THAT'S SAYING THUMBTHING

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To Eagles coach Andy Reid for that purpose pitch he tossed in the direction of the league's zebras regarding the beating that his quarterback, Michael Vick, is taking. Reid complained to the league office and also made a point of mentioning in both his news conference and again on his weekly radio show on WIP that it "bothers" him that defensive players are being allowed to take running-back shots at his quarterback. Not sure exactly what that means, since it's open season on Vick and any other quarterback once they start to run and before they slide, which Vick can't do. And Vick is running a lot - 48 times in the last five games. But Reid knows all this. He also knows he probably can kiss his Super Bowl chances goodbye if Vick gets hurt. He just wanted to plant a seed in the officials' minds for the future. If a hit on Vick draws a flag in the next few games, Reid's purpose pitch will have paid off.

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To Jenn Sterger, who continues to milk this whole Brett Favre sexting investigation for every last drop of publicity she can get out of it. She waited for weeks to talk to the league about the pictures of his private parts that Favre allegedly sent her. Now, her representatives are publicly wondering why the investigation still hasn't been completed and why still Favre hasn't been suspended. "We provided extensive evidence that irrefutably proves there was harassment," said Sterger's manager, Phil Reese. "No matter what happens, Jenn has all legal remedies, including going public, if the NFL doesn't clear her name." Clear her name? The only reason people even know her name is because of the publicity she's gotten from this never-ending soap opera. *

- Paul Domowitch