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POSTED 11:05 p.m. EST, March 29, 2006

SABAN ADMITS TO TAMPERING?

In an era where teams and agents are becoming increasingly lackadaisical regarding the rampant tampering that occurs when players under contract with one team are courted by another team, Dolphins coach Nick Saban has provided perhaps the most telling admission regarding a practice that is as common as it is a violation of the rules.

In an informal Tuesday press conference occurring at the ownership meetings in Florida, Saban said the following regarding the team's acquisition of quarterback Daunte Culpepper, who currently has no agent:

"I think that sometimes agents can be facilitators to communicate with, because we, until Minnesota gave us permission to talk to Daunte, we couldn't talk to him. And because there wasn't an agent, we couldn't talk to his agent. So we had no way to communicate. And that was the most difficult part of it, was the facilitating the situation and the circumstances surrounding making a deal, not making a deal. It was very difficult to communicate. When Minnesota gave us permission to talk to him, then that was okay. We could, we could talk to him and that wasn't an issue or problem. So, I think there's circumstances and situations where agents can facilitate and communicate things that make it a little more easily attainable."

Translation: "If Culpepper had an agent, we just would have talked to the agent during the period of time that we weren't allowed to talk to Culpepper."

The only glitch in this reasoning, however, is that if you can't talk to the player, you also can't talk to the agent about the player.

Saban is normally adroit with his words, providing interesting sound bites without giving away many secrets. In this instance, he possibly has provided enough ammunition for the NFL to take action in an effort to reel in the rampant and flagrant tampering that occurs, if the NFL chooses to do so.

On one hand, it would be unfair if the Dolphins get dinged, since everyone does it. Then again, others in the league would say that Saban deserves it, since (in the opinion of at least one league insider) Saban "acted like he was still in the SEC" in the days prior to the launch of free agency, when contact with impending free agents -- and their agents -- was still prohibited, but nevertheless was widely occurring.

SABAN ALSO 'FESSES UP TO A LITTLE WONDERLIC CHEATING

In a lighter moment from his Tuesday press conference, Dolphins coach Nick Saban acknowledged that, while he was working for the Houston Oilers from 1988 to 1989, he helped a player improve his score on the Wonderlic test to a level that would permit him to be drafted by his team.

The player previously had bombed out on the 50-question intelligence test, making it difficult to justify drafting him.

Said Saban: "They sent me to work out a guy once when I was in Houston. . . . He had a low grade on the Wonderlic. And they sent me up there with the test to re-test him. . . . So I really liked this guy. [He] played safety. So I got the test out and even though I didn't take it I studied it. Then I tutored the guy for about an hour before he took it. Then I gave him twice as long to take it as he was supposed to. And he doubled his score on it. So we got him to where we could draft him.

"Now nobody knows that, but I don't think [Houston owner] Bud Adams can fire me now, so I don't care."

Though Saban was chuckling throughout much of the story, we don't get the impression that it was an exaggeration or an embellishment. And there's just enough Machiavelli lurking the root of Saban's anecdote to lend even more credence to the story perched above this one.

By the way, the Oilers didn't get the guy who got the extra time and tutoring on the test.

"He got picked before we could pick him," Saban said. "So somebody else obviously tutored him up, too."

ME SO AGENTY?

Yet another rapper is planning to try his hand at handling athletes.

In a press release dated April 1, 2006 but circulated by e-mail to us and various other media types on March 29, Luther Campbell of "2 Live Crew" announces that he has formed "Luke Sports & Entertainment," which is described as "an entertainment style management firm dedicated to serving professional athletes."

But Campbell isn't trying to be an agent in the classic sense. "I'm not offering to negotiate NFL or NBA contracts. I'm offering to do what I know . . . turning people into entertainment superstars," Campbell said.

The first rapper to dip his toe into the sports world was Master P, who turned the rookie contract of Ricky Williams into a Cluster F. More recently, Snoop Dogg has teamed with NFL linebacker Willie McGinest and agent Gary Uberstine to form a new venture aimed at helping athletes with marketing opportunities.

POSTED 9:26 p.m. EST, March 29, 2006

NFL STICKS IT TO LOCAL STATIONS

In a move that is drawing barely a blip given the various other developments coming out of the ownership meetings in Florida, the NFL has decided to ban from the sidelines of all games the various local television stations that typically send a guy with a camera to the stadium.

