Training Camp

Gerald Hodges' football career has been about adapting, persevering, and producing. And now it will be about adjusting - to the NFL. The Penn State linebacker and former all-South Jersey performer from Paulsboro was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round, the 120th player chosen. "It's a blessing when my name was called, and now I get a chance to put a franchise on my helmet," Hodges said by phone. The 6-foot-1, 243-pounder began his college career as a safety but moved to linebacker.

STARTING in 1975, it just wasn't an Eagles practice without Joe Brown standing on the sidelines. Even in recent years, when he was legally blind, Joe would be there, always treated with respect and consideration by coaches and players alike. His friendly, outgoing personality endeared Joe to everyone he met, on the field and off. Joe died Sunday at age 62. He lived in Exton. "Training camp will not be the same without Eagle Joe," said head coach Andy Reid. "He was a fixture at our practices every summer for many, many years.

Enjoying the NFL Experience, Kerri Kappler, 8, of Levittown, kicks a ball at the Eagles' training camp at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. The interactive football event offers nine activities to try.

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.

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 Eagles training-camp site is at Lehigh University's Goodman Campus in Bethlehem. Rookies, free agents and selected veterans report Monday. Everyone else is scheduled to report Thursday. Players will practice for the first time in full pads on Tuesday at 8:45 a.m. All practices are open to the public except for Friday, July 30, Friday, Aug. 12 and Aug. 18, the day camp breaks. There is no charge for admission and parking. The Play 60 Zone, a collection of interactive games and activities where kids can test their football skills, is free and open to the public during the morning and afternoon sessions.

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.

Villanova and Syracuse have agreed to a home-and-home men's basketball series over the next two seasons. Syracuse will play Villanova in the Carrier Dome on Dec. 28, and the Wildcats will host the Orange at the Wells Fargo Center in 2014 at a date to be determined. Tryout for Arcidiacono. Ryan Arcidiacono, a freshman point guard at Villanova, accepted an invitation to participate in the 2013 USA Basketball men's under-19 National Team training camp. The camp will be held on June 15-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

EAGLES STARTING left guard Evan Mathis confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that he has undergone an ankle "cleanout," which Mathis said would sideline him through the remaining spring workouts. Mathis said he expects to be fine by training camp. The procedure was first reported by CSNPhilly's Reuben Frank. This would barely be worth noting, except when the Eagles drafted offensive tackle Lane Johnson fourth overall last month, the selection seemed likely to end Danny Watkins' chances of going to camp as a starter; the obvious move would be to start Johnson at right tackle and move Todd Herremans back to guard.

YOU DON'T just wake up one morning and become a 4-12 football team. It takes work. Just as it takes a steady stream of smart personnel decisions to build a winning franchise, so does it take a substantial number of dumb ones to become the train wreck that was the 2012 Eagles. Yes, injuries certainly played a role in the decline and fall of the Reidian empire last season. But what did the Eagles in, what ultimately caused them to miss the playoffs the last two seasons, and prompted the NFL to assign them just one Sunday-Monday night television appearance this year, was their abysmal decision-making in the 2010 and 2011 drafts.

INDIANAPOLIS - The end came Wednesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse - one of the best arenas in the NBA. Although it probably won't be officially announced until Thursday, Doug Collins oversaw his final game as 76ers coach against the Indiana Pacers. He will most likely be handed a consultant title and basically a buyout from the organization, and move on to something else that will keep his competitive fires burning. Or, he'll put them out for a while and just relax. After watching his team close out the season with a 105-95 win over the Indiana Pacers, Collins was asked about his future with the team.

Eagles running back Dion Lewis is on the trading block, according to NFL sources. Lewis is behind LeSean McCoy, Bryce Brown, and Chris Polk on the team's depth chart, and those three all offer size and skills that fit coach Chip Kelly's system better than Lewis. At 5-foot-8 and 195 pounds, Lewis is smaller than the other running backs. The 2011 fifth-round pick has 171 rushing yards on 36 career carries. His best game was the 2011 season finale, when he rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown.

The end of Andy Reid has led to the end of another era. After 17 years, hundreds of practices, and thousands of fans trekking up the Northeast Extension, the Eagles will no longer be holding training camp at Lehigh University. The three weeks of preseason practices will instead be held at the team's headquarters at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia and at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles had been leaning in that direction for some time, according to Eagles president Don Smolenski.

Fans have long spoken fondly of their annual pilgrimages to Lehigh University for Eagles training camp. Yet a fair share of them were expressing support today for the team's decision to hold its summer workouts in South Philadelphia, with some practice sessions open to fans at Lincoln Financial Field. "I think it's great, just because the fact that they're going to be in the city now," said Bill on a cell to 94 WIP midday hosts Ike Reese and Michael Barkann. "... I've never been a training camp.

The Soul began their two-week arena football training camp Thursday at the Eagles' NovaCare Complex. "We have 11 or 12 players returning from last season, which means we're going to be putting another 12 or more new guys on the field," head coach Clint Dolezel said. The season opener is March 23 against the Arizona Rattlers at the Wells Fargo Center. Training Camp Schedule Friday: Physicals, 9-4 p.m. Saturday: Non-padded practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday: Non-padded practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Monday: Non-padded practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Tuesday: First padded practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday: Practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday: Practice, 8:30-11:30 a.m. March 8: First cuts.

Jason Kelce walked across a stage at a local elementary school on Friday, showing no ill signs of a knee injury that halted his 2012 season in the second game. The Eagles center started running and doing field drills three weeks ago, roughly six months after the medial collateral ligament in Kelce's right knee was completely torn and the ACL was partially torn. He'll start plyometrics and cutting when a custom brace soon arrives. Kelce made an appearance on Friday at the W.D. Kelley Elementary School in Brewerytown to read to students as part of Read Across America Day. Students received a book of their choice and an Eagles bookmark and met Kelce, who read a poem.

The NHL's collective bargaining agreement was ratified Saturday and a memorandum of understanding was signed, meaning players and coaches can finally get on the ice together. The Flyers will open their six-day training camp in Voorhees at 11 a.m. Sunday - about four months late because of the NHL's labor dispute. There will be only a handful of job openings, but there will be some interesting questions at camp. Here are some of them: 1. How healthy are center Danny Briere and defenseman Andrej Meszaros?