Training Camp

SCHEDULE Today: Practices at 8:15 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Tomorrow: Practices at 8:15 a.m. and 2 p.m. (special teams in afternoon) Wednesday: Practices at 8:15 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Thursday: Mock game closed to the public Friday: Preseason opener vs. Jacksonville at Lincoln Financial Field, 7:30 p.m. Saturday: No practice Sunday: Practices at 8:15 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. For info: For updates on daily practice times, fans...

The Independence began training camp Monday for their initial Women's Professional Soccer season and coach Paul Riley is encouraged to see a fit team. "We have 20 players in camp and they are in great shape," Riley said yesterday. "We gave them a program on their own and most have taken it to heart. " Riley said that all 29 players will be in camp by this Monday. Those who aren't in camp have either been competing in the Algarve Cup in Portugal or the Cyprus Cup. The Independence is conducting camp at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown.

The Flyers open training camp Friday in Voorhees, and the defending Eastern Conference champions will be out to repeat the sucess they had last season. Here is a look at training camp: The Rink The Virtua Center Flyers Skate Zone: Located at 601 Laurel Oak Rd, Voorhees, the Skate Zone is the base of the Flyers' training camp. All practices and scrimmages are open to the public. There are two rinks, so fans will be able to watch two workouts at the same time. The phone number at the Skate Zone is 856-309-4400.

DAILY SCHEDULE This can change. For updates on daily practice times, fans should call 215-320-5160 or visit philadelphiaeagles.com. Eagles merchandise will be located at the entrance to the practice fields and will be open an hour before the start of practice until an hour afterward. Day, date A.M. P.M. Tuesday, July 27 8:45 3:30 Wednesday, July 28 8:45 3:30 Thursday, July 29 8:45 - Friday, July 30 Closed Closed Saturday, July 31 8:15 2:45 Sunday, Aug. 1 8:15 2:45 Monday, Aug. 2 8:15 2:45 Tuesday, Aug. 3 8:15 2:45 Wednesday, Aug. 4 8:15 2 Thursday, Aug. 5 8:15 7 Friday, Aug. 6 - 2:45 Saturday, Aug. 7 8:15 2:45 Sunday, Aug. 8 8:15 2 Monday, Aug. 9 8:15 2:45 Tuesday, Aug. 10 8:15 2 Wednesday, Aug. 11 8:15 2:45 Thursday, Aug. 12 10:30 am. Sunday, Aug. 15 8:15 2:45 Monday, Aug. 16 8:15 2 Tuesday, Aug. 17 8:15 2:45 Wednesday, Aug. 18 Closed Closed Eagles Flight Night at Lincoln Financial Field . Mock game, closed to fans - SIGNING SLATE Autograph sessions will start immediately after morning practice.

Roger Clemens, who ignored the Feb. 23 voluntary reporting date for pitchers and catchers, checked into the Boston Red Sox spring-training camp in Winter Haven, Fla., yesterday, two days before the major league's mandatory reporting date. Clemens said he was home for two weeks "doing what I needed to get ready to pitch" in spring training. Clemens, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, posted an 18-10 record last season and tied for the major-league lead in strikeouts with 241. Since then, the Red Sox have changed managers, with Butch Hobson replacing Joe Morgan.

Eagles training camp is set to start Monday and run through Aug. 18 at Lehigh University, and the Birds have several positions up for grabs. Here is a look at a few: Thursday: Free safety Friday: Center Saturday: Strong-side linebacker Sunday: Right cornerback - and fan's guide to training camp. Monday: Overview: It's a youth movement for the Birds.

It's a long way until Sept. 9, but the Eagles' blurry prospects at several positions on defense became more clear after their three-day rookie minicamp. Of all the rookies, Mychal Kendricks is the most likely to be starting when the full squad gathers next Tuesday for the start of organized team activities, otherwise known as "OTAs. " Eagles coach Andy Reid wouldn't hand Kendricks the strong-side linebacker job at the conclusion of camp on Monday. But with Jamar Chaney - Kendricks' main competition - sidelined through the spring following neck surgery in January, the rookie should have an unimpeded path.

