Projo Pats Blog

May 18, 2008 - May 24, 2008 Archives

New England wide receiver Wes Welker is being honored tonight by Pop Warner Little Scholars Inc. (PWLS), the largest national youth football and cheerleading organization in the U.S.

Welker is receiving the 2008 Pop Warner Inspiration to Youth Award for his record-breaking season with the Patriots and his commitment to working with youth through his 83 Foundation, which he established to provide underprivileged children in his hometown of Oklahoma City the opportunity to play football.

“We’re honored to present Wes with the 2008 Pop Warner Inspiration to Youth Award. His commitment to the game of football and the way he plays the game is inspiring to all Pop Warner participants,” said Jon Butler, Executive Director of Pop Warner Little Scholars, in a release. “What’s more impressive is his commitment to youth off-the-field with his work with the New England Patriots and his 83 Foundation. The New England Patriots, the NFL, and Pop Warner are all fortunate to have athletes like Wes as role models for today’s youth.”

Past Inspiration to Youth winners include Drew Bledsoe, honored in 2001, and Junior Seau, who was honored in 1994.

Former Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter, who is now with the Dolphins, taped an interview with ESPN's "NFL Live" today and went off on the Patriots, saying that when it comes to Spygate, the team deserves an asterisk next to its accomplishments, and that the NFL tried to cover something up by destroying the tapes and evidence the team submitted as part of last fall's investigation.

"They cheated, there should be an asterisk. They cheated and they got caught," Porter said.

Then he brought the league into the discussion.

"Why, if you have nothing to hide, would you destroy [the evidence]? That's how I've looked at it from the beginning. Why destroy something that doesn't have to be destroyed? Let everyone know what was on the tapes. Why would you destroy them so fast?"

Among the tapes that former video employee Matt Walsh submitted to the league last week was one made during the 2002 AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh against Porter's Steelers. New England won the game, 24-17, and went on to its first Super Bowl win.

"If you're to tell me that happened, there's no way I can look at it and feel like I didn't get cheated," Porter said.

According to the veteran linebacker, he's not the only one that feels this way: "Anybody I know that lost to them in big games, they're very upset about it," he said.

PROVIDENCE -- Former Rhode Island senator John Celona not only sold out his public office ––he tried to sell out his New England sports allegiance, too.

Celona, who is serving a 2½-year federal prison term after pleading guilty to selling his office, is the star government witness in the bribery, fraud and conspiracy trial of two former CVS executives John R. "Jack" Kramer and Carlos Ortiz.

Kramer and Ortiz are accused of hiring Celona to help promote CVS’ legislative agenda at the Rhode Island State House.

According to evidence introduced today at the trial in U.S. District Court, Celona, the fan who proudly flew a New England Patriots flag outside his North Providence house and once tried, as a senator, to get the Patriots to build a football stadium in Providence, sought work from the New York Jets.

Sports is a major interest of Celona’s, as evidenced by his testimony today about his efforts to promote the CVS Charity Golf Classic and Downtown 5K road race in Providence on his cable-access television show.

Then, toward the end of today’s testimony, defense lawyer Scott Corrigan showed jurors a letter that Celona wrote in 1997, when he was seeking work following the failure of his family’s lawnmower store.

The letter was to Bill Parcells, who had just bolted as coach of the Patriots following a Super Bowl loss to the Green Bay Packers, to take charge of the team’s arch-rival, the Jets.

In his quest for work to support his family, Celona acknowledged sending out hundreds of resumes. On March 10, 1997, he wrote to Parcells pitching a new consulting group he had formed, The Image Group.

"With perception so important," Celona wrote, "we at The Image Group can train you and your team to manage the news and the media in a way that is positive and beneficial to the Jets."

A few minutes later, sparring with a defense lawyer over how many times he had met with FBI agents, Celona paraphrased the words of another Pats football coach and one-time Parcell's disciple, Bill Belichick: "If that’s what it is, that’s what it is, then that’s what it is."

Read more on the trial.

-- Journal staff writer Mike Stanton

Journal photos / Mary Murphy
Tom Brady

Tom Brady and Sammy Morris

Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel

New acquisition Victor Hobson

New acquisition Fernando Bryant, talking to our own Shalise Manza Young

The Patriots just finished up the second day of a four-day passing camp on the fields behind Gillette Stadium, with nearly 100 percent participation.

Some observations from the session, which lasted about an hour and 45 minutes:

* Missing were: CB Ellis Hobbs, G Stephen Neal, WR Wes Welker, TE Benjamin Watson, TE David Thomas, DL Jarvis Green and DL Mike Wright.

* Special teamer Ray Ventrone, listed as a safety on the roster, yesterday was wearing a white (offense) practice jersey and did some drills with the the receivers.

* On more than one occasion during a route-running drill, Chad Jackson drew praise from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and new receivers coach Bill O'Brien.

* Marcus Pollard wasn't moving too well. The veteran tight end seemed stiff, and there was a hitch in his walk. He did have a knee injury with Seattle last season.

* Undrafted rookie punter Mike Dragosavich -- one of three punters currently on the roster (Chris Hanson and Scott Player are the others) -- was drilling punts, just as he had during rookie mini-camp a couple of weeks ago. But this time, without the roof of the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse to limit him, Dragosavich was showing off his hang time. He did have a couple of shorter punts, but those may have been situational-type kicks.

* Making the most of their time: during one stretch where they weren't needed, Rodney Harrison and Tedy Bruschi worked together between the two fields, getting some ab work in with a medicine ball... After all of the other players had left the field, Matt Gutierrez, who spent last season as the third quarterback, and rookie Matthew Slater spent some time working together. Last year, it was not uncommon for Gutierrez to be the last player off the field, though he was often working with a ball boy or low-level assistant.

* Neither Tom Brady nor Randy Moss addressed the media; team officials said the pair had a lunchtime event with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to attend.