Ben Maller's NFL rumors
by FOXSports.com
Eagles Westbrook changes agents
When asked about stalled contract negotiations between running back Brian Westbrook and the Eagles earlier this week, agent Fletcher Smith said he was not going to negotiate through the media. Smith, in fact, is not going to negotiate a new deal for Westbrook at all. After becoming increasingly frustrated with contract negotiations between Smith and the team, the superstar running back has fired his agent, The Inquirer learned yesterday from a league source. Smith, who also represents Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, did not return a phone call yesterday, but the league source said the agent told the Eagles Monday that he was no longer representing Westbrook. It marked the second day in a row that news surfaced of a disgruntled Eagles player changing agents. -- Philadelphia Inquirer
Eagles Andy Reid avoids hot seat
There is no indication that Eagles coach Andy Reid is on any sort of hot seat with owner Jeffrey Lurie. BYU, his alma mater and, some felt, his dream job, came calling years ago and was sent away. Every indication is that Eagles Nation will be gritting its teeth through painfully uninformative news conferences, punctuated by random throat-clearings, for years to come. -- Philadelphia Daily News
Chiefs fail in efforts to trade Wesley
The Chiefs continued to hold on to Greg Wesley in hopes of finding a trade partner. Wesley, after losing his starting spot, requested to be traded or released and this combination created an awkward situation at last month's mini-camp. Wesley, despite having permission from the Chiefs to skip the practices, attended anyway and mostly kept a distance from his teammates during drills. Wesley didn't return a message seeking comment. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said he was already fielding calls from teams wanting to sign Wesley. "There's a lot of interest in Greg, as we thought there would be," Rosenhaus said. Rosenhaus said he was optimistic Wesley would sign with another team before training camps begin next week. "That's the plan," he said. -- KC Star
Bears can't pass up shot at Brett Favre
As long as Brett Favre wants to come back and the Green Bay Packers prefer he stays away, the Bears owe it to every player, coach, season ticket-holder and distant McCaskey relative to have The Conversation. The one that addresses how the Bears can turn a historically dumb decision by their division rivals into a potential Super Bowl run. That is exactly how Bears general manager Jerry Angelo must view the possibility of Favre leaving the Packers. -- Chicago Tribune
Jason Taylor flip flopping on Dolphins training camp?
One week before Dolphins training camp opens and Jason Taylor's showing off that fancy footwork again. In case you missed it, the Dancing With the Stars runner-up danced around the few hard hitting questions he was asked to tackle during an exclusive ESPN interview aired earlier this week. While Taylor admitted he's still a Dolphin (THAT'S A START), said he plans to play this season (GREAT), and admitted that the supposed beef between he and Bill Parcells is squashed (ABOUT TIME), he wouldn't commit to showing up for the start of training camp (DAMN!). "My plan is to play," Taylor said. Then, when the possibility of sitting out training camp, or the season, was mentioned Taylor quickly retorted, "You can always do that too." -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel
NFL dispute keeping Eagles from signing DeSean Jackson
A team source confirmed that the dispute between the NFL and the NFLPA over how bonus money can be structured in 4-year rookie contracts is keeping the Birds from inking second-round picks DeSean Jackson and Trevor Laws, with rookies scheduled to report to Lehigh on Monday. The dispute has to do with ownership's decision to scrap the current collective-bargaining agreement, meaning there is no salary cap in 2011 right now. The dispute is to be heard by a Special Master today. The Eagles, and everybody else, hope for a decision over the weekend, but it isn't clear whether that will occur. The team source said both pacts should be resolved quickly once the decision is announced. -- Philadelphia Daily News
