TORONTO — Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said his rehabilitation from season-ending knee surgery was “going really well,” but he did not offer any timetable for a return to the football field Wednesday.
In some of his first public comments since being injured in the first quarter of the regular-season opener in September, Brady also told Toronto sports radio station The Fan 590 that he did not think the Patriots would be hurt badly by the defections of key personnel such as offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels to the Broncos and Scott Pioli, the team’s former vice president of player personnel, to the Chiefs.
“There’s change every year, and you have to get used to it,” he said. “As long as we have (owners) Robert and Jonathan Kraft and as long as we have coach (Bill) Belichick, we’ll be just fine.”
Brady was not asked during the interview if he expected to be ready for training camp or the start of the 2009 regular season. Nor was he asked about ongoing speculation that his recovery from surgery has been slowed by a post-operative infection in his left knee.
“It’s going really well,” Brady said of his rehab. “Anyone who’s come back from injuries that require surgery knows it’s just a process and there are some good days, some bad days, and you just have to keep plugging through them.”
PETA withdraws offer to Vick
NEW YORK — PETA has withdrawn an offer to televise an anti-dogfighting public service announcement with Michael Vick after his release from prison.
The organization said an agreement was reached with Vick’s representatives to shoot the spot, but that Vick’s attorneys sought assurance from PETA the group would support his return to the NFL.
“Saying sorry and getting his ball back after being caught enjoying killing dogs in hideously cruel ways for many years doesn’t cut it,” PETA president Ingrid E. Newkirk said. “Commissioner (Roger) Goodell knows that he has an obligation to the league and to millions of fans, including children who look up to ballplayers as idols, to make sure that Michael Vick is mentally capable of remorse before he can touch, let alone wear, an NFL uniform again.”
PETA is urging that Vick undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Footnotes.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham joined the Lions to serve in a similar position.
• Special-teams standout Montell Owens signed an extension with the Jaguars.
• Former all-pro cornerback Cris Dishman joined the Chargers as an assistant secondary coach.
• The Steelers will wear their white road uniforms against Arizona in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.
• Ravens pro personnel director George Kokinis is nearing a deal to become Cleveland’s general manager.
• Dante “Gluefingers” Lavelli, a Hall of Fame receiver who helped the Browns build a dynasty in the 1940s and 50s, died Tuesday night of congestive heart failure. He was 85.
The Associated Press