The move, according to the Detroit News, was intended by the NFL to "protect its property rights and remove some of the congestion on the sidelines."

Some of our contacts in the media view it differently.

"This greatly affects us and dozens of stations around the country who do numerous news shows, talk shows, etc.," said one industry source. "If you look on the sidelines of NFL games, there are probably 30 to 50 of those local videographers shooting. . . . Looks like the NFL Network is turning into the behemoth we all feared."

We agree.

Frankly, we don't buy the notion that the local cameras add to any congestion or confusion. Instead, we think that this is all about limiting the available images of the National Football League's primary product, giving only NFL Films and the NFL Network the ability to supplement the shots generated by the television coverage of each game.

We expect the local stations to scream at the top of their lungs to the networks with which they are affiliated. And we expect the networks, in turn, to express to the NFL confusion, at a minimum, regarding the move. After all, this is the first year of the new billion-dollar broadcast contracts. Though the networks only are paying for the right to air the games, the NFL's decision to slap the faces of the network affiliates is a pretty piss-poor customer relations practice.

Our hope, then, is that the NFL will do the right thing and reverse this rule. And even though the print media doesn't have much to gain by taking up this cause, we hope that they'll do the right thing, too, and encourage the NFL to change its position.

POSTED 8:48 p.m. EST, March 29, 2006

OWNERS DISS McKAY'S COMMITTEE

At a time when the chairman of the NFL's competition committee is angling for the Commissioner's job, the fact that the NFL owners did not endorse two of his group's recommended rule changes is a sign, in our view, that he won't be getting the job.

Falcons G.M. Rich McKay heads up the committee, which annually makes recommendations to the owners regarding proposed changes to the rules.

Though we doubt that it's unprecedented for the owners to not adopt one or more recommendations of the competition committee, this is the first time that the competition committee has made recommendations at a time when the chair of the committee was angling for the top job in the business.

Specifically, the owners rejected a proposal to place a radio in the helmet of one defensive player and a suggested adjustment to the false start penalty to permit receivers to flinch before the snap without drawing a flag.

Regardless of whether either move is a good idea or a bad idea, the fact that McKay wasn't able to predict accurately the will of the collective owners on these two points is not a good sign.

Then again, we're beating a dead horse. McKay, as we continue to hear, has no shot at the Commissioner's job. The fact that the owners didn't endorse all of his committee's proposals is simply further confirmation that he's not regarded by enough of them as the right man for the position.

POSTED 8:22 p.m. EST, March 29, 2006

END-ZONE RULE MISSES THE MARK

We're not quite sure how we really feel about the NFL's decision to curtail end-zone celebrations. On one hand, it makes sense to rein in some of the antics that we've seen over the past couple of years, primarily from Chad Johnson, Steve Smith, and Terrell Owens.

On the other hand, does anyone really think that the limitation of using the ball as a prop or putting a knee or a butt on the ground will stop them from pushing the envelope in other ways?

No. They'll still come up with ways to entertain or offend, depending on the perspective of the viewer. The only issue is that they now have less material to work with.

In our view, the NFL needs to ditch the half measures. Either require the players to conform to the college rules, or let them balance the ball on the top of their helmets while scooting across the rug like a poodle that got into the jalapenos.

Reactionary tweaks to the rules won't change anything, because there always be someone who comes up with something that ultimately will require some sort of adjustment to the rules. So the NFL can either continue to waste time on this issue every few years, or it can say that the players who score are expected to hand the ball to the official and get off the field.

POSTED 7:52 p.m. EST, March 29, 2006

BIG SHOW OVER?

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren is thinking about retiring after the 2006 season.

Our response to the Big Show? Big deal.

Look, Holmgren was ready to coast through the 2005 season and then walk away, before he realized that with a little effort and genuine interest he might be able to get his team to the Super Bowl. Once his team started winning more games than it was losing, Holmgren woke up.

He concedes that he might have walked away if his team had won the Super Bowl. Now, with one more year under his original deal with the team, Holmgren acknowledges that 2006 could be it. He has rebuffed the organization's interest in discussing a contract extension.

"Sometimes you just don't know," he said. "I'm not being cute, or leveraging anything, or doing anything like that. I want to be fair and I want to be honest with my bosses and certainly my owner. So I just asked them, 'Give me some time on this.' And they said that was fine."

