THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Andy Reid read a list of five offensive starters who would not be practicing today, as his team started preparing to vist the Chicago Bears this weekend. Five is a lot, in a sport where you can only have 11 on the field at a time. But the two marquee names, Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook, seemed hopeful about their chances of playing.
"I'm optimistic about getting out there and being able to play," said Westbrook, who suffered what the Eagles have called a strained ankle in Sunday's victory over the Steelers. Westbrook has likened the injury to a high ankle sprain, which almost certainly would take more than a week for a running back to recover from, but he said Wednesday that "I've definitely gotten better since Sunday."
Obviously, there is still quite a bit of time before the Birds have to make a decision on Westbrook's status.
"I'm going to do what's best for me and this team," Westbrook said.
He has compared his injury to the one suffered by Brian Dawkins in the preseason, at New England, which the team called an "ankle tendon strain." Dawkins was injured on Aug. 22, and as a veteran, wasn't scheduled to play in the remaining preseason game anyway. He returned for the Sept. 7 regular season opener.
McNabb, meanwhile, said his chest contusion is more painful than it was when he finished Sunday's game with it.
"I expect to be out there," McNabb said.
Reid has said he expects FB Tony Hunt to be able to play. Less clear is the status of TE L.J. Smith (back), or RG Shawn Andrews (back).
Wideout Kevin Curtis practiced yesterday for the first time since undergoing sports hernia surgery on Aug. 21. Curtis was to practice with the scout team. He is unlikely to play this week
Brian Dawkins, by the way, said he would take a pass on Westbrook's suggestion, that B-Dawk would be the teammate most suited for "Dancing with the Stars."
"I'm not wearing the ruffles," Dawkins said.
In other frivolous news, be sure to read our previous Wednesday entry and try your hand at suggesting a movie with which McNabb might identify.
Les Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
Paul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.
