Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Jerome McDougle was shot in the stomach by armed robbers, police said Friday. The team said he was in good condition after surgery.

He originally was listed in critical condition. However, Derek Boyko, the Eagles’ director of media operations, said McDougle had spoken to police, who said the player was able to walk on his own.

“Our understanding is that Jerome is in good condition after undergoing surgery,” the team said in a statement. “At this time, we are still in the process of gathering the facts of his situation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jerome and his family.”

McDougle, who played at the University of Miami and is a South Florida native, had been scheduled to be in the team’s camp Monday, the reporting date for Eagles’ veterans. Rookies reported Friday.

McDougle, 27, was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he underwent the surgery.

Three armed robbers approached McDougle in his silver Mercedes coupe late Thursday, police said.

McDougle opened the door and tried to get out of the car, but another robber fired two shots, which police said missed him and hit the inside of the door.

The robbers, who police said were likely teens, fled on foot and remain at large. It wasn’t clear whether McDougle was in his car or near it when he was approached, police said.

What this article didnt say is that McDougle was strapped too. He shot one of the dudes and now the police are waiting for someone to show up at the hospital with a bullet wound.

Edgerrin James still likes playing football. He just doesn’t like playing the games that come with it.

The three-time Pro Bowler and two-time NFL rushing champion said Thursday he was ready for another big season — even though he’d prefer to have a long-term contract with the Indianapolis Colts.

“I play football, that’s the easy part,” he said. “But after everything I’ve done and you fight back from an injury and it’s still not good enough, there’s nothing you can do. If you say something you get blasted. But I’m cool, everyone’s cool.”

James had hoped to cash in on last year’s big season as a free agent. Instead, the Colts placed the franchise tag on James, one of the key players in their high-scoring offense.

After rushing for 1,548 yards and nine touchdowns and catching 51 passes for 483 yards in 2004, Indianapolis offered him a one-year deal worth slightly more than $8 million. He signed the deal in March and James’ new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, then shopped him in trade talks as he sought a multiyear deal.

When Rosenhaus found no takers, some speculated James’ dissatisfaction could lead to a holdout. It didn’t. James sneaked into camp Wednesday and participated in the Colts’ first practice Thursday morning.

No, things didn’t go perfectly — James and two-time MVP Peyton Manning fumbled their first handoff.

Coach Tony Dungy said it happens on Day 1.

“You’re never quite as good as you want to be,” he said. “As a coach you want it to be perfect and, certainly, we were not perfect.”

The usually free-speaking James took a more cautious approach to questions Thursday.

HE avoided criticizing the Colts but expressed displeasure with a free-agency system that allows teams to retain top players by tagging them with either the franchise or transition designation. The tags guarantee players a big salary for one year but limits their options because most teams are unwilling to part with the two first-round picks required to sign a “franchise” player as compensation.

“Once I got tagged, I knew it was over,” James said. “You’ve just got to take it to the river and go from there.”

Regardless, James is ready to move on.

For those who think his career is winding down after six seasons, James has a message: He doesn’t turn 27 until next week, is as healthy and strong as he’s ever been and intends to take out his frustration on opposing defenses.

“I want to finish off my career strong,” he said. “To come back from what I went through and come back last year and have one my best years ever, you want to keep going. It’s the other game I have trouble with. I’ll figure it out one day.”

With Miami feeling hotter than New Delhi, Dolphins running back Ricky Williams had to feel right at home.

His actions, which led to his press conference, created the biggest buzz to hit South Florida since Shaquille O’Neal.

This is how big it was: Dolphins senior vice president/media relations Harvey Greene received an e-mail wishing him good luck with the press conference from none other than the King of Press Conferences, former White House press secretary Ari Fleisher.

Turned out Greene didn’t need the luck, and Fleisher probably would have been better off directing his e-mail missive at his successor, Scott McClellan.

But we digress. Back to Williams.

Some impressions stood out from the day’s events.

No. 1 — Williams, despite speculation, is not getting traded this season. No way. For starters, he will miss the first four games of the season due to an NFL suspension, and with the Dolphins having a bye in Week 4, Williams will get to play only one game before the trading deadline. Then there’s these other factors.

Williams is one strike away from a year-long ban. He’s coming off a lengthy hiatus on the other side of the world.

He has proven to be unreliable, and has little value to any other team this season — at least any value any team would be willing to surrender.

If the Titans traded a third-round pick for Travis Henry, and no team is willing to give up so much as a third- or fourth-round pick for Shaun Alexander, how are the Dolphins going to recoup anything of value for Williams this season? They can’t; not now.

Next season is a different story. But Williams will be spending this season in Miami, rehabbing his reputation, building back up his value, positioning himself and the Dolphins for a better deal in the future.

But not this season

No. 2 — The most overblown story in football, next to T.O.’s rants, was how the Dolphins players would react to Williams.

The short answer — just fine.

After Williams apologized to them at a team meeting July 24, he had begun the process of mending fences. Sounds like it already has worked.

