Norman Braman

With each passing day, the list of plaintiffs filing concussion lawsuits against the NFL grows. At last check, more than 2,100 former players have filed suit against the league in 74 separate lawsuits, most of which have been consolidated in federal court in Philadelphia. By the end of the summer, the number of plaintiffs could exceed 3,000. The list of plaintiffs includes Hall of Famers like Lem Barney and Joe DeLamielleure and Rickey Jackson and Paul Krause, and Super Bowl MVPs like Mark Rypien and Dexter Jackson.

While Jeffrey Lurie smiles and says all the right things for the TV cameras at Veterans Stadium, his NFL allies in New York are working feverishly behind the scenes to get quick league approval of his purchase of the Eagles. Timing, of course, is everything here. With compensation picks for lost free agents, plus their own selections, the Eagles could end up with as many as seven of the first 90 picks in the April 24-25 draft. And, although outgoing owner Norman Braman said on the day that he sold the Eagles that he would be in the team's war room on draft day, it now is clear that Lurie - and the NFL - want no part of that scenario.

Reggie White dragged his belongings in two large, heavy plastic garbage bags over the concrete Veterans Stadium passageway toward his truck and headed for the off-season and free agency yesterday. Those who watched him wondered if he would ever be back. The Eagles' defensive leader said he had not reached a decision on whether he would stay with the team, but left little doubt about which way he was leaning. He questioned owner Norman Braman's commitment to winning and was harshly critical of what White termed a lack of appreciation for players.

The Eagles are sure acting as if they've been sold. When was the last time under Norman Braman's stewardship that they sweetened a contract offer decisively and moved swiftly to complete a deal with a quality free agent? That's exactly what the Eagles did yesterday, and the result was sitting right there at Veterans Stadium, posing with a new green and white jersey with the number 93 on it, and wearing a big grin. The new Eagle is William Fuller, 32, a Pro Bowl pass rusher who will play left defensive end - Reggie White's old position.

For years, Norman Braman has insisted that he does not make money on the Philadelphia Eagles. In fact, his own records show the franchise to be the most profitable in the NFL. Braman made an operating profit of $34.3 million during the first five years he owned the Eagles - far and away the largest return of any of the NFL's 28 clubs. By contrast, the typical team reported a profit of just more than $4 million from 1985 through 1989. No figures were available for 1990 and 1991.

Just to keep everything interesting, Gary Wichard - the agent for Keith Jackson - decided to do an interview yesterday on WIP-AM. At one point, he referred to Eagles owner Norman Braman and club president Harry Gamble as "Abbott and Costello. " But that was just an hors d'oeuvre. In his most damning assertion, Wichard said that Braman, in a telephone conversation this week with Jackson, told the player, "I own you. " Jackson did not deny that Braman used those words. "Well, I don't really want to get into too much about what Norman and I talked about on the telephone," Jackson said, after Wichard's quotes were relayed to him. "But whatever Gary said, he's probably telling the truth.

Lawyers for Hollywood producer Jeffrey Lurie say that several small but important issues must be resolved before a sale of the Eagles can be finalized by owner Norman Braman. Attorneys for two of the many firms involved in the possible acquisition said yesterday that it is unlikely, but possible, that a deal could be completed by early next week. Among the details yet to be finalized are tax questions, loan arrangements and minor legal issues. An agreement of sale has not reached the NFL office or NFL finance committee members for review or approval, according to three attorneys close to the ongoing negotiations.

We hate to admit this, but Norman Braman may have been right in letting Reggie White defect to the Green Bay Packers. It just didn't make sense for the Eagles' owner to commit $17 million to keep the 31-year-old defensive lineman around for another four years. Even with the incomparable "Minister of Defense," this generation of Eagles seems to have peaked well shy of winning a championship. By letting his aging star go in return for two first-round draft choices, the owner seems to be conserving money for a rebuilding effort that could pay off a few years down the road.

Former Eagles offensive coordinator Ted Plumb contends that owner Norman Braman was a constant critic of the team's offense during the last four years, and that the criticism contributed to Plumb's demotion to receivers coach earlier this month. Plumb, who was reassigned Feb. 6 when former New York Jets offensive coordinator Rich Kotite was hired as the Eagles' offensive coordinator, took a job as the Phoenix Cardinals' receivers coach on Tuesday. "I don't think there's any question that for the last four years, Norman Braman hasn't been any fan of mine," said Plumb, who leaves what had become an awkward situation for him with the Eagles.