DeSean Jackson can relate to LeSean McCoy. Both were second-round picks. Both became Pro Bowl pieces of the Eagles offense while still on modest, by NFL standards, rookie deals. But while Jackson held out of training camp last summer before playing out the final year of his contract, he urged McCoy to take a different approach as he enters the last year of his deal this offseason. "I think it would be in his best interest to come" to offseason practices and camp, Jackson said Friday.

Linebacker Mychal Kendricks signed a four-year contract Monday, becoming the first Eagles draft pick in the fold this year. The remaining eight could have deals in time for the start of minicamp on Saturday, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said. "I don't think it's going to be a long process with most of the players," Roseman said. "I think the players want to get it done. They know that there isn't any incentive to waiting in terms of getting a different deal. " The new collective-bargaining agreement, which established a strict rookie wage scale, has essentially eliminated the need for negotiations.

TRENT EDWARDS wasn't surprised to see the Eagles grab a quarterback in the third round of the NFL draft, even though the addition of Nick Foles makes it much harder to chart Edwards' path to a roster spot. "I knew that kind of going in — anywhere I would have signed, you're going to have to compete," Edwards said recently, after a morning devoted to the Birds' offseason conditioning program, which included Edwards throwing to receivers under the watchful eyes of quarterbacks coach Doug Pederson.

With the draft and initial burst of free agency behind us, we have a pretty good idea of who the Eagles will be bringing into training camp to fight for spots on the regular-season roster. Here, then, is a look at the top position battles to look forward to as rookie minicamps and offseason practices arrive in May and June and lead up to training camp in July.   Linebacker Another summer, another new spin on the position that the Eagles can never quite seem to settle.

The Eagles will open training camp July 22 at Lehigh University, when rookies, quarterbacks and veterans rehabilitating from injuries report, the team said Thursday. The remaining players report July 25, and camp breaks August 15. The Eagles previously announced that their preseason slate begins Aug. 9 at home against the Steelers. Rookies will report to Philadelphia May 11 for a three-day rookie mini-camp that begins May 12. Voluntary offseason team activities for all players begin May 22. They run May 22 to 24, May 30 to June 1 and June 4 through 7. A mandatory full-team minicamp is scheduled for June 12, 13 and 14.   - Jonathan Tamari  

ALEXANDER DALE OEN, a world-champion swimmer who was one of Norway's top medal hopes for the London Olympics, died during a training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was 26. The president of the Norwegian swimming federation, Per Rune Eknes, told the Associated Press in a phone interview that Dale Oen died after suffering a cardiac arrest. In a statement, the federation said the 100-meter breaststroke world champion was found collapsed on the floor of his bathroom late Monday.

World champion swimmer Alexander Dale Oen of Norway died suddenly from cardiac arrest during a pre-Olympic training camp in Flagstaff, Ariz. He was 26. Dale Oen, one of Norway's biggest medal hopes for the London Olympics, was found collapsed on his bathroom floor late Monday and was pronounced dead shortly afterward at Flagstaff Medical Center, Norwegian swimming federation President Per Rune Eknes confirmed on Tuesday. He said it was still unclear what led to the cardiac arrest.

MILWAUKEE — If 76ers coach Doug Collins were a betting man, he would put his money down that the NBA playoff schedule-makers will have his team playing Saturday in an afternoon game in Chicago. Should his team be matched up against the Miami Heat, Collins thinks Game 1 of the first-round Eastern Conference series could be either Saturday or Sunday. But for now, his focus is on the Bulls. After Wednesday night's 90-85 victory over the Bucks, and New York's win over the Los Angeles Clippers, the Sixers and Knicks are tied for seventh in the Eastern Confernece at 35-30.

Now that Penn State has completed its first spring practice under new head coach Bill O'Brien, the evaluation of the players who were inherited from Joe Paterno's final team can proceed. O'Brien had to like some of what he saw in Saturday's Blue-White game. Converted wide receiver Bill Belton performed well at running back. Wide receiver Allen Robinson caught two passes that went for big gains. Jordan Hill showed again that he's "one of the better inside defensive tackles I've been around," according to the coach.