Tyler Goodman worked on Chan Gailey's staff at Georgia Tech last season. This is a juicy gig for a young man. If Goodman succeeds in this role, he could be well on his way.

Lots of good Raider info here from a Raiders' OTA Thursday.

Check it out. The most interesting tidbits include a position move for former first-round pick Michael Huff, a slimmed down JaMarcus Russell and the absence of Lamont Jordan.

Earlier today, I had the opportunity to visit with Giants GM Jerry Reese for a few minutes by phone. I'm preparing a column on the defending Super Bowl champions for Sunday's edition of ESPN.com, and Reese is usually the first person in the organization I call. He comes across as very gracious and humble, but he's actually one of the most driven guys in the league.

He's aware of the perception that the Giants simply had a "fairytale" season and is using that as motivation. I'm going to save most of our discussion for the column, but we did talk about tight end Jeremy Shockey, who is rumored to be seeking a trade.

"A lot of this has been chatter," Reese said. "I have talked to Jeremy this offseason, and I want him to be our starting tight end."

Asked if anything could change his mind, Reese responded, "Anything can happen with personnel, so you never say never. You have to keep your options open."

That said, I don't think the Giants are actively trying to shop Shockey. Reese also spent a lot of time talking about the team's new draft class. He had some intriguing things to say about rookie quarterback Andre Woodson of Kentucky.

For more on our conversation, please begin hitting the "refresh" button on ESPN.com at 8 a.m. ET Saturday.

• Bob Glauber takes a break from his What About Bob? blog to write a story about Sen. Arlen Specter's news conference Wednesday.

• Here's a name you may have heard before: John Tomase was in Washington for the Specter briefing.

• Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald pats himself on the back for not sucking up to the Pats.

• That Mother's Day scuffle at the Hardy residence was simply a "misunderstanding."

• Kellen Winslow's teammates aren't worried about his extended absence.

• Chris Perry and Rudi Johnson are both making comebacks.  

Apparently, Ricky Williams was invited to be a guest on Cedric Benson's boat on May 3, but Williams declined. Benson just happened to be charged with boating while intoxicated after failing a sobriety test and resisting arrest in an alleged struggle with officers.

Williams says he wishes he would have accepted the invitation. He believes he could have been a "calming" influence.

It's nice that Williams, long versed in the art of yoga, has the confidence in himself to be a peacemaker. It's a great trait to have.

But Williams should be thankful that he wasn't on the boat. Williams doesn't need any more issues. The fact that he stayed away from the party boat is a great sign for Williams. He needs to stay away. You think Bill Parcells would be thrilled if news broke that Williams was on that boat, even if he was in the role of peacemaker?

Williams has to distance himself from trouble as much as possible.

The NFL deserves credit for the way it approaches its rookies.

It doesn't miss a beat. First, there was the NFL rookie symposium that covers just about every aspect of life for the young players entering the league. Now, 19 teams are participating in a "brand" boot camp for rookies. The camp will help the players combine their on-field talents with off-field endeavors.

The NFL clearly has the players' best interests in mind. It's getting to the point where if players aren't successful after their careers are over, they have no one to blame but themselves.

I think anyone who believes that the Boston Herald didn't realize it had made a serious mistake until after the Matt Walsh-Roger Goodell meeting Tuesday is being pretty naive. The newspaper may have taken the "unprecedented" step to apologize to the Patriots on the front page Wednesday, but I thought it came across as somewhat flippant -- and late.

As a tabloid, it's difficult for the Herald to suddenly start acting like a bastion of journalistic integrity. Blaring the headline "Sorry, Pats!" across the front page doesn't really reflect a sincere apology. And neither did a retraction in which the paper said that John Tomase based his infamous Super Bowl walk-through on "sources" when the actual story cited one source.

That might sound like a minor point, but it's pretty important when you're trying to establish where this story fell apart. In this morning's paper we hear from Herald editor Kevin Convey. He stands behind Tomase, which isn't easy to do right now. And he praises him for the work he's done under "intense pressure."

Will Tomase remain on the Patriots beat next season? I would be shocked if he did. It wouldn't be a good situation for him, the newspaper or its readers.

Chiefs coach Herman Edwards admits that he doesn't have a well-known group of receivers but apparently he is sticking with this group.

Edwards said that the Chiefs will not bring in a veteran presence at the position until after training camp starts -- if at all. Thus, the Chiefs think they have enough talent at the position to go in to the season with.

Obviously, the coach is coming to terms with his situation and receivers such as Koren Robinson or Chris Henry won't be heading to Kansas City soon. It's a gamble. If the Chiefs ' current receiving corps suffers a major injury or if the staff doesn't think the group can hack it, there might not be much left on the free agent market. The feeling here is if Kansas City likes a veteran, it should sign him now.

TMZ is reporting that Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson is upset about the way Wal-Mart handled a charity event. Johnson apparently ordered 750 bicycles from the store for underprivileged kids. In return, Wal-Mart agreed to supply ice and water to the event.

When something happened to the order and Johnson ended up purchasing fewer bicycles, Wal-Mart pulled the plug on the ice and water. Perhaps realizing that this was a disastrous PR move, the company is now trying to make things right with Johnson's foundation.

Who knows, maybe they'll throw in some sippy cups.

You had to see this coming: Terrell Owens' power-packed portrayal of a tender-hearted wide receiver who was driven to tears by criticism of his quarterback's funfare to Cabo caught the eye of noted method actor Flavor Flav.

If you haven't kept up with Flav's career arc, he's no longer burdened by that huge clock around his neck. He has a new sitcom on MyNetworkTV called "Under One Roof," which pays tribute to a groundbreaking show in the early 1990s called "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." In last night's episode of "Roof," T.O. played the role of Flav's long-lost brother, Shawn.

"They're wealthy, and I'm trying to get some money," Mr. Owens explains. "I manipulate the family. But Flavor Flav, he's on to me. He smells a rat."

Eagles fans shouldn't be surprised that he nailed the role. Producers are even considering a recurring role for the budding actor, who played a wide receiver for the Miami Sharks in the film Any Given Sunday.

Now, it's time to step into the actor's studio with Terrell:

"It was a challenge, it's a different arena," Mr. Owens said. "It's similar to being in front of the camera [for football], but it is different. You just try to block the camera out. You're trying to go into character, and you have to be able to turn it on and turn it off. Once I got in front of the camera, I was really at ease, the cast made me at ease."

I Tivo'd the show while attending Game 4 of Stars-Red Wings, but haven't had a chance to watch it. Did you guys see it?

(Photo: MyNetworkTV)