Eagles

Centennial's players had one collective thought before yesterday's field hockey game against Linganore."Revenge -- that's all we had on our minds," said Eagles link Kim May. "They knocked us out of it last year, but they barely knocked us out (2-1). We knew this was our chance for revenge and we knew we had the strength."And revenge was sweet for the No. 3 Eagles (13-0). Emily Ward scored three goals in the 4-0 victory over the Lancers, the defending state Class 3A co-champs, in a North region semifinal.

PHILADELPHIA -- The rumbling, mind-numbing chorus of "Deeeee-fense, Deeeee-fense" rose from the east end of Veterans Stadium like a thunderstorm for the last stand of linebacker Byron Evans and the relentless Philadelphia Eagles defense.Coach Rich Kotite, pleading with the crowd of 63,922 to turn up the volume, banged on his clipboard. Randall Cunningham, who had just fumbled to give the Green Bay Packers unexpected life, prayed.Packers quarterback Brett Favre had three shots from the Eagles' 6 to win the game.

PHILADELPHIA -- Back in September, the Philadelphia Eagles' offense couldn't see the light of day, much less the light at the end of the tunnel.Back in September, the Eagles traveled on a shaky wing and an unanswered prayer. Which is to say they only traveled short, safe distances.Things got so bad that enraged Eagles fans actually took up a chorus for golden oldie Jim McMahon to replace the fast-fading Randall Cunningham at quarterback. And when that plea fell on deaf ears, those same fans began chanting for Buddy Ryan's coaching head.

WASHINGTON -- It was at Howard's house, but it's Coppin State's win streak.After the Eagles stretched their dominance over Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference competition to 27 straight games with a 12-point win over Howard last Wednesday, Bison coach Butch Beard said Coppin State is "not that good" and guaranteed that the streak would end at Burr Gymnasium last night.No chance.Coppin State turned a six-point lead with seven minutes left into another MEAC rout, as the Eagles pulled away for a 79-62 victory.

PHILADELPHIA -- A sign at Veterans Stadium said, "NFL Warning: Birds Are For Real." Maybe the reference was to the Atlanta Falcons. It couldn't have been to the Philadelphia Eagles.How was this game close?With a minute left in the first half, the Eagles had outgained the Redskins, 223 yards to 26. The Redskins had three first downs -- one by a penalty. Heath Shuler, their rookie quarterback, had completed two of nine passes for 20 yards.This was to be the night the Eagles emerged as the leading threat to the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC, the night they showed a national television audience that their 40-8 victory over San Francisco last week was no fluke.

PHILADELPHIA -- It was a confusing finish in a confounding regular season that will reach its final weekend with the New York Giants still, somehow, contenders."

PHILADELPHIA -- The Washington Redskins made the Philadelphia Eagles work for their victory last night at rainy Veterans Stadium.After making it easy for the Dallas Cowboys last week with three first-half fumbles, the underdog Redskins actually led 17-14 after three quarters before the Eagles pulled it out, 21-17, in the final period.Redskins coach Norv Turner said: "As much as it hurts to lose, I was proud of the way our guys competed. The defense did a heck of a job and I think Heath made progress."

How bad are things for the Philadelphia Eagles these days? They're so bad they've left linebacker Seth Joyner virtually speechless.Joyner still is talking, but with none of the bite that made him a symbol of the outspoken Eagles in the past when they were known for their swagger.Just last year, Joyner said coach Rich Kotite was a puppet, owner Norman Braman a cheapskate and Randall Cunningham's 1991 knee injury was punishment from God for not supporting former coach Buddy Ryan.Now that the Eagles have lost six straight and have been decimated by injuries, Joyner is taking a different tack.

To say that the 2011-12 season has been a frustrating one for the Morgan State Bears would be an understatement. On Wednesday night at Coppin State's Physical Education Complex, it looked to be more of the same. This time, though, the Bears (7-18, 4-9) didn't fold, pulling off a 91-80 upset of the host Eagles (13-14, 8-6) in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game. Aric Brooks (St. Frances) led the Bears with 19 points, while Tony Gallo scored 21 to lead Coppin State. "We fought through so much adversity this year," Bears coach Todd Bozeman said.

CAMBRIDGE -- On mended wing, a bald eagle named "Hope" swooped away on cue over the marshes of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, dramatizing the comeback of America's national bird.After four months in captivity recuperating from a broken wing, the adult female took flight immediately when released and vanished behind a line of pine trees at the Eastern Shore refuge. The sight thrilled a crowd of government officials, environmentalists and 4-H campers.Found in a Kent County farm field, Hope was set free at a news conference held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to announce that eagles have recovered enough from pollution, hunting and other abuses to be upgraded from "endangered" to the less dire category of "threatened."