Judge critical of Reid's home

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A judge who sentenced Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid's sons to jail on Thursday likened the coach's home to "a drug emporium" and questioned whether his adult sons should live there.

"There isn't any structure there that this court can depend upon," Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill said before sentencing 22-year-old Britt Reid to up to 23 months in jail plus probation.

"I'm saying this is a family in crisis," O'Neill said.

Earlier Thursday, O'Neill sentenced 24-year-old Garrett Reid, a drug addict and dealer who said he got a thrill out of selling drugs in "the 'hood," to up to 23 months in jail for smashing into another motorist's car while high on heroin.

O'Neill noted that searches of the Reid home found illegal and prescription drugs throughout the house. He said both boys had been overmedicated throughout much of their lives and that Britt got hooked on painkillers when he suffered a football injury in high school.

"It sounds more or less like a drug emporium there, with the drugs all over the house, and you're an addict," O'Neill told Britt Reid.

Andy Reid and his wife, Tammy, were in court but declined to comment. The judge said the parents clearly loved and supported their children and had tried many times over the years to get them help.

"Andy and Tammy are supportive of their son. That has been their position since this all began. He will not comment on it," Garrett Reid's defense attorney, Ross Weiss, said before the judge's comments.

Both Weiss and Britt Reid's attorney, William Winning, declined to comment after the hearing. Andy and Tammy Reid quickly were escorted by sheriff's deputies and their personal bodyguard through the courthouse basement.

Both sons lived at their parents' home in the suburb of Villanova at the time of their arrests.

Andy Reid took a five-week leave from the Eagles in the offseason to deal with his family's troubles. He has routinely declined to discuss his sons' legal problems, but said he would not resign from the team because of them.

On Thursday, Britt Reid said everything he did, he did without his parents' knowledge, but O'Neill questioned that.

Both Reids can apply for a special drug court program that would require them to report to authorities regularly, undergo rigorous drug testing and hold down jobs.

The coach's two sons got into separate legal trouble Jan. 30.

Garrett Reid tested positive for heroin and admitted having used it that day. He ran a red light in Plymouth Township and hit another car. Authorities found syringes with heroin and testosterone in his SUV.

In a separate incident that same day, Britt Reid pointed a handgun at another driver following a dispute. He pleaded guilty to a string of charges, including carrying a firearm without a license, a felony.

Britt Reid was sentenced to eight to 23 months in jail plus five years' probation on gun and drug charges. He can apply for the special drug program after five months.

Garrett Reid was sentenced to two to 23 months in the county prison plus one year of probation. He told O'Neill that he would apply to the drug court program.

"I don't want to be that kid who was the son of the head coach of the Eagles, who was spoiled and on drugs and OD'd and just faded into oblivion," he said in court.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Marc Costanzo said authorities were satisfied with the sentence, noting "the drug court is the best part."

Speaking in court and in a statement to a probation officer, Garrett Reid said he made a fast descent into hard drugs and enjoyed being the rich kid who dealt drugs in poor, violent Philadelphia neighborhoods and in the tony suburbs.

His addiction persists, according to authorities, who found 89 prescription drug pills in Reid's jail cell Thursday morning. They believe he smuggled them in his rectum when he was jailed earlier this week.

"That's consistent with someone as severely drug addicted as he is," prosecutor Costanzo said.

Garrett Reid's descent in drug use and dealing was steep, according to a probation report read in court. Reid said he didn't use drugs until he graduated from high school, then started with marijuana and alcohol at age 18. That was followed by prescription pain killers Percocet and OxyContin, and then cocaine and heroin.

Reid said he sold drugs to his friends and their parents in the suburbs and in a notoriously tough section of Philadelphia.

"I liked being the rich kid in that area and having my own high status life," Reid told a probation officer in a statement read by the judge. "I could go anywhere in the 'hood. They all knew who I was. I enjoyed it. I liked being a drug dealer."

He said in court Thursday that he has stopped selling drugs.

"I did get a thrill out of it," he said. "That was also part of the whole new world that opened up to me when I smoked that first joint."

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7398882?MSNHPHMA

Clemens gets start for Jets against Redskins

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Eric Mangini summoned Chad Pennington into his office and broke the news that the New York Jets have a new starting quarterback.

It's Kellen Clemens' turn to see if he can turn around the season.

"Coach made it clear that I'm not the villain here," Pennington said Monday. "And I'm not the only one to blame for the lack of our success or our problems, but he did feel like Kellen deserved a chance."

Mangini's announcement Monday that he's going with Clemens as his starter for Sunday's game against Washington wasn't a huge surprise. It's a move fans and media have been suggesting for weeks as the Jets have struggled to a 1-7 start.

