National Football League

Some of the NFL's tallest timber this season are mere bonsais in comparison to their football counterparts. The league leaders in touchdowns (Maurice Jones-Drew), yards rushing (Chris Johnson), receptions (Steve Smith) and sacks (Elvis Dumervil) are all sub-6-footers. And at 6 feet, New Orleans star Drew Brees, a most-valuable-player candidate, is the NFL's shortest starting quarterback. From 5-foot-6 Darren Sproles in San Diego to 5-8 Ray Rice in Baltimore, from 175-pound DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia to 185-pound Wes Welker in New England, pros all around the country are proving there's a place for the little man in America's biggest game.

at Carolina 28, Atlanta 19: Matt Ryan must be a baseball fan, since he is bringing the sophomore jinx over to football. at Miami 25, Tampa Bay 23: Time to call an immediate moratorium on all "Henne-powered" headlines or references. at Minnesota 27, Detroit 10: After Lions lose for 31st time in 33 games, Donald Sterling might start showing interest in buying them. Jacksonville 24, at N.Y. Jets 22: It seems all that "Mark Sanchez is the next Joe Namath" talk turned out to be a bit premature.

John Madden, the NFL coaching legend and former broadcaster, made his call in April when he announced his retirement. But that didn't mean the 73-year-old was out of plays. Madden still relishes his role as an advisor to the video game franchise that bears his name, Madden NFL. Developed by Redwood City, Calif.-based Electronic Arts Inc., the franchise has sold more than 70 million copies and racked up more than $2 billion in retail sales since 1989, not counting the latest version of the game.

Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines this week's matchups (Lines according to Glantz-Culver). See Farmer's video picks online at our Fabulous Forum blog at latimes/sports. (Last week: 11-5; against the spread: 5-11): Cincinnati at Green Bay When: Sunday, 10 a.m. TV: none. DirecTV: 704. Line: Packers by 9. Over/under: 42. The Bengals are 0-4 at Lambeau Field, and the Packers are looking better defensively than they have looked in a long while. Packers 20, Bengals 10. Oakland at Kansas City When: Sunday, 10 a.m. TV: none.

Are you ready for L.A. Live, San Gabriel Valley edition? The downtown entertainment complex may get a cousin of sorts 23 miles to the east if billionaire developer Edward Roski Jr. has his way. So far, coverage of Roski's proposal to build a 75,000-seat, $800-million stadium in City of Industry has focused on its potential to bring professional football back to the Los Angeles area after an absence of 15 years. But Roski's plan doesn't just call for a stadium. It sees the football facility as the centerpiece of a 592-acre mixed-use complex including shops, restaurants, offices and an extensive network of surface parking lots.

Any fool knows when you hit someone with your best shot and he is still able to think, then you're not a hitter. My idea of a good hit is when the victim wakes up on the sidelines with train whistles blowing in his head and wondering who he is and what ran over him. --Jack Tatum in "They Call Me Assassin." * He is on the phone, his voice weary, as if he hasn't slept well in years, maybe decades. "All these years I've been vilified, nobody will ever tell me what I did wrong," says Jack Tatum.

No rush to get that nose ring in order to look like every other Raider fan, and the way the NFL sees it, you can drop the kickstand on that Harley too, because the team will not be coming to Los Angeles. "I'd say there's a chance the Raiders could come back to L.A.," said Frank Rothman, the NFL's lead attorney for more than the last decade. "About the same chance of me getting pregnant."

A majority of Orange County residents and business people support building a professional football stadium in Irvine or a nearby city, according to a sports-marketing study released Friday. The phone survey of 500 Orange County residents, which was sponsored by the city of Irvine, showed that 79.2% back a National Football League stadium and franchise somewhere in the county. Of those, 72.2% want it in Irvine.

Our team is looking mighty good. It dominated the Green Bay Packers, who had won 32 consecutive games at Lambeau Field, the other day, and based on the way our guys usually do business, "the team of the decades" shockingly might win as many games as it loses this season. Happy days are here again with increasing serious talk that L.A.'

I can't for the life of me understand the NFL. You know, the population of California is about 33 million. It's bigger than some countries. Correction: It's bigger than most countries. And more than 50% of the state's population lives south of the Tehachapi Mountains. And Los Angeles doesn't have a pro football franchise. Green Bay, Wis., does. Figure that one out. Population? Oh, say, 100,000. Buffalo has one. Population, 400,000. Jacksonville has one.