Raiders great Tim Brown says Brett Favre should stay retired
Former Oakland Raiders great Tim Brown says Brett Favre should stay retired and that there's "absolutely, positively" no way the star quarterback will return to the Green Bay Packers. "There's no way he's going to be back in that locker room now," Brown said this week. "Absolutely, positively no way. They're just trying to say the right thing, hoping that he comes to his senses." -- LA Times
Colts Dungy stuck in elevator
Super Bowl-winning Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy calmed nervous fellow passengers when his elevator got stuck for 20 minutes at the offices of Simon & Schuster, which has just published his new kids' book, "You Can Do It." -- NY Times
Cowboys Romo has to shed playoff albatross
Ah, the playoffs. Superman had his kryptonite. Tony Romo has the playoffs. Did you know that during the three years that he started for Eastern Illinois, his team made it to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs three times? It did, and on each of the three occasions, Eastern Illinois lost ... in the first round. Add the two first-round playoff defeats that he's had as Cowboys quarterback, and we sense either a horrible trend or some cosmic coincidence. The man has never won a playoff game in his life. Am I the only one that seems concerned about that? Granted, Romo threw for 4,211 yards and 36 touchdowns last season, both franchise records in a record book where Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Danny White and Don Meredith are mentioned prominently. -- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Dilfer lands as ESPN analyst
Hired this week: former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer (as an ESPN analyst on assorted programs) and golfer Tom Watson (to work British Open broadcasts on ABC). -- Miami Herald
Cards ticket plan aims to keep Cowboys fans out
The Cardinals are trying to "protect the nest." This means they'd like University of Phoenix Stadium to continue to sell out, and to do so with as few opposing fans as possible. In the past two seasons, there was little concern about this since the team sold out every home game. But with ticket sales a bit slower as the third season approaches, the Cardinals are requiring fans who want to buy tickets to the Dallas game on Oct. 12 to also buy tickets for the Aug. 7 exhibition opener vs. New Orleans. Cardinals fans have "created a decisive home-field advantage" the past two years, and the team wants to keep it that way by discouraging single-game ticket sales to Cowboys fans, team spokesman Mark Dalton said. "Our goal is to have as many Cardinal fans in the stadium as possible," Dalton said. -- East Valley Tribune
How About That?
Brett Favre's crushing INT in overtime against the Giants not only ruined, in true Favre-ian fashion, an otherwise amazing season for the Pack, it tied him with another postseason INT expert, Jim Kelly, for the most playoff picks in history (28). But fear not, Cheeseheads. His oopsies are not limited to passes gone astray. Favre also needs to fumble just six times this season to tie Dave Krieg for second on the all-time fumbles list (153). With a truly sub-human effort of 14 fumbles befitting a soon-to-be 39-year-old who can't make up his mind, Favre can tie the career mark of 161 fumbles set by Warren Moon. -- Cold, Hard Football Facts
Browns QB Brady Quinn Scrambles Over Gay Dating Scandal
NFL baller Brady Quinn wants to make one thing clear: He'll huddle up with sweaty, muscular men -- he just won't date 'em. No matter what a gay dating website is leading people to believe. A topless -- and really, really hot -- photo of the Cleveland Browns quarterback has been used to promote a dating website for months. The only problem -- nobody cleared it with Brady! A rep for the Cleveland Browns tells us Brady had no knowledge of the ad saying, "He was not involved in posting photos." Brady's lawyer has already taken action and has sent a cease and desist letter to the website today, demanding all photos of him be removed ASAP. -- TMZ
Did You Know?
