Off-Topic » New York Giants cornerback Corey Ballentine has t

TOPEKA Janoris Jenkins Color Rush Jersey , Kan. (AP) — estified at a preliminary hearing about a shooting in Kansas that killed his best friend and former Washburn University teammate as they stood outside a party where they were celebrating Ballentine being drafted.Ballentine’s testimony at a preliminary hearing Monday came a day after he made his debut with the Giants, who drafted him in the sixth round on April 27 just hours before the shooting. He was wounded and 23-year-old Dwane Simmons, a defensive back who would have been a senior this year for Washburn, was killed. Three other Washburn players in the group were not injured.Francisco Alejandro Mendez, 18, is charged in Shawnee County with first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder and seven counts of aggravated robbery in the shooting, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported . After the hearing, Mendez was bound over for trial, with an arraignment scheduled Sept. 26.Ballentine, 23, missed the Giants rookie camp as he recovered from his injuries. He made the team as a cornerback and kick returner and on Sunday, he returned two kickoffs for 46 yards for the Giants in their season opening 35-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.He testified that he and friends spent the day celebrating his draft selection and ended up at an off-campus house party. As the Washburn players were leaving the party they stopped outside to discuss plans for the next day when Ballentine said he noticed a car with no lights turning onto the street.The car slowed and stopped near the group and someone in the car asked the players their names. When one of the football players said, “Don’t worry about all that,” the car pulled forward about 20 feet and stopped. Then Ballentine heard gunshots, he said.“Initially Riley Dixon Color Rush Jersey , it was slow,” he said of the gunfire. “Then it started speeding up after I started running.”Investigators said about 20 shots were fired at the five football players.Ballentine said he realized as he was running that he was shot but he kept running to a friend’s nearby house. He tried to call Simmons “but he didn’t pick up” and then called another Washburn teammate to get a ride to the hospital. He didn’t realize until later that Simmons had been killed, he said.Ballentine said the bullet that ended up in his buttocks near his pelvic bone is still there.Alan Martinez, deputy district coroner for Shawnee County, testified that Simmons died from a single gunshot wound to the forehead.Mendez has been jailed since his arrest May 1 in connection with three robberies allegedly committed a day before the shootings. He is being held on $1 million bond. PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The champions got their swagger back.After a pair of tough losses, the Philadelphia Eagles rebounded with a dominant performance on the road against a division rival and dismissed talk of a Super Bowl hangover.Carson Wentz and Co. aren’t going anywhere. They proved it in a 34-13 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night. The Eagles (3-3) are still frontrunners in the NFC East, and they’re determined to make another long run.“Having let a couple games slip through our hands, and this is what I love about the team, the players don’t panic,” coach Doug Pederson said Friday. “The players are resilient. The players know. Players are smart. You guys are around them. They understand what’s going on. They see it. They hear it. They read about it. They see it on television. And then as coaches, we point stuff out.”Several of the team’s weaknesses were exposed during the first five weeks, especially in consecutive close losses to Tennessee (26-23 in overtime) and Minnesota (23-21). The offensive line had trouble protecting Wentz. The defensive line couldn’t get enough pressure on quarterbacks. The secondary gave up a lot of yards passing.But they put it all together against the struggling Giants and showed flashes of the team that dominated the NFC on its way to winning the Super Bowl last season.“When I talk about ownership, the guys have to take it upon themselves to make the necessary changes to fix,” Pederson said. “Our behavior has to change, right? Our standards have to change just a little bit. They have to elevate just a little bit. And I can stand up here and talk to the team until I’m blue in the face, but until they realize it Mario Edwards Jr Color Rush Jersey , until they take ownership of it, until they sort of embrace it, it probably won’t change.“And what I saw the last couple of weeks is they’re saying and doing the right things. They’re showing up to practice every day. They’re not complaining about a short week. They’re not making excuses for injury. And that’s what our culture has established. That’s what a veteran sort of led team can establish, and they’ve embraced that, and they’ve risen to the challenge, and I think they’d had enough, and quite honestly, they rose to the occasion last night and played well in all three phases.”Now the Eagles have a few extra days of rest to prepare for a home game against Carolina in Week 7. It’ll give players more time to heal from injuries.Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters left the game with a biceps injury. Pederson said the medical staff is still evaluating the extent of his injury but the early indication is positive.Cornerback Sidney Jones is week-to-week after he sustained a hamstring injury.Veteran running back Darren Sproles missed his fifth straight because of a hamstring injury and he could return next week. The Eagles lost Jay Ajayi for the remainder of the season after he tore an ACL against the Vikings.Wendell Smallwood (18 carries for 51 yards) and Corey Clement (11 carries for 43 yards, one touchdown) handled primary running duties. Personnel boss Howie Roseman could make a deal before the October 30 deadline.“Both these guys are determined runners. They run hard. They run aggressive. They’re really good backs for us,” Pederson said. “A lot of confidence in both of those guys, and what they do, very versatile. And it’s just two guys that really take their job serious and feel like they have to prove something every single day, and that’s what you want out of your players, that they’re out there proving themselves over and over because it just makes them better and it makes us better as an offense. I’ve been real encouraged by both those guys.”