NEW YORK (AP) – The NFL is off to a strong start in its TV ratings after drawing big numbers last season.

Thursday’s Vikings-Saints opener earned the highest preliminary rating for a regular-season, prime-time game in 13 years. NBC said Friday that New Orleans’ 14-9 win in a rematch of the NFC championship drew a 17.7 overnight rating and 28 share.

That’s the best in prime time in the regular season since the Broncos-49ers game in 1997. It’s by far the highest rating for a Thursday night opener since the NFL started such games in 2002. The previous best was a 14.5/23 for Jets-Redskins in 2003.

The rating was up 28 percent from the 13.8/23 for last year’s Titans-Steelers opener, which went to overtime.

The game drew a 60.0/78 in New Orleans and 43.8/64 in Minneapolis. Packers fans are clearly still following Brett Favre closely: The rating was 33.3/52 in Milwaukee.

Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time. Overnight ratings measure the country’s largest markets.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Kevin Mawae, president of the NFL Players Association, is retiring from the NFL after 16 seasons and eight Pro Bowls.

Mawae has called a news conference for Friday afternoon, and a news release posted on the NFLPA’s website Friday morning said he will be announcing his retirement.

“It’s a time of reflection for me just to think that I (had) the privilege of playing in the NFL,” Mawae said. “It’s an honor _ not a right _ and it’s something that I don’t take for granted. It’s one that I cherish.”

The lineman played for Tennessee last season, starting all 16 games and helping block for Chris Johnson as he ran for 2,006 yards. The starts gave Mawae 241 regular season games played, at that time the most among active linemen. He missed only three starts, in his rookie season with Seattle.

But his contract was up, the Titans chose to go younger with Leroy Harris, and no team called to sign the lineman, who turns 40 in January. He finished his career playing in his final Pro Bowl. He will serve out his term as union president, which ends in March 2012. Mawae felt his role as union president, with the league and union in the final year of their labor deal, limited interest in him.

Mawae (muh-WHY) said football was his life coming into the NFL, and compared the progression from his rookie year to now to night and day.

“Learning the business side of the NFL was a rude awakening for me, and it’s when I realized that even though it was a game, it’s a job and if you don’t perform, you don’t have a job. The one thing I have learned that keeps players in the league is consistency in how they work and how they prepare for the game,” Mawae said.

Mawae first was elected president of the players union in 2008 and was re-elected to the two-year post in March. He had been on the union’s executive committee since 2000 and was a players’ representative between 1998 and 2000.

A four-year starter at LSU, the 6-foot-4, 289-pound Mawae was drafted in the second round in 1994 by the Seahawks and also played for the New York Jets before landing with the Titans in 2006.

Mawae earned his first Pro Bowl berth in 1999 with the Jets, after blocking for Curtis Martin, who ran for 1,464 yards. He snapped his streak of playing in 177 consecutive games in October 2005 when he hurt his left triceps, knocking him out of the final 11 games.

He signed with Tennessee where he spent the final four seasons of his career, helping the team to two playoff berths as part of an offensive line that allowed an NFL-low 12 sacks in 2008. He missed the two playoff games with injuries.

“The life of an offensive lineman is one of obscurity and living in the background, but winning is always the main goal,” Mawae said. “Reaching different milestones in a career just adds to your memories when your playing days are over.”

Mawae has been working at Vanderbilt as a strength and conditioning intern with the Commodores’ football team. He also started his own lineman camp this summer.

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Online:

NFL Players Association:
http://www.nflplayers.com

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IRVING, Texas (AP) – Injured offensive linemen Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier won’t be playing for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night in Washington.

Both were ruled out by the team on Friday.

Alex Barron will start in place of Colombo at right tackle. Montrae Holland will start in Kosier’s place at left guard. Both have been seeing action in those spots since the starters went down with knee injuries a few days apart in mid-August.

Colombo was expected back by this week. Kosier could miss up to the first three games.

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

METAIRIE, La. (AP) – Coach Sean Payton says his offense played better than the score indicated in the New Orleans Saints’ 14-9 season-opening win over the Minnesota Vikings.

Payton says the Vikings were the second-best team in the NFC last season and remain an impressive squad with one of the strongest defenses in the NFL.

The coach says the Saints offensive line protected Drew Brees exceptionally well, allowing only one sack on a blitz. Brees completed 75 percent of his passes despite several drops by receivers, including one in the end zone by Robert Meachem.

Payton also says he hasn’t lost confidence in kicker Garrett Hartley, who missed two field goals.

Meanwhile, Payton says his defense tackled extremely well, limiting yards after contact.

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Kellen Winslow hasn’t forgotten Cleveland, but he has moved on.

The former Browns tight end faces his old team for the first time Sunday when he begins his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yet the seventh-year pro insists it won’t feel different from any other game.

“It’s really just another team. It’s a blessing to be here. It’s where I want to be. I’m fortunate,” said Winslow,” who spent five often tumultuous seasons with the Browns before being traded to Tampa Bay in February 2009.

“Everything that went on up there with Cleveland was a growing process for me. I really grew up and matured. It was hard up there because we weren’t winning a lot and it was just frustrating at times. But I’m here now and I’m having fun.”

The 27-year-old son of Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow had a pair of 80-catch seasons for the Browns but couldn’t escape the perception of being a talented but troublesome player.

Despite impressive statistics, he received as much attention for a career-threatening motorcycle accident and squabbling with the front office.

Short of playmakers, the Bucs welcomed Winslow with welcome arms. The one-time Pro Bowl selection is making the most of a fresh start.

