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"Won't you help to sing...these songs of freedom..."

Bob Marley - Redemption Song

As the NFL season shifts gears from training camp to the preseason...a lot of talk has been about Tom Brady and his return from injury...however there is another quarterback that didn't play last year...and he has dominated his fair share of headlines too.

Thriller

I have always said that sports are a mirror of life, and nothing proves that statement more than the unpredictable Philadelphia Eagles signing of Michael Vick. The home team just gave Donovan McNabb a healthy extension on his contact, so to the untrained eye...the new acquisition makes zero sense. However it's quite to contrary and here are a few reason why:

• Backup QB Kevin Kolb was drafted in 2007, and while he was given a few key opportunities to shine...he has yet to pan out, as a reliable 2nd or 3rd string. To add a strain of difficultly to this scenario...he was injured recently towards the end of training camp.
• Donovan McNabb is and will be the main guy in Philadelphia...however if he gets hurt during a game, or has to miss games due to injury...then having Vick on the bench to fill in, is a great insurance policy for this team's high powered West Coast Offense.
• Vick will serve a suspension to start the season, so he will have time to learn the plays, fellowship with his teammates, and get comfortable being in his own skin, as he gets readjusted to life in the NFL.
• Life is about change, as it is one of the more constant things in this world...so for Michael Vick, who I believe can still play and excel on a high level...will have McNabb to learn from, and a team that played in the NFC Championship last season to add to.

This is a good sign for what is yet to come from the Eagles, and the silky smooth, left handed, hurler from Virgina...Michael Vick.

Running Routes

Bold

"Listen you can call me what you want..."

50 Cent - God Gave Me Style

The NFL Hall of Fame game kicked off yesterday with the Tennessee Titans winning 21-18 against the Buffalo Bills.

Star

Preseason usually doesn't mean much of anything, expect for the fact that it eventually leads to the start of the regular season. However it seems that anything WR Terrell Owens does, becomes BIG news. He has been both the catalyst for achievement and disaster...and while that lays on his shoulders...I think that too much emphasis is placed on him. For the record...he is a football player, and yes he does have a reality show...but at the end of the day he's just an athlete...and more importantly a human being.

People like T.O. and Michael Vick have been placed on an unfortunate level that many other athletes or the average Joe doesn't have to endure. I'm writing this because as I and other members of the media cover the NFL this year...I secretly wish that everyone sticks to the script...does their job, and leaves the judgement and harsh opinions out of their story lines.

I do not expect T.O. to do anything out of the ordinary...yes he wants the football, and yes he wants to win...show me a person that doesn't want to win, and I'll show you a person that doesn't care much about anything else. We should celebrate his hubris, instead of throwing stones at it.

Back to the Future

Proven

"I come up hard babe, but that's okay...trouble man, don't get in my way..."

Marvin Gaye - Trouble Man

After serving a 23-month debt to society, Michael Vick is now a free man.

Pursuit of Happiness

Here at GAME TIME, I do my best to convey thoughts without being too opinionated, or shall I say more than I usually am...so when the topic of Mike Vick is hot like an ember in the national news...I walk to the fork in the road and go straight.

As a writer, the last thing I want to do is judge an athlete or anyone else for that matter, so the moral of this short story is that life is what you make it, so a once prominent quarterback was arrested and charged for his actions, and now he has emerged from his sentence to pick up the pieces of a time not too long ago.

"He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." - John 8:7

Photo: Sports Illustrated

By Any Means Necessary...

West Coast offense

Brian and AG

"Handle my biz...I scramble like Randall with his...Cunningham, but the only thing runnin' is numbers fam...Jigga held you down six summers..."

Jay-Z - Heart of the City (Ain't no Love)

I'm in the midst of a very long, summer. The term hard work does not give justice…and for those of you that know me, you should remember how much I dislike the summer months. The good news is that we are getting further away from the sticky July days and nights, and closer to the cold wintry season were I can feel what seems like frigid air flowing in my veins.

Nevertheless, I am thankful for my hectic summers, because every year I try to work harder than the last, so that eventually my mother will not have to work as hard as she did when my siblings and I were younger and still does today. Hard work makes people appreciate the fruits of their labor, and in turn the labor is often times rewarded.

In October 2003 I landed a job with the Philadelphia Eagles as a volunteer for the Media Relations game staff. I had been out of work since July 2002, so I was very grateful to work for free. It was a start, and in most instances that's all you need.

My first game was mid-season on October 26; as the team would go on to win 7 more games in a row for a 9 game win streak. That win streak changed the season, as the team would win the NFC East Division for the third time in consecutive seasons. The wins began, on October 19th in the Meadowlands where the 2-3 team was fueled by the strong play of Brian Westbrook, to the note of a game winning 84-yard punt return, for a touchdown. The Eagles were down 3 (10-7) to their rival the New York Football Giants, and with 1:34 remaining on the clock and no timeouts, Westbrook did what he has been doing since he was a kid growing up in Fort Washington, Maryland. 

Westbrook was the first person on the team that I made friends with. We both loved sneakers...so everything clicked.

Any Given Sunday

Five years, Campbell’s Chunky Soup commercials, Super Bowl and Pro Bowl appearances later…Brian Westbrook hasn’t changed, or skipped a beat.

Here is the instant replay on our conversation:

What is your favorite sneaker of all-time and why?
“Jordan. You know it’s so many of them that I really like, but if I had to pick one...it would pick the Jordan XI, white/black.”

What shoes do you play in?
“When I play on grass I’ll wear a 7-stud [cleat], and when I’m on turf I’ll wear a molded cleat, but most of the time I play in the [Nike Zoom] Michael Vick.”

What are the major differences between the sneakers and styles in Philadelphia as opposed to PG County Maryland?
“In Philly the style is a lot more flamboyant. You will see wild, bright colors in Philly, but in PG [county] we have the ability to be wear those colors but we are a lot more relaxed with our style.”

What was it like playing in the Super Bowl?
“The thing about the Super Bowl is that it defines your professional career. The fact that we [Philadelphia Eagles] got there was very exciting, now we didn’t win it, but being there was something that I will appreciative forever.”


Ambition and determination are qualities that cannot be taught, purchased, or sold. Either you have it or you don’t. Brian Westbrook is ambition, and he embodies determination, every day on and off the field.

Peace.

AG.

Photos: Jamie Squire/Getty Images, AXG