Michael Vick went to court to visit with his probation officer on Friday, and one of the first things those guys always ask is if you are looking for employment.

Until mid-July, Vick is just looking to get this damn monitoring device off his ankle, the one that will make sure he remains home under the home-confinement portion of his federal sentence for animal cruelty and lying about it and all sorts of unsavory things.

There is a certain irony to Vick being fitted for what is essentially a collar-like device, and then being penned up, but we'll leave that where it is.

As for the employment question, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has a thorny one there. We live in a country that believes people who break the law and serve their time are then allowed the opportunity to rebuild their lives.

In the case of Vick, that means playing football, and if he is prevented from doing so, there is the possibility he could bring action against the NFL for denying him the chance to resume his career. On the other hand, the NFL probably isn't all that interested in having a dog-beater out on the field. Wife-beaters? Thugs? Accused accomplices to murder? Sure, sure, sure, but not dog-beaters.

Goodell could probably make a short suspension stick, for bringing disrepute to the game or something, but until he suspends the entire Cincinnati Bengals franchise, it seems he'll have no choice but to let Vick back in the kennel. If some team will hire him, that is. If the phone rings and it's Al Davis, Michael, make sure to answer it.

Your thoughts? Should he be allowed to play?

Brookie said Sean Jones was a good story and he's always right, so read what the new safety with the Eagles has to say in the Friday Inquirer.

Jones took a one-year deal with the Eagles after the Browns chose not to keep him. He is in his sixth NFL season, but has only been a starter three years. The Eagles see him as a strong safety, which puts him behind Quintin Mikell, but if Jones shows enough to the Eagles, it is possible he either gets the free safety job from Quintin Demps, or that Mikell moves to free and Jones gets the strong safety job.

He's a big guy, 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, and says he can't wait to start hitting, but all defensive guys say that. He has the motivation of needing to get a contract beyond next season and that never hurts, either.

As a group, the defensive backfield is deep and it wouldn't surprise anyone if cornerback Sheldon Brown were traded before the start of the regular season. The addition of free agents Jones and Rashad Baker make the safety position very solid and it won't be as necessary for the cornerbacks to be as large a part of the nickel and dime packages.

No idea at this point if Jones is a better player than Demps. Everyone looks good in light pads in May. He was very active on the field this week and appeared to be adjusting to the defensive sets, but, yes, it is May.

For those who might be wondering, it is true that "You Talkin' To Me?" is on suspension. Won't be in the Friday paper. Won't be in the paper at all until Cohen gets back from the wedding. I can't speak for Gonzo or Phil, but it's an awful disappointment to me.

Send your letters of protest to sports@phillynews.com.  Bad journalism is a terrible thing to waste.

AP photo

There is a joke somewhere in here about getting the key to the city of Buffalo, but that would only bring some more nasty e-mails from upstate New York pointing out that it has finally stopped snowing, or at least tapered off to flurries.

Terrell Owens showed up for the OTA's at Buffalo Bills camp this week and, heavens, you'd have thought it was a big deal. The mayor did in fact greet him and present him with the ceremonial key to the city. Fans met him at the airport.

He co-hosted one of the nightly television sports reports, leading off with, "The top story tonight is...I'm here."

If only there were some way to fast-forward this process to the point where T.O. is stomping around the sidelines, screaming at his offensive coordinator and making himself a general pain in the ass. As always, he will eventually be traded away or released, but right now, it's all smiles on the evening news.

Oh, well. It will be fun to track from afar, even if the story will have the feel of another fall re-run.

Our buddy Matt Mosley over at ESPN.com ranks the five best off-season moves made by teams in the NFC East and thinks the Eagles made more than the other guys.

Here's his take on the brightest moves so far.

Now, all of us would have our own lists and we can quibble with someone else's, but there's no disputing that the addition of Jason Peters at left tackle and the combined drafting of offensive threats Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy make the Eagles a much more dangerous and effective offensive team heading into the 2009 schedule.

Mosley thinks the Redskins' signing of Albert Haynesworth is the best move in the division this off-season. Yes, the 'Skins needed big help on defense, but the size of the contract handed out by Daniel Snyder makes this a questionable move to me. There's no way Haynesworth can live up to it, and no way a team with as many holes to fill as Washington can conscience tying up that much money in just one guy.

Whatever, you have to like any list that properly classifies releasing Terrell Owens as a brilliant move.

(Noted NFL enthusiast Honore Daumier provided the art for this post.)

Still ruminating on the Shawn Andrews official-unofficial switch to tackle? Find the details here.

There are a couple of ways to interpret the Eagles' quiet little depth chart shuffle that the Post Patterns crew posted on Sunday.

Figuring out how Shawn Andrews will interpret it is another matter, of course. He has been working through personal issues and physical issues and it's been a confusing time for a kid who has always seemed to look at the world a little differently.

Shawn is now listed as the right tackle and brother Stacy is the right guard on the depth chart for the Eagles. Up until this point, the positions were always reversed, but Andy Reid is telling us, and the players, the new order is how he wants things to work.

Which interpretation would you choose for the move?

Interpretation 1: Shawn, we have confidence in you. Tackle is where you should be playing and you will dominate there. We think you are a great football player and this was our plan all along when either Tra Thomas or Jon Runyan lost one of the tackle posistions. We are not worried even a little bit that the added pressure will bother you, because we believe you have your Mohawk on straight and are committed to the task of playing football.

Interpretation 2: Shawn, we can't mess around much longer finding out if you are interested in playing football. We babied you along for a good while last season -- couldn't seem to get you out of California for a very long time -- and that approach didn't seem to work. So, it's going to have to be tough love. There will be no safety blanket, no going back to the more comfortable guard position. Either you make this football team as a tackle or both of us will move on to something else. Sorry, but that's how it has to be.

