Culpepper Talks of His Health, Not Vikings

Quarterback Daunte Culpepper said he is concerned with getting healthy, not speculation about his future with the Minnesota Vikings.

He didn't respond specifically yesterday to a report that the team is considering trading him, but Culpepper offered his take on the rumors that have surrounded him since the season ended.

"I have found over the years that people with knowledge of the situation are usually the most ignorant," Culpepper said in an e-mail. "My position has been and continues to be that I am focusing on rehabilitating my knee so that I can come back and play the game I love at the highest level."

Culpepper tore ligaments in his knee during a game against Carolina on Oct. 30 and had surgery Nov. 15.

· MCINTOSH JAILED: Miami Dolphins tackle Damion McIntosh was released from jail yesterday after he was accused of pushing his wife to the floor at their home.

McIntosh was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor count of domestic violence. He told Davie police he pushed his wife and said she "hit her head pretty hard," according to a police report.

Precious McIntosh was treated at a hospital and released. Damion McIntosh spent the night in jail before appearing before a magistrate yesterday and getting released without bail. He was told to have no contact with his wife.

· STAUTNER DIES: Ernie Stautner, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman for Pittsburgh and the defensive coordinator for Dallas from 1973 to '88, died in a nursing home in Carbondale, Colo., his wife said. He was 80. Stautner, who went to nine Pro Bowls with the Steelers and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 1998.

· TITANS, VANDEN BOSCH AGREE: Tennessee reached an agreement with defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch on a multiyear deal. He had a career-high 12 1/2 sacks this past season.