NFL roundup: 49ers Jacobs repays young fan
Former New York Giants Brandon Jacobs repaid a young fan who emptied out his piggy bank trying to keep the running back with the defending Super Bowl champions.
The Sacramento Bee reported that Jacobs, who signed with the San Francisco 49ers, took 6-year-old Joseph Armento and his 4-year-old brother to a children's play center in Boonton, N.J., Wednesday as a way to thank Armento for his desire for Jacobs to stay with the Giants.
When the boys' mother, Julie, told Joseph why Jacobs signed with the 49ers, Joseph recently sent $3.36 to Jacobs to persuade him to stay. Jacobs was so moved that he promised to take Joseph to Chuck E. Cheese with his brother, Brayden, when he returned to New Jersey to collect some of his things.
"He told me he really wanted to get out there with the kids," Julie Armento told The Bee. "He really wanted to enjoy it, and he did. It was amazing."
Jacobs played with the three boys for a few hours, and gave Armento a $5 bill to refill his piggy bank.
"He had some interest in there just for being a good kid," Jacobs said. "He's worth a lot more than that $5 bill I gave him."
---The NFL Referees Association has filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board claiming the NFL has engaged in unfair labor practices, the Sports Network reported Thursday.
Negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement broke down earlier this month, and the NFL announced it would begin hiring and training replacement officials.
"It is clear the league never intended to work toward a fair agreement, even through mediation," NFLRA executive director Mike Arnold said in a press release. "As previously noted, the NFL sent out notices regarding the recruitment of replacement referees while we were actively negotiating under the auspicious [sic] of a jointly agreed upon Federal Mediator. Now during a lockout, the NFL is attempting to bypass NFLRA negotiators by distributing inaccurate and misleading financial information to all the referees. We have urged the Board to investigate this matter quickly and to seek appropriate remedies against the NFL's unlawful bargaining practices."
---Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin returned to minicamp Thursday, one day after he skipped the team's afternoon practice and requested a trade.
"Percy is here, we're looking forward to have him around, and he'll be a part of final minicamp practice," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier told KFAN radio in Minneapolis.
Harvin participated in a light walk-through practice Wednesday morning with teammates, but didn't attend the full afternoon practice. Frazier declined to discuss Harvin's absence on Wednesday, and said he wasn't sure whether Harvin would be around for the final day Thursday.
---While free-agent wide receiver Plaxico Burress continues to court the Carolina Panthers, a report in the Charlotte Observer said such a union is unlikely.
Citing an unnamed team official, the paper reported the Panthers aren't interested in the former New York Jets, Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers wideout.
--- After interim New Orleans Saints head coach Joe Vitt questioned the authenticity of documents the NFL used as evidence in the bounty case, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told NFL.com on Thursday that the documents are authentic.
Vitt did not suggest who would have provided false evidence or who would have doctored the evidence.
