Philadelphia

Brad Paisley joined The Rolling Stones on stage at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia last night for their "50 & Counting" tour. Paisley exchanged verses with Mick Jagger and jammed on guitar with Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards on Dead Flowers, from the band's 1971 release "Sticky Fingers." Afterwards Paisley tweeted, "@MickJagger Such a thrill pal. Really unforgettable night for me. Thanks so much!"...

Stan "Stash" Lopata, 87, the popular Phillies catcher whose distinctive batting crouch was imitated by young Philadelphians in the 1950s, died Saturday of heart disease at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

A man found dead in an industrial park about a mile from New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez's house was a semi-pro football player with connections to Hernandez, his family said Wednesday.

. . Donald Miralle/Getty Images . B/R 49ers: San Francisco 49ers: 5 Legitimate Concerns Heading Forward to the Season bit.ly/191uk4e B/R Broncos: Denver Broncos: Wes Welker a Piece of the Puzzle, Not the Key to Success bit.ly/18ZRS9O B/R Broncos: Denver Broncos: Why QB Peyton Manning Will Win 2013-14 NFL MVP Award bit.ly/19SDaks B/R Eagles: History Indicates the Odds Are Stacked Against New Eagles Coach Chip Kelly bit.ly/18ZVkkz B/R Patriots: 5 New England Patriots Who Will Break Out in 2013 bit.ly/19RiZmQ B/R Patriots: Tim Tebow Must Emerge as Primary Backup in Order to Stay on Patriots’ Roster bit.ly/191hF1i B/R Patriots: What Does Life Without Rob Gronkowski Look Like for New England Patriots? bit.ly/19SKLPL B/R Ravens: Ray Rice’s Workload Will Decrease with the Emergence of Bernard Pierce bit.ly/12JYyVX ESPN AFC East: More legal issues for Aaron Hernandez? es.pn/16LvtIQ ESPN AFC East: Patriots’ defense struggling with YAC es.pn/16KcQoH ESPN AFC East: Ryan Tannehill excels outside the pocket es.pn/15kIqWR ESPN AFC South: Is Pollard’s sign such a big deal? es.pn/15l4HUt ESPN AFC South: On the Jaguars’ interest in Desmond Bishop es.pn/16K9CS9 ESPN AFC South: RTC: Titans say Locker has taken over es.pn/16Jnw72 ESPN NFC North: Cordarrelle Patterson has ‘definitive step’ es.pn/144a6A2 ESPN NFC North: Vikings: Desmond Bishop as an OLB? es.pn/142QYCo ESPN NFC West: On Justin Smith’s new contract extension es.pn/15ksB2G Fansided 49ers: San Francisco 49ers Extend Justin Smith Until 2015 bit.ly/1434OEY Fansided Cardinals: Arizona Cardinals: Rashard Mendenhall Named Starting Running Back bit.ly/19SrBts Fansided Jaguars: Underrated or Overrated? bit.ly/142SAw7 Fansided Jets: Rex Ryan on his Offensive Line, Kyle Wilson….Etc. bit.ly/16IHQ8M Fansided Patriots: Aaron Hernandez Situation Really Puts Gronk Into Perspective bit.ly/191ZoRt Fansided Patriots: Rob Gronkowski Injury Updates: Success, PUP, Week 1 bit.ly/19QQ1Ue Fansided Steelers: The Steelers and Potential Return Specialists bit.ly/191AlxR Fansided Vikings: Questioning Christian Ponder. Yes, Already. bit.ly/12L1Nwg Rant 49ers: San Francisco 49ers Wise to Give Justin Smith 2-Year Contract Extension bit.ly/1435avj Rant Bills: Buffalo Bills: Any Point to Starting Kevin Kolb at QB? bit.ly/15kMfeN Rant Broncos: Denver Broncos Training Camp Profile: Zac Dysert bit.ly/192vMmW Rant Browns: Cleveland Browns’ Defense the Best in the NFL? bit.ly/15kGtcZ Rant Chargers: Ryan Mathews Must Produce in 2013 for San Diego Chargers bit.ly/190cleG Rant Chargers: San Diego Chargers: Signing Chad Johnson Would Be a Low Risk, High Reward Move bit.ly/16LaWo2 Rant Eagles: Philadelphia Eagles Need To Be Worried About Their Offensive Line Depth bit.ly/143L3x6 Rant Eagles: Tight End Position at the Forefront in Philadelphia Eagles Coach Chip Kelly’s offense bit.ly/16L89v4 Rant Jaguars: Jacksonville Jaguars New Video Board Should End Relocation Discussion bit.ly/191SHyO Rant Jaguars: Jacksonville Jaguars Training Camp Profile: Justin Blackmon bit.ly/12K7AT3 Rant Jets: “Aussie” Hayden Smith Could Be New York Jets’ Starting Tight End bit.ly/142Ds1P Rant Lions: Detroit Lions Plan to Use Reggie Bush as Punter Returner; Smart Move? bit.ly/16Lzey6 Rant Packers: Green Bay Packers Keeping A.J. Hawk Over Desmond Bishop is Insane bit.ly/15kqc7U Rant Panthers: Carolina Panthers Need to Utilize Ted Ginn Jr. at Wide Receiver bit.ly/16Lp8gO Rant Patriots: Aaron Hernandez’s Issues Shedding Damaging Light on New England Patriots’ TE Depth bit.ly/191DcqE Rant Patriots: Could Legal Issues for New England Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez Open the Door for Tim Tebow? bit.ly/12L7Wsl Rant Patriots: New England Patriots 2013 Training Camp Profile: Stevan Ridley bit.ly/16JJuH7 Rant Patriots: New England Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez Facing Lawsuit For Shooting a Man in the Face bit.ly/12KO88H Rant Raiders: Oakland Raiders Training Camp Profile: Miles Burris bit.ly/191dS3W Rant Rams: Offensive L

