Westbrook

If Brian Westbrook relies on the advice of the two Pittsburgh concussion experts he saw yesterday, the Eagles' franchise running back seems likely to return to the field, quite possibly this season. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center released a statement last night, after Westbrook was examined by Dr. Joseph Maroon and Dr. Michael (Micky) Collins, a neurosurgeon and a neuropsychologist who work closely with Dr. Mark Lovell, director of the center's concussion program and developer of the treatment protocols the NFL uses.

Will Brian Westbrook make the Pro Bowl? We probably all agree that he should. After all, the Eagles running back leads the NFL with 1,896 yards from scrimmage. He is fifth in rushing - second in the NFC - with 1,191 yards and tied for fourth in the NFC in receiving with 83 catches. Plus, Westbrook made perhaps the heads-up play of the decade by plopping down at the 1-yard line Sunday so the Eagles didn't have to give the ball back to the Cowboys. But will other NFL players - they do the voting - recognize that he carried the Birds' offense single-handedly for much of the season?

The Eagles' Brian Westbrook and the Giants' Tiki Barber spent this past week answering questions about each other, mainly because of their similar size and roles as offensive playmakers. In yesterday's game, Westbrook won the statistical battle, but that was all. On a rare subpar day when the Eagles made Barber look much more mortal than the 1,800-yard rusher of a year ago, it added up to nothing more than an unfulfilling consolation prize for the Birds. The Giants overcame a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Eagles, 30-24, in overtime.

Sometimes Brian Westbrook wondered whether his peers noticed. Now he knows for sure that they did. Proof of it came when the Eagles running back with the ability to also make big plays as a receiver became the first news story of Super Bowl XXXIX. The news was that Westbrook will head to Hawaii as a member of the NFC Pro Bowl squad after the Eagles face the New England Patriots in the NFL title game Sunday at Alltel Stadium. "A lot of people weren't expecting this, and I wasn't either at this point, because it had been so long since everybody was chosen," Westbrook said last night after the Eagles arrived at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort and Spa on Jacksonville Beach.

PITTSBURGH - When Brian Westbrook's new deal - or, more correctly, the reworking of his old deal - was finally complete, both sides emphasized one thing: how byzantine the process and the agreement turned out to be. Afterward, Westbrook, 28, explained that he didn't play in the Eagles' preseason opener - a 16-10 loss to the host Steelers - because he was reviewing the new pact almost up until game time. "I wanted to make sure everything they said was in there was in there," said Westbrook, who said he and Eagles player personnel vice president Howie Roseman conferred with agent Todd France by phone as they went over the pact.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - It is not every day that an NFL player breaks his franchise's record for yards from scrimmage. It is almost never that the guy who held the record, who held it for a quarter-century, is standing on the sideline, watching and cheering. When Brian Westbrook caught that 40-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of yesterday's 20-14 win at Giants Stadium - a beautiful display of everything Westbrook, a play on which he stayed in to help with blocking the Giants' pass rush, then leaked out of the backfield, caught a pass from Donovan McNabb and ran away from Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce - Harold Carmichael watched.

Eagles coach Andy Reid says he can't wait to play the Dallas Cowboys Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles players also are looking forward to what should be one of the most hyped games in recent NFL regular-season history. Whether Brian Westbrook is part of the Eagles' caravan is a much bigger question. The running back did not play in Monday's 31-9 win over the Green Bay Packers because of inflammation in his right knee. In the last three weeks, Westbrook has practiced very little, but he had been able to play in each game until Monday.

THE ONE TIME Brian Westbrook went to the Pro Bowl, it seemed like just about any Eagles starter had a shot at a trip to Hawaii - 10 Birds either were selected originally in that Super Bowl season of 2004 or ended up going as injury replacements. Westbrook was in the latter category, earning his berth only when Seattle's Shaun Alexander pulled out. This time ought to be different. Most years, including last season, when Westbrook surely was one of the most dynamic players in the NFL, the Pro Bowl snub has been explained away with a lot of tap dancing about how much of his value comes from catching passes, and how the Pro Bowl berths tend to go to guys who really carry the mail, whose rushing totals dwarf Westbrook's.

For a rookie, LeSean McCoy sure has it made in the shade. The Eagles running back completed his first day of training camp yesterday and, despite the demands being placed upon his 21-year-old hide, McCoy looked as cool as his nickname. It helps to have a support staff nearby and the support of fans looking for great things from the local product. However, there's the constant reminder that if the season were to start today, "Shady" would be the Eagles starting running back, and that's a lot to ask from a first-year tailback.

