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NEW ORLEANS -- Jon Vilma urged a federal judge Friday to reject NFL Commissioner Roger Goodells motion to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed against him by the Saints linebacker. Vilmas request to U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan argues Goodell acted with "reckless disregard for the truth" when basing initial allegations about Vilma upon one fired Saints assistant, Mike Cerullo, whose testimony has been inconsistent and challenged by other witnesses in the NFLs bounty probe of the Saints. The motion centres on Goodells public comments that Vilma held up $10,000 cash in a team meeting in 2010, offering it to anyone who knocked Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner out of a playoff game. During recent NFL appeal hearings in the bounty case, former Saints defensive co-ordinator Gregg Williams testified he never saw any money. "Williams has always told Goodell, and continues to state, that there was never any cash put up for a bounty on any player. It was just talk." Vilmas motion reads. "Nonetheless, Goodell irresponsibly chose to contend that Vilma walked around with $10,000 before the Cardinals game." Vilmas season-long suspension and with various shorter bans for three other players were thrown out Tuesday by former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who Goodell had appointed to oversee the appeals of player punishment. After Tagliabues decision, the NFL Players Association dropped claims in federal court on behalf of Saints defensive end Will Smith and two former Saints: Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove. Vilma dropped his claims against the league concerning the disciplinary process, but moved forward with his defamation case against the commissioner, asking Berrigan to allow discovery, which consists of the collection of evidence and deposing of witnesses. Berrigan has so far delayed discovery while the Goodells motion to dismiss the case is pending. In their effort to highlight how unreliable Cerullo was, Vilmas attorneys, Peter Ginsberg and Duke Williams, cite hearing testimony from Saints assistant head coach Joe Vitt, who said Payton once arranged for police protection at his former suburban family home while he was away at league meetings because the head coach feared Cerullo was emotionally unstable and might harm his family. While the lawsuit does not quote the testimony from the closed-door hearing directly, it appears in transcripts obtained by The Associated Press. "An email was sent to the League about Mike Cerullo long before these (bounty) charges were brought up on our football team saying that Mike Cerullo was crazy, that Sean Payton had to have a police escort or, excuse me, police protection at his house because he was going to the owners meeting, and he was worried about his family with Cerullo," Vitt testified. "This is the kind of guy were dealing with. Allright?" Vilmas motion also notes that the NFL subsequently dropped Goodells initial allegation about Vilma physically holding up money in the meeting before the Arizona game. "There can no longer be any doubt that Goodell acted with malice ... in making this quasi-criminal accusation against Vilma," the motion said. The NFL continues to allege that Vilma offered a $10,000 to anyone who knocked then-Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre out of the 2010 NFC title game, which followed the Arizona game. Williams testified that he recalled such an offer for that game, but never saw any money change hands and suggested the offer represented nothing more than tough talk in an emotional meeting that he allowed to get out of hand. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale . The Minnesota Timberwolves were eager to help him clarify his status. "After a few months of sitting out, I decided, Hey, I dont want to stop playing basketball," Roy said Tuesday at a news conference at Target Center after signing a two-year, $10. Cheap Jerseys No Fees . -- Coach Dennis Allen has a lot more to deal with than just a loss in his debut as Oakland Raiders coach. http://facialhairstyleshq.info/cheapjerseys.html . - The Jacksonville Jaguars have placed running back Maurice Jones-Drew on the reserve/did not report list, an indication they dont expect their star player to show up to training camp anytime soon.OAKLAND, Calif. -- All it took to change the mood around the New York Yankees was a five-game winning streak that featured plenty of production from their big bats and a strong run through the rotation. Hiroki Kuroda pitched eight scoreless innings and Andruw Jones hit a solo homer that gave the Yankees their longest win streak of the season with a 2-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday. "Youre going to have good stretches, youre going to have bad stretches," captain Derek Jeter said. "When things are going poorly its usually not as bad as it looks. When things are going good, youre always that good." Jeter singled to lead off the game for his 3,155th career hit, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer George Brett to move into sole possession of 14th place all-time. "Hes been the backbone of this organization for a long, long time and when a guy like that passes you, Id like to shake his hand and look him in the eye and say congratulations," Brett said in a statement released by the Yankees. Its the fourth Hall of Famer that Jeter has passed this month, following Tony Gwynn, Robin Yount and Paul Waner. Next up on the list is Cal Ripken at 3,184. "Its humbling when you hear those names because any name you pass is a Hall of Fame guy," Jeter said. "Its pretty special but Im not thinking about it." The Yankees got off to a strong start to their nine-game road trip by sweeping the three-game series in Oakland, extending their winning streak at the Coliseum to nine games. That is tied for the second-longest winning streak ever by a road team in Oakland, trailing only Baltimores 13-game run from 1976-79. Mark Teixeira added an RBI double in the seventh, giving him three homers and eight RBIs in the series as he has put the bronchial illness that slowed him earlier this season in the past. "Ive been waiting for that hot streak and I found it the last few days," Teixeira said. "Sometimes thats the name of the game, getting hot. As a team were winning games, which is great." The As managed just four hits off Kuroda (4-6) to wrap up a horrid homestand in which they went 1-5 and scored just eight runs against the Los Angeles Angels and Yankees. Oakland batted .157 for the homestand and lost the final five games for its longest skid of the season. The As get Brandon Inge back from the disabled list on Monday and hope injured Yoenis Cespedes and suspended Manny Ramirez will follow soon. Manager Bob Melvin said the team might have to speed the timetable ffor Ramirez because of the offensive woes.dddddddddddd "Were beyond pressing at this point," Melvin said. "We have to try to relax. Were trying too hard. Were going to try a little easier." The lack of hitting wasted another strong home start from rookie Tommy Milone (6-4), who escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first and limited New York to Jones second-inning homer before tiring in the seventh. Milone allowed two runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings, leaving after Teixeiras double made it 2-0. This was the first time in five home starts that Milone allowed more than one earned run and that proved to be far too much to overcome as the As were shut out for the eighth time this season. "Obviously the team is struggling a little bit and you want to keep the team on top," Milone said. "Sometimes its hard because you feel like you have to make the perfect pitch every pitch, and sometimes it gets away from you. Youve got to go out and pitch your game and hopefully it works out." After allowing a leadoff single to Jemile Weeks, Kuroda retired the next 11 hitters. The As got two hits in the fifth but Kila Kaaihue hit into a double play after Seth Smiths leadoff single. The only real trouble Kuroda faced came in the seventh when the As put runners on first and third with one out. But Kuroda struck out Kaaihue and got Josh Donaldson to fly out to end the threat. "He just got a little rushed," catcher Chris Stewart said. "He was trying to force pitches instead of just throwing them. I just wanted to calm him down and let him know he doesnt have to try to overdo anything. Just trust his stuff and do what he did in the beginning of the game. Once he was able to take a breath and knew his stuff was good enough, he made some big pitches." Rafael Soriano pitched the ninth for his fifth save in as many chances. NOTES: New York improved to 26-11 in games with a homer. The Yankees are winless in 10 games when they do not go deep. ... Yankees C Russell Martin sat for a second straight day with a stiff neck. ... Oakland OF Coco Crisp stole two bases in the seventh to give him 29 straight successful steals, breaking Stan Javiers Oakland record of 28. ... Travis Blackley will make his first major league start for Oakland since 2007 in the opener of a three-game series in Minnesota on Monday. ... Orange County native Phil Hughes (4-5) takes the mound for the Yankees on Monday when they open a three-game series in Anaheim against the Angels. ' ' '