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POSTED 5:48 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

EAGLES EXONERATED IN OFFSEASON CONTACT PROBE

Brian Seltzer of Sports Radio 950 in Philadelphia reports that the Eagles will not be penalized for alleged violations of the league's offseason workout rules.

Per Seltzer, the NFL Players Association conducted an investigation, and recently concluded that no punishment was warranted.

We previously reported that the NFLPA was investigating the Eagles for repeated violations of the rules, and that the potential discipline could have included the loss of a draft pick.

POSTED 4:55 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

TANK IN HOT WATER, AGAIN

The Chicago Tribune reports that Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson has been stopped by police in Arizona on suspicion of DUI. Technically, he was detained for "being impaired to the slightest degree." Johnson provided a blood sample for testing, and results are expected within two weeks. He has not yet been charged with DUI or "being impaired to the slightest degree."

The legal limit in Arizona (and in every state, we believe) is 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration.

This can cause a couple of problems for Johnson. First, his eight-game suspension that could have been reduced to six games most likely won't be, even though Tank vowed after the suspension was imposed that he would not have any further off-field troubles.

Second, if he's charged he could be faced with another suspension from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Third, assuming that Johnson is still on probation for his two prior weapons charges, evidence that he was drinking any alcohol could be enough to get his probation revoked, since most if not all deals of that nature require the defendant to avoid alcohol for the full term of the probation.

So, in other words, Tank could soon be snacking again on summer sausages from the friendly confines of cement blocks and steel bars.

POSTED 3:01 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 3:20 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

ADIEU, NFL EUROPA?

An industry source tells us that this weekend's World Bowl is expected to be the last act for NFL Europa, before it is flushed down the Toilet Bowl.

If that happens, it will mean the end to an experiment that began back in 1991, named the World League of American Football. The league, which was initially run by the guy who pulled the trigger on the Herschel Walker trade, originally had 10 teams, with six in the U.S. and four on foreign soil (Montral, Barcelona, London, Frankfurt).

We recall being mildly fascinated by the helmet cam, but thoroughly disinterested in the on-field product.

By 1995, the league went fully European, and eventually picked up the brand-building moniker "NFL Europe." In 2007, a local flair was added to the title, with the "Europe" becoming "Europa," thereby giving heterosexual American men yet another reason not to pay attention to it.

Perhaps the best evidence of the coming NFL Europa euthanasia is the fact that (as one reader points out) the Yello Strom World Bowl XV will be held this weekend, and there's not a peep about it on the NFL's official web site. [Editor's note: Oops. Apparently, it's one of the rotating lead stories on NFL.com. Good thing we have yet to roll out the "days without a screwup" meter.]

So why isn't it mentioned? If no one knows about it, no one will watch it, and the league's anemic ratings will be even lower, making it easier to justify putting it out of our misery.

Besides, who needs watered-down NFL football in Europa when the real thing is coming in 2007? With the league fully committed to hitting the pads overseas, and with Fins owner Wayne Huizenga recently suggesting that London could end up with three or four regular-season NFL games per year, there's no reason to export a lesser product.

Finally, the developmental benefits aren't as compelling as they used to be. Players allocated to NFL Europa miss out on their teams' entire offseason program, during which upwards of 90 percent of the offense and defense is installed in advance of the coming season. So while the allocated players have more "live" game reps come August, they're woefully behind the other guys with whom they are competing for roster spots.

Think about it -- at one point a list of European success stories could be rattled off pretty quickly (Brad Johnson, Kurt Warner, etc.). We can't think of the last guy who starred in Europe before becoming a big deal in the States.

So adieu, NFL Europa. We can't say that we'll miss you, because we barely even noticed you.

COLTS RESPOND TO OUR LATEST MANNING REPORT

Though the whole issue is getting to the point where we can't even remember why we cared about it in the first place, we're compelled to point out that Colts manager of publicity Justin Dickens has provided us with a response to our Friday morning report that Peyton Manning's dad Archie was separately invited by the team to the Super Bowl ring ceremony.

Says Dickens: "Archie and Olivia Manning were not invited to the ring ceremony, separately, or as a part of any other guest list. We would like this to be corrected."

Cynics who have followed this story closely might be skeptical of the wording used, since our source (whom the team previously asked us to out) never claimed that Archie and Olivia Manning had been invited. The most recent report (clarified due to our incorrect assumption that the elder Manning actually had attended the party) was/is that Archie got the invitation, not Olivia. Thus, the phrase "Archie and Olivia Manning were not invited to the ring ceremony" meshes with our report, in a "it depends on what the definition of the word is is" sort of way.

We felt compelled to engage in that exercise in semantics because an industry source with knowledge of the dynamics of the Colts' front office and P.R. staff tells us that our report is in the right church even if not in the exactly correct pew, and that Colts V.P. of public relations Craig Kelley has a reputation for bending over backwards to protect Peyton Manning's image.

In this case, it's really no big deal, even if it's true. So what if the Super Bowl MVP received an opportunity to bring an extra person to the party? Is that a bigger problem than the fact that he gets paid so much money that it's a struggle to put a good team around him?

The fact that the team cares about it to the point that it has engaged us in an ongoing dialogue suggests that a backlash against Manning is developing within the organization, and that the Colts are doing everything they can to keep the dirty laundry from flapping in the breeze.

POSTED 11:25 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 12:44 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

RON WOLF: DON'T HIRE FROM THE LEAGUE OFFICE by Michael David Smith

For any NFL team looking to hire a general manager, team president or other high-ranking front office official, former Packers General Manager Ron Wolf has some advice: Keep away from the league office.

Wolf talked to Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette about the Packers' search for a new chief executive officer, and Wolf said the team's problems date back to 1999, when Wolf says the Packers made a mistake by hiring John Jones out of the league office. Jones was placed on administrative leave last month, just days before he was supposed to become the team's president and CEO.

"They went that league office route, and that didn't work, and usually that doesn't work," Wolf said. "I don't know of anybody that's been appointed from that league office that's been successful at anything from a team's standpoint. Those guys, they don't understand what it's like to work for a club."

Wolf didn't name any other names of league office employees who failed in working for a team, but the most prominent recent example of a failed move from the league office to a job with a team is Art Shell, who worked as the NFL's senior vice president of football operations before leaving that job for one 2-14 season with the Oakland Raiders last year. Of course, it would be hard to argue that Shell doesn't understand what it's like to work for a club, given that last year was his second stint as the Raiders' head coach.

Still, while it won't win him any friends on Park Avenue, Wolf's point makes sense. The competitive aspect of working for an individual team makes it completely different from the work done in the league office.

[Editor's note: Wolf apparently hasn't heard of Bill Polian. Surely, there are others who have been successful. Then again, former Browns president John Collins came from the league office.]

SPRINT GETS EVEN MORE FLEXIBLE

In an industry where consumers routinely are required as part of their service agreements to maintain the same plan for one or two years or risk some type of financial penalty, Sprint is leading the way to a far more customer-friendly approach.

Sprint and Nextel will now allow customers to change their rate plans within six months after signing up. Most, if not all, other major carriers provide a maximum grace period of only one month.

It's great news for folks who, after inspecting their first bill or two, might realize that they could save some money, or get more bang for their buck, by tweaking the specific terms of the plan that was purchased.

As we see it, it's just another reason to choose Sprint and Nextel. And, yeah, we say good things about them because Sprint and Nextel are the official telecommunications sponsors of ProFootballTalk.com. But they make it easy to come up with good things to say by giving us so many good things to talk about.

So support the site -- get that Sprint or Nextel phone. And do so by clicking the Sprint ads on this page.

