Donovan Mcnabb

Every Eagles quarterback gets booed sooner or later. Donovan McNabb surely set the record yesterday. The Eagles selected McNabb with the second pick in yesterday's National Football League draft in New York. Moments after league commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced the selection, there were boos in Madison Square Garden. The jeering came from a contingent of Eagles fans organized by the local sports talk radio station to rally for their candidate, University of Texas running back Ricky Williams.

9 Donovan McNabb. The results are indisputable. Only four quarterbacks in NFL history have played in four consecutive conference championships games. And yet . . . "It's great to be in that class," Donovan McNabb said, "but you wish you could have won four and been in the Super Bowl four times. " Entering his ninth season, McNabb has a .663 career winning percentage, tops among active quarterbacks with at least 95 starts. His seven playoff wins are more than any quarterback in Eagles history.

Because of his grace, because of his demeanor, because he is Donovan McNabb, son of Sam and Wilma, he can do things like this. McNabb can flourish in a whirlwind life, treating it as if it were a breeze from a fan. He can spend his off day, yet another off day, going through appearances and being in the public eye, this time trying to do something for children. Not for one moment yesterday, not even a second, did the budding superstar complain. He kept on flashing that Donovan smile, that wide, yes-I-have-good-teeth smile.

WELL, HERE we go again. Another professional athlete, Donovan McNabb, gets a huge amount of money in a new contract and promptly heads toward a quarterback quagmire. Haven't we seen this before? Show me the money and watch me become mediocre at best. Isn't this a typical pro sports syndrome? (Anyone remember Von Hayes?) We've gone through many years of Philly teams on the brink but unable to deliver the killing blow and win a championship. Oh, yes, the fans keep paying and paying to watch these pitiful performances.

Though the apprenticeship of Donovan McNabb has moved behind the scenes, it remains every bit as intense. Maybe more so. "The whole coaching staff gets with Donovan," offensive coordinator Rod Dowhower said. "We get a strobe and we shine that bright light on him and we make him sweat. " Dowhower was kidding about giving McNabb the third degree, but there is a second-degree urgency in the Eagles' continuing training of their first-round draft pick. The first degree is dedicated to the weekly task of game planning and preparing the team for the next game.

The high-rent quarterback neighborhood has changed a lot since the Eagles were there last. That was a decade ago, when they made Randall Cunningham the highest-paid player in the NFL with a seven-year contract worth just over $20 million, including a signing bonus of a then-unbelievable $3 million. Last week, Dallas gave Troy Aikman a signing bonus of $20 million, equaling the value of Cunningham's entire deal, as part of a new nine-year, $88.5-million contract. But hold on. San Francisco's Steve Young is involved in contract talks that are expected to raise the bar once again.

It's the eve of opening night, and already there is more talk about the understudy than about the leading man. The talk doesn't bother Doug Pederson. Not really. All that will matter is what happens on the field, beginning with tomorrow night's preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens. And the simple fact is, Pederson's thorough knowledge of Andy Reid's offense is more important to this team right now than first-round pick Donovan McNabb's raw talent. "Everyone is writing me off," Pederson said.

RE BERNARD Hopkins' comments on Donovan McNabb: Did I miss the book on what it takes to be an official black person? White folks, as well as others, are often blamed for the racist attitudes and stereotyping that prevails in America, But why is it that it's OK for another black person (or African-American, if you will) to decide what or who is "One of us"? Isn't that a form of stereotyping, or conformity? This is part of a problem within the African-American community that is never really, if ever, addressed.

CHRISTINE Flowers' recent op-ed was better than any column I've ever read about Donovan McNabb. She absolutely nailed it. McNabb is probably the most intelligent athlete to pass through Philly in the last 50 years. But he was never meant to be a West Coast offense quarterback, an offense designed for Joe Montana. McNabb was a totally different brand of QB - a runner and a gunner. As Donovan got away from what he was meant to be, he started a gradual decline from being in tip-top shape.

Donovan McNabb or Akili Smith. The Eagles' months of preparation apparently have boiled down to a choice between the talented quarterbacks from Syracuse and Oregon. The Eagles have done all their homework with one eye on Cleveland, where the Browns could disclose their plan for the No. 1 pick today or tomorrow. Both teams have contacted the agents for the players they are most interested in drafting. Fletcher Smith, who represents McNabb, said he talked to the Eagles on Tuesday.

