ASSOCIATED PRESS New England running back Corey Dillon will replace injured Indianapolis Colts back Edgerrin James in the Pro Bowl.

Dillon becomes
Pro Bowl’s sixth Pat

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. » New England Patriots running back Corey Dillon, a key figure in tomorrow's Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles, was announced yesterday as the replacement for Colts running back Edgerrin James in the Feb. 13 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. James pulled out with a back injury.

It will be the fourth NFL all-star game for Dillon, but his first as a Patriot. In his first year with New England, Dillon set the 45-year-old franchise's single-season rushing record with 1,635 yards. Dillon rushed for more than 100 yards in nine games.

Dillon rushed for 217 yards in the Patriots' two playoff wins, including a 144-yard effort on 23 carries in New England's 20-3 divisional playoff win over Indianapolis. It was the former Cincinnati Bengal's first playoff game.

Dillon will join teammates Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Richard Seymour and Adam Vinatieri on the AFC team in Hawaii next week.

Also added to the Pro Bowl yesterday was Bengals running back Rudi Johnson, who replaces Curtis Martin of the New York Jets. Martin has an undisclosed injury.

Visit from a mentor: BYU coaching legend LaVell Edwards visited Eagles practice yesterday to see Philadelphia coach and former Cougar Andy Reid.

"The guy is just like he was the first day I met him," Edwards said of Reid, to a pool reporter. "We've had a lot of guys go on to the NFL, but this one I think I've followed closer than the others. I was the guy who got him into this business. He was going into medicine or some other field. We've had a good relationship for many years.

"He's just great with people and had a good feel for it. I always thought he would do well in coaching and it has turned out for him."

This is the first Super Bowl for Edwards, who coached the Cougars for 29 years, including the 1984 national championship team.

After playing offensive tackle and guard at BYU from 1979 to 1981, Reid began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant under Edwards in 1982.

ASSOCIATED PRESS NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said yesterday he could see the league adding franchises outside of the United States.

From the commish: If this keeps up, they might have to change the name of the NFL to IFL -- for International Football League.

In his state of the league address yesterday, commissioner Paul Tagliabue said "O Canada" might be played before a new team's home games.

"I think it could be very likely that the next franchises in the NFL beyond 32 are outside the United States. Toronto would certainly be a candidate," Tagliabue said. "We're giving consideration right now to see whether we can in the next year or two play a regular-season game outside of the United States to continue to develop the interest and be responsive to fans."

Growth in Asia continues, too, as often noted by University of Hawaii coach June Jones, who hopes to someday recruit the Yao Ming or Ichiro of football to play for the Warriors.

Tagliabue noted how football's popularity has grown in China -- enough that the Shanghai Media Group recently made a five-year TV agreement with the NFL. The sport also continues to blossom in Japan, where interscholastic and intercorporate leagues abound.

Tagliabue said he envisions preseason games in China leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

NFL games are now on television in 222 countries. A total of 325 media members representing 17 foreign countries are here to cover Sunday's game.

Also yesterday, the commissioner:

» Vowed to have a franchise in Los Angeles by the end of the decade. He didn't say if an expansion team or an established franchise would wind up in Southern California.

» Expressed some concern about the gap between the NFL Players' Association and the league in negotiations on lengthening the collective bargaining agreement. Even though the agreement runs through 2008, both sides would like to extend labor peace much sooner.

» Touched on minority hiring, saying the league would concentrate on increasing its pool of qualified candidates for front-office posts. For now, teams won't be required to interview minorities for those jobs as they are for head coaching positions.

Late addition: The Patriots signed second-year guard Billy Yates from their practice squad yesterday, putting New England at the league limit of 53 players.

Yates, a Texas A&M alumnus and former Miami Dolphin, had been on the Patriots practice squad since Sept. 11, 2004.

Former Hawaii tackle Adrian Klemm remains on the New England injured reserve. Klemm played as a backup in September victories against Indianapolis and at Arizona.

Football Widow: Pool champion Jeanette Lee, also known as "The Black Widow," was one of many non-football celebrities making the rounds at the Super Bowl media center yesterday, sitting for several radio interviews and signing autographs.

When asked who would win tomorrow, she said, "the Colts?"

Then she laughed and said, "I know who's playing, but I live in Indianapolis."