POSTED 10:23 a.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

PACMAN POSTS BOND by Michael David Smith

Suspended Titans cornerback Pacman Jones surrendered to authorities in Nevada this morning and was released after posting $20,000 bond, the Associated Press reports.

Jones was booked into the Clark County Detention Center early Friday and released about an hour later, a jail operator said. The Tennessean reported that Jones posted $10,000 bond for each charge of felony coercion.

The Clark County district attorney said yesterday that Jones would be be fingerprinted, photographed, and brought before a magistrate.

Per the AP report, Las Vegas police Capt. James Dillon said authorities gave Jones, Sadia Morrison and Robert Reid until midday Friday to turn themselves in or face arrest in connection with the fight at the Minxx strip club in February. Police say Morrison was a member of Jones' entourage that night, and Reid is Jones' bodyguard.

No one has been charged for the shooting outside the club that left a club employee paralyzed.

[Editor's note: The booking of Pacman counts as an arrest, since he previously had not gotten the opportunity to zero out the meter in connection with the Vegas incident. With offseason drills ending and the weekend starting, chances are the meter will stick at zero for a couple of days.]

POSTED 8:55 a.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

MORE DETAILS ON NICK BARNETT ARREST by Michael David Smith

Details are coming out about the arrest of Packers linebacker Nick Barnett, and they're a good reminder of why so many NFL coaches tell their players just not to go out to bars, nightclubs, strip clubs and other places with big crowds and flowing booze.

John Lee of Gannett Newspapers quotes one of the co-owners of the establishment where Barnett was arrested as saying that Barnett had a drink thrown in his face shortly before he was arrested for allegedly shoving a woman.

Lee quotes Kathy Peotter, co-owner of the nightclub, as describing a scene in which a half-dozen Packers showed up to the club that night after Brett Favre's charity softball game, and "they just want to be left alone." Peotter said one fan who wanted an autograph swore at a Packers player, and that another grabbed Barnett's arm while attempting to get an autograph. And then there's the drink to the face.

None of that excuses a 232-pound linebacker of shoving a woman, and if Barnett did what he's accused of doing, he deserves to face both NFL discipline and legal trouble (the district attorney's office says it will be a week or more before there's a decision on whether to formally charge Barnett). But it's easy to understand how NFL players who go out to a bar just want to be left alone, and how an NFL player who goes out not looking for trouble can end up in trouble after he's been sworn at, grabbed, and had a drink thrown at him.

And that's the whole point. NFL coaches are always telling their players that even if they're not looking for trouble, they can end up in trouble. These are rich guys. They've got nice, big houses. If they want to get together, socialize and not be bothered by fans, they'd be wise to do it at a player's house. And call a cab if they have anything to drink.

[Editor's note: There's a minor (eye roll) problem with the version of the events being offered up by the owner of the club. It happened the night before the charity softball game.]

ANOTHER NAME IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT? by Michael David Smith

Jared Gaither, a starting offensive lineman at Maryland the last two years, has been declared academically ineligible for this fall's season, raising the question of whether he'll enter the NFL's July 12 supplemental draft.

The 6-foot-9, 350-pound Gaither, who has started at both right and left tackle, considered leaving school in January to declare for the April draft, but decided against it.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com reports that Gaither is three years out of high school and would be eligible for the supplemental draft. Schlabach also quotes an NFL scout saying Gaither would be the most desirable player available if he goes that route. DraftHeadquarters.com reports that Gaither can run the 40-yard dash in less than five seconds, so if he can arrange a workout in the next couple of weeks, he'll no doubt pique the interest of a number of NFL personnel people.

Gaither has several options available to him, including entering the supplemental draft, working out this year in anticipation of entering the regular draft next year or working hard in the classroom in an attempt to become eligible for Maryland's 2008 season. He apparently has not decided which is his best option.

Georgia cornerback Paul Oliver and Nebraska tackle Chris Patrick have already declared for the supplemental draft. Teams that take players in the supplemental draft lose picks in the next April draft. So, for instance, a team that selected Gaither with a third-round pick in next month's supplemental draft would not have a third-round pick in April of 2008.

POSTED 6:56 a.m. EDT, June 22, 2007

ARCHIE GOT A SEPARATE INVITE TO RING THING?

As it turns out, we might have been wrong when we said that we were wrong about the notion of special treatment for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning at the team's recent ring ceremony.

Our initial report was that Peyton was the only player permitted to bring his parents to the event. On Thursday morning, Colts manager of publicity Justin Dickens sent this e-mail to us: "The report posted on June 20 that Peyton Manning was permitted to bring his parents to the team's Super Bowl ring ceremony is erroneous. Archie and Olivia Manning were not present. Like all players, Peyton was given one guest invitation, and he was accompanied by his wife."

Not long thereafter, V.P. of public relations Craig Kelley called to tell us the same thing, and he requested a retraction. (He was very polite and generally seemed like a nice guy, by the way.)

But we didn't "retract" the story in the sense of erasing it from the site and pretending it never was there, because when we're wrong we believe that we need to acknowledge it not with fine print at the bottom of the classified ads, but with the same prominence that the incorrect report received.

As a result, we posted the corrected story, and we proceeded to contact the source who confirmed for us the notion that Peyton got special consideration for the event. And it seems that we screwed the thing up initially by not being clear with the source, and by making an unwarranted assumption -- i.e., that Archie actually accepted the invitation to attend.

So based on further discussions with the source from whom we've previously received and used information regarding the Colts, and who confirmed this specific story for us after we'd first heard about it from others, we are informed that Archie Manning's name was on the guest list.

The folks who were invited to the event were permitted to bring one guest. Peyton brought his wife. Most brought their wives/girlfriends. Others brought a parent, one coach brought his son, and a couple of players brought a former coach.

Apparently, the team got around the whole "one guest per attendee" rule with Peyton by giving Archie Manning a separate invitation to the ceremony. Presumably, if Archie had attended, he could have brought a guest, too. And that presumably would have been Mrs. Archie.

We asked Dickens and Kelley by e-mail on Thursday night whether there was a response to the notion that Archie was separately invited by the club. The response from Kelley was, "Can you tell me your source?"

Um. No. Unfortunately, disclosing unnamed sources is the quickest way to ensure that we would have no further unnamed sources. Ever.

So that's where the story currently stands. We've reiterated to Kelley our request for a response. If/when we get it, we will post it.

DAYS WITHOUT A SCREWUP METER COMING

In writing about our misadventures with the whole Manning story on Thursday, we made a crack about resetting our "days without a screwup" meter, which of course is in reference to our patent-pending "days without an arrest counter."

But then we got to thinking about it. Why not have a PFT "days without a screwup" meter? It would be the ultimate form of self-accountability, and we wouldn't even need to waste the time and effort required to give the thing a second digit. So we're developing it. (If we can do so without screwing it up.)

Until the thing is ready, we'll keep track manually. Because we presumed incorrectly that Archie Manning actually attended the Colts' ring ceremony but was not there, the trigger date is June 20, 2007 -- and the official streak is currently at "02".

POSTED 10:05 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:31 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

UNCLE RICO FEELS UNLOVED BY PACMAN

Titans quarterback Vince Young, who in less than a full season as the starter has become the unquestioned leader of the team, says that cornerback Pacman Jones apparently has turned his back on the team.

"We love him a whole lot, but we feel like he don't care about us right now," Young said. (It's a good thing Young hasn't scored that Sylvan Learning Center endorsement.)

"He's got to stay out of trouble and watch his back out there."

Young is right on the money. As one of our readers recently suggested, Jones eventually is going to start popping off about getting his gun while in a strip club after hours -- and someone will beat him to the punch.

Another reader has suggested that, if Jones ever tries to dump his collection of friends and other hangers-on, one of them might put a cap in him.

