The Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Brian Westbrook is enjoying the offseason while taking care of his head that suffered two severe concussions during the 2009 season. Believing that he will get ready for the 2010 season in his 100 percent condition, he also believes that quarterback Donovan McNabb will wear the same NFL jerseys as his own.
“I think there is no question in my mind if Donovan will be back,” Westbrook said. “After what he was able to do last year which he had a very good year, of course, everybody measures, a lot of fans measure by Super Bowls. Did you win the Super Bowl and you know realistically there is only going to be one team out of 32 to win the Super Bowl every year and it is hard to do that. I don’t think that you can measure whether a quarterback can be successful or not by whether he has a Super Bowl or not. If you look at this football team with Donovan and without Donovan, I think you would be hard-pressed to say that there was better quarterback in the league than Donovan McNabb for the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Because of the concussions, Westbrook played in only eight games and had 274 rushing yards - the fewest since his rookie year of 2002 - and 181 receiving yards with just one total touchdown. But he is still the franchise record holder for scrimmage yards with 9,785.
The Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall suddenly changed his mind last week and said he would like to stay with the Broncos for next season. Well, he probably will as the Broncos owner Pat Bowlen also wants the two-time Pro Bowl back to continue playing in Broncos jerseys next season.
“I think Brandon is going through a maturing process,” Bowlen said. “Personally, I saw change in his personality and approach to things [this season]. He didn’t have the same sort of attitude and anxiety that he’s had. I personally would like to see him stay. And there’s still a good possibility that could happen.”
Marshall is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. But if the owners and players’ union don’t strike a labor agreement by March 5, he will become a restricted free agent and it would be up to the Broncos’ choice about whether to sign him. Besides the owner’s wish, Marshall’s 1,120 yards on 101 receptions may also add his chance to stay in Denver.
According to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte’ Stallworth, who was suspended without pay for the 2009 season because of a DUI manslaughter charge, will be reinstated to play at some point after Sunday’s Super Bowl game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
Stallworth, who was under the influence while driving, struck and killed a pedestrian while driving on a causeway connecting Miami and Miami Beach on March 14, 2009. He served 24 days in jail and was placed on house arrest. The accident also caused the league’s decision to suspend him for the entire 2009 season without pay.
Goodell did not say the exact time for Stallworth to wear back his NFL jersey to play, but said he met with Stallworth for 45 minutes to an hour before the Dolphins’ final regular-season game in Miami. To Goodell, Stallworth seemed remorseful and worthy of reinstatement, but whether he could stay with the Browns upon reinstatement will depend on the decisions of the team and new reinstatement.
As the team he had spent his ten years with will play Super Bowl game against the team his middle son playing for, Archie Manning has been constantly asked which team he is to support, or which team he wishes them to win.
Although saying “it’s very easy when you’ve got a boy in the game”, Archie actually knows well that it’s not quite easy.
He stayed with the Saints for ten full seasons in all without a winning one. He saw many fans remaining too loyal to abandon their beloved team despite consecutive losses. Now the day comes for the Saints to fight for Super Bowl, how is it possible for the former Saints’ glamour quarterback to say he will hope his old team’s opponent to win simply because it’s the team his son plays for?
But thinking it in a different way, perhaps it is lucky for Archie to witness what will happen this Sunday in Miami. Whether he is to watch the game in Saints jersey or Colts jersey, he would be as happy whether the result is his old team’s historical victory or another records-moment of his four-time MVP middle son.
As the first pick of the first round this year, power forward Blake Griffin has not yet gotten the chance to show his new NBA jersey. Now, finally, his time of debut is set to be Jan. 20, for the Las Angeles Clippers, against the Chicago Bulls, at Staples Center.
The top pick in the 2009 draft found a stress fracture in his left kneecap after becoming a professional NBA player. He did not begin doing on-court workouts until Dec. 28. Practicing with Clippers assistant coach Fred Vinson, he is expected to be cleared for contact by the middle of this month.
