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Question-and-answer with NAACP official who criticized McNabb BY STEPHEN A. SMITH Knight Ridder Newspapers PHILADELPHIA - EDITOR'S NOTE: On Nov. 27, J. Whyatt Mondesire, publisher of the Philadelphia Sun newspaper and president of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP, wrote an opinion column about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb titled "Mediocre at Best." Question: You're saying that as the publisher and a columnist at the Philadelphia Sun, the comments you've made about Donovan McNabb have nothing to do with the NAACP; it's strictly your opinion. How can you possibly make these comments and assume people "would not attach the NAACP to...

Posted on Sun, Dec. 18, 2005 IN MY OPINION McNabb has a right to be fed up after absurd criticisms By DAVID J. NEAL dneal@herald.com Somebody ought to be happy Sam and Wilma McNabb gave their son Donovan, by installation or inheritance, copious resilience and restraint. Otherwise, Donovan might snap on the next idiot to cross his path and pound away until each blow makes the fool's blood bubble instead of spurt. To paraphrase Chris Rock, I'm not saying he should do it -- but I'd understand. It's been a rough year for McNabb. After getting Philadelphia to its first...

PHILADELPHIA -- Donovan McNabb is still taking shots -- the latest from an NAACP leader who criticized the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback's leadership skills and said he "played the race card" in explaining why he no longer runs the ball. J. Whyatt Mondesire, who publishes a newspaper for blacks and is the president of the Philadelphia branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, recently wrote that the Eagles' star quarterback failed as a team leader and choked in the Super Bowl. McNabb responded sharply, but Mondesire hasn't changed his stance. "He doesn't get it," Mondesire said Wednesday....

McNabb Responds To Racial Comments Donovan McNabb is not happy a local African-American leader said the Eagles quarterback used race as an excuse for his play on the field this year. The latest Eagles' controversy has been brewing for more than a week, when local NAACP leader Jerry Whyatt Mondesire wrote an opinion piece for the Philadelphia Sun, which claimed McNabb used the "race card" as an excuse for his poor play. Today, parts of an interview with McNabb ran in the Philadelphia Daily News, in which McNabb blasts Mondesire. The comments were originally made to reporters on Dec. 11,...

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb has expressed surprise and disappointment after hearing of racially charged criticism made by Philadelphia NAACP president J. Whyatt Mondesire in a Nov. 27 column in the Philadelphia Sun. [snip] "Especially being the same color I am," McNabb told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Obviously if it's someone else who is not African-American, it's racism. But when someone of the same race talks about you because you're selling out because you're not running the ball, it goes back to: What are we really talking about here? [snip] "I always thought the NAACP supported African-Americans and didn't talk bad...

THAT I DISAGREE with the negative assessment Philadelphia NAACP head Jerry Mondesire made of Donovan McNabb in the Philadelphia Sun is irrelevant.Mondesire, like everyone else, is entitled to his opinions, and more power to him for having a forum like the Sun to express them. I guess what I'd really like to know is how or why the quarterback's performance, Terrell Owens' self-created banishment and the Eagles' fall from Super Bowl to the cellar of the NFC East has evolved into a referendum on "blackness" in some segments of Philadelphia's African-American community.In his column, Mondesire blasted McNabb as an average...

If you read it too quickly and didn't see the byline, you might think that a controversial column lambasting Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb was another blast from ultra-conservative radio-talker Rush Limbaugh. It said that McNabb - who led the Birds to the Super Bowl last year but had a sub-par 2005 before succumbing to injuries - was a "mediocre talent" who is "hiding behind excuses dripping in make-believe racial stereotypes" for refusing to run the football more often. "But then you played the race card and practically all of us fell for your hustle," the columnist wrote. "You scammed us...

I'm sure by now you and everyone else in the football world is tired of hearing about Terrell Owens. Believe me, I'm tired of talking about it. But when I think of this situation, I can't help but be reminded that in this day and age, "bad" behavior is still often rewarded in the end. Whatever happened to the good old days when older players kept the young ones in check? When a rookie came into the game and veterans taught them respect by having them do things like pick up laundry bags or sing at the training table or...

ESPN's Chris Mortensen has confirmed rumors that Terrell Owens engaged in a fist fight Wednesday with teammate Hugh Douglas. The fight broke out after Douglas came into the locker room and announced "I know there are people in here faking injuries." Another Eagles source reported that both Douglas and Owens threw at least two punches a piece before T.O. challenged quarterback Donovan McNabb and then everyone else in the room, saying "You want some? Anyone else want some?" All of this drama comes as ESPN has also confirmed that the Eagles and Brian Westbrook have agreed to a 5-year contract...