"I made this decision not based on singling out Chad for where we are, but based on the fact that I think Kellen has earned this opportunity," Mangini said. "I want to give him this opportunity. It's in no way an indication that Chad is solely responsible. We all are."

The 31-year-old Pennington, in his eighth season, has failed to move the offense effectively as the Jets have lost five straight and rank 30th in total offense; only Buffalo and San Francisco are worse.

"When your team is struggling, people look for answers and coaches have to look for answers and sometimes the first position that is looked at is the quarterback position," Pennington said. "I understand that."

Clemens, in his second season out of Oregon, replaced an ineffective Pennington late Sunday in the Jets' 13-3 loss to Buffalo. His entrance was cheered by those remaining at Giants Stadium, the same fans who booed Pennington when he failed to move the offense early in the game. Clemens was just 5-of-12 for 67 yards and two interceptions, but one of those came on a desperation toss as time expired.

"It's exciting to have the opportunity and I'm looking forward to the chance to play," Clemens said. "At the same time, there's a losing streak right now that this entire team needs to work hard to turn around."

After waiting until last Wednesday to keep Pennington as the starter, Mangini didn't need the extra time to make his choice this week. Mangini called each quarterback into his office separately and told them of his decision.

"He expressed, I guess, his confidence in me based on my preparation in weeks past and that was it," Clemens said.

Clemens has a much stronger arm than Pennington and is more mobile, perhaps able to add a few more elements to the offense than the veteran could. Although Mangini wouldn't commit to Clemens beyond this weekend, the 2006 second-round pick will be under center Sunday against Washington for his second NFL start.

"We're focused on the Redskins and he's going to be the starter for the Redskins game," Mangini said.

If Clemens holds on to the starting job, it's possible Pennington has taken his last snap with the Jets. He'll be a highly paid backup with a questionable arm after restructuring his contract in March 2006 to help relieve salary cap issues for the team, but he's due big money in the next few seasons. Pennington, whose contract runs through 2010, is due a $4.8 million base salary next season.

"It's not fair to my teammates in that locker room that I discuss my future with this organization or with another team," Pennington said. "They're working extremely hard to just get a win. We just want to get that winning feeling back."

Clemens' first start came in Week 2, when he stepped in for an injured Pennington and nearly led the Jets to a fourth-quarter comeback at Baltimore.

"Getting your first start out of the way I think is pretty big," Clemens said. "So now going into what will be my second start, I feel a lot better, a lot more confident."

The Jets have a bye week after Sunday, and it would seem highly unlikely that Mangini would go back to Pennington in what has now become an opportunity for the team to see what they have for the future.

"We're 1-7, so we're trying to do anything possible to get a win," wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. "He let us know that this wasn't the only change, so there will be other changes. It's the one that gets the most attention."

Pennington, one of the Jets' most respected and well-liked players, was having a disappointing season after overcoming consecutive rotator cuff operations and winning the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award.

"By all medical accounts, I'm not supposed to be talking to you right now," Pennington said. "I shouldn't even be playing this game, so I take great pride in the fact that I've been able to overcome shoulder surgeries and play at a high level."

The second-most accurate passer in NFL history has thrown for 1,317 yards and nine touchdowns in seven games, but has seven interceptions -- including three that sealed losses.

"I'm disappointed and it's a frustrating time for me," Pennington said. "At the same time, it's not about me. It's about our team and our team moving forward and I understand that."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/stor … LHeadlines

How did I miss this thread? 

Kid Rock's Arrest Due to "One Unruly Guy" 

A drunk and unruly heckler was responsible for Kid Rock's arrest in Atlanta October 21, a source close to the rocker tells Usmagazine.com.

Rock (nee: Bob Ritchie), 36, was busted after police said he got into a scuffle with a male patron at a Waffle House around 5 a.m. Sunday.

But a source says Rock, who was sober and had finished playing a sold-out show nearby, meant no harm when he showed up at the greasy spoon with members of his entourage.

'Even before they ordered, Rock tipped the staff $300 and then offered to buy the whole place breakfast,' the source says. 'One annoying drunk guy starts running his mouth and came after Rock.'

Rock escorted the patron outside and locked him out, the source claims, but the man allegedly smashed a window and reentered. The fight ensued shortly thereafter.

Rock faces a misdemeanor charge of simple battery; the patron was hit with felony charges of criminal damage to property.

'The police knew it wasn't Rock's fault '” that's why he only got a light misdemeanor,' the source tells Us. 'What should have been an innocent night was ruined by one unruly guy."

http://www.usmagazine.com/kid_rocks_arr … unruly_guy

Does this mean that it was sent out to radio stations?  Or are they just doing something along the lines of what happened with Better a few months ago?