Donovan Mcnabb

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.

NFL NETWORK'S Michael Lombardi said the Vikings benched Donovan McNabb because the team was tired of the quarterback's poor work ethic. Yesterday, the Vikes - 1-5 in games McNabb started this season - switched to rookie Christian Ponder, who threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions in a 33-27 loss to the Packers. "Donovan hasn't really been putting the time in," Lombardi said. "I was told by people in the Vikings organization: 'He's the last one in the building, he's the first one gone, he's not willing to put the time in, late for meetings, late for practice.' "It happened in Washington [too]

MINNESOTA Vikings coach Leslie Frazier officially announced that rookie Christian Ponder will start on Sunday, a move that surprised veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb. Frazier said the decision was based solely on what gives the team the best chance to win. "I know I have a lot of football left in me," McNabb said. "He is the head coach and decisions are made. At this particular point, it's for me to continue to prepare and make sure that we continue to support Christian and make sure that he's ready.

MINNEAPOLIS - Donovan McNabb has lost his starting quarterback job with the Minnesota Vikings, according to reports. NFL.com, citing a league source, reported yesterday that rookie Christian Ponder will start Sunday against Green Bay. And, SportsTrusts Advisors, the agency that represents Ponder, issued the following tweet on its Twitter account yesterday: "Congrats to #Vikings client @cponder7 for earning the start for next week's game,"...

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - The Minnesota Vikings wanted the Donovan McNabb who led the Eagles to five NFC title games in 11 seasons, making plays with his arm and his legs while becoming one of the better quarterbacks in the league. Through four games this season, it looks as if they acquired the Donovan McNabb who was benched twice in Washington last season after being unable to get the Redskins' offense off the ground. The Vikings rank 31st in the league in passing offense, with McNabb unable to find any consistency during an 0-4 start that has some wondering when he will be hitting the bench again.

  The Minnesota Vikings officially announced their trade with Washington to acquire Donovan McNabb on Friday, shortly after league rules permitted new contracts to be signed. The Vikings sent a 2012 sixth-round draft choice and a conditional 2013 sixth-rounder to the Redskins to get the former Eagle. With first-round draft pick Christian Ponder already in the mix and the 34-year-old McNabb coming off a down year with the Redskins, some wondered if there would be an open competition for the starting job in training camp.

RE JENICE Armstrong's recent column on Bernard Hopkins and Donovan McNabb: I'm a 60-year-old white man, but I'm appalled when I see a black person deride a successful black person as someone who's "forgotten where they came from. " Or a black person intentionally talking "ghetto" and defending it as "keepin' it real" - as if proper diction is something that blacks shouldn't have to learn to be successful in the world. I was raised in a housing project in Newark, N.J., until I was 13. The projects were a blend of people who were there as a stop-gap until they could get out, and those who were perfectly content to live the rest of their lives in subsidized housing.

All the people clamoring to immediately end the NFL lockout - Tuesday marks Day 113 - either haven't paid attention or they are the sworn enemies of good quality entertainment. If the NFL stands for No Fun League during the regular season, the opposite has been true during the stalled/started/re-stalled/re-started labor negotiations. This has been the most interesting offseason in recent memory. Whatever summer blockbusters Hollywood has to offer fail to measure up to this bawdy unscripted comedy.

As the NFL's lockout continues, quarterback Donovan McNabb had a chance to work out Wednesday with a few of his former teammates, including Jason Avant and Jeremy Maclin, when a few Eagles got together for voluntary workouts in South Jersey. McNabb was in the area for the dedication of the McNabb Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Voorhees replacement hospital. The ceremony took place Wednesday.   - Tim Rohan