The 2013 NHL Draft is set for June 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and The Hockey Guys want to send you and a friend to see it. We are giving away two 2013 NHL Draft tickets for you and a friend to be a part of history as Seth Jones, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin finally find out who will go first overall. All you have to do to enter is follow @TheHockeyGuys and @K_Tullo on Twitter, then leave a comment on this post with why you should win along with your Twitter handle. No cost or service for these tickets, we already have them in hand and will mail them out. Be creative and tell us why you deserve to be at the 2013 NHL Draft. One lucky contestant will win a pair of tickets. Fans must submit entry by June 28, 2013 at 12 p.m. Eastern. 2013 NHL Draft Draft begins at 3 p.m. “Fan Fest” begins at 10:30 a.m. presented by: New Jersey Stronger than the Storm at Championship Plaza. Carnival rides, games, entertainment, food, drinks will be available as well as a street hockey tournament on Mulberry Street. Don’t forget The Hockey Guys will be holding an NHL Draft party in Montreal, QC, starting at 2 p.m. The post Win Two Tickets to the 2013 NHL Draft from The Hockey Guys appeared first on The Hockey Guys.

Batavia manager Don McCormack went down his roster to The Philadelphia Daily News in July 1988.When he got to pitcher Mike Owens and a teammate, McCormack told The Daily News that both had major league ability.For Owens, he was a month out of college, taken by the Phillies in the seventh round of that June's draft, taken out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.Owens' professional path would take some turns, notably turning from pitching to position player to pitching again. But that path would last a relatively short four seasons. He also ultimately wouldn't take his abilities to the majors.Owens started with the Phillies at short-season Batavia, a team in the same league as the Utica, NY,-native Owens' home town team, the Utica Blue Sox. At Batavia in 1988, Owens was a pitcher. He got into 13 games, starting 12. He also went just 1-7, with an ERA of 7.07.Then, in 1989, Owens turned position player, playing largely at first base and some outfield. As a hitter, he hit .233, with 10 home runs and 33 RBI in 49 games.Owens returned to Batavia and to the field in 1990, improving his average to .264 and hittign 12 home runs, knocking in 49. He also returned to the mound for a game, picking up a win for an inning of work.For 1991, Owens moved to single-A Spartanburg. He also moved back to full-time pitching. In 16 outings, four starts, Owens went 3-1 with three saves. He got his third win in a late-June game. He picked up one of his saves in late-July. But it was Owens' final year as a pro.Philadelphia Daily News, July 19, 1988: Starting At The Bottom1990 CMC-Pro Cards TallyPlayers/Coaches Featured:1,180Made the Majors: 677 - 57.4%Never Made Majors: 503-42.6%-X5+ Seasons in the Majors: 29210+ Seasons in the Minors: 174

