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NFL-80 10/7/04

Quarterback BYRON LEFTWICH of the Jacksonville Jaguars and running back TIKI BARBER of the New York Giants are the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week for games played on October 3-4, the NFL announced today.

Leftwich completed 29 of 41 passes for 318 yards and one touchdown for a passer rating of 101.5 in the Jaguars’ 24-17 loss to the AFC South-rival Indianapolis Colts. His 40-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown pass to wide receiver Jimmy Smith on fourth down tied the score at 17 before the Colts’ final score.

Barber carried 23 times for 182 yards and one touchdown in the Giants’ 14-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers. His touchdown came on a 52-yard run in the third quarter.

Leftwich and Barber were selected from among finalists in air and ground categories through 34,786 fan votes. The other FedEx Express NFL Player of the Week finalists were quarterbacks TOM BRADY of the New England Patriots and DREW BREES of the San Diego Chargers, while running backs EMMITT SMITH of the Arizona Cardinals and PRIEST HOLMES of the Kansas City Chiefs were the other finalists for the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week.

Fans voted for more than their favorite players. The weekly FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Awards are also a win for the local community. Along with the player awards, FedEx is awarding Wolfson Children's Hospital and Tomorrows Children’s Fund, the Children’s Hospital in each winning market, a check for $5,000.

The children’s hospitals in the two season-long winner’s markets, announced at this year’s Super Bowl, will be awarded $25,000 each. That means that FedEx will deliver nearly $250,000 to local children’s hospitals around the country in recognition of the FedEx Air & Ground NFL Players of the Week Award winners.

FedEx, the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services, is the Official Delivery Service Sponsor of the NFL, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl. Through the weekly FedEx Air and Ground awards, FedEx recognizes those NFL players who represent the same speed, precision and teamwork that their customers have come to expect from the full range of FedEx air, ground, freight and international shipping services.

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NFL-79 10/7/04

Voters on NFL.com have made their choice. Quarterback BEN ROETHLISBERGER of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK for games played on October 3-4, the NFL announced today.

Roethlisberger completed 17 of 25 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown in the Steelers’ 28-17 victory over the AFC North-rival Cincinnati Bengals. Roethlisberger put Pittsburgh ahead 14-7 in the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass to fullback Verron Haynes.

More than 70,000 fans voted this week on NFL.com. Roethlisberger was selected from among five finalists. The other finalists were wide receiver MICHAEL CLAYTON of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wide receiver LEE EVANS of the Buffalo Bills, running back STEVEN JACKSON of the St. Louis Rams and kick returner-punt returner B.J. SAMS of the Baltimore Ravens.

After the regular season, five players will be nominated for Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Fans can vote for the winner on NFL.com throughout the month of January. The winner will be announced at a press conference at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville.

This is Pepsi’s third year as the official soft drink sponsor of the NFL.

Seth Rubin
                                                                                                               Matt Hill
Alan Taylor Communications
                                                                                                               National Football League

212-714-1280 ext. 353 212-450-2080
seth@alantaylor.com                                                                                 hillm@nfl.com

Polamalu’s interception return for a touchdown is now eligible to be selected as the "LEVITRAâ PLAY OF THE YEAR," awarded this February at Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, Florida. The "LEVITRAâ PLAY OF THE WEEK," which is voted on by fans each week throughout the NFL season from Tuesday at noon ET to Thursday at noon ET on NFL.com, is presented each Thursday and recognizes the single most exciting play that week.

Fans who vote at NFL.com each week can also enter for their chance to win a three-day/two-night trip for two to Jacksonville, Florida to attend Super Bowl XXXIX on February 6, 2005, including round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations.

With just over two minutes to play in the fourth quarter of the Steelers match-up with the AFC North-rival Bengals, Polamalu intercepted a pass from Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer and weaved his way 26 yards for a touchdown. Polamalu's interception return sealed Pittsburgh’s 28-17 victory.

Polamalu’s touchdown beat out Oakland Raiders running back Amos Zereoue’s 55-yard touchdown run against the Houston Texans in fan voting on NFL.com. For details and video of this week’s nominees and the results of fan voting, please visit NFL.com/playoftheweek.

In July 2003, Bayer Pharmaceutical Corporation (Bayer) & GlaxoSmithKline(GSK), co-marketers of LEVITRA (vardenafil HCI), a prescription medicine that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED), announced their groundbreaking sponsorship of the NFL.

LEVITRA is a prescription medicine that is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED). Men taking nitrate drugs, often used to control chest pain (also known as angina), should not take LEVITRA. Men who use alpha blockers, sometimes prescribed for high blood pressure or prostate problems, also should not take LEVITRA. Such combinations could cause blood pressure to drop to an unsafe level.

The starting dose of LEVITRA is 10 mg taken no more than once per day. Your doctor will decide the dose that is right for you. In patients taking certain medications such as ritonavir, indinavir, ketoconazole, itraconazole, and erythromycin, lower doses of LEVITRA are recommended, and time between doses of LEVITRA may need to be extended.

In clinical trials, the most commonly reported side effects were headache, flushing, and stuffy or runny nose. LEVITRA is available in 2.5-mg, 5-mg, 10-mg, and 20-mg tablets.

The consistent or recurrent inability of a man to attain and/or maintain a penile erection sufficient for sexual performance¹ – is a common health condition among men that is largely untreated. It is estimated that some degree of ED affects more than one half of all men over the age of 40²– 152 million men worldwide³ and 30 million men in the United States alone.⁴

Despite the high prevalence of sexual problems, nine out of 10 men in the U.S. have not yet sought treatment from a physician.⁵

1. Jardin A, Wagner G, Khoury S, et al. Recommendations of the 1^st International Consultation on Erectile Dysfunction. Co-sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), International Consultation on Urological Diseases (ICUD) and Societe Internationale d’Urologie (SIU) and held July 1-3, 1999, Paris. 2000, p. 713.

2. Feldman HA, Goldstein I, Hatzichristou DG, et al. Impotence and its medical and psychosocial correlates: results of the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. J Urol 1994;151:54-61.

3. Aytac IA, McKinlay JB, Krane RI. The likely worldwide increase of erectile dysfunction between 1995 and 2025 and some possible policy consequences. BJU Int 1999;84:50-56

4. National Institutes of Health, Consensus Development Conference Statement, December 7-9, 1992. Online data: http://odp.od.nih.gov/consensus/cons/091/091_statement.htm. (accessed 8/26/02).

5. Laumann EO, Paik A, Rosen RC. Sexual dysfunction in the United States: prevalence and predictors. JAMA 1999;281:537-544.

About Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corporation (www.bayerpharma.com) is part of the worldwide operations of Bayer HealthCare AG, a subgroup of Bayer AG. Bayer HealthCare, with sales of approximately 8.9 billion Euro in 2003, is one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the health care and medical products industry. The company combines the global activities of the divisions Animal Health, Biological Products, Consumer Care, Diagnostics Professional Testing Systems and Diagnostics Self Testing Systems and Pharmaceuticals. 34,600 people are employed by Bayer HealthCare worldwide.

Our aim is to discover and manufacture innovative products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Our products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating disease.

Forward Looking Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including its Form 20-F). Bayer assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.