Scott Paper Co. said yesterday that industry overcapacity and pricing pressures hammered the company's profits in the first quarter. Scott also said it no longer planned to sell the specialty-paper business of its S.D. Warren subsidiary, including a mill in Westbrook, Maine, but would continue restructuring the facility to make it more profitable. Before an accounting change to reflect adjustments for future income taxes, Scott's earnings plunged 48 percent, to $23.5 million, or 32 cents a share.

Russell Westbrook scored 26 points as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder won their second straight game, beating the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-89, Monday in a game that featured seven technical fouls and an ejection of Bucks backup forward Larry Sanders. Sanders was ejected after earning a pair of technicals in the second half, while Mike Dunleavy, Brandon Jennings, and coach Scott Skiles also were assessed technicals for Milwaukee. Oklahoma City's Nazr Mohammed and Serge Ibaka also were called for technicals.

Kevin Durant scored 38 points and Russell Westbrook added 29 points and 10 rebounds as the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 14-point deficit to beat the Orlando Magic, 105-102, on Thursday night. The Magic had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but Jason Richardson's long three-pointer bounced off the backboard at the buzzer. The Thunder's win was their seventh straight, matching a streak from earlier in the season. Dwight Howard scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead all five Magic starters in double figures, but the Magic struggled to shoot from the field down the stretch.

THE OKLAHOMA City Thunder signed All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook to a multiyear contract extension yesterday. Westbrook was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning the Thunder would have had to match any offer he received from another team. Instead, they locked him up with a new deal 15 games into this season. Oklahoma City has the best record in the Western Conference, with Westbrook averaging 20.5 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds.

FORMER EAGLES star Brian Westbrook was among at least four running backs who worked out for the Miami Dolphins yesterday. However, the team opted not to sign any of the players. Among the others were former Cowboy Julius Jones and former Patriot Thomas Clayton. On Twitter, Westbrook wrote, "Workout went really well, looked like the 2005 Bwest!! But they need some other players right now so I'm headed back to the farm!!" Westbrook, 32, spent last season with San Francisco, rushing for 340 yards and four touchdowns in five starts.

From: Gonzalez, John To: Fox, Ashley; Fitzpatrick, Frank Subject: Go Westbrook, young man?   Brian Westbrook said he talks to Andy Reid almost every week and he'd "love to be back in Philly. " Do you think the Eagles would be - or should be - interested in bringing him back? From: Fitzpatrick, Frank To: Fox, Ashley; Gonzalez, John Subject: Go Westbrook, young man?   Perhaps as a coach. I don't see a great need for him - or his salary - on the field.

While waiting his turn to become the next great tailback at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md., Patrick Mealy focused his attention on another swift and tough former DeMatha tailback who was making a name for himself in the NFL. When he finally was named the starter in his senior year, Mealy studied tapes of the star he had grown to idolize to see what made him excel, and glued himself to the television on NFL weekends whenever an Eagles game...

OKLAHOMA CITY - Early in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the 76ers' best player of the night, Jrue Holiday, had four fouls. Throughout last night's game, Oklahoma's premier player, Kevin Durant, had Russell Westbrook. Westbrook drove the lane as freely as he wished, dishing for open jump shots or scoring it himself when necessary. He also scored the most backbreaking basket of the night, off an ally-oop inbounds pass with 1 second on the shot clock. All that helped the Thunder to a 109-103 win over the Sixers at the Ford Center.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The young Eagles said they were happy for Brian Westbrook now that the former Bird has signed with the 49ers, praising him as a teacher for many of those now stepping into leadership roles. "Brian was one of my mentors and one of the leaders on our team," said quarterback Kevin Kolb . "He never took that superstar role very serious and he always knew he was a humble guy and that was good for young players to see. " LeSean McCoy, who is trying to step into Westbrook's cleats as the team's lead running back, said Westbrook "embraced" him from the start.

I N MY SMALL OPINION . . . I don't care how much studying and homework former Eagles running back Brian Westbrook has done on concussions, he's still one decent hit away from another brain injury. Yes, brain injury because that's what a concussion is. I understand why Westbrook was so cavalier about his health issues when he signed with the San Francisco 49ers on Monday. He said what any athlete in his position would say. "I am fully healthy," he said. "I spent the whole offseason rehabbing.

On Monday, Brian Westbrook signed a one-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers worth a reported $1.25 million in guaranteed money, plus another $1.25 million in performance-based incentives and a roster bonus. This after the Eagles released their former workhorse following a season in which Westbrook played in only eight games and suffered two concussions. After all he did here, it's going to be tough to see No. 36 in a No. 20 Niners jersey. But in February, Westbrook had knee surgery and in June he had surgery to clean up bone spurs in his ankle.