Recent News

New England Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez Being Investigated in Murder Case

June 18th, 2013 at 7:21 PM
By Sports Media 101

'Aaron Hernandez' photo (c) 2011, Jeffrey Beall - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is being questioned by police in connection to a murder investigation in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, south of Boston. Investigators are seeking a search warrant to search Hernandez’s house to discover his full connection to the murder. 

Reports indicate that a jogger discovered the 27-year old male body on Monday, less than a mile from Hernandez’s home. Law enforcement officials have indicated that Aaron Hernandez has been uncooperative thus far with the investigation.

Hernandez is not considered to be a suspect in the investigation, but his connection comes through a vehicle rented in his name, which is a main piece of evidence in the ongoing investigation. 

Hernandez is coming off a Pro Bowl season and is currently recovering from shoulder-scope this offseason.

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New England Patriots Hall of Fame Induction Ceremoney Moved to July 29

June 18th, 2013 at 4:33 PM
By Andrew Goldberg

'ESPNWeekend2010-029' photo (c) 2010, Jeff Kern - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Earlier today it was announced via Patriots.com that the New England Patriots Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony would be moved to July 29. The original date was to be on August 11, and it will be held at 5:00 p.m. on the NRG Plaza outside the Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon. 

According to the story on the website the ceremony will be in conjunction with the Patriots first practice inside the stadium of 2013. The ceremony is also free and open to the public.

The ceremony will commemorate the playing career of linebacker Tedy Bruschi and radio announcer Gil Santos. Bruschi was a key part of the New England Patriots defense where he played all 13 years in a Patriots uniform. He was also a part of every Super Bowl winning team as well as the team that went 16-0. He recorded 680 total tackles, 30.5 sacks, 12 interceptions, 17 forced fumbles, and four touchdowns. 

Gil Santos has been the man on the radio for the New England Patriots having served 36 seasons behind the microphone. He missed one game during that time and retired from the radio booth in 2009. Santos becomes the second non-player to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.   

 
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Rob Gronkowski Set to Have Back Surgery Tuesday

June 18th, 2013 at 12:42 PM
By Andrew Goldberg

 

'IMG_0406' photo (c) 2012, Angie Six - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is finally set to have surgery on his back. As ESPN's Adam Schefter and Mike Reiss both report, Gronkowski is expected to go under the knife on Tuesday in Los Angeles. 

Based on the report, the timetable of his recovery will depend on if there is anything else that needs to be repaired or fixed when they operate on his back. If nothing else is to be fixed then the timetable for his return would be 12 weeks, which for you folks at home would make his availability to the Patriots around September 10. That would be two days after the Patriots are set to open against the Buffalo Bills and also two days before the Patriots play the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. 

The report also indicates that the surgery will be performed by Dr. Robert Watkins, the same man who most recently performed back surgery on New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.

The biggest question now becomes if Gronkowski will be available in time for the Patriots second game of the season. With the late date of surgery he will not be available at training camp. 

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Russian President Vladimir Putin Refutes Robert Kraft’s Claims of Super Bowl Ring Theft

June 16th, 2013 at 9:53 AM
By Rebecca Pierce

'Vladimir_Putin' photo (c) 2005, inkjetprinter - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/A spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin denies New England Patriots' owner Robert Kraft's story that the President stole his Super Bowl ring back in 2005, CNN reports. Both sides do agree however, that Putin now has Kraft's ring after Kraft's visit to St. Petersburg, Russia eight years ago.

So why is the news surfacing again now? Kraft told the story at a New York Gala on Thursday evening. 

"I took out the ring and showed it to (Putin). And he put it on and he goes, 'I can kill someone with this ring,'" said Kraft, the New York Post reports. "I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out."

Later, Kraft made statements saying that the ring was a gift, and that's the story that Putin and his reps are sticking to. 

"What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird," Dmitry Peskov said. "I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift."

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Tim Tebow Arrives at Mini-Camp and Practices with New England Patriots

June 11th, 2013 at 5:33 PM
By Andrew Goldberg

'Tim Tebow' photo (c) 2011, Jeffrey Beall - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Patriots' mini-camp got a lot more exciting after yesterday's announcement that the team had signed former New York Jets and Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

On the eve of the beginning of the mandatory mini-camp session the news was leaked that the Patriots had reached an agreement with Tebow. As per ESPNBoston and NFL Insider Adam Shefter, the Patriots officially announced they had signed Tim Tebow on Tuesday morning to a two year contract with no money guaranteed. 

Fast forward a couple of hours to Tuesday, and the Patriots and their newly signed quarterback hit the practice field for the first day of the three-day minicamp. Not only was he on a new team, but he was sporting a new uniform number. Accoridng to various sources such as Will Brinson of cbssports.com, Tebow showed up to practice wearing the No. 5 as opposed to the No. 15 that he had worn at Florida, New York and Denver.

According to Erik Scalavino of Patriots Football Weekly, Tebow did as much standing around as he did actual playing. Scalavino reports that Tebow watched the team during the 11-on-11 team period as Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett took most of the snaps. Tebow's only real action of the day came during the team's "opportunity" part of practice designed to give reps to newer younger players. 

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