“At first it was a little uncomfortable, but then once we started to talk, everything was fine after that,” Dolphins linebacker and team leader Zach Thomas said. “He did a great job putting himself out to the whole team. It was probably pretty hard for him to come out and apologize, but you could tell he wasn’t just doing it because somebody told him to do it. He did it coming from the heart. He was sincere and honest, and you felt him. He wasn’t just saying it to say it.

“I just told him to go out there and show he’s committed and work hard. That’s the type of player he is. He’s a hard worker. It’s still a distraction if you beat it up too much. He kept it simple, but he said everything right. He didn’t drag it out and he didn’t want to be a distraction. That’s the one thing he said. I thought he did a great job.”

Asked if Williams needs to do any more explaining, Thomas said: “No, no. It’s over. It was over before he even got here. You should get second chances. If he came in here and was like, ‘Hey, I did what I did and didn’t really feel sorry about it,’ it would be different, but he does. He feels bad about it. He put himself in a situation that he’s in. He was a man. He stood up and he talked about it. He told the whole team first. I thought he did a great job at it.”

Now Williams needs to go back to doing the great job he has done on the field. Because for the start of training camp, Dolphins coach Nick Saban listed Williams at the bottom of the depth chart.

Undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins will face undefeated middleweight heir apparent Jermain Taylor in a fight being billed as “NeXt in Line” on Saturday, July 16 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The championship card will be presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment and televised and distributed live on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9pmEST/6:00pmPST.

“Bernard Hopkins has always done things his own way, and this fight is no exception,” said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions. “At a time when most champions would waltz into retirement against easier opponents, Bernard is taking on the toughest available challengers, and making the final fights of his career the most meaningful.”

It’s a classic boxing match-up where Hopkins, the veteran warrior blessed with experience and skills that has lead to a record-setting 20 straight title defenses, takes on Taylor, the enthusiastic upstart, who many boxing insiders believe is heir apparent to Hopkins’ throne.

“Hopkins-Taylor is a significant crossroads fight between an undisputed world champion determined to cement his legacy and a rising star who is ready to challenge for the throne,” said Mark Taffet, HBO Senior Vice President of Sports Operations & Pay-Per-View. “Boxing fans will not want to miss this important event.”

For Hopkins, Taylor is just next-next in a long line of pugilist who have tried and failed to upset his throne. “Jermain Taylor has the skill and talent to become middleweight champion of the world one day,” said Hopkins. It’s just that the day won’t be July 16.”

The young Taylor views it differently. “Yes I am next,” said Taylor. “The next undisputed middleweight champion of the world.”

Bernard Hopkins (46-2-1, 32 KOs) is already assured a place in the Boxing Hall of Fame thanks to his ten-year reign atop the middleweight division and his amazing record. An old-school warrior who is the epitome of a Philadelphia fighter, the 40-year-old “Executioner” is one of the rare fighters who just gets better and better with age. In his last bout, on February 19, Hopkins scored a dominating 12 round decision win over highly ranked British contender Howard Eastman. Hopkins, who has publicly stated he will retire upon his 41st birthday next January is ready for a hectic career finale that begins with Taylor.

“I give credit to Jermain for accepting this challenge,” said Hopkins. “Unfortunately for him, he will not stop me from finishing out my career the way I’ve always done things – my way.”

Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor (23-0, 17 KOs) is a 2000 US Olympic Bronze Medalist who has carried that success with him into the professional ranks. A versatile boxer with a stiff jab and thudding power, the 26-year-old resident of Little Rock, Arkansas has defeated former world champions Raul Marquez and William Joppy. His spectacular victory over previously unbeaten Daniel Edouard at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last February made him the most logical contender for Hopkins WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles.

“Bernard Hopkins is a great champion and I have a lot of respect for him,” said Taylor. “But I will not respect him once the bell rings. I have waited for this moment for my entire life, and I won’t be denied on July 16. If Bernard won’t pass the torch, I’ll just take it from him.”

A world-class undercard for “NeXt in Line” will be announced shortly.

Venus Williams out-slugged champion Maria Sharapova to reach her fifth Wimbledon final with a 7-6 6-1 victory on Centre Court on Thursday.

Showing the kind of form which won her the title here in 2000 and 2001, Venus tamed her tough 18-year-old Russian opponent in a hard-fought semi-final and will now face Amelie Mauresmo or Lindsay Davenport on Saturday.

Venus, seeded 14th, won the first set on a tiebreak after an exhilarating rally before racing away with the second set which she took when Sharapova blazed a shot wide.

The 25-year-old, whose sister Serena beat her to win the title in 2002 and 2003 and lost to Sharapova last year, ensured that the Williams family would represented in the Wimbledon final for a sixth successive year.

With the NBA title on the line, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs proved themselves worthy champions.

Duncan came up huge in the second half and was chosen finals MVP after having the worst playoff series of his career, and Manu Ginobili had another breakthrough performance Thursday night to lead the Spurs past the Detroit Pistons 81-74 in a Game 7 that was as thrilling as it was rare.

