In what was called a "must-win" game for the Eagles this week, Brian Westbrook returned after missing last week due to injury. Lorenzo Alexander, right, of the Washington Redskins, welcomes him back to the turf.

Westbrook , like the whole team, started off well. He broke into the endzone for the Eagles' first TD and earned a pat on the helmet from WR Reggie Brown.

Rookie sensation DeSean Jackson breaks into a high step as he returns a punt for a TD vs Washington Redskins halfway through the second quarter.

Philadelphia Eagles CB Asante Samuel breaks up a pass to Washington Redskins (and former Eagle) James Thrash in the third quarter. Good play. Unfortunately, Samuel was flagged on the play resulting in a first down for Washington.

The defense pressured the quarterback effectively in the 1st half. From left, Trevor Laws & Brian Dawkins sack Washington Redskins QB Jason Campbell in the 2nd quarter. Campbell hung in there, however and took control in the 2nd half, leading his team to a 23-17 victory and costing me a container of cashews.

Late in the game, the Eagles still had a chance, if they could get their offense back on the field, but QB Donovan McNabb was left waiting on the sidelines hoping in vain for another chance as the defense couldn't stop Washington in the final minutes.

I really don't like to look down on people. I love to look down on people, professionally, at least, because that means I get to go up to high places like a catwalk high above the floor at the Sovereign Bank Arena in order to photograph a rehearsal of Cirque du Soleil-Saltimbanco, which spent a few days in Trenton.

When you see these performers in full, colorful costume with the fancy lighting, what they do seems unreal, but when you see them in street clothes and in regular lighting, it seems even more unreal because one is forced to face that they are actual people doing these amazing feats of balance and strength.

Sunday, The Philadelphia Eagles played tough once again, beating the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers by the oddball score of 15-9.

QB Donovan McNabb set the franchise record for most TD passes, eclipsing Ron Jaworski.

Correll Buckhalter avoids Pittsburgh Steelers#92 James Harrison en route to a 2nd quarter TD on a pass from McNabb. This was the record-setter.

Correll seems happy with the six points.

On the first play of the second half, star running back/receiver Brian Westbrook went airborne on a 2-yd-run, but wound up hurting his ankle when his feet got tangled with "O" lineman Tra Thomas on the way back to earth.

With receiver Kevin Curtis out and Greg Lewis back, but not a factor, Hank Baskett had to pick up the slack.

The Eagles defense had 9 sacks on the day and 3 turnovers, too. Here Brian Dawkins, left, recovers a fumble he forced from Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, right, in the fourth quarter.

If you thought Correll Buckhalter was happy earlier in the game, Brian Dawkins was delerious.

I mentioned nine sacks. I'll save you some time and only show you three. This one resulted in a safety when Big Ben throw the ball into the ground as he was going down.

I like it when players show emotion on their faces.

See what I mean? We go from a grimace to a big grin. Eagles#96 Omar Gaither steps over Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger after sacking him in the 2nd quarter.

Que guapo! It wasn't me. It was the parents of 22-month-old Odir Bonilla who took a sharpie to his face to age-progress him to how he'll probably look (adding a few wrinkles) as an old man. How cute is this kid? I couldn't believe my eyes when I first spotted him looking down the street from his stroller to see the Hispanic Parade make it's way up Hamilton Avenue in Trenton, New Jersey.

Later that same day, the "Double A" New York Yankees affiliate Trenton Thunder clinched, for the second consecutive year, the Eastern League Championship, beating the Akron (OH) Aeros. That's quite an accomplishment considering it's a player development league and if a somebody too good, he's off the team, to "Single A" or he might even get the call up to the majors.

Sunday was opening day for the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team. I'm still thrilled to be able to be on the sidelines where the players have turned from those grown-up men to those young kids. Talk about thrilling, at the end of the singing of the national anthem, Navy jets did a fly-by. You hear the faint scream of their engines grow into a very loud roar as they zoom over the stadium in about .45 seconds.


It was a stress-free day for Eagles fans. They scored on their first possession and never looked back. On their opening drive, from left, Philadelphia Eagles WR #10 DeSean Jackson, makes a big catch in the first quarter to the Rams' 20 yd line with St Louis Rams #26 Tye Hill defending.

There were other big catches, too, Here is Philadelphia Eagles WR # 83 Greg Lewis, right, hauling in a long pass in the 2nd quarter with St Louis Rams #26 Tye Hill, once again getting burnt, I mean defending on the play.

Even the Eagles' formerly ineffectual special teams made their mark. Here is #39 Quintin Demps jumping over the goal line to tip a punt back into play to be downed by teammates in the 2nd quarter.

And on the return side, rising star #10 DeSean Jackson returns a punt to the St Louis Rams 9-yd-line in the 3rd quarter. I believe that makes for what they call a short field ;)



Quarterback Donovan (healthy) McNabb threw for 361 yards...


...and he even ran (for his life) for a few.

And let's not forget the defense. "We need to talk... or maybe you need to sit down." St Louis Rams QB Marc Bulger, left of center, is sacked in the first quarter Philadelphia Eagles #98 Mike Patterson and #90 Darren Howard, right, leading to a 4th and 15.



And here's Brian Westbrook, who last year accounted for the most combined yards, catching, running. Like my son, Andy always says "Don't stand on the tracks when the train's coming."

There's a place called The Record Collector a stone's throw from my house in Bordentown, NJ. I went there last Friday after work to photograph (former Monkee) Peter Tork and his band Shoe Suede Blues appearing at The Record Collector's Living Room Concert Series. There couldn't be a much more intimate setting to experience live music. I only stayed for a few songs. My favorite was a totally unique version of "Last Train to Clarksville".



Thanks to Promoter Randy Now (shown collecting tickets) & Record Collector owners John & Sue Chrambanis. Also, while there, I ran into former Times colleague from waaaaaay back Randy Alexander. One of the things we chatted about was a concert we covered together for the paper at The Tower in Philadelphia by Keith Richards on a solo tour in nineteen something or other.

The first day back from (an all too brief) vacation was a day of festivals in Trenton, pointing out the changing demographic in the Chambersburg section of the city which was born of Italian immigration starting in the early twentieth century. New school and old school. First was the city's inaugural Ecuadorian Parade. It was quite large for the first time out, taking its place among Trenton's St. Patrick's Day Parade, Columbus Day Parade and Puerto Rican Day Parade. The Grupo de Danza Familia Unida, (dance group called United Family) from Brooklyn, New York, certainly added color.

Later in the afternoon was the continuation of a 102-year-old tradition, the procession of a statue of the Madonna and Child through the streets of Chambersburg. There remains a shrinking, but faithful core of Italian-Americans centered, as were the first immigrants, around Immaculate Conception Church.