Regardless of how it all turns out, it's very difficult to envision an end game for Jones that doesn't involve jail, or worse.

THURSDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

The guy who was driving the car in which author David Halberstam died is facing charges.

The NFL apparently is still in denial about the realities of concussions.

Cardinals OT Oliver Ross has taken a $1 million pay cut.

Seven of the Jaguars' 11 draft picks are under contract.

LB LaVar Arrington will remain in the hospital while he recuperates from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident.

Is Arizona ready for some fairly significant football?

Fins DE Jason Taylor says that he didn't say this about QB Trent Green: "This is off-the-record -- oh, what the hell, it's on the record: He'd better not get hit. One big hit, and he could be scrambled eggs."

Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports thinks that the Chiefs should trade L.J. (We agree, but who would both meet Johnson's salary demands -- and pay King Carl's ransom?)

Pacman has until noon Friday to surrender on felony charges in Las Vegas.

Steelers DT Chris Hoke is signed through 2010.

The Saints have signed fourth-round RB Antonio Pittman.

The Bucs are still hoping that QB Jake Plummer chooses to play.

Jaguar rookies will be required to attend DUI classes. (Said assistant coach Mike Tice, "Is that something we should be teaching them how to do?")

Former NFL punter Rick Tuten is in trouble.

POSTED 3:24 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

PACMAN TOO BUSY TO TALK TO GEORGIA POLICE

Police in DeKalb County, Georgia would like to talk to Titans cornerback Pacman Jones about the recent incident that started in a strip club and culminated in shots being fired from one vehicle at another one.

Alas, Pac is too busy to fit such a meeting into his shedule.

But as our pals at Rotoworld.com (they're the exclusive content providers of our Fantasy Mill) pointed out to us, Jones and his lawyer might want to work on the excuse that is being provided.

"What we've heard [from his lawyer] is that he is in Tennessee on the practice field, so we're trying to coordinate when he would come back to Atlanta," Keisha Williams, a DeKalb police spokeswoman, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The only problem with that? Jones isn't allowed on the Titans' practice field. In fact, he's only permitted to be at the facility once per week for conditioning, film study, and "other activities." Those "other activities" presumably don't include participating in practice (or, you know, biting anyone). Even so, Jones can be at "work" only one day per week. For the other six, his calendar is relatively clear.

So Pacman is lying (imagine that) or his lawyer is lying (well, his lips are moving) or the Titans are violating the terms of the suspension. Given that coach Jeff Fisher has said at least five times this week that the team has "moved on" (and moved out) regarding Jones, we doubt that the Titans are sneaking him onto the practice field in defiance of Commissioner Roger Goodell's ruling.

Thus, Pacman or his lawyer (or both) are lying to the cops, and that's not gonna be good for anybody.

POSTED 2:40 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

JARRETT IS "FINE"

Pat Yasinskas of the Charlotte Observer reports that Panthers receiver Dwayne Jarrett does not have any serious injuries as a result of a Wednesday night car crash.

"Dwayne is fine,’’ G.M. Marty Hurney said. "I just heard about it a little bit ago and don’t have all the details yet. But he's fine."

Jarrett is a second-round draft pick who will be competing for the starting spot vacated by the release of Keyshawn Johnson.

POSTED 12:35 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

JARRETT IN CAR CRASH

Adam Caplan of Scout.com reports that Panthers rookie receiver Dwayne Jarrett has been involved in a car accident.

The wreck occurred on Wednesday evening. Caplan says that it's believed Jarrett didn't suffer any serious injuries, it's not known yet whether he's had a medical evaluation.

Jarrett was a second-round pick of the Panthers in the 2007 draft. Because he has not signed a contract, any injuries that might affect his ability to play could limit the terms of his rookie contract. For example, his signing bonus could be converted in whole or in part to a 2007 per-game roster bonus.

Not long after the draft, the Panthers severed ties with receiver Keyshawn Johnson. Jarrett is expected to compete with Drew Carter for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart behind Steve Smith.

POSTED 12:26 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

COLTS SAY ARCHIE WASN'T AT RING CEREMONY

Craig Kelley, the Colts V.P. of Public Relations, just called in to tell us that the parents of quarterback Peyton Manning did not attend the team's recent Super Bowl ring ceremony, contrary to a report we posted last night in this space. We also have received two e-mails from Colts Manager of Publicity Justin Dickens on this same topic.

We've got no reason not to take the team's word for it, so we have no other option (and, trust us, we've explored them) than to say that our report was wr-wr-wr-incorrect and to apologize for the error. We regret it.

Meanwhile, we've got one specific source who will soon be fitted for a size 12 basketball shoe. In the rear end.

And we'll get to that project right after we reset our "days without a screwup" counter.

POSTED 7:38 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:12 a.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

L.J. PREPARING FOR HOLDOUT

Chiefs running back Larry Johnson tells Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star that Johnson might be forced to hold out if he doesn't get a new contract by the start of training camp.

"I'm prepared," Johnson told Whitlock. "They [my agent and father] got me saving money. I'm hustling to get more money to put in the bank. They already started setting aside different accounts, if that would have to happen. They're already telling me to be cautious about how I spend, where I go and stuff like that. To make sure that if it goes down like that, then I've got to be able to pace myself so I won't be in trouble."

Johnson said he believes that Chiefs president Carl Peterson is going to "test" him in connection with contract negotiations that could turn contentious quickly -- especially in light of the fact that the Chiefs were making it known earlier this year that Johnson was available via trade.

Johnson's agent, Alvin Keels, attended the interview, and added a few thoughts. Including this one: "The point I'd like to get out," Keels said, "is that if we were to have to hold out, it would be for the sake of good business, not being greedy. I think the picture that is being painted right now in the eyes of the fans is that we're coming into this negotiation being greedy. It's not good business for a player who rushes the ball 416 times in a season, back-to-back Pro Bowl seasons, back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons, back-to-back broken Kansas City Chiefs records, it's not good business for him to come back in and play for $1.7 million. And that's a sensitive area because $1.7 million is a lot more than most people in Kansas City make."

But the real question, as we see it, is whether Johnson is a truly great runner, who will get his yards even with shoddy blocking, or whether his production is the result of the strong offensive lines that the team has enjoyed over the past few years. (But no more.)

Indeed, the retirement of Willie Roaf in 2006 might have directly contributed to that 0.9 yard-per-carry dropoff last season. And with Will Shields now out of the picture, too, there could be another slip in 2007.

And that could be why the Chiefs want to see what Johnson can do with an even weaker wall of blocking before paying him a bunch of money.

Still, we see Johnson's side of it. "If they really want it to hit home, look at Earl Campbell," Johnson said. "He's not complaining, but he can barely walk. He's sitting in wheelchairs. He can't sit at banquets for a long amount of time before he has to leave. It's sad to have to watch him go through what he has to go through. You look at me; I don’t want to be like that. But I may end up like him. Who knows? I have to be able to plan for that, plan for my kids. I don't know if I'm going to be running back and forth taking my kids to soccer practice."

So why should he take another 400-carry punishment in 2007 for only $1.7 million? Though it would have been nice if he had considered this before, you know, signing his contract, the fact that he could be carrying the entire offense on his back this season suggests to us that, in all fairness, an adjustment is necessary.

Thus, our gut feeling on this one is that it could very well be another Deion Branch situation, with a lengthy holdout followed by a trade.

If, that is, there's someone who wants him bad enough to both pay the player and pay his team. If, after all, King Carl demanded a fourth-round pick for a quarterback he no longer needed, Peterson might ask for a Ricky Williams package when it comes to a running back he no longer wants.