It doesn't actually matter what the Eagles intended. It matters how Shawn Andrews takes the news. He's got two ways to go there, too, and it might be that the front office just needs to know which it will be.

There wasn't a press release or an announcement, but the Eagles have indicated a significant shift in direction this week with an updated "unofficial" depth chart on the team's web site.

Andy Reid had indicated the team would look at playing Shawn Andrews at right tackle and just-acquired brother Stacy Andrews at right guard this season. Reid said Andrews was drafted as a tackle project, but placed at guard only because the tackle slots were already manned.

Well, they aren't just looking at it, as the Eagles head into the first of two OTA camps this week. Shawn is the tackle and Stacy the guard on the depth chart.

The Eagles don't do this kind of thing lightly. You have to watch them every minute and read the hints the way the Chinese used to read Democracy Wall in Beijing for hints what the government was thinking.

It may say "unofficial," but the change wouldn't have been made unless it was going to be a fact.

Now, it is May and it doesn't matter if Reid puts the Andrews Sisters (above) in the depth chart. Nothing matters until training camp and thereafter. Shawn has to stay focused and stay on the field. Stacy has to complete his rehabilitation from injury. But the Eagles think Shawn is going to play the rest of his career here at tackle and it's nice they told us.

Note that LeSean McCoy is listed ahead of Lorenzo Booker at running back, but Jeremy Maclin is not listed ahead of Shaheer McBride at receiver. What do you make of that? I don't know. Maclin gets his mention as a special-teams returner and McBride would be left off otherwise (the chart doesn't show a fourth string). Weird, though. 

Take a look at the photo of today's Preakness infield and tell me what is missing.

If you answered, "The people," you win.

Pimlico Race Course decided this year to stop the long-standing tradition of allowing Preakness Stakes race-goers to bring their own alcohol to the track. And not just their own alcohol, but as much alcohol as they could carry or wheel into the place.

This tradition led to some interesting attractions. One favorite was the "Running of the Toilets," in which folks would dash drunkenly along the top of the Porta Potties while ROTT enthusiasts threw full cans of beer -- sometimes full cases of beer -- at them.

Another equally favorite pastime was the "Women Take Off Their Halter Top Contests." (You'll have to do your own YouTube search for that one. The Philly.com guys are getting unbelievably stuffy.)

And then the also-wonderful, "Beat the Crap Out of Each Other," exhibitions. And on and on.

The Preakness folks, for whatever reason, decided things had gotten out of hand and they instituted the no-carry-in policy this year, opting to sell their own beer ($1 from 9-12; $3.50 thereafter, no purchase limit).

We don't have the attendance figures yet, but, man, is it quiet out there. In the big years, there would be close to 50,000 in the infield from the total crowd of 110,000 or so. If there are 15,000 there today, that's generous. ZZ Top is playing later, so maybe it will perk up.

As predicted, Jensen arrived and told me that using Take The Points as part of a feature race bet was a stupid suggestion. He has how own theories and I don't think it would be right of me to reveal his key horse (subliminal hint: Musket Man), but we'll see soon enough who the smart guy is.

If you missed the earlier post that includes a gratuitous shot at Adam Eaton, you can find it here.

Driving into Baltimore for the Preakness, the sports-talk radio station announcer delivered a perfect summation of the problem with Adam Eaton.

There are several other problems, of course, most of which have to do with Eaton's inability to retire major-league hitters -- something Phillies' fans are well aware of -- but radio guy Marc Unger really captured the issue.

He captured it on the heels of a 10-hit, 7-earned run outing for Eaton that boosted his already plump earned run average to 7.93 for the season.

"You know," Unger said, "this guy shouldn't have sideburns. I mean, who is he to have 'a look?' You've got to be able to pitch before you're allowed to have 'a look.'"

Precisely.

*     *     *

As for the Preakness, Jensen hasn't gotten here yet, so I don't have any actual, like, information, to pass along, but the weather is dank and overcast and racing began at 10:15 this morning.

Many hours before the actual race, I am most intrigued by the possibilities of a horse named Take The Points, which has never finished in the money in a Grade I stakes. When Jensen arrives, he will talk me out of this infatuation, but, just for the record, it's a horse that can be used. Does have a career win on a muddy track, by the way, and Pimlico might well be damp by the 12th race.

WEATHER UPDATE!!!! Sunshine @ 4:15. Track should be fast.

If you're like I am, you can't go more than a few hours without checking out the Twitter feed of super agent Drew Rosenhaus. I give the guy credit for consistency. Either he's tweeting non-stop or some poor schlub in his office has to do so.

For the upbeat news from all Rosenhaus clients, you can check it out here.

Rosenhaus caused a little stir in Arizona this week with this post about receiver Anquan Boldin:

"Reports that Anquan Boldin is seeking a contract worth $10 million per yr are inaccurate. We recently made a proposal to the Cards for less."

Instead of waiting for the trade Rosenhaus said he expected, the agent has apparently decided that getting a deal from the Cards is the best option.

Is that a response to some of the statements made by Andy Reid this week, to the effect that the Eagles looked into aquiring Boldin but decided that -- regardless of their public statements -- the Cardinals were not interested in moving the receiver. Anyway, not for the paltry offer they got from the Eagles.

When DR says "less" than $10 million a year, he could mean $9,999,999 a year, however.

Kent Somers, the very connected beat writer of the Arizona Republic, chased the story and found a source (probably, but not certainly within the team) that said "the (proposed) deal averaged just under $10 million per season."

You can read the story here, and don't miss the comments section. They're big fans of DR out in the desert, too.