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Bledsoe fits the Bills

Quarterback Drew Bledsoe, greeted by hundreds of fans gathered outside Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., found it exciting to be appreciated again.

"It's nice to be wanted," Bledsoe said Wednesday at his first appearance as a member of the Buffalo Bills, three days after the NFL team acquired him in a trade with New England. "But the thing I'm excited about is getting in and getting started on the football part of it."

It has been quite a turnaround for Bledsoe. The three-time Pro Bowl selection, and the most prolific passer in Patriots' history, was knocked out by a severe chest injury two games into last season and lost his starting job to former fourth-stringer Tom Brady.

Recovered, Bledsoe watched from the sideline as Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl title last February. Bledsoe all but forced the trade, vowing not to return to New England if he didn't get a fair shot at winning his old job back.

Despite the ending in New England, he has no bad feelings for his former team.

"It was an unanticipated situation, but looking at it now, I think it's going to be a very, very positive change for me. And hopefully a positive change for the Buffalo Bills," Bledsoe said.

Venus and Serena Williams are being sued for allegedly backing out of an agreement to play an exhibition match against John and Patrick McEnroe.

Women's Sports Zone Inc. claims that potential profits from the match were estimated at $45 million and the company couldn't get started without those funds, the website's attorney, Abbey Kaplan, said Monday.

The suit, filed Thursday in Palm Beach (Fla.) Circuit Court, claims the sisters' father, Richard, acted as their agent and signed a contract for the match, which was to be called "Battle of the Sexes II."

The match was agreed to but never was scheduled, Kaplan said.

The suit does not specify damages.

"The girls never gave authorization to do anything," said Keven Davis, a New York attorney for the sisters. "What [the website] couldn't get directly, they're trying to get indirectly. They know they're wrong, and we're going to have to prove it in court, unfortunately."

"Battle of the Sexes" was a 1973 exhibition match in which Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs.