Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Is it just me or is the Boston Herald going a little overboard with its retraction trilogy? What started as a front-page apology in Wednesday's print and online editions has now stretched into Day 3.

When I checked the newspaper's Web site for its latest mea culpa Thursday evening, I was startled to see the huge headline, "Tomase: How It Went Wrong."

The story is written by Patriots beat writer John Tomase, who offers a detailed explanation on how his rush to break a story contributed to an egregious mistake. Call me cynical, but I'm wondering if the Herald runs this embarrassing apology if Patriots owner Robert Kraft is threatening to sue.

You can bet that the newspaper's attorneys took a long look at Tomase's explanation. At least I hope they did. If the paper truly wanted to appear vigilant in its apology, it would've issued one well before Wednesday. The Herald didn't need to wait for Tuesday's meeting between NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh to know it had made a colossal error in judgment.

I thought my colleague Mike Sando made an excellent point in his blog entry from earlier this morning: We care about "scoops" way more than our readers do. Contrary to what some people in our profession might think, most fans aren't charting who breaks the most stories. But when you get one wrong -- in this case horribly so -- it can break the trust you've established with readers.

Every writer on this blog has been in a highly competitive situation, so it's easy to identify with the pressure Tomase was feeling on such a major story. But still, being first isn't worth ruining your reputation.

Does John Tomase deserve a second chance? I think he does. But the Herald's plan to keep him on the Patriots beat seems completely misguided. In fact, I was shocked to see him representing the paper at Sen. Arlen Specter's news conference in Washington on Wednesday.

I hope Tomase can eventually win back the trust of his readers, but I think it needs to be on a different beat or with a different publication.

Who would follow him at the Herald? Well, I know one guy who's not interested.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

John Tomase, the Boston Herald reporter whose erroneous story about Spygate prompted an apology this week, has explained his position. A key passage:

"First and foremost, this is about a writer breaking one of the cardinal rules of journalism. I failed to keep challenging what I had been told.

"I had repeatedly heard that this walkthrough had been taped, and from people I trusted. Eventually I accepted it as fact and stopped questioning the assertion.

"The confirmed presence of a member of the team's video staff at the walkthrough reinforced my belief that it was filmed. Secondhand sourcing took on added weight. When I got word that other reporters had picked up the scent, it only steeled my resolve not to get beat."

As Tomase acknowledged, this simply cannot happen. The pressure not to get beat can never carry an inaccurate story into publication. At a critical moment, Tomase's fear of reading the story elsewhere outweighed the fear of getting the story wrong. Of course, readers generally don't care which reporter had a story first. Reporters keep score a lot more closely than readers. But if you get a story wrong -- particularly a story with major ramifications such as this one -- readers never forget.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill WilliamsonThere's another Goodman in Denver Broncos' organization. The Broncos just hired Tyler Goodman to be their Southeastern scout. Goodman is the son of Broncos vice president of football operations/player personnel Jim Goodman and the younger brother of Denver assistant general manager Jeff Goodman. Tyler Goodman replaces his brother in the important Southeastern region. Jeff Goodman was promoted to his current role in January.

 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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

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 Saturday'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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley 

• 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.  

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Bill Williamson

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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

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.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

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)

Posted by ESPN.com's James Walker

Less than 24 hours after the Cleveland Browns cut veteran cornerback Kenny Wright, the team signed defensive back Jereme Perry to a one-year contract Thursday.

Perry spent time with the Browns in 2006 as an undrafted rookie. He played four games last season with the Miami Dolphins and recorded three tackles on special teams.

Wright was released this week after a recent off-the-field incident where he was arrested after reportedly being caught with marijuana in his vehicle in Pearland, Texas.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

One of the reasons I haven't commented on the rumored Tony Romo-Jessica Simpson breakup is because it doesn't interest me in the least. Romo used to write a column about his dating life called "Roamin' with Romo" for my old Web site before he hit the big time. It was a great read because he was self-deprecating and always talked about getting shot down.

It's funny how your accuracy goes up when you become the starting quarterback for the Cowboys. Anyway, now that his love life is national tabloid fodder, it's much less interesting. On Wednesday, the society columnist for The Dallas Morning News reported that Tony and Jessica had broken up. But a day later, he's hedging his bets.

If you guys truly care, I'll provide the real story. But I get the sense you would rather read about football. Thanks.

Mary Hart

(Photo: Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press)

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

The Patriots are no longer considering a lawsuit against the Boston Herald now that the newspaper has apologized for its erroneous Spygate story, the Boston Globe notes. Herald editor Kevin R. Convey took responsibility for the mistake, while reporter John Tomase plans to elaborate on what went wrong Friday.

The thought of attorneys calling as witnesses Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, Ernie Adams and others in the Patriots organization might appeal from a selling-papers standpoint. But the Herald, which not long ago lost a prominent libel case, appears to be taking steps to avoid liability. Tomase's explanation becomes the next step.