recently bought small shares of the team. New Dolphins owner Stephen Ross also forged a partnership with singer Jimmy Buffett.

Dolphins release cornerback Green.

DAVIE, Fla. - Veteran cornerback Eric Green has been released by the Miami Dolphins(Miami Dolphins NFL jerseys ), leaving rookies Sean Smith and Vontae Davis to contend for a starting job.

Green had been a disappointment in training camp, and his contract was terminated Wednesday. He signed with Miami as an unrestricted free agent in March after four seasons with Arizona.

Smith, who has been practicing with the first team, made an interception in Monday’s exhibition opener against Jacksonville(Jacksonville NFL jerseys ). Davis, Miami’s first-round draft choice in April, was flagged for three penalties in the game.

The Dolphins seek a replacement for starter Andre’ Goodman, who signed with Denver in the offseason.

“The Raiders (Raiders NFL jerseys )signed veteran cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. ( Ricky Manning Jr.  NFL jerseys )on Saturday in a move designed to provide more depth.

Manning, 28, spent last season with the St. Louis Rams ( St. Louis Rams NFL jerseys ) . Before that, he played for the Chicago Bears (Chicago Bears  NFL jerseys )for two seasons and the Carolina Panthers (Carolina Panthers NFL jerseys )  from 2003-05. He played in Super Bowls with the Panthers and Bears.

Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said he lobbied on Manning Jr.’s behalf last week and that Manning Jr. is a versatile player.

“He’s more of a physical corner than a speed guy, so that might be a little different from what we had in the past,” Asomugha said. “But he’ll help because he’s done it before. And you know about the games that he’s played, his playoff work and all that stuff, so he can play.”

Manning Jr. stands only 5-foot-9, but he compensates for his lack of height with above-average speed and strength.

“I felt this was a good situation just because it’s closer to home and there’s opportunity here,” Manning Jr. said after his first practice. “There’s always opportunity here for players that come in and play well. It’s a good opportunity for me. I grew up a Raider ( Raider  NFL jerseys )fan, so it’s kind of hard for me to say no.”"

As a Super Bowl(Super Bowl NFL jerseys) rematch, the exhibition game between the Steelers( Steelers NFL jerseys) and Arizona Cardinals(Arizona Cardinals NFL jerseys) last night fell flat. Anyone looking for excitement could have found more at the newly opened Rivers Casino next door.

But then, exhibition games often go that way, probably why only 58,330 turned out at Heinz Field last night. It was another example of why the NFL wants to reduce the preseason by two games.

The Steelers( Steelers NFL jerseys), however, won for the second consecutive time over the past six months against the Cardinals, 20-10.

The game was salvaged somewhat in the second half by players who were not playing in a Super Bowl rematch, they were playing in their first professional game. Steelers rookies such as Ziggy Hood(Ziggy Hood NFL jerseys), Joe Burnett(Joe Burnett NFL jerseys), Mike Wallace(Mike Wallace NFL jerseys ) and Isaac Redman(Isaac Redman NFL jerseys ) had to walk out of Heinz Field feeling pretty good about their pro debuts.

Redman scored both touchdowns in short-yardage situations, something he also did Sunday in the team’s only goal-line drill of camp. The undrafted rookie from Bowie State ran one in from 3 yards and the other from 5. Second-year quarterback Dennis Dixon was at the controls for both touchdowns.

Another Pittsburgher accounted for a third touchdown, but he wore red and white. Former Pitt quarterback Tyler Palko(Tyler Palko NFL jerseys ) completed all five passes on a 59-yard drive that ended with his 20-yard touchdown toss to Onrea Jones with 3:30 left in the game.

Both teams went with their starters for two series and both starting groups left with the game scoreless.

“We still have some things to work on,” is how Steelers offensive tackle Max Starks put it.

Ben Roethlisberger completed 4 of the 6 passes he attempted for 33 yards. Backup Charlie Batch was 1 of 2 for 45 yards, and both veterans were done before the end of the first half.

