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Following up on the ongoing story. ... Nicks revealed Wednesday that he formally apologized to HC Tom Coughlin for breaking his promise to attend voluntary workouts but isn’t sorry he skipped them, with the star receiver citing injury concerns -- not his contract -- for his high-profile absence. “At the end of the day, there’s stuff that’s mandatory and there’s things that are not mandatory,” he said. “From my eyes, anytime you can let your body rest [is good]. Football is a physical sport, and it’s a long season, too. Anytime you can let your body rest, I feel like that’s always a blessing.”  Reported by the New York Post

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In an exclusive interview with Post staffer Bart Hubbuch, Nicks also offered a cloudy outlook on his long-term future with the team beyond the final year of his contract, saying only that he enjoys being a Giant “right now.” Asked if his goal ultimately is to retire a Giant, Nicks replied: “I really can’t speak for my whole career. I enjoy being a Giant right now. I’m going to take care of what I can take care of as long as I’m a Giant, but I do understand the business side of football, too.” Nicks recently caused a stir by sitting out the Giants’ voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) despite promising Coughlin he would attend, prompting speculation that Nicks -- like fellow wideout Victor Cruz -- was unhappy about his contract. Whatever the case, Nicks said he and Coughlin are now back on the same page. For now. “As long as I’m here, I’m going to represent the Giants well,” Nicks said. “I’m just focused on this season.”
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How has Jones been working to better himself this offseason? Jones said he has cut out beef and pork over the last year and has enjoyed the benefits since then. “I feel l much better,” Jones said. “Especially playing football, I feel that stuff sits on you.”   Reported by FOXSports.com

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Jones has taken the advice of his team nutritionist and when he has the choice, he prefers organic food over regular. It’s much more than what he consumes, too. Jones has been spending a lot of time around the team facility and has been working on building camaraderie with all of the players. Especially with his QB. Jones believes he and Matt Ryan have a very strong connection both on and off the field. “I’m definitely on the same page as my quarterback. You have to be able to talk to your quarterback. One person can’t be bigger than the other. You gotta be on the same page and have the same goals. Me and Matt have the same goals. We work. I’ll tell him, ‘Matt, I see this and that’ and he’ll say, ‘OK, I’m going to put the ball here, can you adjust to it?’ He has confidence that he can throw the ball to me.” As FOXSports.com's Ross Jones suggests, "Things like that will go a long way, especially in a 17-week regular season. ..." Things like that also get fantasy owners even more worked up about Jones than they already were.
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It’s worth noting that Davis participated exclusively with the wide receivers, not the tight ends, during the 49ers’ past mini-camp.  Reported by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat

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Does that mean Davis will play more wide receiver this year? According to Press-Democrat staffer Grant Cohn, the Niners probably need him to play more wide out because their best receiver, Anquan Boldin, is a much better slot receiver than outside receiver at this stage in his career. During team drills, Boldin lined up in the slot the vast majority of the time. The 49ers need an outside receiver who can stretch the field, like Randy Moss and Mario Manningham did last season. Davis may be the best candidate on the roster to fill that role this season. It's something we'll be watching when training camp opens.
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Following up on the ongoing story. ... The investigation regarding a death of Hernandez’s “associate” continues to unfold. ... The victim has officially been identified as 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, and his death has been ruled a homicide. According to FOX 25 in Boston, police have determined that four men — including Hernandez and Lloyd — were in a vehicle together after leaving a bar, and that only three of the men returned to Hernandez’s home.  Reported by RaiderBeat.com

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Per the report, and supplemented by tweets from Ted Daniel of FOX 25, forensic evidence collected by police places a vehicle “driven by” Hernandez at the “crime scene.” It’s unclear whether the crime scene was the location where Lloyd’s body was found, or whether the crime (i.e., the site of Lloyd’s murder) occurred elsewhere. FOX 25 also reports that Lloyd sent a text to a friend referring to Hernandez. As PFT's Mike Florio summed up, "Our mildly-educated guess is that more evidence of text messages and other electronically-created footprints will be used to further piece together the puzzle. ..." Stay tuned.
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The usual caveat applies: It's only the offseason. But the reviews in Minnesota so far have been pretty uniform: The quarterback play has been "spotty" in practice for the Minnesota Vikings. "Watching Christian Ponder out there, the footwork didn't look great," Judd Zulgad, of 1500ESPN.com, said Wednesday. "The passes didn't look all that sharp.  Reported by NJ.com

