ESPN.com's Dan Graziano noted Eagles WR Riley Cooper returned to practice yesterday, and he and his teammates are "handling this ugly and difficult situation as well as it can be handled." The "main conclusion to be drawn from Tuesday's events is a relatively simple one: The Eagles very much want Cooper to be on their team." Owner Jeffrey Lurie, GM Howie Roseman and coach Chip Kelly have "decided that Cooper is important enough to their 2013 chances that they need him around and the best thing for them is to work through the current issues and reach a point at which Cooper can play with and for the Eagles" (ESPN.com, 8/6). ESPN.com's Ashley Fox wrote while the Eagles waited only four days to bring Cooper back, it will "take longer to know for sure whether those four days was enough time to heal deep wounds and to let the bad feelings on such a divisive issue as racism subside" (ESPN.com, 8/6).
HOME BODIES: In N.Y., Bill Pennington notes the Giants "like many other NFL teams have not gone away to a relatively remote location" for training camp, as they had "for nearly 80 years." The Giants "instead chose to stay in the Meadowlands, where several years ago, they built a state-of-the-art practice facility." QB Eli Manning said, "This year's setup is certainly more efficient. You're not driving back and forth to the cafeteria or having a long walk to a meeting or a practice." Giants President & CEO John Mara: "You do lose something by not being in a dormitory setting, there’s no question about it. But there are many other considerations now, like the weather and an indoor facility. Because of the new collective bargaining agreement, we have a limited number of training camp days to practice. Missing a few days to rain is a bigger problem than it once was" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/7).
FANS TAKING THE LEAP: In Milwaukee, Lori Nickel reported a "record 63,047 people turned out Saturday at Lambeau Field for a sold-out Family Night scrimmage." Packers President Mark Murphy said of the team's Nitschke Field training site, "Most NFL teams have a few bleachers that are temporary, just kind of thrown up. Our fans feel this is a really nice place to watch the team practice." He added that the "curiosity over the new south end zone section at Lambeau Field has created an additional draw to the normal surge of tourists once school is out." Nickel wrote of other factors leading to big crowds for the Packers' training camp: "A turbulent Brewers season. A Bucks team under construction. Fans have the Packers for the next five months to save them or at least distract them" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 8/5).