URLACHER SHOWING SUPPORT FOR BRIGGS?

In the Bears' final offseason practice before training camp, Pro Bowl middle linebacker Brian Urlacher ditched his No. 54 jersey in favor of No. 55, the number worn by linebacker Lance Briggs, who currently is unsigned and threatening to stay away from the team until the tenth week of the regular season.

Urlacher bolted after practice, before he could be asked about the move.

''Did he have on 55 today?'' Bears coach Lovie Smith said. ''What's in a number? A lot of the players changed numbers, had a little fun today. I was all for it.''

Yeah, but it's one thing for Devin Hester to break out the jersey he wore in college (4), and it's another thing for the leader of the team to don the number of the guy who has been caught in a pissing match with the front office for most of the year.

GUMBEL GIVES UPSHAW A SECOND NEW BUTTHOLE

Bryant Gumbel of HBO is taking another run at NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw. Gumbel's opinions as expressed on his Real Sports show are noteworthy because he moonlights by doing a Kermit the Frog impersonation on NFL Network's coverage of regular-season games.

So Gumbel is an employee of a company that is owned by the NFL's 32 owners. And Gumbel is calling out the guy who leads the players union.

Writes Michael David Smith of AOL's FanHouse, FootballOutsiders.com, and a third less reputable online publication: "On the edition of Real Sports that aired [Wednesday night], Gumbel said of Upshaw, 'The players' union boss has become the league's biggest embarrassment.' Gumbel then suggested that the union's membership would be wise to get rid of Upshaw, adding, 'It is, after all, their union. It would be nice to see them reclaim it before they become ex-players and find out the hard way why so many are so outraged.'"

Gumbel's opinions regarding Upshaw would be regarded as scandalous if the NFL and the NFL Players Association had the type of scabs and jack rocks relationship that has dotted the landscape of labor relations in the U.S. over the past century. In this case, however, Gumbel is the only person employed directly or indirectly by the NFL who has said anything bad about the head of the organization that is supposed to be, from time to time, the league's chief antagonist.

As Smith pointed out in one of his recent items for the less reputable site for which he writes, the fact that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has spoken out in support of Upshaw is perhaps the most damning piece of evidence against his effectiveness as the champion for the collective rights of the rank and file.

We're not saying this stuff to stir things up (although we always love a good slap fight between guys wearing blue suits). But there really is something wrong with a situation where there is way too much warmth and fuzziness between men who occupy a relationship that is by definition adversarial.

POSTED 7:09 a.m. EDT, June 21, 2007

UNCLE RICO NURSING A LEG INJURY

Titans quarterback Vince Young has missed part of practice over the past two days with a leg injury.

But fear not (for now), guy with the blue flame wig: Uncle Rico will be okay. Coach Jeff Fisher says that Young has a mild calf strain.

"(Young) was not happy about not being able to finish practice, but we are just trying to be smart about it," Fisher said. "If we were playing Sunday he'd play. It's not an issue."

Still, the fact that Young is breaking down a little in the offseason makes us wonder whether he'll make it through an entire 16-game season as a starter, especially since he's not afraid to pull the ball down and take off. He's not as fast as Mike Vick and not as shifty as Steve Young; sooner or later, someone is going to get a clean shot on Young. In the interim, the nagging bumps and bruises of a full NFL campaign will build up.

POSTED 10:20 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:04 p.m. EDT, June 20, 2007

PEYTON GETS PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT AT RING PARTY?

Multiple sources tell us that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning was permitted to bring his parents to the team's Super Bowl ring ceremony -- and that no other players were afforded the same luxury.

We'd consider the move to be startling evidence of a double standard in Indy, if we weren't already convinced that such a standard exists. And has been there for a while now.

Still, there are rumblings that this specific inequity didn't sit well with some Colts players. Though we don't expect it to be an issue on the field in 2007, it's definitely something worth noting during the ssssslow time of the offseason.

ANOTHER NEW PODCAST

Check out our latest PFT Podcast, a quick 15-minute rundown of the biggest issues in the NFL. So download it to your iPod thing doohickey and listen to it while you're waiting to get your back waxed. (Guys should listen to it, too.)

Meanwhile, we'll be invading radio air waves on Thursday in Miami at 8:05 a.m. EDT, with our good friend Joe Rose of 790 The Ticket, in Tulsa at 4:10 p.m. EDT for our first-ever visit to the land of steers and boys named Sue (we're kidding), and in Atlantic City at 5:40 p.m. EDT with Mike Gill.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

The Packers have signed seventh-round RB DeShawn Wynn and seventh-round TE Clark Harris.

Shawne Merriman might be interested in this article.

Should the NFL pull the plug on Pacman permanently?

Our own MDS has the word on CB Paul Oliver's workout.

A $65 million judgment has been entered against the estate of Richard Seymour's father.

Titans coach Jeff Fisher continues to utter the phrase "we've moved on" (and moved out) in reference to Pacman.

The Saints have signed fourth-round OT Jermon Bushrod. (Heh-heh, heh.)

Dubya no likey the Nicktator?

POSTED 7:28 p.m. EDT, June 20, 2007

NIKE CODE OF CONDUCT & ETHICS DOESN'T APPLY TO VICK

A reader has sent us a link to the official Nike Code of Conduct & Ethics. Apparently, Mile Vick has negotiated an exemption from these guidelines in his contract with the athletic shoe giant.

We're being sarcastic (there's a shock). The point here is that Nike's decision to stand firmly behind Vick, in light of the available evidence regarding Vick's apparent dog-fighting involvement indicates that the company is not applying its Code of Conduct & Ethics to Vick.

In an introduction to the document, Nike Chairman Phil Knight writes, "This Code of Ethics is vitally important. It contains the rules of the game for NIKE, the rules we live by and what we stand for. Please read it. And if you've read it, read it again. Then take some time to think about what it says and make a commitment to play by it."

Though the code applies primarily to Nike employees, page 7 seems to suggest that it also applies to contractors, like Vick. At a minimum, it's obvious that if Vick were an actual Nike employee the situations in which he has been involved over the past few months (e.g., public display of obscene gesture, water bottle incident, not showing up for Congressional event, and owning property that hosted dog fighting) would have gotten him in trouble.

Consider page 5: "NIKE's good name and reputation result in large part from our collective actions. That means the work-related activities of every employee must reflect standards of honesty, loyalty, trustworthiness, fairness, concern for others and accountability. We are expected to be sensitive to any situations that can adversely affect NIKE's reputation and are expected to use good judgment and common sense in the way we all conduct business."

Or how about the list of questions on page 21 that a person should ask himself in order to determine whether he is doing "the right thing"? We suspect that the phrase "How will the decision affect others?" is something Vick has rarely asked himself.

Since Vick is a person with whom the company has aligned for the purposes of marketing its brand, it's all the more reason for the company to cast aside crutches like "due process" and, you know, "do the right thing."

POSTED 4:27 p.m. EDT, June 20, 2007

EAGLES UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR OFFSEASON CONTACT VIOLATIONS

An industry source tells us that the Philadelphia Eagles are under investigation for alleged repeat violations of the rules against contact during offseason practices.

The source says that tapes of practices have been turned over to the union over the pleadings of coach Andy Reid, who believes that there was no reason to explore the situation.

The source also believes that the inquiry is the result of a complaint made by a player, and not the product of the NFLPA deciding to take matters into its own hands.

So the next question is who would complain? Typically, players go with the program unless their nose is out of joint for some reason. And when it comes to Eagles players who might currently have their noses out of joint, there's only one name that comes to mind.

The penalty could include the loss of a draft pick.