Buddy Ryan need not worry about his job - until the season is over. That was the message Norman Braman sent out yesterday, speaking from Florida on his car phone. The Eagles' owner also said his players should concern themselves with their own performances right now, rather than worrying about the fate of their coach. "We will not change coaches in midstream," Braman said in an interview on radio station WIP-AM (610). "That's something we are not going to do. I can say that categorically.

With each passing day, the list of plaintiffs filing concussion lawsuits against the NFL grows. At last check, more than 2,100 former players have filed suit against the league in 74 separate lawsuits, most of which have been consolidated in federal court in Philadelphia. By the end of the summer, the number of plaintiffs could exceed 3,000. The list of plaintiffs includes Hall of Famers like Lem Barney and Joe DeLamielleure and Rickey Jackson and Paul Krause, and Super Bowl MVPs like Mark Rypien and Dexter Jackson.

Former Eagles tight end Keith Jackson will always have a deep affinity for Buddy Ryan, which is why he was ecstatic to see his former coach at Lincoln Financial Field before Monday's night's game with the Chicago Bears. Ryan and several players from the Eagles teams that he coached from 1986 to 1990, including Jackson, were honored at halftime of the game. Jackson played for the Eagles from 1988 to 1991 and was a Pro Bowl selection during his first three years, which were under Ryan.

Buddy Ryan still thinks he could have done it. If he had just one more season leading the Eagles and had coached under current owner Jeffrey Lurie, he said, he believes he would have won that elusive Super Bowl that Philadelphia has chased for so long - and probably more than one. "We just needed a little bit to go to the Super Bowl. We'd been very successful against the people in our division and should have continued that and went on one more year and would have been there," Ryan said Sunday.

HE ARRIVED in Philadelphia more than 25 years ago with his chest out and two Super Bowl titles as an assistant on his resumé and promptly informed Eagles fans that "You got a winner in town. " Brash. Cocky. Bleep-you unapologetic. That was Buddy Ryan then and that's still Buddy Ryan today at 78 even as he endures five radiation treatments a week in an uphill battle with cancer. "Everything's fine," he said yesterday morning when asked what doctors have told him about his illness.

It's been awfully hot around here lately. That's made it difficult for everyone to cool down. The Michael Vick debate turned heated the moment news broke that the former Falcon would begin nesting with the Eagles. Some fans, the mad and hyperbolic ones, have bellowed that the organization pushed them past the point of return. Like a gang of Howard Beales trying to recreate that famous scene from Network , they're throwing open their windows and screaming, "We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore.

While the Eagles never have added a player who ignited the kind of public firestorm Michael Vick's signing has, historically the team has taken personnel risks. The most infamous, of course, was Terrell Owens. T.O. hadn't committed any felonies when the Eagles acquired him in 2004, but he did carry more baggage than US Airways. Cris Carter, Irving Fryar, and Kevin Allen also caused second thoughts among management. Owens already had ignited plenty of controversies with his "look-at-me" stunts, including the occasion when he pulled a Sharpie out of his sock and autographed the football following a touchdown on national TV. Eventually, he griped and complained his way out of San Francisco, but only after suggesting in a Playboy interview that quarterback Jeff Garcia was gay. The Eagles initially shied away from acquiring the widemouthed wideout, but when a Niners deal with Baltimore fell through, their interest heightened.

The Eagles and Vikings, who meet today in an NFC wild-card game, have a strange history. Minnesota entered the league as an expansion team in 1961 - and promptly beat the venerable Eagles in their first seven meetings. It was 18 years before Philadelphia scored its first series victory. The Vikings' first coach (Norm Van Brocklin) was a great Eagle. Their greatest coach (Bud Grant) was a so-so Eagle. And two great ex-Eagles (Randall Cunningham and Cris Carter) sparked Minnesota's greatest regular season, in 1998.

When two FBI agents first approached accused fraud artist Bernard Madoff in his luxury Manhattan home last week, he all but turned himself in. After Madoff invited them inside, the agents began by asking whether there was an innocent explanation for the billions of dollars missing from Madoff's investment fund. "There is no innocent explanation," Madoff allegedly said before detailing a multiyear fraud that has generated shock waves in the United States and Europe. Five days after his arrest on one count of securities fraud, the list of bilked investors continues to grow.

IN 1994, Jeffrey Lurie bought the Eagles from perceived skinflint Norman Braman and ushered in an unprecedented string of success that has turned the team from a large cult to a bona fide religion in this region. Growing up during the Marion Campbell and early Buddy Ryan era, I can say that the organization's recent success makes me wish I were 9 years old again so I could emulate players like Westbrook, McNabb, Runyan and Dawkins and cheer on a successful team each week with wide eyes and a child's wonder.