“Overall, without looking at film, I think it was OK,” Roethlisberger said. “I think we had a couple plays with a few breakdowns, but it just felt good to go against someone other than your own guys.”

The best play of the night gave the Steelers the lead for good, and it occurred on the last play of the third quarter with half the fans still in their seats.

Three rookies combined to make it happen. Hood, rushing from left defensive end, put pressure on Arizona quarterback Brian St. Pierre to force a throw that ended up in Burnett’s hands. (Hood, their first draft choice, added a sack of St. Pierre later). Burnett, a fifth-round pick, ran it back 42 yards to the Cardinals’ 3.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Redman ran a nifty off-tackle play, breaking one tackle and bouncing it outside to score. Later in the quarter, he ran two plays in a row, starting at the 9, and scored off right guard from 5 yards out. Combined with his two scores in the goal-line drills at Saint Vincent, Redman looks like a guy who knows the way to the end zone.

There was a burst of excitement at the end of the first half, a near Super Bowl repeat. As in the Super Bowl, the half nearly ended with a long interception return by the Steelers, this time by cornerback Anthony Madison. He picked off Matt Leinart’s pass at the 9 and weaved and ran it back to the 35 before he was tackled with no time outs left.

Not only did Madison fall a tad short of James Harrison’s 100-yard return for a touchdown in the Super Bowl, the interception was taken away from him and he was given a pass-interference penalty in its place.

It took the Steelers’ second-team offense to snap everyone out of it, and Jeff Reed to put them ahead, 3-0, with a booming 50-yard field goal that made it easily.

Batch had a better first exhibition game than he did last preseason when his collarbone was broken on a botched play. Last night, his first series ended with the first score of the game.

Limas Sweed( Limas Sweed NFL jerseys ) made that score possible when he caught a deep pass from Batch that covered 45 yards.

Sweed adjusted nicely along the right sideline, pausing for a slightly underthrown ball to get good position on cornerback Michael Adams. He made the catch at the Arizona 39.

“He is going to grow as a wide receiver and make some big plays for us,” said veteran Hines Ward.

Sweed, trying to replace Nate Washington(Nate Washington  NFL jerseys ) as the No. 3 receiver, had two nice catches in the first half, the other a leaping grab in traffic for 11 yards on third down. But he also dropped a third-down pass at the Arizona 8 in the third quarter.

The Cardinals tied the score after Madison’s interference penalty on his interception. Arizona got the ball with no time left on the clock at the Steelers’ 11, and Neil Rackers kicked a 29-yard field goal to send the teams into the break tied, 3-3.

The Steelers had a chance to take the lead on their first possession of the third quarter, but they sent backup kicker Piotr Czech out to try a 36-yarder, and he failed.

Rashard Mendenhall started for the slightly injured Willie Parker (Willie Parker NFL jerseys )at halfback and played the entire first half. He carried nine times for 24 yards and split out wide several times when the first team went to an empty backfield.

Wallace, a third-round pick, caught a nice slant from Dixon in the third quarter for a 22-yard gain to Arizona’s 22 before Czech’s missed field goal and had a second reception for 13 yards.

Czech got a second chance and made good on it when he booted a 44 yard field goal with 1:41 to go.

“Tony Grossi reports from Cleveland Browns （Cleveland Browns  NFL jerseys ）training camp this morning that the NFL has suspended wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth for the 2009 season. Tony’s story will post shortly.

Stallworth was suspended indefinitely after he pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter for killing a pedestrian while driving drunk in Miami Beach, Fla., on March 14.

Stallworth met with NFL （NFL jerseys）Commissioner Roger Goodell on Aug. 5 in hopes of being reinstated, a league source confirmed. But the NFL did not make a decision as to what Stallworth’s further discipline may be at that time.

Miami TV station WPLG reported last week that Stallworth showed Goodell surveillance video, which reportedly shows the pedestrian, Mario Reyes, darting out in front of Stallworth’s car outside of a crosswalk.

Last week, Browns(Browns NFL jerseys) coach Eric Mangini declined to comment on whether or not he’d welcome Stallworth back this season.”