Diehards Line:
As NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal stressed, it's only June, and Ponder is playing with new set of receivers. Things aren't going to be perfect. But the Vikings are counting on Ponder's stability in Bill Musgrave's offensive system to lead to major growth. That reportedly hasn't shown up yet in the offseason. "You know what's not there? Crispness," Zulgad said. "There's not a sharpness. At times you would expect things to look second nature to Ponder. ... That's not what we're seeing so far, but like I said, it's minicamp." Rosenthal went on to suggest that Zulgad's comments are of greater interest coming the same day ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote that "some believe" Matt Cassel is good enough to challenge for the starting job this year on the Vikings. We'll go ahead and stress one more time: It's June. Add these reports to the baseline of information on Ponder, who has already clearly demonstrated he's not fantasy QB1 material. That he's not progressing at this point, suggests he'll continue to come up short when viewed as a potential QB2 also.
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San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman figures to be one of the hottest names on the head coaching market next offseason. If he doesn't find a new gig, he'll be well taken care of in San Francisco. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports that the 49ers signed Roman to a two-year extension, according to two people informed of the contract. Financial terms are not known. Roman's new contract with the 49ers takes him through the 2015 season.  Reported by NFL.com

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As NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal, this was the 49ers' way of rewarding Roman after two incredibly productive seasons with HC Jim Harbaugh. Alex Smith's career took off under Roman, and Roman's creative schemes helped Colin Kaepernick explode onto the NFL scene. All the head coaching jobs were filled by the time the 49ers' 2012 season was over, leaving Roman in San Francisco. Ultimately, the new contract shouldn't matter much when it comes to Roman's future head coaching prospects. But it's nice for him to know he could be selective in choosing jobs if he wanted to. With Kaepernick and a terrific offensive line on his side, Roman's stock figures to stay high.
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Hernandez was sued earlier this month for allegedly shooting a man in the face following an altercation at a Miami strip club ... TMZ has learned. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Florida on June 13 -- five days before investigators searched the NFL star's Massachusetts home in connection with a homicide investigation that appears to be unrelated.   Reported by TMZ.com

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According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Hernandez and Alexander S. Bradley went to Tootsie's Cabaret in Miami on February 13, 2013 and during the outing, the two men got into an argument. Bradley claims that after the dispute, both men left the club -- and got into the same car which was heading to Palm Beach. During the ride, Hernandez allegedly aimed his weapon at Bradley ... and the gun discharged, striking Bradley in the face. Bradley demanded more than $100,000. But just four days after Bradley filed the lawsuit, the case was dismissed due to an error in the paperwork. TMZ is reporting the suit will be re-filed today.
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Following up on the ongoing story. ... Investigators plan to execute a search warrant on an Enterprise rental car registered to Hernandez on Wednesday, sources told ABC News, two days after a dead body was found near the car about a mile from his home. Hernandez was cooperative with police Tuesday night, sources told ABC News. The investigation is expected to continue through the week.  Reported by ESPN.com

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The search of the vehicle was planned after police spent hours at Hernandez's sprawling house in an upscale subdivision Tuesday night while another group of officers searched an industrial park where the body of a man identified Wednesday as Oden Lloyd, 27, was found Monday. Lloyd was a linebacker for the semi-pro Boston Bandits football team. ... We'll continue to follow up, but the note that Hernandez was cooperative on Tuesday night is at least more promising than most of what we've heard up to this point.
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Following up on the ongoing story. ... Gronkowski underwent yet another surgery Tuesday to address a problematic back. The surgery was said to have gone well and now the surgeon who performed the procedure, Dr. Robert Watkins, has released a statement on the procedure. “New England Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski underwent a microscopic lumbar discectomy surgery performed by Dr. Robert Watkins at Marina Del Rey Hospital in Los Angeles,” the statement said, via Christopher Price of WEEI.com. “The surgery went well. The timing of his return to football will depend on his progression through the rehabilitation program.”   Reported by Profootballtalk.com

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As PFT's Curtis Crabtree notes, a lumbar discectomy is geared toward addressing issues with a herniated disc in a person’s back. Crabtree added that Watkins performed the same surgery on New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul earlier this month. Pierre-Paul’s recovery time was pegged at 12 weeks. If the same time table holds for Gronkowski it will be very close whether he’ll be available to start the season. Twelve weeks from the day of the surgery would be two days after the Patriots season opener against the Buffalo Bills. ... Stay tuned.
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Following up on the ongoing story. ... Two law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation said detectives are trying to determine whether the victim’s death in the homicide investigation involving Hernandez is drug-related. A neighbor said it was well-known in the neighborhood that the victim, Odin Lloyd (a semi-pro football player), hung out with members of the Patriots and was often seen driving a variety of cars, always marked with Patriots decals and stickers.  Reported by the Boston Globe

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On Tuesday, a small platoon of troopers searched Hernandez’s house. During the several hours they spent inside the home, the flash from cameras could be seen through the windows. Although he's been a model citizen since joining the Pats, Hernandez, who played at Florida, slipped to the fourth round in the draft because of multiple failed drug tests for marijuana as a collegian. ... We'll continue to follow up.
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