PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : Come On, He Was Just Playing

The man who was photographed throwing snowballs during a football game said Thursday he has been turned into a scapegoat for thousands of fans who did the same thing.

“I feel like, hey, I’m being tossed out there like a piece of meat to the lions,” Jeffrey Lange said at a news conference in Flemington, N.J. “Honestly, I can’t believe I’ve been singled out.”

Lange, 26, of Readington, was arrested Wednesday and charged with improper behavior for throwing a snowball onto the field during the New York Giant-San Diego Charger game Saturday. Lange faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. He was released after posting $250 bail.

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Longtime Pittsburgh fans didn’t take kindly to a group of converts from Cleveland who lined up first for tickets to a Steelers’ playoff game.

The game will be played Jan. 6 or 7, and only 3,000 tickets will be offered for sale Saturday. Fans from Cleveland, who braved the cold outside Three Rivers Stadium for almost three days to make sure they got tickets, got into a scuffle with Pittsburgh fans until police broke it up.

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Bryce Paup, a free agent signed by the Buffalo Bills, led the NFL with 17 1/2 sacks and was chosen defensive player of the year. Paup received 73 votes in balloting by a nationwide panel of 88 sports writers and broadcasters. . . . Chicago Bear Coach Dave Wannstedt will coach the South team and Seattle Seahawk Coach Dennis Erickson will coach the North in the Senior Bowl college all-star game. . . . Miami Dolphin safety Gene Atkins was treated and released from hospital after his car was rear-ended at a traffic light. Atkins, who has competed with Louis Oliver for the starting position, was complaining of back pain, and will be reevaluated today.” . . . Reserve linebacker Garth Jax, who has been with the Arizona Cardinals since 1989, signed a two-year contract with the team. . . . Wayne Sevier, special teams coach for the St. Louis Rams and a 20-year assistant in the NFL, retired.