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Patriots sign Chad Brown; cut three others

Hey all --

Confirming a move first reported by friend Dan Pires of the New Bedford Standard-Times weeks ago, the Patriots today announced the signing of 36-year old linebacker Chad Brown for a second stint with the team. The team also released three players: veteran cornerback Antwain Spann, veteran wide receiver Jonathan Smith and rookie tight end Jake Nordin.

Brown was with New England for the 2005 season, recording 54 tackles. He was cut by the team after training camp last year and returned to Pittsburgh, where he began his career in 1993. The three-time Pro Bowler will give depth to a linebacking corps in which every starter will be age 30 by the start of the regular season.

With the depth at their respective positions, Smith and Nordin were very long shots to make the roster; Spann was signed off the practice squad for eight regular season games and was on the team for the three postseason contests.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

The real Tom Brady doesn't have to stand up in court

"Tom Brady" is a bespectacled, 39-year-old attorney who dreams of being the two-time Super Bowl MVP.

To the disappointment of court watchers in Boston, the real Tom Brady, who dates super model Giselle Bundchen, will not testify during the retrial of former Patriots' offensive coordinator Charlie Weis's medical malpractice case.

The Patriots quarterback testified during the first attempt to try the case, but that case ended in a mistrial in February. The retrial is now under way in Suffolk Superior Court, and rather than hauling Brady back to the courthouse, lawyers decided to have his testimony from the first trial read to the jurors.

Playing the role of Brady was Mike Mone Jr., whose father is the lead attorney on Weis's team.

"Like many men, I dream of being Tom Brady," he said after the court recessed for the day. "But I don't know if this would be the 15 minutes I'd choose."

Weis is suing Charles Ferguson, director of Massachusetts General Hospital's surgical residency program, and Richard Hodin, a surgeon and professor at Harvard Medical School, accusing them of botching the surgery commonly known as stomach stapling.

The trial is continuing.

Read more from The Associated Press.

-- From Associated Press reports

Posted by Jack Perry  at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments 0