The Bucs acquired Winslow in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2009 and a fifth-rounder this year, then signed him to a $36.1 million contract extension that made him one of the highest paid tight ends in the NFL.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder has overcome surgery on both knees, suffered a broken leg that ended his rookie season and received injuries from the motorcycle crash that sidelined him in 2005.

A year ago, he led Tampa Bay with 77 receptions for 884 yards (both club records for a tight end) and five touchdowns. He also led the team in receiving yards eight times and led or tied for the lead in receptions in 12 of 16 games.

Teammates laud his toughness. They rave about his work ethic and willingness to do whatever it takes to stay on the field.

Recovering from his sixth knee surgery, Winslow sat out numerous practices during training camp and had just a few snaps during a single preseason game.

Bucs coach Raheem Morris acknowledged the tight end receives special treatment. But he doesn’t apologize for it.

“It’s very hard for me to complain about the things that he has not done. All he did was come here and break a record (for tight ends) we had standing for a long time,” Morris said.

The coach said Winslow was one of the bright spots of a season that wasn’t great last year.

“I look forward to better and bigger things from him this year,” Morris said.

The deal sending Winslow to the Browns was made a little than a month after Eric Mangini was hired as coach. Mangini said he did not meet Winslow before the trade and revealed little about what went into the decision to unload one of the team’s top players.

“It was an opportunity from a trade perspective that we talked about, and it’s the decision that we made at that point,” Mangini said. “Look, he’s a very good player and I really respect the things that he does as a player.”

Browns rookie safety T.J. Ward will draw the assignment of covering Winslow on Sunday. He knows it’s a tall order.

“He’s a very good, athletic tight end. He has great hands. He’s physical,” Ward said. “I’m studying a lot of film on him, and I’m just going to go in there and try to compete. I’m trying to offset my immaturity or lack of experience by a lot of study.”

While Winslow said he doesn’t have any special feeling about facing his old team, Morris isn’t buying it.

“I’m sure he has some fuel. I’m sure he has something hidden away, some articles stowed away somewhere, something that was said negative about this young man,” Morris said. “That’s what gets him going. That’s who Kellen is. … He goes out. He prepares, he practices, he plays, he loves the game. He’ll use anything for motivation. That’s the kind of guy he is.”

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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – The Palm Beach Post is reporting that one of the nation’s top recruits has been suspended for two games for making an obscene gesture after a contest in Ohio this week.

Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Dwyer tight end Nick O’Leary, the grandson of golf legend Jack Nicklaus, was sanctioned by the Florida High School Athletic Association for actions after a game against Cleveland Glenville High.

The FHSAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dwyer lost to Glenville 26-22 Monday, although television replays showed the reigning Florida Class 4A champions twice scored what should have been a go-ahead touchdown in the final moments.

O’Leary had nine catches for 152 yards. He’s considered by many the top tight end recruit in the country this season.

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) – Ray Rice was hardly even bruised during the preseason as the Baltimore Ravens preserved their all-purpose running back for the regular season.

The Pro Bowl runner only touched the football 13 times during the preseason, rushing eight times for 30 yards and catching five passes for 56 yards.

Now, a well-rested Rice figures to be heavily involved as the Ravens prepare for Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets.

“I feel great,” he said. “It’s the best I’ve ever felt. Our training camp was physical. It felt good to get tackled during training camp by our guys. You don’t necessarily want to be tackled by another team, but I feel fresh going into this game. It feels great to know that you got your workload in camp, but now you’re ready to play the regular season.”

The former Rutgers star rushed for a career-high 1,339 yards in his second NFL season. He also caught 78 passes for 702 yards. Only Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson ranked ahead of Rice’s 2,041 all-purpose yards from scrimmage.

The game means a little bit more to him because it will be held near his hometown of New Rochelle, N.Y. He says he has requested 35 to 40 tickets for friends and family for the game at the new Meadowlands stadium.

“It’s a new stadium, my family is up there and I’m trying to get my high school coaches to come,” he said. “I’m trying to make it a special event.”

The Ravens aren’t worried about Rice being rusty. They’ve seen him enough in practice to be convinced that the 5-foot8, 212-pounder is ready for another big season.

“Hopefully, he’ll come out ready to go,” quarterback Joe Flacco said. “You know what Ray can do, so I expect him to come out and do all that _ have some good carries, be effective first in the pass game.”

But the Jets are the league’s reigning top-ranked defense from last season, featuring a strong front seven anchored by nose guard Kris Jenkins and inside linebackers David Harris and Bart Scott.

“We both play that physical game,” Rice said. “It’s going to be who out-executes each other. I don’t think it’s going to be a first-quarter knockout. I want the game to go four quarters. That way, our true testament and will, will come out.”

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BOSTON (AP) – Boston police have cited the driver of a van involved in an accident with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Police say 21-year-old Ludgero Rodrigues was cited Thursday for failing to stop at a red light.

A police report says Rodrigues was driving a Mercury Villager minivan and struck Brady’s Audi sedan at an intersection in Boston’s Back Bay area near Brady’s home. A 49-year-old passenger in the minivan was seriously injured. Brady was not hurt.

The report says Brady told officers he had a green light and attempted to swerve out of the way when the van crossed his path. His car struck the passenger side of the van.

Brady took part in the team’s practice Thursday.

A telephone listing for Rodrigues can’t be found.

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers say their season opener Sunday against the Cleveland Browns will be blacked out locally.

It’s the club’s first regular-season blackout since 1997 _ the year before the Bucs moved into Raymond James Stadium. Both home exhibition games were blacked out last month.

The team did not say how many tickets remained unsold at 1 p.m. Thursday, 72 hours before kickoff.

(Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)