Griffin hasn’t put on any additional weight, despite the layoff and has worked on his 3-point shot and ball handling. Even if he is healthy enough to place against the Bulls, he will only be allowed to play for limited minutes.
As starting receiver Torry Holt, starting tight end Marcedes Lewis and starting cornerback Rashean Mathis all will not put on their Jacksonville Jaguars jerseys to play this Sunday’s season finale against the Cleveland Browns, it becomes more unlikely that the Jaguars could enter the playoff.
Holt had hand injury and Lewis was suffering a concussion after both got injured during last week’s loss to the New England Patriots. Mathis has been struggling with a groin injury for the last six weeks. All the three have missed all of this week’s practice and were officially ruled out Friday along with backup defensive tackle Atiyyah Ellison, who had a knee injury.
In order to clinch a wild-card berth for the playoff, the Jaguars do not only need to beat the 4-11 Browns, but also need enough luck to have four of the five other teams all lose their season finale. The other five teams are: Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson may have the chance to play his ninth All-Star game as he has surged into second place among Eastern Conference guards Thursday, meaning he may have a starting job for the Eastern Conference.
The Houston Rockets Tracy McGrady may have the same chance as Iverson for the Western Conference. He inched back ahead of Steve Nash by 1,005 votes for second among West guards, although he played only six games for the Rockets before they decided he would take off Rockets jersey to join a new team while exploring a trade for him.
The other players on track to start are more predictable—and more deserving. LeBron James and Kevin Garnett to lead East forwards is just as expected with their standout performance of the season. And Dwight Howard is without doubt the top choice for East centers, so is Dwyane Wade to be the No. 1 East guard.
Among all those play basketball in NBA jerseys, the Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash could be considered as a senior citizen at the age of 35. But with many point guards around the league at least ten years younger than him, Nash has not shown any sign of decline.
This season is his 14th season, and he still managed to be averaging 18.6 points and 11.3 assists with only 33.5 minutes of playing time per game. And the statics are close to his career highs and can be compared favorably to what he averaged when he won the league’s MVP award in 2005 and 2006.
Jason Kidd, John Stockton and Mark Jackson rank top three in all-time assists, but none of the greatest point guard have had the statistics close to Nash’s today after reaching the age of 35. Just as Isiah Thomas said, Nash “has mastered the craft of the point guard position.”
Previously, the Minnesota Timberwolves made so many believe that backup point guard Jason Hart will put on New Orleans Hornets jersey and Devin Brown will leave New Orleans for Minnesota. However, the deal was done eventually but had nothing to do with Hornets or Brown.
Indeed Hart left the Timberwolves, but went to the Phoenix Suns, instead of the Hornets, and it was forward Alando Tucker instead of Brown who came to Minnesota in return.
Timberwolves president David Kahn was indeed in talks with the Hornets about acquiring Brown, a 6-foot-5 guard shooting a career-high 41 percent from 3-point range this season. The Hornets were looking to dump Brown’s $1.1 million salary and the Wolves needed perimeter shooting. It seemed so likely that the deal would be done smoothly that premature release about Brown joining Timberwolves appeared on the team’s official site.
After it was confirmed that the trade was with the Suns and for Tucker, the release was removed from the site and the team tried to deny making that release officially, saying the team never activated or published the page on Brown and it appeared on a “dead” web page without the team’s recognition.
The Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he is “hopeful” that guard-forward Ron Artest will put on his Lakers jersey to rejoin the team in Tuesday’s game against Golden State Warriors.
Speaking before the Lakers played the Phoenix Suns Monday night, Jackson said Artest still was experiencing some dizziness which should be caused by the concussion he sustained along with left elbow injury in a fall at his home on Christmas Day after tripping over a box and falling down stairs.
Artest did not travel with the Lakers on their two-game trip to Sacramento and Phoenix. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 12.1 points and 4.8 rebounds in his first season with the Lakers after signing with the team as a free agent.
