HOUSTON — Houston Texans rookie tight end Anthony Hill was hospitalized this week with swine flu in the first confirmed case in an NFL player this season.

Hill is the only player on the team believed to have swine flu and other players are being monitored, Texans vice president of communications Tony Wyllie said yesterday.

Hill, a fourth-round pick from North Carolina State, spent two nights in the hospital and told KRIV-TV in Houston that he was released from the hospital yesterday morning.

"In the beginning doctors thought it was pneumonia," Hill told the station. "It wasn't. Then (Thursday) results for swine flu came back and it was positive. I was already taking medicine for both."

Houston (1-2) hosts Oakland (1-2) tomorrow.

The Texans are the first team to confirm that one of its players has swine flu, also called the H1N1 virus. Houston players receive shots for seasonal flu each year and had already received them this year.

Vaccines for the swine flu aren't expected to be available until later this month and even then there will only be a very limited amount of doses.

Coach Gary Kubiak said there were a few players who felt ill Thursday, but that they were OK yesterday.

"There's no panic at all," he said. "We handled it well as an organization (Thursday) evening and understood what was going on, got on top of anybody who wasn't feeling good (Thursday) evening and (Friday) we responded well. Everybody was fine."

OUTSIDE THE LINES

MCNAIR HAD ADVICE FOR SUICIDAL YOUTHS

A public service announcement recorded by former NFL quarterback Steve McNair shortly before his young mistress killed him and then herself urges young people thinking about suicide to call a hot line and "live to see better days."

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities shelved the announcement after McNair's July 4 death. The Associated Press obtained a copy of three versions of the announcement through a public records request.

In it McNair says, "Each year too many young people are taking their own lives. So if you're feeling really down and have even thought about suicide, call 1-800-273-TALK."

Police concluded McNair was shot to death by 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, who was upset over financial troubles and suspected McNair might be involved with another woman.

BEARS

Chicago will likely be without injured linebackers Hunter Hillenmeyer (rib injury) and Pisa Tinoisamoa (knee injury) when they host the Detroit Lions tomorrow. Tinoisamoa, a University of Hawai'i alum, and Hillenmeyer were both were listed as doubtful yesterday.

GIANTS

New York halfback Ahmad Bradshaw (foot, ankle injury) returned to practice yesterday and will likely play in tomorrow's game at Kansas City, coach Tom Coughlin said. But four other injured players — defensive lineman Chris Canty (calf injury), cornerback Aaron Ross (tight hamstring), wide receiver Domenik Hixon (knee injury) and running back Danny Ware (elbow injury) — will sit out.

RAMS

Kyle Boller will make his first start for St. Louis (0-3) tomorrow against NFC West rival San Francisco (2-1) as Marc Bulger rests his injured shoulder. Coach Steve Spagnuolo will be as the third quarterback as St. Louis will try to end a 13-game losing streak, the longest in the NFL.

STEELERS

Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker did not practice for a third consecutive day yesterday and is not expected to play against the San Diego Chargers tomorrow night. Parker injured his left big toe — an injury known as turf toe — in Cincinnati on Sunday.

NFL FINES

• Oakland defensive lineman Richard Seymour was fined $7,500 by the NFL yesterday for unnecessary roughness against Denver tackle Ryan Clady. After a play was over, Seymour pulled Clady by the hair.

• Seattle defensive end Patrick Kerney was fined $5,000 for roughing the passer when he unnecessarily drove Chicago's Jay Cutler to the ground.

• San Francisco defensive end Justin Smith was fined $5,000 for hitting Brett Favre in the knee area during Minnesota's 27-24 win Sunday.