Published: March 31, 2008 11:50 pm            

Colts to open Lucas Oil Stadium against Bears

INDIANAPOLIS — Nearly two years after facing off against one another in Super Bowl XLI, Tony Dungy and best friend Lovie Smith will be coaching rivals once again.

The National Football League announced Monday the slate of games for the opening weekend of the 2008 season, including a nationally televised matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 7 between the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts. Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m., with the game being broadcast as part of the NBC’s package of games.

Additionally, Indianapolis [which posted a 29-17 win over the Bears in the title game] and Chicago will be the first regular-season game to be played in the Colts’ new stadium and will be the second NFL game of the 2008 season. The New York Giants will open defense of their Super Bowl title on Thursday, Sept. 4 against the Washington Redskins in a battle of NFC East rivals.

There will also be a Monday night doubleheader for the opening weekend of NFL games, with the Green Bay Packers facing the Minnesota Vikings in a 7 p.m. game and Denver playing at Oakland in a late start.

The remainder of the 2008 schedule is expected to be released in the next couple of weeks.

• Colts receive compensatory picks — Indianapolis joined the Bears [seven round], Eagles [fourth and sixth rounds] and Redskins [third and seventh rounds] in picking up three compensatory picks apiece for this year’s NFL draft, which is scheduled for April 26-27 in New York City. While the Colts won’t make its first overall selection until late in the second round, the team will now have nine draft picks overall with which to work.

The three sixth-round compensatory picks — the 201st, 202nd and 205th overall — were awarded to the defending AFC South champions to help make up for the loss of free agents lost after the 2006 season [outside linebacker Cato June, cornerback Nick Harper and running back Dominic Rhodes].

Compensatory draft picks are extra picks in the third through seventh rounds, and they go to teams that lost more or better free agents than they acquired, based on a complex formula. Baltimore [third, fourth sixth and seventh rounds] and Cincinnati [third, sixth and seventh rounds] each received a league-high four compensatory draft selections.

Rounding out the list of teams awarded additional picks, two were awarded to Buffalo [fourth and seventh], Carolina [seventh round] and Miami [sixth and seventh rounds]. Atlanta [third], Green Bay [fourth round], the Giants [sixth round], St. Louis [seventh round], San Diego [fifth round] and Tennessee [seventh round] all received one each.

• Offseason workouts begin — The Colts began offseason conditioning workouts Monday at the team’s West 56th Street complex. The voluntary sessions are scheduled to last for the next 14 weeks.

Indianapolis will begin conducting summer school practices, which are also stretched over a 14-week period, on May 20. A three-day rookie camp is on the agenda May 2-4 and the team’s mandatory minicamp is scheduled for May 16-18.

There is still no official word from either the Colts or Rose-Hulman officials about training camp, although team president Bill Polian appeared to be confident during the recent National Football Scouting Combine that a deal was close to being wrapped up.

        

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