In part one of our training camp preview on running backs for the Cleveland Browns, we went over Trent Richardson, Montario Hardesty, and Brandon Jackson. Today, we spill over to the other three running backs on the roster. 4. CHRIS OGBONNAYA - COMPETING FOR THIRD-DOWN RUNNING BACK Chris Ogbonnaya (#25)Height: 6-0 | Weight: 225Age: 27 | Experience: 4 yearsCollege: TexasNote: Solid all-around player, but may have hard time standing out...should compete for third-down role. After having a productive season statistically in 2011, I think some people would be surprised to hear just how little Chris Ogbonnaya carried the ball last season: he had 8 carries for 30 yards. He did see a lot of action at receiver, though, where he had 25 receptions for 187 yards. Most of those catches came on third downs and screen passes. Ogbonnaya fell out of favor when it came to playing time after the Browns' bye week last year. He was a free agent this offseason, but the new coaching staff decided to bring him back on a one-year deal. We pretty much know what Ogbonnaya has to offer -- he is a decent third-down back, but not necessarily a game-changer. He also made a couple of mistakes as a receiver last year, from lining up wrong to dropping a couple of passes, which was a surprise. With three people trying to be the Browns' third-down back this year, Ogbonnaya will have to really stand out in training camp to find a spot on the roster. Some fans have thrown the possibility of him being a fullback out there, but how would I really address that? I mean, we could technically make anyone a fullback, so why Ogbonnaya? Final Roster Odds: 50% 5. DION LEWIS - COMPETING FOR THIRD-DOWN RUNNING BACK Dion Lewis (#28)Height: 5-8 | Weight: 195Age: 22 | Experience: 3 yearsCollege: PittsburghNote: Acquired from the Eagles via a trade in offseason...small size, but nice and shifty. Could Dion Lewis be the big surprise of training camp? The Browns acquired Lewis in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles for linebacker Emmanuel Acho. While Acho might be a throwaway player for the Eagles, Lewis has the potential to skyrocket up the Browns' depth chart. A former 5th-round pick, Lewis is still incredibly young (22 years old) despite entering his third season. He has taken advantage of limited reps over the past two seasons: in 2011, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry on 23 attempts, and in 2012, he averaged 5.3 yards per carry on 13 attempts. Yes, the sample size isn't large, but he made some things happen. The story in Philadelphia with Lewis is this: Bryce Brown had some great games last year, and Chris Polk is on the roster too. An early report claimed that Lewis was deemed too small for Chip Kelly's system. Think of it this way: Frostee Rucker wasn't a bad player for the Browns, but the new regime parted ways with him because he didn't fit what they wanted to do either. Either Lewis turns out to be lightning in a bottle, or we can just cut him since he has no guaranteed money left. I'm putting his roster odds slightly higher than the other two backs: if we keep four guys, I think he'll definitely be one of them. Final Roster Odds: 70% 6. MIGUEL MAYSONET - UNDRAFTED FREE AGENT RUNNING BACK Miguel Maysonet (#35)Height: 5-10 | Weight: 210Age: 23 | Experience: RookieCollege: Stony BrookNote: Put up ridiculous numbers at a lesser-known school...was a high undrafted free agent prospect. The Browns have been through a couple of undrafted free agent running backs this offseason. While Jamaine Cooke and Robbie Rouse are now gone, Miguel Maysonet was the last man standing among that group. Funny enough, the Browns also got Maysonet from the Eagles by claiming him off waivers. As a senior, Maysonet tore it up at Stony Brook, rushing for 1,964 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was not asked to be a receiver very often in college, so it's tough to say what his skills are in that department. For what it's worth, Maysonet was considered a hot prospect a

After the demolition accident caused the death of 6 people in Philadelphia in the beginning of this month, it was brought to light that a resident issued a complaint with Licenses and Inspections regarding unsafe working conditions at least two weeks prior to the building collapse. Tragically, the LNI inspector took his own life, feeling responsible for the accident. Now Philadelphia City Council is denying liability for the accident stating it is not responsible for the work of private contractors, despite the flawed LNI inspection of the demolition site as well as the laughable demolition requirements established by the city,

Not much rattles Phillies third baseman Michael Young, who in the last two weeks has started to come out of a slump.

Years and years of watching the NFL should teach a fan never to put too much stock in the offseason. Anyone can play well in organized team activities or training camp or even preseason games, and a player’s early success very rarely has an impact on what he does in the regular season. But the Philadelphia Eagles are coming off a dreadful 4-12 season, and Eagles fans will take any positive signs they can see. The signing of head coach Chip Kelly will bring a different brand of football after 14 years under Andy Reid. The best bet for a player in the offseason is simply to avoid the news and stay in shape. Players that see injuries to those ahead of them know their own odds to start increase dramatically. Likewise, those penciled in to start aren’t helping themselves with off-the-field drama or debilitating injuries. It’s tough to get a good read on the Eagles players in limited practices and a shortened offseason thus far, but the following 10 stand out.Begin Slideshow