ON MONDAY night, Andy Reid switched from football coach to cheerleader. We are, of course, talking figuratively. Don't try to envision Andy in a short skirt with his midriff exposed or you'll burn your corneas and have nightmares for months. Responding to ESPN reports that Donovan McNabb has lost weight and is in shape, Reid said he would recommend the former Eagles quarterback to NFL teams. "I'd tell them to take him," Reid told NFL Total Access. "I still think he can play.

Donovan McNabb told FoxSports.com that he "would vote for myself for the Hall of Fame," on Wednesday. Pointing out that he led the Eagles to five NFC championship games and a Super Bowl, McNabb said he "absolutely" believes he should be in the Hall of Fame. "We talk about the five NFC championships, we talk about the six Pro Bowls, and then what comes at the end?," McNabb said. "Well he never won the big game. " Peyton Manning never won the big game until he won the Super Bowl, finally.

ANDRE IGUODALA and Donovan McNabb are friends. They share roots from Chicago. They share burdens in Philadelphia. This week, thanks to his comments in Sports Illustrated, No. 9 took another step toward the ignominy carried by No. 5. Iguodala chides the fans, disses a current teammate and rips the original A.I. Iguodala isn't wrong. And he isn't sorry. "I was serious," Iguodala said. It's almost as if he knows he has nothing to lose in Philadelphia, so he doesn't care what he says.

Decisions are still pending on a possible appeal of Sean Payton's suspension or an interim coach should his season-long punishment be upheld, a person familiar with the situation said. The person says Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis and their staffs were in meetings at the team's suburban headquarters on Thursday and focused primarily on preparations for next month's NFL draft. The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Saints have not announced their plans.

IF ANYONE cares, Donovan McNabb says the Redskins shouldn't select quarterback Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 pick in next month's NFL draft. "I say that because a lot of times ego gets too involved when it comes to being in Washington," McNabb told ESPN's First Take on Thursday. "Here's a guy coming out who's very talented, mobile, strong arm, we've already heard he's intelligent - football mind. Are you going to cater the offense around his talents and what he's able to do?

Police say Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh crashed his car into a tree in downtown Portland, Ore., early Saturday but was not injured, according to the Oregonian. Police say Suh was not impaired and was cooperative with officers after the accident about 1:15 a.m. Saturday. Suh lost control of the 1970 Chevrolet coupe he was driving, and the back end of his car spun out and then hit a curb, light pole, drinking fountain, and tree. His vehicle was towed from the scene.

DONOVAN McNABB is available again. The Minnesota Vikings yesterday waived the 13-year NFL quarterback who spent his first 11 seasons as an Eagle, giving him the opportunity to sign with another team for the stretch run in a parting that coach Leslie Frazier described as mutual. Frazier pushed for the Vikings to trade a sixth-round draft pick this summer to Washington in exchange for McNabb. He wanted stability he believed McNabb would bring to the offense after the NFL lockout kept rookie Christian Ponder from practicing with the team or working with his coaches until training camp.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - Donovan McNabb is available again. The Minnesota Vikings waived the former Eagles quarterback on Thursday, giving him the opportunity to sign with another team for the stretch run in a parting coach Leslie Frazier described as mutual. McNabb, though, said during an NFL Network interview Thursday night that the decision was his. "I definitely asked for my release," McNabb told the network. "There is no idea of where the next destination is. I think the most important thing was for me, first and foremost, to do what was best not only for me but for my family, and secondly, getting away from things to get ready for the next chapter in the book.

There are three significant things that separate Bill Belichick from Andy Reid as a head coach. They are the three silver trophies with footballs on top that gleam in the Patriots headquarters. Indeed, you could argue that, after Tom Brady, Reid has been the single biggest contributor to Belichick's status as the NFL's best and most consistent head coach since the turn of the century. Belichick beat Reid head-to-head for one of those silver Lombardi trophies. He earned the other two against teams that beat Reid's Eagles in the NFC championship game.

DONOVAN MCNABB has a message for all those who think he doesn't work hard enough. "Come to Minnesota. Pack up your big jacket and your headwear and come watch me," he told NFL Network's Andrea Kremer in an interview that aired yesterday. McNabb, who told Kremer he should "absolutely" still be the Vikings starting quarterback, was replaced by rookie Christian Ponder after leading the team to a 1-5 record. Soon afterward, NFL Network's Michael Lombardi, citing sources, reported McNabb had questionable work habits while with the Vikings, the Redskins and the Eagles.