POSTED 2:22 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 2:58 p.m., June 20, 2007

REPORT: PACMAN CHARGED IN VEGAS SHOOTING by Michael David Smith

Titans cornerback Pacman Jones is one of three people charged in a shooting outside a Las Vegas strip club that left a man paralyzed, according to media reports.

The Nashville Tennessean and KLAS-TV in Las Vegas are both reporting that Jones is charged with two counts of felony coercion in connection with the February 19 shooting at the Minxx Gentlemen's Club. Three people were shot, including a Minxx employee who is now unable to walk.

According to the report, Robert "Big Rob" Reid is charged with one count of felony coercion and Sadia Morrison is charged with five counts including assault with a deadly weapon, battery with a deadly weapon, and burglary.

No matter how the charges are resolved, it's now almost impossible to imagine any scenario in which NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will reinstate Jones in 2007. And it's easy to imagine a scenario in which Jones is never allowed back in the league again.

NETWORKS ASK NFL TO HELP WITH SUPER BOWL AD SALES by Michael David Smith

NFL games draw such huge ratings that the TV networks are usually more than happy to ask "how high?" when the NFL tells them to jump. But John Consoli of Media Week reports that the three broadcast networks that alternate showing the Super Bowl -- Fox, CBS and NBC -- are unhappy with the NFL regarding the sale of commercials during the Big Game.

Consoli reports that the networks want the NFL to lean on its official sponsors to get them to buy Super Bowl commercials. The NFL has 21 official sponsors (official beer sponsor, official juice sponsor, official fast food restaurant sponsor, etc.), but only six of them bought ads in this year's Super Bowl. The networks aren't happy about that, and they've asked the NFL to tell the official sponsors that if they're going to sponsor the league, they ought to sponsor the league's biggest event.

But the league has told the networks that selling Super Bowl ads is their responsibility. The NFL's point of view is that a business will buy a Super Bowl commercial if its marketing department determines that the commercial is worth the money, and that's between the business and the network that buys the rights to the Super Bowl.

However, Consoli notes that Major League Baseball requires its official sponsors to create special baseball-specific ads to run during baseball games, and that 90 percent of the NBA's official sponsors buy commercials during playoff and NBA Finals broadcasts.

The bottom line, though, is that the NFL isn't like the other sports leagues. It's much more popular. And as long as that's the case, the NFL is going to do things the way it wants to do things, and it's TV partners are going to live with it. It's good to be king.

POSTED 12:12 p.m. EDT, June 20, 2007

KEENAN MCCARDELL IN TALKS WITH REDSKINS by Michael David Smith

He's been in the league so long that a lot of people forget that wide receiver Keenan McCardell actually began his career, in 1991, with the Redskins. He never got on the field during his first stint in Washington, D.C., but he might get to finish his career there.

According to Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com, McCardell is in "active negotiations" with the Redskins. The move makes sense if for no other reason than that the 37-year-old McCardell is one of the few well-known free agents still available, and the Redskins always like to add veterans with name value.

McCardell lives in Houston, and the Texans are reportedly interested in his services, so he may have options just a few months after his release by the San Diego Chargers raised the question of whether his career was over.

McCardell is ninth in NFL history with 861 catches, 18th all-time with 11,117 receiving yards, and tied for 50th with 62 receiving touchdowns.

POP WARNER ALREADY CONDUCTS BACKGROUND CHECKS by Michael David Smith

On Monday we noted that Betsey Hasselbeck, who has two sons in the NFL and a husband who's a former NFL player, is urging youth football leagues to conduct thorough background checks on all coaches. Hasselbeck has the support of members of Congress including former Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler, and the initiative got a $500,000 contribution from USA Football, a nonprofit organization founded by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.

A reader wrote in to point out that Pop Warner, by far the country's largest youth football organization, already requires background checks of any adult who has contact with children in its organization. That includes everyone from football and cheerleading coaches to team photographers and the people who run the concessions at the games.

Pop Warner's partners include the NFL, the union, and USA Football, so those organizations presumably knew that Pop Warner already has background checks in place and donated the $500,000 in the hopes that other youth football leagues would follow Pop Warner's example on background checks.

There's nothing wrong with any of this, but the reader who alerted us to Pop Warner's background checks raised the point that getting Congress involved sounds a little bit too much like an attempt to capitalize on the combination of two things that stir people's passions -- sports and "protecting the children."

None of this is to question the motives of Betsey Hasselbeck. She raised two young men, Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and Giants quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, who have found success in the game of football, and she just wants to make sure youth football is a positive experience for other mothers' sons. But when Pop Warner is already getting the job done, and the NFL and the players' union are willing to donate the money to expand background checks to other youth leagues, why should Congress get involved?

POSTED 9:16 a.m. EDT, June 20, 2007

HOW WILL DITKA USE MNF PLATFORM? by Michael David Smith

The news that Mike Ditka will be in the Monday Night Football booth for the second game of ESPN's opening night doubleheader raises an interesting question: Will Ditka take the opportunity to continue his crusade against NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw?

Ditka has spent the last few months railing against Upshaw for what Ditka believes is a failure of the union to take care of retired players who are now in ill health as a result of injuries suffered on the field. With millions of people watching the Monday night opener (as Peter King noted this week, more people watched the second game of last year's Monday Night Football doubleheader than watched this year's NBA Finals), will Ditka take the opportunity to get his message out to a huge audience?

Similar questions were raised last year, when Bryant Gumbel bashed Upshaw on Gumbel's HBO show. Considering that Gumbel had just been hired as the play-by-play man on NFL Network, the league office was worried that he might take that opportunity to reiterate his thoughts on the NFL players' union. As it turned out, Gumbel stuck to the game on the field. (And the gas in his digestive tract.)

The most likely scenario is that both ESPN and the NFL will prevail on Ditka that the Monday Night Football booth is the wrong time and the wrong place to express his contempt for Upshaw, and Ditka, as a team player, will stick to the game on the field.

But Upshaw must be a little bit worried. His most vocal critic just got an awfully big platform.

ADD KENT HULL TO THE PRO-GOODELL CROWD by Michael David Smith

One of the most striking things about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's new get-tough policy on players' off-field behavior is the way it has been supported by the players, both past and present. Goodell would have a much harder time cracking down on players like Titans cornerback Pacman Jones if Jones' fellow players were on his side. But for the most part, the players support Goodell.

You could argue that that shows weakness on the part of the union, but you could also argue that the majority of NFL players support Goodell because they know players like Jones are a minority who make the rest of them look bad.

That's what former Buffalo Bills center Kent Hull believes. Hull was in Mississippi this week for a charity golf tournament, and he told the Delta Democrat Times that he considers Goodell's approach "absolutely wonderful."

"There's going to be a lot more players walking the line that before felt like with a big paycheck and a big fancy car, they could do what they wanted to," Hull said. "'Oh, I think the new commissioner is putting a message out there, 'No, we're not going to have this.'"

Hull, who singled out Jones as a player he wouldn't take his own son to see, joins current players like Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce and Bills linebacker Josh Stamer (both of whom had harsh things to say about the dog fighting allegations surrounding Michael Vick) in understanding that there are more important things than blind allegiance to their fellow players. Good for them.

POSTED 6:33 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 8:17 a.m. EDT, June 20, 2007

UNION INVESTIGATING REPEAT VIOLATOR OF OFFSEASON CONTACT RULES

An industry source tells us that the NFLPA currently is looking into a team that is accused of repeatedly violating the rules against contact in offseason workouts. Per the source, the union could be seeking the loss of a draft pick, if the violations are proven.

We don't know the specific status of the investigation, but the process typically begins with the union requesting copies of the videotapes from practice.

Though it appears that many teams are violating the letter of the rule against offseason contact, we're hearing more and more that the union's decision to look the other way is due in large part to the reduced intensity of training camp.

