The Minnesota Vikings and former coach Brad Childress denied allegations from former Vikings offensive lineman Artis Hicks that the team had a bounty system in 2008-09 that was similar to the one allegedly run by the New Orleans Saints.The NFL had no comment on whether it would investigate Hicks claims, which were revealed in a new book about Brett Favre by author Jeff Pearlman.It was part of the culture, Hicks said, according to an excerpt published by Deadspin. I had coaches start a pot and all the veterans put in an extra $100, $200, and if you hurt someone special, you get the money.The Vikings response: There is no truth to it.Childress, who now works as co-offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs, said Thursday, I had a great opportunity to coach a lot of great people there, including Artis Hicks, at the Minnesota Vikings. I have too much respect for the Wilf family [and] professional football to have anything to do with a bounty system. Im going to let it stand at that.Some current and former Vikings also denied any knowledge of any type of bounty or payment-incentive system.I havent heard of any bounty program since Ive been here [since 2007], defensive end Brian Robison said Thursday. Im very unaware of a bounty program. Im not going to sit here and talk about it all day. It is what it is. If Artis wants to say stuff like that, obviously, hes trying to bring attention on him. So what? At the end of the day, like I said, Im unaware of any bounty program thats happened here in the time that Ive been here.I was very surprised. I actually saw it [Wednesday] and I was like -- basically the first thing I said, in the car with my wife, was, What the hell? It was very shocking to me. But you know, its not surprising. We were on a roll, and of course, all this comes out when you get a loss. Whatever. It is what it is.Former linebacker Ben Leber and former punter Chris Kluwe also denied the claims on Twitter and chatted back and forth:The Vikings, of course, were the most prominent victims of the Saints alleged bounty program, with claims that a specific bounty was placed on Favre in the 2010 NFC Championship Game by Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma.And Childress was the one who reportedly informed the NFL that he had heard about the bounty on Favre from a player.The league initially found no evidence of wrongdoing against the Saints when it first investigated in 2010. However, the league reopened its investigation in 2012 based on further claims from former Saints coaching assistant Mike Cerullo.The NFL then found that the Saints ran an injury-incentive program for three years under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, including rewards for players being carted off or knocked out of games through legal hits. The league doled out the most severe punishments in its history, including year-long suspensions for head coach Sean Payton and Williams, and the loss of two second-round draft picks.The league attempted to suspend four players, including Vilma for a full year. All of the player suspensions were ultimately overturned after numerous appeals, with former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue serving as the arbitrator and finding that he saw no justification for such unprecedented punishments.Tagliabue wrote in his decision that he believed Vilma offered some sort of bounty on Favre in a team meeting but that it wasnt clear if it was a serious pledge or amount to trash talk that occurs regularly before and during games.Since that time, there have been other reports of players claiming that they were involved in similar injury-incentive programs, most prominently from several former members of the Washington Redskins when they played under Williams.However, the NFL said it found no evidence of wrongdoing following investigations into both the Redskins and the Buffalo Bills, where Williams previously coached.A separate claim in Pearlmans book was also refuted Wednesday when Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers strongly denied that he referred to Favre as Grandpa the first time he met him in 2005.ESPNs Ben Goessling and Adam Teicher contributed to this report. 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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars running back Chris Ivory returned to the facility Thursday, two days after being released from the hospital.His return to the field likely will happen next week.Ivory met with coaches and trainers, and even got in a brief workout during his first day back in nearly a week.But hes a long shot to practice Friday or make the trip to San Diego, where the Jaguars (0-1) play Sunday.It feels good to be back, Ivory said. Im just ready to get back going. ... Theres no more issues. Im ready to go. Did a little cardio today and now its just day by day.Ivory was hospitalized Sunday with a general medical issue and missed the season opener against Green Bay. He was released Tuesday.He declined to reveal specifics about the issue, saying it was something that needed attention and I went in in pain and I got the problem fixed.The Jaguars welcomed him back to the facility.Its great, coach Gus Bradley said. I had a chance to visit with him. I think at this stage right now, he just wants to move forward. Hes like, `Hey, Im back with the team and meeting with the trainers and stuff. Hes allways had that mindset to focus on today and what do I need to do and just wants to move on.dddddddddddd Just thankful that it all worked out.The Jaguars plan to ease Ivory back into practice, making it unlikely that he will play against the Chargers (0-1).I think itd be really challenging for him, Bradley said. Well see, but I just think that the arrow will be down.Without Ivory, a 1,000-yard rusher with the New York Jets last season, the Jaguars averaged 1.8 yards a carry against the Packers. Second-year pro T.J. Yeldon is expected to get the majority of the work in the run game.I would have loved to been out there, to contribute and help the team win, Ivory said.I thought we played really strong, but all we can do now is move forward and get ready for the next game and just carry over from what we did this past game. ... Im not going to put a time on it, but when the time comes, Ill be ready to go.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '