Patricia Dugas reached out, touched Kevin Everett's arm and asked her son if he could feel her hand. Everett -- lying in a hospital bed, barely awake and hooked to life support systems -- nodded yes.

"I can't even explain it to you; he's like a miracle," Dugas said yesterday, her voice breaking in a telephone interview.

Doctors aren't calling it a miracle yet, but they expressed "cautious optimism" now that the Buffalo Bills reserve tight end is showing significant signs of improvement.

Everett can wiggle his toes, bend his hip, move his ankles, elevate and kick his leg, as well as extend his elbows and slightly flex his biceps, said Dr. Kevin Gibbons, the supervisor of neurosurgery at Buffalo's Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital.

But Everett, who's breathing on his own after being taken off a respirator, cannot move his hands after sustaining a life-threatening spinal cord injury.

"There are some answers now. And many more questions remain," Gibbons said in an update to reporters. "The patient's made significant improvement. But no one should think the functions in his legs is close to normal. Not even close. ... If you ask me, 'Would he walk again?' I would tell you that I wouldn't bet against it. But he has a long way to go."

Bills orthopedic surgeon Andrew Cappuccino improved his prognosis, too, saying he's "cautiously slightly more optimistic." That's a big improvement from Monday when Cappuccino said Everett's chances for a full neurologic recovery were "bleak, dismal."

Patriots

Coach Bill Belichick walked out of his news conference yesterday when pressed repeatedly about the sideline videotape scandal that landed him on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's crowded docket.

Ten minutes before his regular availability, Belichick issued a one-paragraph statement apologizing to his team and confirming that he has spoken to Goodell about an "interpretation" of league rules that ban videotaping of the opposing sideline. It was not clear whether Belichick was apologizing for his actions or the distraction it has caused his team as it prepares for a marquee game Sunday night against San Diego.

Jets

New York placed wide receiver Chansi Stuckey on injured reserve, ending the rookie's season because of a foot injury. The Jets also signed safety Abram Elam and offensive lineman Jason Capizzi. The team released safety Ray Ventrone from the practice squad.

Rams

President Jay Zygmunt was hospitalized for tests after complaining of shortness of breath. Medical personnel believe the symptoms were caused by high blood pressure.

Elsewhere

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and union chief Gene Upshaw plan to testify today at a Senate hearing on the NFL's retirement system and the problems for former players who are disabled from injuries.