New England Patriots Links 4/03/12 - Spikes Gives a C, Gets an A From Local Kids

Karen Guregian reports Brandon Spikes saved the day for several local kids who wanted to get into his autograph session but didn't have enough money to get in.

It seems four local kids didn’t know how costly it was going to be to get into the autograph session at Shriner’s auditorium in Wilmington yesterday, which featured not only Spikes, but several other past and present greats from football and baseball. The boys didn’t bring enough cash to get in. No worries. The guy with the long dreads in the green Porshe, came to the rescue. Newton actually tweeted his tale of woe from outside the auditorium, and Spikes, a noted tweeter himself, found them, and promptly produced a C-note for the group.

"He’s our favorite player. We came just for him," Newton told me. "He handed us a hundred dollar bill so we got in, and that paid for our autographs and everything. What a great guy. I didn’t realize how giving he was, how generous. I mean, this was awesome. My friends were so excited. This was the best thing that ever happened to me, I think."

Spikes got a kick out of it, too, seeing the joy he put on the kids’ faces. "I seen them at the end of the road. I said, ‘what you all doing? They said, we can’t get in. We don’t have any money to get in.’ I didn’t know they were charging. But it was cool," Spikes said. "It was fun. I saw big smiles. They followed me up the street. I wanted to do something for them."

The Herald Inside Track scoops on the new Nike uniforms...

That barring any last-minute changes, Wes Welker will be in NYC today to model the New England Patriots new uniforms for next season. In case you don’t know, Nike took over making the threads for the 32 NFL teams from Reebok. The swoosh peeps are unveiling their take on every team’s threads in a converted warehouse in Brooklyn. Word is, the Pats players haven’t seen their new unis yet, but don’t expect any radical changes.

TEAM TALK

• Top 100 Players of All-Time: John Hannah - No. 24. (3.48 min. video) /Can't we draft this guy?
• Patriots Today - Draft Preview: Centers and Guards. (3.19 min. video)
• Patriots Roster Report - The PFW crew takes a look at the recent roster transactions. (9.44 min. program)
• Draft Prospect Review: Wide Receivers/Tight ends. (16.45 min. program)

LOCAL LINKS

• Greg A. Bedard takes a moment to reset the roster and look at the depth chart as it stands today.
• Mike Reiss takes a closer look at contracts signed by fullbacks Spencer Larsen and Tony Fiammetta with the Patriots, and how it affects the salary cap.
• Paul Kenyon believes the Patriots will get defensive on Draft day and notes that so far, virtually all the candidates the Pats have worked out have been defensive players.
• Tom E. Curran notes a video of Chad Ochocinco working out with Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and BenJarvus Green-Ellis shows that he still has remarkable short-area speed.
• Karen Guregian reports Dan Koppen is set to visit the Titans this week, but is still open to returning to the Patriots.
• Mike Rodak looks at some of the recent players picked at the 126th spot to give us a feel for the type of player the Patriots might draft with that pick.
• Mike Reiss analyzes the mock draft selections of ESPN's James Walker for the Patriots.
• Jeff Howe profiles WR Alshon Jeffrey (South Carolina) as a possible fit for the Patriots in this year's draft.
• Jeff Howe reports Tom Brady and Ty Law are among the Patriots top 10 best draft picks of all time.
• CSNNE reports Bovada gives the Patriots 8/1 odds at Super bowl XLVII.

NATIONAL NEWS

• On the Clock (ESPN) New England Patriots. Trent Dilfer is joined by Mel Kiper and Chris Mortensen to spotlight the Patriots on defense.
• Dennis Dillon (SI) NFL getting ready to transition to new Nike era for apparel. Unveiling at 11:00 a.m.
• Joe Fortenbaugh (Nat'l Football Post) No criminal charges necessary. The feds don't need to get involved in bounty scandal.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL should quit asking the union for a recommendation on bounty discipline.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Goodell won't need long to decide on Saints' appeals.
• Albert Breer (NFL.com) Saints' Vitt says he's prepared to earn Goodell's respect; wants "the opportunity to bring certain matters to [Roger Goodell's] attention."
• Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Jets won't rule out another year of Hard Knocks.
• John Clayton (ESPN) The logic behind Payton's appeal; Mail.
• Wes Bunting (Nat'l Football Post) NFL Draft: Ranking the cornerback class by tiers. A deep class gives NFL teams plenty of options.
• Russ Lande (Sporting News) NFL Draft 2012: Cornerback rankings.
• Mike Mayock (NFL.com) Draft positional rankings: Pro days influence player stocks.
• Greg Cosell (NFLFilms.com) The Slot factor. Finding the next Wes Welker.
• James Walker (ESPN) NFL Blog network mock draft. Patriots select DE Andre Branch (Clemson) and CB Janoris Jenkins (North Alabama).