Jose Canseco, because things are going so well for him these days, has been looking for someone to go toe-to-toe with him in a celebrity (and I use that term very, very loosely) boxing match. He had recently been offering $5,000 to get someone to accept the challenge, and for a while, everyone, as they usually do, completely ignored Jose Canseco.

But a brave hero has finally stepped up so that this stupid fight may finally take place. And that hero is former Philadelphia Eagles return man Vai Sikahema. What a relief that must be for the millions of you who sit around all day and wistfully think, "Man, when is Jose Canseco going to fight Vai Sikahema?!"

Canseco claims that he's earned black belts in Kung fu, Taekwondo, and Muay Thai. I'd love to doubt him (and I sort of do), but the man does have a certain track record for telling the truth. He's also going to have a considerable height and weight advantage over Sikahema.

As for Sikahema's qualifcations, he grew up wanting to be a professional boxer, and he fought in a National Golden Gloves Championship that would eventually be won by a fellow named Sugar Ray Leonard. That explains the goal-post punching celebration you see above (they do look like quality punches).

More recently, he's been staying in shape by anchoring at NBC-10 in Philadelphia and going shopping with Johnny Weir. I hear that's Floyd Mayweather's secret, too.

The fight is scheduled for July 12th in Atlantic City. I will consider watching it if the promoters call me and offer me $49.95 to do so.

This is the first offseason that fifth-year safety J.R. Reed is able to exclusively focus on football.

In the past, he had to spend the majority of his time rehabbing. The Eagles' fourth-round draft pick in 2004, Reed missed the entire 2005 season when his career was derailed by a freak offseason injury to his peroneal nerve, affecting the use of his lower leg and foot.

Reed's 2006 comeback bid ended when the Eagles released him prior to the start of the season. He bounced around for a couple of years -- spending time with the Rams and Falcons in 2006 and the Giants for a few weeks in the summer of 2007 -- and didn't find a home until midway through the 2007 season. That home was back in Philadelphia.

"During the other offseasons I was on my own, so I would just work on running the 40. That's what you had to do to get back on the team is run the 40," Reed said. "I wasn't focusing on getting stronger because by gaining weight you get a little slower.



S/KR J.R. Reed

"This year I get to work on some defensive and special teams stuff, football stuff specifically, instead of just working on speed."

Reed proved last season that he can be a valuable asset both on defense and special teams. Reed played well on defense when Dawkins, Sean Considine and Quintin Mikell went down at various times throughout the season. He finished with 33 tackles on defense (17 solo) along with a quarterback hurry and five knockdowns. In addition to his 125 special teams production points, Reed averaged just over 22 yards on 31 kick return opportunities.

Now, with Dawkins and Mikel penciled in as the starters, Reed is in the mix with Considine, second-year man Marcus Paschal and rookie Quintin Demps for backup jobs.

What do you guys think? Do you think he will perform this year?

Ten years from now, rookie linebacker Andy Studebaker may be regarded as a pioneer of 21st century NFL scouting and recruiting.

Studebaker did not get any NFL attention until after his 2006 collegiate season when he followed his coach's advice and put together a highlight clip. It was his agent's wife's idea to post a video on youtube.com. It was a simple four-minute blurb about who he is, where he came from, and how he prepared for the pro day workouts.

"The front office actually took a look at it, so I guess it worked," Studebaker said. "(Internet) News travels quickly I guess."

Now listed at 6-foot-3, 251 pounds, Studebaker was 5-foot-11 coming out of Eureka High Scool, a small high school of about 500 kids that wasn't really known for its football program. As a result, he ended up playing defensive end at Division III Wheaton College in Illinois.



"It was a little bit of under-exposure and that I was a little undersized,"" Studebaker said of why he landed at a Division-III school instead of a more prestigious football program. "But I have no regrets going there. It was a good opportunity."

Indeed.

Studebaker was a Division III All-American who became the first player in Wheaton history to be selected in the NFL draft.

Making the jump from a major Division I program to the NFL is difficult enough for any rookie. The transition from Division III, Studebaker knows, will be even tougher. Learning a new position figures to make it even more of a challenge.

A defensive end in college, Studebaker registered 30 sacks in his four-year career at Wheaton, including a school-record and NCAA-best 17.5 in his junior season. The Eagles, however, are looking at him to provide depth at the linebacker position.