Posted on Sat, Sep. 10, 2005 T.O.: McNabb and I talked By Bob Brookover Inquirer Staff Writer Terrell Owens talked again yesterday, and he promised a Super Bowl victory for the Eagles that will be followed by more discussions about his contract situation. The Eagles wide receiver made his debut on a radio show from South Florida hosted by Dan Le Batard, a sports columnist with the Miami Herald. Owens, who is not talking to members of the local media, is scheduled to be part of Le Batard's show every Friday during the season. In addition to saying he had...

Posted on Mon, Aug. 15, 2005 T.O. gets stern letter from Birds By Bob Brookover INQUIRER STAFF WRITER PITTSBURGH - The Eagles confirmed an ESPN report that they have sent disgruntled wide receiver Terrell Owens a letter detailing a list of his alleged misdeeds during his 10 days at training camp at Lehigh University. It was not the first time they had sent the wide receiver such a letter, a team source said. The source indicated the team also sent a letter to Owens in May when he failed to attend the mandatory post-draft camp at the NovaCare Complex. Owens,...

McNabb to Owens: Stop Talking About Me By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer1 hour, 46 minutes ago Donovan McNabb insisted he wasn't stung by criticism from Terrell Owens, laughing off the banished wide receiver's remarks before turning serious and telling him to "keep my name out of your mouth." While Owens left his home for the Bahamas, McNabb joked with reporters, tapped the mikes and rubbed his hands together before taking his seat inside a jammed media tent shortly after Philadelphia's Friday practice. "Yeah! C'mon, bring it!" McNabb said to laughter. Owens again blasted McNabb on two separate interviews with...

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (Feb. 9, 2005) -- Donovan McNabb has no apologies for his Super Bowl performance. He won't allow his teammates to make excuses, either. . . . The Eagles' offensive struggles were caused only by the Patriots and the tension of a Super Bowl, not a phantom sickness.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Patriots knew Donovan McNabb couldn't beat them with his arm in Super Bowl XXXIX. But they did suspect McNabb could beat his own team with it. He complied. Sunday night, McNabb cobbled together a mishmash of inaccuracy, indecisiveness, inconsistency and ineptitude. If he merely played OK, the Eagles might have pulled the upset over the Patriots. But OK was too tall an order. The statistics tell a tale of a valiant effort by the Philadelphia quarterback -- 30-for-51 for 357 yards with three touchdowns. But the three picks he threw -- one to Tedy Bruschi during...

It looked like Donovan McNabb saved his jitters for the Super Bowl. McNabb spent the week telling jokes, being loose and insisting that he felt no pressure leading the Philidelphia Eagles versus the New England Patriots.But the five time pro bowl QB had a shaky performance in the most important game of his career Sunday, a 24-21 loss to the Patriots. McNabb turned the ball over three times, including crucial interceptions in the first and fourth quarters.McNabb misfired on several passes early, held the ball too long in other instance and made several poor decisions. One of the best scramblers...

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was so ill in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl that a teammate had to call a play in the huddle, center Hank Fraley said. "He fought to the end," Fraley told Comcast SportsNet on Monday. "He gave it his all. He was almost puking in the huddle. One play had to be called by (wideout) Freddie Mitchell because Donovan was mumbling because he was almost puking." Offensive lineman Jon Runyan also echoed Fraley's comments in the same interview aired on two local radio stations on Tuesday after the Comcast report. McNabb...

Brady, unfazed by pressure, picks apart Pro Bowlers JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - The Eagles figured they could use man coverage on the New England receivers and blitz quarterback Tom Brady from every angle. With three Pro Bowl selections — cornerback Lito Sheppard and safeties Brian Dawkins and Michael Lewis — Philadelphia thought its defense matched up well with New England's offense. Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is regarded as one of the most creative in his profession. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the Patriots pick up the blitz as well as anyone. Quarterback Tom Brady threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns. Deion...

That's it. Any comments out there?

<p>Pre game has begun in the Eastern and Central time zones.</p>

Okay FR football fans, this is it. Championship Sunday. We have the Patriots in the Steel City to battle the Steelers. We have the QB/RB/HB/All-around-fast-guy Michael Vick and his Falcons taking on the Chuncky Soup eating Donovan McNabb (his mama made him eat it) and the Eagles in Philly. Offensive octane in Philly, defensive titans in Pittsburgh. Sounds like it's gonna be a fun day today! Post your picks. Who do you think will win and why? Here are my choices, so take a peek and tell me where I'm wrong if I'm wrong. New England is -3 in Pittsburgh....