Ben Roethlisberger enters the 2008 season with a truly historic mark, averaging an amazing 8.13 yards per pass attempt for his career, the top mark in the Live Ball Era (1978-present) and behind only Hall of Famers Otto Graham (8.63), Sid Luckman (8.42) and Norm Van Brocklin (8.13). However, Roethlisberger needs 64 pass attempts - which he should reach no later than Week 3 - to meet the minimum 1,500 career attempts required by official NFL records. With a good season, he could leap past Van Brocklin into the No. 3 spot all time in passing yards per attempt. -- Cold, Hard Football Facts
Brett Favre Featured on Packers Ticket
The NFL season is approaching despite the ongoing Favre saga. Many Packers season ticket holders received a package in their mail Wednesday. The ticket for the first regular season game -- against the Minnesota Vikings -- features a collage of Favre. That Monday night game is when Favre's number 4 is supposed to be retired. -- WBAY - Green Bay
Giants Seat Licenses Priced From $1,000 to $20,000
The Giants laid out on Thursday the prices for personal seat licenses in the team's new stadium, a roster of one-time fees that start at $1,000 each for 26,179 upper-deck seats and rise to $20,000 apiece for 4,162 lower-level field seats. Between the highest and lowest prices that fans must pay for the rights to keep their season tickets are fees that range from $4,000 each for 10,905 mezzanine seats above each end zone to $12,500 each for 3,052 mezzanine club seats overlooking the sidelines. The Giants are selling licenses to every seat in the $1.6 billion stadium they are building with the Jets, and will generate about $367 million if they sell all 78,448 licenses. After taxes, about half the revenue will go to paying the Giants' stadium debt. -- NY Times
Dan Marino stinks at charity
The Groove's numbers aren't as bad as retired Dolphins QB Dan Marino's celebrity golf tournament, which once ran overheads reaching 72 percent by offering a purse to celebrity winners. Or Hollywood star Alec Baldwin's cancer fundraiser, in which expenses once exceeded revenues. Mourning's charity has given more than $8 million over the years to inner-city youth centers in and around Miami. -- Palm Beach Post
Breaux, Longtime Gibbs Redskins Assistant, Retires
Longtime assistant coach Don Breaux has retired from the Redskins because of a heart condition, the team announced yesterday. Breaux, who will turn 68 on Aug. 3, coached 27 years in the NFL, including two stints with Washington, winning three Super Bowls under Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs and remaining one of Gibbs's closest friends. Breaux served as offensive coordinator for Gibbs the past four seasons but had assumed a less prominent role on Coach Jim Zorn's staff. He had been set to handle advance scouting and special assignments. -- Washington Post
Brett Favre Corn Maze?
As if the Brett Favre situation weren't confusing enough, try navigating through a corn field maze of a larger-than-life Number 4. You'll have to travel to Eleva, Wisconsin, to enjoy it. That's about 20 miles south of Eau Claire. The family who owns the corn maze at Schultz's Country Barn planned the design after Favre announced his retirement in the spring. It features a large image of Favre preparing to throw a pass with a breast cancer ribbon symbol in the corner. -- WBAY - 2 Green Bay
Who Knew?
Steve Young continues to hold the career passer-rating record (96.8), but active quarterbacks Peyton Manning (94.7), Kurt Warner (93.2) and Tom Brady (92.9) are hot on his trail. It's conceivable that Manning or Brady could surpass Young's career mark sometime within the next two seasons. Manning even has an outside shot of catching Young this year. After all, Manning holds the single-season passer-rating record (121.1 in 2004), while Brady nearly matched him last year, with the second highest single-season mark (117.2). -- Cold, Hard Football Facts
Former Vikes coach helps win golf tournament
Former Vikings coach Jerry Burns, 81, was player-coach for the team that won the recent NFL Alumni Minnesota Chapter golf tournament at Bearpath. The team advanced to the national tournament next year in Orlando, Fla. -- Pioneer Press
Michael Strahan visits Ewing's table
Michael Strahan and Nicole Mitchell Murphy stopping by Patrick Ewing's table while dining at Prime 112 in South Beach. Later, Hulk Hogan seen with his new squeeze Jennifer McDaniel, at the Miami hot spot chatting up Timbaland and his bride Monique Idlett at another table. -- NY Post
Did You Know?
Here we are, preparing to open Andy Reid's 10th Eagles training camp. Among current NFL coaches, only Tennessee's Jeff Fisher (14 years) and Denver's Mike Shanahan (13) have been in their jobs longer. Now 88-56 in regular-season games, Reid long ago surpassed Greasy Neale as the franchise's winningest head coach (as long as your criteria doesn't include championships). This year he matches Neale in length of tenure; by the end of the season, no one ever will have coached the Eagles longer than Andy Reid. Seventy-six Eagles seasons, nobody here longer than Andy, nobody winning more. -- Philadelphia Daily News
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