Archive: May, 2009
Daily News staff
We know this is not news, but we thought it might make a good conversation down the Shore or at a family picnic on this Memorial Day weekend.
He took a bit of the easy way out, in our estimation, by lumping all the NFC East games into one rivalry, and ranking NFC East vs. NFC East at No. 3. Here was his reasoning.
Daily News staff
State officials are “in discussions” with both the Eagles and the Steelers about the possibility of partnering on an instant ticket game this fall, state Lottery spokeswoman Stephanie Weyant told the Daily News' John Baer on Thursday.
NFL owners voted earlier this week to allow teams to enter agreements with state lotteries in which teams charge licensing fees so lotteries can use team names and logos on tickets.
An Eagles spokesman said the team would have no comment.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Lots of guys who get signed as undrafted free agents have interesting stories. Jervonte Jackson's is on another level entirely.
Jackson, a defensive tackle from Florida Atlantic, is the half-brother of Eagles center Jamaal Jackson -- they have the same father, Jerry Jackson. But Jervonte's mother is Avonda Dowling, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence in California for dealing drugs. When she was arrested, in 2002, Jervonte, then a sophomore in high school, was left in charge of the Miami-area household, which included his younger sister, Vonshari Hoardes.
"Paying bills, taking care of my sister, that was really difficult," Jackson said, after Thursday's rookie camp workout "Growing up, being a man real fast, was something I had to endure."
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
You’re the San Francisco 49ers. You’ve just lost one of your starting corners, Walt Harris, to a torn ACL that will cost him the ’09 season. You need an experienced replacement.
Paging Sheldon Brown. Paging Sheldon Brown.
If I had been the Niners, the first thing I would’ve done after seeing Harris’s MRI was put in a call to the Eagles and see what they wanted for Brown, whose very-public unhappiness over his contract situation last month led to a trade request.
Daily News staff
Donovan McNabb took to his Yardbarker blog to offer his support for Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who was released from prison today and will serve the rest of his sentence confined to his Virginia home. McNabb titled the post, "My Thoughts on a Couple of Friends."
My thoughts and prayers go out to Jim Johnson as he battles through another round of chemotherapy to deal with cancer. Jim is one of the toughest men I’ve come across and although he has a tough battle ahead, no one is going to fight harder.
I am happy that Michael Vick has served his time and will now be afforded the opportunity to move on with his life. I’m sure he will continue to be remorseful and will learn from his experiences. Hopefully he will have the opportunity to continue his dream of playing professional football.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Many of the guys taking part in the Eagles' Wednesday and Thursday camp for rookies and select veterans haven't been Eagles long enough to really know that much about Jim Johnson or Sean McDermott. So having McDermott, the secondary coach, run the defense Wednesday, while defensive coordinator Johnson takes an indefinite leave of absence to continue cancer treatments, wasn't all that unsettling to them.
But for the ones who have spent time with Johnson, it was a strange day.
"It was just different, man, like it was with 'Dawk,' " said second-year free safety Quintin Demps, who drew an analogy between his situation, replacing Brian Dawkins, and the task facing McDermott. "You really don't feel him out here ... you just feel that something's different."
Daily News staff
Free-agent linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa is not scheduled to visit the Eagles next week, according to team sources, despite an ESPN.com report indicating a visit has been arranged.
Tinoisamoa, 27, was cut two weeks ago by the St. Louis Rams. He visited with the Buffalo Bills last week and is in Chicago today meeting with the Bears, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. In 2003, Tinoisamoa was the first rookie to lead the Rams franchise in tackles, playing under current Bears head coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Bob Babich.
Tinoisamoa has spent most of his career on the weak side, although he has played on the strong side, and led the Rams in tackles in four of his six seasons.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
The Daily News' Les Bowen recently spoke to new Eagles left tackle Jason Peters about his life off the field and growing up in the small east Texas town of Queen City, with a population of 1,613.
Here are some excerpts from that conversation:
On Queen City: “It’s small, man. I just chill out with my people when I’m home. There’s nothing to do. I graduated with like 70 people.”
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
Good news for those of you who are Comcast cable subscribers. The war between Comcast and the National Football League over the NFL Network is over.
Both sides announced this morning that they have reached a new, long-term agreement regarding carriage of the NFL Network. For the last two years, much to the NFL’s chagrin, Comcast has been carrying the NFL Network on its Sports Entertainment tier, which required subscribers to pay an additional monthly fee for it.
The NFL wanted it on Comcast’s digital tier, along with ESPN, Versus, the Golf Channel and other sports networks. It initially was on that tier, but was moved to the sports tier when the NFL began broadcasting live games on the NFL Network and increased its subscriber fee to Comcast.
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Obviously, it wasn't good news Monday that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will take a leave of absence for a second round of chemotherapy to treat metastasized melanoma. Oncologists contacted by The Daily News indicated that Johnson's cancer -- which the team has acknowledged is present outside the site of the tumor on his spine -- likely is starting to fully manifest itself in other areas. One oncologist said melanoma is particularly difficult to treat with chemotherapy.
The oncologists the Daily News spoke to, who are not involved in treating Johnson, said that in general, a melanoma patient's response to chemotherapy declines with each round of treatment. The Eagles, who confirmed an ESPN.com report by Sal Paolantonio about the leave, did not set a timetable for Johnson's return.
Johnson coached the spring's first OTA,or minicamp, from a motorized wheelchair. He will not participate in the rookie OTA coming up Wednesday and Thursday, the team said. Secondary coach Sean McDermott, widely presumed to be Johnson's successor someday, will run the defense in Johnson's absence.