In a matchup of the past two NBA champions, the Spurs came through in the clutch to win their third title in seven years and deny Detroit the chance to repeat.

The Spurs are certainly not a dynasty, but their staying power as a championship caliber team helps validate a legacy that history will revere with an added measure of respect.

Duncan had 25 points and 11 rebounds while shrugging off a stretch of eight straight misses that ended in the third quarter with the teams tied. Ginobili scored 23 points with a series of slashing, scintillating drives and big passes.

Behind Duncan, the stoic established star, and Ginobili, the flashy young Argentine, the first Game 7 in more than a decade ended with the Spurs celebrating on their home court as silver and black confetti streamed down from the rafters.

“We just played a great team. I don’t know how the hell we did it, but I am thrilled,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after embracing his good friend, Detroit coach Larry Brown, as the game ended. Popovich became the third coach with three titles, while Brown headed into an uncertain future still stuck on one.

“I’m just as proud this year as I was last year,” said Brown, whose team recovered from two early blowout losses and dictated the series for four straight games before San Antonio — and especially Duncan — reasserted itself at the end.

The NBA had waited a long time for a game with so much at stake and so little room for error. And the difference came in the fourth quarter, when the Spurs were able to make the plays the Pistons couldn’t.

The Green Bay Packers will retire Reggie White’s number at halftime ceremonies of their home opener against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 18.

Team president Bob Harlan said he had told White before his death last December that he wanted to add his No. 92 to the retired numbers listed in the north end zone at Lambeau Field. “He was thrilled. He kept saying what an honor that would be,” Harlan said Tuesday.

White, who suffered from a respiratory ailment, died Dec. 26 at age 43.

He joined the Packers in 1993 in one of the biggest free agent signings in sports history and during a six-year stay helped restore respectability to a faded franchise. He helped lead the Packers to a Super Bowl triumph over New England following the 1996 season.

The Packers only four retired numbers: fullback Tony Canadeo (3), wide receiver Don Hutson (14), quarterback Bart Starr (15) and linebacker Ray Nitschke (66).

The NFL prefers teams honor players by retiring their jerseys, not their numbers, but Harlan said White deserves a special honor.

“We’re going to have to do it with No. 4 someday, too,” Harlan said, referring to quarterback Brett Favre.

“I always look at Ron Wolf, Mike Holmgren, Reggie White and Brett Favre, these guys revived this franchise when I think a lot of our fans had given up hope that it was ever going to happen. I just think we have to honor these men.”

The Atlanta Hawks, who finished the season with an NBA-low 13 victories, will have the most chances to land this year’s No. 1 overall pick when the 2005 NBA Draft Lottery is held on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN). Five ties among teams finished the 2004-05 regular season with identical records were recently broken through random drawings to help determine the order of selection for NBA Draft 2005, which will be held Tuesday, June 28, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Here is the breakdown:

Early Entry Candidates For This Year’s Draft Announces – Click Here To See Them

Shaquille O’Neal, plagued for a month by a thigh bruise, did not practice on Wednesday.

O’Neal, who has not played since May 10, said rest and treatment have not healed his injury, and he’s not sure if he’ll be ready for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

It’s not that it got worse, it’s just there, and I need it not to be there,” O’Neal told the Palm Beach Post.

If the game was Wednesday, O’Neal indicated he could not play.

Teammates still insist they are confident O’Neal will be ready for Game 1 against either Indiana or Detroit in the East finals.

“Without a doubt,” Heat forward Eddie Jones said Tuesday. “His mood is getting better. Physically, he’s getting better. I think this time is great for him.”

Kellen Winslow Jr.’s use of a motorcycle might have violated standard NFL contract language that prohibits players from engaging in dangerous activities.

The Cleveland Browns could require Winslow, who lost millions last year because of a season-ending injury, to pay back a $4.4 million signing bonus he received in March.

The 21-year-old tight end sustained internal injuries and damage to his right shoulder and right knee in an accident that sent him flying over the handlebars of his newly purchased motorcycle.

Winslow was being treated at the Cleveland Clinic, where the team’s medical staff was waiting for swelling in the shoulder and knee to subside. The team declined Tuesday to provide an update on his condition.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the standard NFL contract forbids players from taking part in any activity “which may involve a significant risk of personal injury.”

It’s another setback for the struggling Browns and Winslow, who entered the league last season with high expectations and a reputation as a hothead. His rookie season ended in disappointment when he broke his right leg during an onside kick in a Week 2 loss against Dallas.

With his leg still on the mend, Winslow purchased a sport bike last month and was learning how to ride it in a parking lot Sunday night when he hit a curb and was thrown off. He complained of chest pains after the crash.

Winslow held out last year before signing a $40 million contract _ a record for a tight end _ as the No. 6 pick in the draft.

Teams have the option of making contract language regarding dangerous activities more or less restrictive during negotiations with players, Aiello said. The Browns wouldn’t release information about Winslow’s contract.