In Providence, Kevin McNamara noted opening day of Patriots' training camp on Thursday "saw over 15,000 fans pack the two fields" just outside Gillette Stadium. Similar-sized crowds "poured in off Route 1 on Friday and Saturday." Fans arrived hours before the 9:00am ET workouts and "quickly flooded into the limited bleacher seating when the gates opened." Training camp is free, and the "reality is these fans are not the season-ticket holders who happily plunk down thousands of dollars every year for their football fix." For many fans, this is their "chance to see" star players "in the flesh" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 7/30). ESPN.com's Mike Reiss reported the Patriots drew 53,890 fans for the "first four days" of camp (TWITTER.com, 7/30). Patriots Owner Robert Kraft said, "I'm just looking and seeing this and pinch myself how lucky we are that we have the fan support we have" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 7/30).
CHARGED UP: In L.A., Dyland Hernandez reports an estimated 5,000 fans yesterday "packed" Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex in Costa Mesa, Calif., to "watch the Chargers open training camp" for the first time since their move to L.A. The "atmosphere was festive," and "many of the fans wore new Chargers jerseys." This was "with the Rams working out five miles away at UC Irvine." Chargers Chair Dean Spanos "wandered into the area near the bleachers," and fans "didn't know who he was" (L.A. TIMES, 7/31). Chargers QB Philip Rivers said the crowd was "awesome," adding, "I didn't anticipate this" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 7/31). Kobe Bryant "addressed players during their first team meeting to start training camp" (ESPN.com, 7/30).
NOT CHANGING PHILOSOPHY: USA TODAY's Jarrett Bell noted the Cowboys have not won a Super Bowl in more than two decades, but they "surely lead the NFL in suspensions again." DE Damontre Moore is the fourth Cowboys player (including since-released WR Shaquelle Evans) to "draw an NFL suspension this year." But Owner Jerry Jones "insists there is no philosophical shift with how the Cowboys will conduct business." Jones: "I don't want to in any way create an appearance of tolerance or dismissing the gravity of it. But we've had great players that we've worked with who were available, that had you not helped them through challenges they wouldn't have been available. So it works both ways." Bell wrote maybe the Cowboys' logic "just doesn't add up anymore" (USATODAY.com, 7/30).