DARIUS VISITING RAIDERS

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that free-agent safety Donovin Darius is expected to visit the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday, and that the Raiders are expected to attempt to sign him.

The Bills and Panthers also have expressed interest in the former Jaguar. But if the Raiders get their way, Darius will be wearing the silver and black before too long.

Darius is a strong safety, which is the same position that Michael Huff, the No. 7 overall pick in 2006, played last season. One of them would surely move to free safety, and both would be starters.

DISABILITY BREAKTHROUGH FOR LEAGUE, UNION

Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News reports that the NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to allow players who are found to be disabled under the Social Security Administration's definition of the term to be automatically eligible for disability benefits from the NFL.

"We're looking at ways in which people who need help can get help faster," Commissioner Roger Goodell told the Daily News. "You have to have some standards. You have to have some kind of process to make sure you're being responsible.

"On the other hand, all of us want to find the easiest and most efficient way to get that help to players. If somebody is disabled [enough to qualify] for Social Security [disability], they should be disabled under our guidelines. We've agreed to do that. And we're looking at other ways [to speed up the process] as well."

It's unclear whether this new rule also applies to players who become disabled under the Social Security Administration's rules due to injury or illness arising after their playing careers are over. If the new rule is broad enough to cover post-football conditions, Joe DeLamielleure might have a consolation prize if NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw ever makes good on his promise to break Joe's neck.

POSTED 10:47 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:17 p.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

MIKE AND MIKE AND MIKE ON MNF

Michael McCarthy of USA Today reports that ESPN will assign morning radio hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic to work the back half of the Monday Night Football season-opening doubleheader.

Mike and Mike, to whom we often refer as Man-Girl and Meatball, will be joined in the booth by a third Mike: Mike Ditka.

Greenberg, who revels in behaving like a whiny sissy, makes no bones about wanting to someday be on the MNF broadcast. Golic, who revels is behaving like a goofy eating machine, would like to get there, too. (Hey, Mikes, the first rule of behaving like grown-ups is to never talk publicly about your professional aspirations.)

Frankly, we don't understand the appeal of these two. Never have. Probably never will. But at least it gives us fodder for the back end of the Live Blog during what could be an otherwise ho-hum game between the 49ers and the Cardinals.

Especially if Ditka drops a Levitra or two into Greenberg's Perrier -- or Golic's gravy boat.

TUESDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

Cardinals S Robert Griffith recently ripped the Cardinals and their "cheap-ass owners."

Turd Watch is getting some play.

Eagles LS Mike Bartrum has called it quits.

Falcons CB DeAngelo Hall is trying to help rookie CB Chris Houston avoid off-field trouble. (Why not just tell him to watch Mike Vick and do the opposite?)

Joey Porter had to exercise restraint recently. (Maybe there really is a first time for everything.)

Marty Mornhinweg won't get another head-coaching job by continuing to talk about the time he won the toss in overtime, and opted to kick.

Our friends at PewterReport.com take a look at the Bucs' mandatory minicamp. (We suspect that Jon Gruden said the "F" word once or twice. Or 1,000 times.)

NFL execs are eyeballing sites for the new 49ers stadium.

49ers rookie LB Patrick Willis will be pushing Derek Smith for playing time.

Titans RB LenWhale White has finally figured out that he needs to take care of his body.

Could England get three or four NFL games per year?

Falcons QB Mike Vick won't appear at a football camp next week at William & Mary.

POSTED 8:00 p.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

WHISTLE-BLOWING FOR BELL-RINGING CAUSES HEAD-SCRATCHING

On the surface, we like the idea of the NFL setting up a system that allows players to blow the whistle on situations where teams are pressuring guys to return too quickly from concussions.

But, as a practical matter, it's a waste of time.

Players aren't wired to complain about this kind of stuff, unless they already have a bug up their butt and are looking for something to complain about (e.g., Pete Kendall). They're even less likely to complain when it will be obvious that they are the ones who have complained.

Though this new procedure allows other players to blow the whistle when a teammate is being subjected to undue pressure to return prematurely after getting his bell rung, teams are smart enough to build a subtle wall around a guy who is recovering from such an injury, so that there will be no witnesses to any interactions that could be viewed as improper.

So the players will never complain, and if/when a player ever tries to sue the league or anyone connected to it for brain injuries suffered after he was nudged back to the field before he was ready to play, the NFL's blue-suited barracudas will hound him relentlessly about the fact that, because he didn't ever avail himself of the whistle-blowing system, he must not have been pressured by anyone.

At a deeper level, the mere existence of this whistle-blowing system implies that there is something about which the whistle could or should be blown. If that's the case, the NFL should come up with a system that doesn't require the player who is walking around with an impaired noggin to be the one to protect himself.

POSTED 7:09 p.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

NIKE CALLS HUMANE SOCIETY'S BLUFF

Athletic shoe giant Nike is standing by its man.

Specifically, the company has rejected a request from the Humane Society to sever ties with Falcons quarterback Mike Vick, who has been since late April embroiled in an investigation regarding dog fighting at his Surry County, Virginia property.

"There is no change in the status of the agreement between Nike and football player Michael Vick," Nike spokesman Dean Stoyer said. "He is rightfully presumed innocent and afforded the same due process as any citizen, rather than be tried in the court of public opinion. Nike will continue to monitor the situation, but has nothing further to say at this time."

Guys, guys, guys. The presumption of innocence applies only to whether a person goes to jail, not to whether a guy should continue to endorse products for a major corporation. O.J. Simpson got his due process and was never convicted, but we doubt that he'll be getting a shoe deal from Nike (or from Bruno Magli).

Besides, for a company that is hoping to sell athletic shoes and other products to the general public, the court of public opinion means everything.

But, for Nike, the specific portion of the public about which it primarily is concerned (i.e., teenage boys who want to spend a lot of their parents' money on athletic shoes) either don't know about Vick's legal troubles, don't care, or think it gives him more street cred.

We predict that the Humane Scoiety will take this thing to the next level, calling for all pet lovers to boycott Nike products.

POSTED 6:46 p.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

'SKINS DENY OUR REPORT ON COWHER

Wow. It looks like we've arrived.

Not long ago, our reports were little more than a flickering blip in the far fringes of the radar screen. Now, NFL teams are issuing press releases to refute our stories.

On Tuesday, the Redskins released a "Statement in Response to Report on Profootballtalk.com." (The online version of the release has a different title.)

Said the team, "No one at the Washington Redskins has had any meetings or discussions with Bill Cowher or anyone else regarding any coaching position with the Redskins."

Though we appreciate the attention, we wouldn't expect the team to say anything else. They have a Hall-of-Fame coach who might end up wanting to stay beyond 2007. Talking to his potential replacement is bad form, even if it's good business. And saying anything other than "we haven't talked to Cowher" would be stoopid, if they've talked to Cowher.

An e-mail we received from a reader best describes the situation: "Of course no one from the Redskins organization has talked to Bill Cowher. And Nick Saban isn't going to be the Alabama coach."

POSTED 12:46 p.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

VICK GETTING IMUSED?

Our pal Michael David Smith, who moonlights for AOL's FanHouse when he isn't holding down the fort here (or is it the other way around?), writes that the Humane Society is calling on Nike to sever ties with Falcons quarterback Mike Vick due to allegations that Vick's Surry County, Virginia property has hosted illegal dog fighting.

The full text of the letter is right here.

The reasoning is that, even though Vick hasn't been charged with a crime (yet), it's obvious that at a bare minimum he has been unacceptably sloppy about what he has allowed others to do on land he owns.

