One of the biggest mysteries in Super Bowl history occurred the previous time the Philadelphia Eagles met the New England Patriots 13 years ago.
Did Donovan McNabb vomit during Philadelphia’s comeback attempt in the fourth quarter?
He denies it. Teammates have said otherwise.
It’s worthy of a documentary. No puking
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The rematch is here and the Eagles are still seeking their first Vince Lombardi Trophy while the Patriots have won two more since that one and are going for No. 6.
McNabb’s disputed upchucking actually upstaged Terrell Owens’ remarkable performance in the big game. Owens defied his doctor’s advice and was in the starting lineup just 6+ weeks after ankle surgery. He caught nine passes for 122 yards against the Patriots, but the Eagles couldn’t overcome numerous mistakes in a 24-21 loss.
McNabb threw for 357 yards and three touchdowns but also had three interceptions, another that was nullified by penalty, took four sacks and didn’t have any yards rushing.
Former Eagles coach Andy Reid’s clock management was a major issue in that game. Down 24-14, the offense got the ball back with 8:35 left. They inexplicably huddled up instead of running a hurry-up offense and McNabb threw an interception.
They were slow to the line again when they regained possession and took 3:45 to drive 79 yards for a touchdown. After the onside kick failed, the defense held and the Eagles got the ball again at their 4 with no timeouts and 46 seconds remaining.
The comeback bid ended when Rodney Harrison picked a deflected pass.
”When you talk about managing time and things of that nature, that’s up to the head coach, offensive coordinator and the quarterback,” Owens told The Associated Press this week.
”As a quarterback, as a seasoned veteran, the quarterback really should be the guy assessing what we should be doing
Jarran Reed Jersey , how much time is on the clock, what time we need to be running the play. I was on the outside once I left the huddle. Once the play is called, I’m gone.”
Owens, in town as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame and to promote a commercial for Febreze, has moved on from the loss. He was dismissed from the Eagles in November the following season after feuding with McNabb and management over a new contract.
”What I did was bigger than the Super Bowl for me,” Owens said. ”I understood the ultimate goal was to win the game and that was definitely heavily on my mind. Coming out of the tunnel for the first time, the media was waiting on me to run around the field to see if I was limping, how I was cutting on the ankle. I wanted everyone to know my faith in God was the No. 1 reason I did what I did.”
Former teammate Brian Westbrook, who had 144 yards from scrimmage and a TD catch in that game, still has regrets.
”I don’t think you ever get over losing the Super Bowl,” Westbrook said. ”It’s one of those things when you look back on your career, you want to have that ring
Robbie Gould Jersey , you want to flash the Giants fans, the Dallas fans that ring but sometimes things don’t work out.
”But the biggest memory is playing in the game, being part of the big show. You work so hard to get to that point in your career and I was lucky enough to get there. We just didn’t seal the deal.”
Westbrook defended McNabb, who took several hard hits, including a few that appeared late. McNabb was bent over after a crushing hit from Richard Seymour during the late drive and it’s unknown whether he was getting dirt and grass off his face and helmet or regurgitated.
”The quarterback is always going to get so much of the credit and so much of the bad things,” Westbrook said. ”That negativity, a lot of it is centered around Don for whatever reason but he was the reason we were playing in that game.
”He did a great job. I wish, as a team, we could’ve put him in better position to be successful. When you’re playing the Patriots and make those kinds of mistakes, you don’t have a chance.”
That remains true now. It’s a different team, but Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are still there.
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AP NFL website:
For those seeking the trend in NBA free agency this year, it’s this: Most players are either staying put
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Such was largely the case Tuesday.
Utah kept two of its free agents, agreeing to extensions with Dante Exum (three years, $33 million) and Raul Neto (two years, $4.4 million). Avery Bradley, in a deal that was struck late Monday night, is also staying put – coming to terms with the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year contract worth $25 million.
Most of the other known deals that were made on Day 3 of free agency were all of the short-term variety.
Tyreke Evans got $12 million to spend next season with the Indiana Pacers. Jeff Green agreed to terms on a $2.4 million, one-year deal with Washington – which is expected to seek another one-year pact with Dwight Howard later this month when he finalizes his Brooklyn buyout – and Michael Carter-Williams got a veteran’s minimum deal to play in Houston next season.
All the deals were confirmed to The Associated Press by people familiar with the negotiations, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because the NBA offseason moratorium on signings does not end until Friday.
The Jazz have quietly crossed off many items on their summertime wish list, with general manager Dennis Lindsey going into free agency saying he wanted to keep all three of his team’s internal free agents.
Check. Check. And check. The deals with Exum and Neto came one day after Utah agreed to keep Derrick Favors on a two-year, $36 million deal.
Evans will give Indiana’s offense a lift. He’s a proven scorer, someone who expanded his 3-point ability last season when he averaged 19.4 points per game with Memphis.
Green fills a big-man void, after the Wizards traded away starting center Marcin Gortat – the hole that Howard conceivably will fill – and losing backup power forward Mike Scott to free agency. Green
Lawrence Taylor Jersey , who turns 32 in August, spent last season with the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
Carter-Williams gives Houston some guard depth behind MVP James Harden and Chris Paul, and Houston gives Carter-Williams yet another chance to restart what was a very promising career. He was the NBA’s rookie of the year for Philadelphia in 2013-14 when he averaged 16.7 points per game. But his scoring average has dropped each year since, and the Rockets will be his fifth team in six seasons.
With LeBron James being a very obvious exception – getting four years to leave Cleveland for the Los Angeles Lakers – most of the biggest signings so far have been players staying home. Those include Paul staying with Houston, Nikola Jokic with Denver, Paul George with Oklahoma City, Aaron Gordon with Orlando, Golden State’s Kevin Durant and Denver’s Will Barton.
Outside of James, the biggest-money deal that involves someone filing a change-of-address card is Dallas’ $24.1 million agreement with DeAndre Jordan. But even that one falls into the short-term trend, since that’s just for next season.
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AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich in London contributed.
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