NFL-National Football League roundup

Feb 5 (The Sports Xchange) - An estimated 700,000 people crammed downtown Seattle for the Seahawks' Super Bowl victory parade on Wednesday. Police estimated the number, which is more than the city's population of 660,000, as fans celebrated the first Super Bowl victory in the history of the franchise. The cheering fans could not get enough of their Seahawks, who dominated the Denver Broncos 43-8 in the Super Bowl on Sunday night. The parade began near the Space Needle and slowly made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. Seattle leaders did not shut down the public school system. But KIRO-TV reported that 565 teachers and 13,523 students were reported absent on Wednesday. Players threw jerseys and T-shirts to fans while waving blue "12" flags as a sign of gratitude to the loyal fans, known as the team's 12th man. Coach Pete Carroll led the CenturyLink crowd in a loud "Sea-HAWKS" chant. He then offered a promise that had the players jumping and the crowd going crazy with noise. "They have come together to do something very special and it's just not one year," Carroll said of his players. "We're just getting warmed up. You know what I'm talking about." - - - CBS will air eight NFL games on Thursday nights during the first half of the 2014 season and will produce eight games telecast by NFL Network during the second half of the schedule. CBS and the NFL announced the agreement on Wednesday. Two of the NFL Network games will be played on Saturday late in the season. Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and color analyst Phil Simms will be paired for all 16 games. NFL Network hosts and CBS announcers will work together on the pregame, halftime and postgame shows. The agreement runs through the 2014 season with a NFL option for 2015. - - - Wide receiver Golden Tate would be willing to take less money to stay with the Seahawks. An impending unrestricted free agent, Tate told 950 KJR in Seattle that he would open to a hometown discount to facilitate the Super Bowl champions re-signing him. Tate capped one of the best seasons of his career with the Super Bowl victory. During the regular season, he caught 64 passes for 989 yards and five touchdowns and added 585 yards on 51 punt returns. He ranked second in the NFL with 7.9 yards after the catch. - - - Minnesota Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel plans to void the final year of his contract worth $3.7 million, according to a report. The 31-year-old veteran will test the free-agent market, ESPN 1500 reported, with the uncertainly surrounding his status with the Vikings as new coach Mike Zimmer takes over after Leslie Frazier was fired. - - - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are not happy with Joe Namath for wearing a fur coat during the Super Bowl coin toss on Sunday night. Namath showed up for the pregame ceremony with a full-length, $3,000 coyote coat that attracted as much attention as his premature coin flip before the Seattle Seahawks' captains were able to call heads or tails. PETA wants him to dispose of the coat by burying it. - - - The Atlanta Falcons released veteran cornerback Asante Samuel in a cost-savings move. The Falcons also released and linebacker Stephen Nicholas. The 33-year-old Samuel was due to receive $4.9 million in salary and bonuses next year. Parting ways with Samuel, who had lost his starting job to rookie Robert Alford, will save the team slightly more than $4 million. Nicholas, fourth-round draft pick in 2007, started 51 games for the Falcons but lost his spot in the linebacker rotation in 2013. His 2014 contract would have been a $3 million salary-cap hit for Atlanta. - - - The findings of an investigation into workplace misconduct surrounding the Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin situation with the Miami Dolphins will not be available until next week. Attorney Ted Wells was hired by the NFL on Nov. 6 to conduct an independent probe within the Dolphins' organization. He met with Martin twice, the final time on Dec. 5, and spoke with Incognito and team officials in November. Martin, an offensive tackle, left the team on Oct. 28 and later accused Incognito, also an offensive lineman, of abuse. Incognito was subsequently suspended from the team for the remainder of the 2013 season. - - - (Editing by Gene Cherry)