Without access to Vick's contract with the shoe-making giant, we can't tell whether Nike can cut the cord at no further obligation to him based on the evidence that already is available. Despite the absence of an indictment (yet), Vick's silence in the wake of story after story cementing his link to the operation is troubling.

And the Humane Society's letter to Nike could be the first step in an effort to get other big-money corporations to act. If, for example, Vick is arrested for dog fighting and the NFL doesn't move swiftly to suspend him, the Humane Society and other groups could commence an assault against the league's corporate partners. And once the folks who pay the big money for the right to be the official something-or-other of the NFL explain to Commissioner Roger Goodell that they can't risk a product like Snickers being thrust into a national social controversy (eye roll), the league might have no choice but to take action against Vick.

The test case is Nike. If the Humane Society can prompt the folks who put a swoosh on shoes throughout the world to pull the plug on the Michael Vick experience, the Humane Society will have even more juice when the time comes to release the hounds on the NFL.

POSTED 10:41 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 10:55 a.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

FISHER CUTTING BAIT ON PACMAN?

Terry McCormick of the Nashville City Paper has some ominous quotes from Titans coach Jeff Fisher in the wake of Pacman Jones' most recent brush with the law.

"I don't know whether it's true or not," Fisher said in response to the brouhaha that has emerged from yet another strip club shooting incident, "but, to me I've moved on." And moved out. "Whether it's true, it's Pac's issue, and if it's not true, it's Pac's issue. It's no longer our issue. We've moved on", and moved out, "and we will just wait and see what happens. . . . The initial suspension that the commissioner issued, as we said on record, we thought was good and we thought everything had fallen into place, so we moved on." And moved out. "It's unfortunate he was involved in something, but I don't have details and again those are his problems."

Our take? We have a feeling that if/when Mr. Jones is reinstated to the NFL, he'll be traded. If there are no takers, he'll be cut.

What's that, you say? Teams can't cut players as discipline for off-field shenanigans? If you still think that that's the case, you must have missed our June 8 item regarding language in the standard player contract that by all appearances gives teams the ability to dump players who misbehave.

Meanwhile, despite a contention from his lawyer that Jones was cleared of any wrongdoing, McCormick reports that the official police report contains a statement that makes it even more obvious that Pacman is still Pacman. Specifically, an off-duty deputy working security at the club says in the report that he overheard Jones say, "F--k this. I'm going to the car to get my gun." The off-duty deputy at that point ordered Pacman and his group to leave.

We've said it before and we'll say it again. If Jones couldn't stay out of trouble when he had a job, even more trouble will find him now that he's got nothing to do.

ARREST METER HAS BEEN RESET

We've gotten several e-mails indicating that the "days without an arrest" counter has not yet been reset. Though we are completely ignorant as to the technical niceties of operating this joint, if you see "29" in the counter it means that your browser has not yet recognized the change.

We are going to reload the new date into the meter in an effort to clear out the kinks. Apparently, those 27 days without an arrest left the thing in need of an oil can.

We've got nothing more to say but we like to have at least three paragraphs in every story. It's an Italian superstition thing. Or something.

POSTED 9:58 a.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

STEELERS VETS THINK FANECA SHOULD GET PAID

Though there are indications that new Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is in the process of winning over the team he inherited from Bill Cowher earlier this year, Tomlin still has a long way to go before he's viewed as being firmly in control.

Case in point -- we're hearing that most if not all of the Steelers veteran players believe that Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca is getting a raw deal in the pay department from the team.

Last month, Faneca spoke out regarding his dissatisfaction with a demeanor so emotional that team chairman Dan Rooney later expressed concern that Faneca might keel over. Faneca basically said that the team is lowballing him, and that he will leave the franchise after the 2007 season, when his current contract expires.

Not many of the blue-collar types in the Steel City shed tears for Faneca, since in comparison to the average men and women who are the backbone of this country (and the legs, feet, arms, and hands) Faneca's name might as well be "Bill Gates." Still, in the locker room, the guys who have put in their time with the team tend to agree that the franchise should do more for Faneca.

On one hand, it's understandable. The players who have been with the team for several years can see themselves in Faneca's shoes: a long track record of loyal service, a birth date putting them on the wrong side of 30, and one last realistic shot at a big contract before it's time to call it quits.

On the other hand, the players need to realize that there is a hard cap on the money that is available for their salaries, and that a seven-year, $49 million contract to Faneca would only mean less money for the rest of them.

Besides, should anyone be shocked by the fact that the Steelers won't break the bank for Faneca? They've never broken the bank for anyone. They never will. Part of being a true Steeler is being willing to take less money there than might be available elsewhere. It's one of the reasons that the franchise can accumulate so many above-average players; by not having a ton of cap space tied up in two or three superstars, there's more than enough money available to ensure that all of the starters would really be starters in other cities, and that the depth chart really does have depth.

POSTED 7:02 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 7:40 a.m. EDT, June 19, 2007

"REAL" MEDIA WAKING UP TO OFFSEASON CONTACT ISSUE

Slowly, gradually, members of the "real" sports media are beginning to realize that all of that live blocking they've seen in the trenches and other contact drills like bump-and-run pass coverage run afoul of the Collective Bargaining Agreement that governs the relationship between the 32 teams and the rosters of players.

Bob Glauber of Newsday is one of the first (if not the first) members of the "real" media to quote in an article the plain language of the CBA regarding contact in offseason drills. Readers of this site might recognize the text of Article XXXV and Appendix L, given that we've parroted it multiple times over the years.

Glauber also points out a "routine" play from last week's New York Jets minicamp that seems to violate this plain language: "Chad Pennington barked out the signals, took the snap and faded back to pass. As he looked for an open receiver, Shaun Ellis rushed hard from left end and was blocked by tackle Anthony Clement and guard Brandon Moore. Pennington threw to Laveranues Coles over the middle."

Glauber notes that the play "could" result in sanctions for the Jets. "Could," but won't. If the union were serious about enforcing the rule, teams other than the Raiders would have been penalized this offseason, and the penalty meted out to the Raiders would have been something more than the loss of four in-facility lifting days.

The bigger issue, in our view, is the ongoing failure (until very recently) of the "real" media to discharge its implicit fourth-estate obligation to point out situations where rules are being violated, and where the violations are being ignored by those charged with correcting them. Though on Sunday we gave Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports a hard time for not criticizing the union for sitting on its hands on this issue, Cole is the only writer who pointed out the mauling at Giants practice of James Alford by Shaun O'Hara, which happened after fullback Jim Finn was lost for the year after tearing a labrum in non-contact drills.

The problem, we believe, is that the guys working the various team beats fear getting the pariah treatment if they start pointing out stuff in the paper that might get the team they cover in trouble. Or the beat writers don't know that the CBA makes offseason contact illegal. Or they don't care.

Regardless, it's incompetent at best and irresponsible at worst for the men and women paid to cover these teams for a living not to point this stuff out. And though we've been critical of Glauber in the past, we respect him for joining Cole and our pal Jerry McDonald out on this otherwise empty limb.

WHERE'S BRISTOL ON THIS ISSUE?

While we can understand the desire of a beat writer to avoid pissing off the one and only organization that he or she is covering, national media figures don't have that same problem. If, for example, Chris Mortensen of ESPN gets the Panthers in a snit with him, Mort will survive -- he's got plenty of other connections and he's covering all of the 32 teams.

So why hasn't one of more of the ever-expanding throng of guys who cover the NFL generally for ESPN taken on this issue?

Quick inspection of the alphabet junkyard that is the NFL front page at ESPN.com reveals names like Mort and Lenny P. and John Clayton and Michael Smith and Sal Paolantonio and Jeffri Chadiha and Seth Wickersham and Matt Mosley and Matt Williamson and Jeremy Green and Floyd Reese and Keith Kidd and as far as we can tell none of them has ever breathed a word about the public secret of offseason contact violations.