Our guess is that Holmgren will sign an extension in order to avoid the issue being a distraction in 2006, but that he'll still retire after the season regardless of whether the 'Hawks win the Super Bowl, miss the playoffs, or something in between. We also think there's a possibility that Holmgren will shock the football world and quit before the draft.

POSTED 8:06 a.m. EST; UPDATED 10:40 a.m. EST, March 29, 2006

WELCOME TO THE NEW PFT

Today, we launch the new Profootballtalk.com. We do so with our newest sponsor: Sprint.

That's right, folks. Sprint, together with NEXTEL, is now our exclusive telecommunications sponsor. It's our latest effort to keep the site and its content free for all readers. To make the arrangement successful, however, we need all of the folks who enjoy Profootballtalk.com to not only view the Sprint and NEXTEL ads that will be appearing on the site -- but to actually buy Sprint and NEXTEL products.

Oh, yeah. There's another reason to get yourself a Sprint phone or a NEXTEL phone (or both). In the near future, Profootballtalk.com real-time updates will be available exclusively on the Sprint and NEXTEL wireless network.

That means you won't be able to get it if you have any other phone. That means go buy a Sprint phone or a NEXTEL phone (or both) right now.

It's easy and it's fast. Click one of the ads and follow your nose. It will make us happy.

More importantly, it will help to ensure that our content is always available to you free of charge.

Meanwhile, let us know what you think of the new look, and drop us a line once you've bought your Sprint or NEXTEL phone (or both).

BEARS NOT HAPPY WITH LOVIE'S DEAL

A league source tells us that there's a storm brewing among Chicago Bears players regarding the failure of the team's front office to extend the contract of coach Lovie Smith.

It recently was reported that the organization is opting to take a wait-and-see approach with Smith, who has two years remaining on the contract that he signed two years ago. But the players love Smith -- so they don't like the idea of their coach twisting in the wind.

And it will be a factor, we're told, in the willingness of free agents to re-sign with the team in 2007.

Until then, the players under contract will simply be pissed off at the front office. Until, that is, Smith gets his new deal.

The new deal also should include a healthy raise. Smith gets $1.35 million a year. In contrast, Panthers coach John Fox just joined the $5 million annual salary club.

LORD FAVRE ANNOUNCEMENT EXPECTED SUNDAY

The same source who told us that Packers quarterback Brett Favre already has informed the team that he's returning in 2006 now tells us that a formal announcement of his return is expected to be made on Sunday, April 2.

Why Sunday, April 2? Packers G.M. Ted Thompson has asked Favre to make his intentions known by Saturday, April 1. The thinking is that Favre will intentionally miss the deadline by a day, just to twist Thompson's tail.

Regardless of when the announcement is made, it's common knowledge within the organization that Favre is coming back. For the most part, though, no one is talking about it.

McKAY FACES UPHILL BATTLE FOR COMMISH

In response to our recent story regarding the fact that Falcons G.M. Rich McKay wants to be the next Commissioner of the NFL, a league source with a good idea as to the attitudes of several of the owners and franchises tells us that McKay is not likely to get the job.

McKay is regarded by some as, well, a phony. He is perceived as trying to be too many things to too many people, we're told. And there's a sense that he intentionally has perpetuated the notion that he has been groomed for the Commissioner's job.

Another source was less equivocal, explaining that McKay has no chance to get the job.

Based on what we're hearing, we can't imagine McKay getting the 22 votes necessary to be elected.

WEDNESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

The NFL has added five owners to its L.A. committee, increasing the total membership to 11.

As many as seven teams are interested in QB Joey Harrington (and some of them are actually members of the NFL).

Local television affiliates are now banned from the sidelines at NFL games.

The Big Show thought that Lord Favre would pack it in.

S Idrees Bashir has signed a one-year contract with the Lions.

New Seahawks OT Tom Ashworth is willing to move to left guard if the team wants to put him there.

The Eagles have some interest in WR Eric Moulds, but it was Moulds not the team that initiated the dialogue.

Click here for our March 28 news and rumors. (Or you can continue to watch highlights from the NCAA women's final four and try to figure out whether you'd score more than 20 points if you were on the court with them.)

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