NFL notebook
Niners retire Young's jersey
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers will retire Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young's No. 8 jersey in a halftime ceremony during their game against New England on Oct. 5.
Young is a two-time league MVP who led San Francisco to its fifth NFL title in the 1995 Super Bowl, winning the game's MVP award with a record six touchdown passes. He spent parts of 13 seasons with the 49ers, finishing his NFL career with 33,124 yards passing and 232 TD passes.
"It's a tremendous honor, there's no question about it," Young said in a phone interview. "For all the things we've enjoyed, and all the accolades, this might be the best thing of all."
After claiming the 49ers' starting job from Joe Montana in 1991, Young was selected to seven consecutive Pro Bowls while compiling a 96.8 career passer rating, the highest in NFL history.
He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.
Young will be the 11th player to have his number retired by the 49ers, joining fellow quarterbacks Montana and John Brodie. Safety Ronnie Lott was the most recent player added to the list in 2003.
• PATS' BROWN RETIRES: Troy Brown was too short and too slow. He couldn't make the big play. His NFL career was bound to be brief.
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
In 15 NFL seasons, all with the New England Patriots, the eighth-round draft choice kept disproving those assumptions. Brown holds the team record for career catches — and also returned punts and kickoffs, made interceptions and helped win three championships.
Finally, the 5-foot-10 wide receiver decided he can't keep up with younger players.
"I can't think of anything better in life to do than to enjoy a Sunday afternoon playing football," Brown said Thursday, "and now I enjoy those Sunday afternoons watching football and still saying in my head, `I can make that play.' "
But at 37, the soft-spoken Brown, who hasn't played this season, conceded, "You can't outrun Father Time," and so he announced his retirement while fighting back tears. "It's just kind of hard to let it go."