Our guess? One or more of them have tried to write on the subject, but the editors at ESPN have decided that it's not "newsworthy," because, you know, it could make the entity to which ESPN pays $1.1 billion per year upset.

But to the extent that one or more of the names listed above thinks that we were wr-wr-wr-misinformed when we suggested that the network got approval from the NFL before airing the groundbreaking Outside the Lines report regarding Mike Vick and the whole "woof woof" thing, we urge you to prove that we're wr-wr-wr-full of crap in this regard by getting the story out there about the league-wide phenomenon of illegal offseason contact.

WE'RE FAIR AND BALANCED, TOO

Lest we be accused of lacking objectivity regarding the offseason contact issue, allow us to point out something that was recently pointed out to us by a respected member of the "real" media regarding the issue of contact in the offseason.

It could be that the union and the NFL have established a wink-nod thing regarding offseason contact because the proliferation of offseason workouts generally has reduced the amount of full-pads contact in July and August.

Said our source: "Training camps aren't nearly as tough as in the past. Two-a-days in full pads have become a dinosaur, and one reason is the amount of work being done in the offseason. Players realize that."

It's a very good point. Still, we think that the offseason stuff gets a little too intense, especially since players wear helmets only. We've heard for years that linemen would prefer to be in pads, because they routinely get hit by those hard plastic contraptions in the arms and shoulders and chests.

POSTED 11:04 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2007

BROWNS CRITICIZED FOR SIGNING MASON

As the NFL continues to clamp down on misbehaving players, the problem of having bad boys on the roster won't change as long as teams continue to draft and/or sign them.

In the case of receiver Mike Mason, a league source tells us that many teams had him off of their draft boards due to past problems with the law, which were well publicized.

But the Browns took a chance on him as an undrafted free agent, and his arrest for three misdemeanor charges shows that this specific experiment blew up in their faces.

Opined one league source: "It makes the league look terrible when all the information is available and individual teams fail to create an absolute character standard. You can talk about the players all you want but until the teams begin to get vigilant in their own dealings with bad actors, this thing will remain ugly."

Upon promulgating a new Personal Conduct Policy in April, Commissioner Roger Goodell suggested that teams who harbor turds will face potential consequences. If so, the Browns should be the first in line for some type of a sanction due to their decision to ink Mason.

POSTED 9:39 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 9:53 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2007

FINS BUMP BIG DADDY

The Miami Dolphins have terminated the contract of veteran defensive tackle Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson, three months after the team tried to trade the No. 1 overall pick in the 1994 draft to the Broncos for a sixth-round draft choice.

Wilkinson never reported to take a physical in Denver, and the trade was eventually scuttled. Wilkinson thereafter failed to report for any of the team's offseason workouts.

We'd heard back in March that Wilkinson was willing to continue playing, if he could avoid the grind of offseason workouts. Our guess is that Wilkinson will sit out training camp and look for an interested team late in August. Big bodies like Big Daddy's are always a hot commodity in the NFL, and we think that someone will make a run at him.

TWO FIRST-TIME VISITS IN LESS THAN AN HOUR

We're making our first appearances Tuesday on a couple of stations in AFC North territory. At 9:20 a.m. EDT, we'll be visiting with John Steigerwald of KDKA in Pittsburgh. We have a feeling that our recent report regarding a certain cement-jawed coach landing in Cleveland might come up during the segment.

At 10:03 a.m. EDT, we'll chat with Gregg Doyel of 1530 The Homer in Cincinnati. He also writes for CBSSportsline.com.

Our Radio Calendar has the lineup of spots each week. Regular stops include Sporting News Radio, FOX Sports Radio, WFNZ in Charlotte, ESPN Radio Atlantic City, WIP in Philly, 1010 XL in Jacksonville, WBAL in Baltimore, and The Terry Bowden and Brady Ackerman Show.

POSTED 4:47 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:56 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2007

COACH CHIN PLOTTING HIS RETURN?

A league source tells us that there is already talk in league circles that former Steelers coach Bill Cowher is planning his potential return to the NFL. Per the source, Cowher already has spoken with multiple teams about filling a potential vacancy in 2008.

The source also says that one of Cowher's demands will be full control over the football operations.

The teams, the source says, are believed to be the Browns, Redskins, and Panthers. Another league source confirms that Cowher has had at least one private discussion with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder about the possibility of replacing Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs, if Gibbs calls it quits after the 2007 season.

We're also told that Cowher has begun the process of discreetly lining up a personnel executive to run the front office, subject to Cowher's final say on all roster moves. Per the source, the list includes Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert, Steelers business operations coordinator Omar Khan, Chiefs executive vice president and COO Denny Thum, and Saints vice president of football administration Russ Ball.

Is any of this surprising? Yes, but no. With Cowher expected to be the hottest commodity on the coaching market come January 2008, teams that think they might have a coming opening would be stoopid not to commence the process of seeing what it would take to get him.

Money is a key component in this regard. We've yet to hear anything about Cowher's expected salary, but we suspect he's hoping to get at least as much as Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren (who is in the $7.5 million to $8.5 million range), given that Cowher beat the Big Show in the Big Show less than 18 months ago.

BROWN RETURNS TO TITANS

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that running back Chris Brown has agreed to terms with the Tennessee Titans.

Brown, an unrestricted free agent who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Titans, had narrowed his options down to Chicago and Tennessee.

Per Schefter, Brown signed a one-year deal, with a salary of $1.85 million.

By waiting until June 18, Brown avoided the grind of offseason workouts. He'll make his return to the Titans in training camp, where he'll be competing with second-year tailback LenWhale White and rookie Chris "Maybe I Should Go By My Middle Name" Henry for touches in 2007. Since 2006 starter Travis Henry is gone, Brown could emerge as the go-to guy, and a solid season could enable him to cash in come 2008.

POSTED 3:52 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:08 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2007

ARRINGTON IN SERIOUS CONDITION AFTER MOTORCYCLE CRASH

Various media outlets are reporting that former Redskins and Giants linebacker LaVar Arrington has been involved in a serious motorcycle accident in the D.C. area.

Arrington reportedly lost control of his motorcycle at about 1:00 p.m. EDT on Monday and struck a guardrail on U.S. Route 50 near the beltway.

Arrington is listed in serious condition. Michael Smith of ESPN.com reports that Arrington has a broken bone in his arm, three broken bones in his leg, cuts, and bruises.

The former Penn State standout played last year with the Giants after spending six seasons as a member of the Redskins. He tore an Achilles' tendon during the 2006 regular season. The Giants released him in March. Arrington currently is unsigned.

He's the third NFL player in less than three years to be involved in a serious motorcycle wreck. In May 2005, Browns tight end Kellen Winslow suffered a knee injury and internal damage after his motorcycle hit a curb while he was practicing stunts. In June 2006, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered severe facial injuries after being struck by a car. Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet.

POSTED 1:47 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2007

BROWNS RECEIVER CAPS WEEKEND ARREST TRIFECTA

As the saying goes, "When it rains, it comes down really hard." Or something.

After nearly a full month of peace and quiet on the NFL police blotter, three players were arrested over the weekend for various types of alleged misconduct, most of which likely resulted from an extended visit with the Reverend Al K. Hall.

Packers linebacker Nick Barnett was arrested on Sunday for disorderly conduct. Also, and as reported first right here on Sunday night (we want our damn gold star for it), Bengals running back Quincy Wilson was busted for disorderly conduct in a separate incident on Sunday morning.

Wilson's arrest occurred after a post-wed

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