POSTED 11:19 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

CLANCY SIGNS FOR THREE YEARS, $5.2 MILLION

A league source tells us that the contract between the Saints and defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy is for three years, and is worth $5.2 million.

Clancy will receive $1.5 million in the first year of the deal, via salary and bonus money.  The payout matches the salary he would have earned in 2007 with the Cardinals.  In 2008, he's due to receive a base salary of $1.6 million and a workout bonus of $250,000.  The base salary in year three is $1.8 million, with a $150,000 workout bonus.

Under the deal with the Cardinals, he would have earned $4.6 million over the next three seasons. 

The Saints were Clancy's first stop on a four-team tour.  He liked what he saw and opted to sign on the dotted line.

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POSTED 10:29 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

POINDEXTER PLAYS THE RACE CARD

Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter is providing even more justification for the decision of the feds to take over the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation.  Instead of shutting his mouth and getting on with his life, Poindexter is complaining about the fact that someone has finally begun to develop the evidence in the case.

Before going any further, we need to explain something.  We want to see Vick prosecuted and convicted if -- and only if -- he is factually guilty of aiding, abetting, and/or engaging in illegal dog fighting, and any related offenses such as gambling and tax evasion.  Based on the failure of Vick to say anything at all in response to piece after piece of damning evidence, it's hard not to conclude that he's factually guilty of, at a minimum, dog fighting.

For example, when ESPN made its late arrival to the party with a bombshell from an informant whose face was hidden and voice concealed, Vick didn't immediately release a statement denying that he ever was at a dog fight, and Vick didn't demand a retraction from ESPN for this serious accusation.

In a court of law, it's irrelevant.  In the court of public opinion, it points to factual guilt.

And as we learned in law school, there's a big difference between factual guilt and legal guilt.  A guy might have "done it," but in the eyes of the law he's not factually guilty until a jury returns a verdict based on the inherently difficult standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Case in point -- O.J. Simpson.  He was factually guilty, but ultimately found to be legally innocent.

We'd been concerned for weeks that the apparent factual guilt of Mike Vick would never result in a finding of legal guilt (or even in an effort to prove legal guilt via a trial) because Poindexter, a part-time prosecutor, didn't want to be snowed under by a dream team that would have made his life miserable for the next 20 months.  We dismissed the notion that Poindexter was giving Vick a pass based on their shared race.  Though e-mail after e-mail from readers suggested that Poindexter was dragging his feet for that reason, we continued to adhere to the notion that Poindexter simply didn't want to take on the Herculean task of convicting a man rich enough to buy a horde of lawyers who can crap reasonable doubt on a Saturday afternoon.

Tonight, we're not so sure.  Poindexter is openly suggesting that the federal takeover of the investigation was motivated by race.  And his Uncle Leo style resort to this presumption suggests that Poindexter perhaps was and is motivated by such matters in his own mind.

"There's a larger thing here, and it has nothing to do with any breach of protocol," Poindexter said after the investigation was wrested from him.  "There's something awful going on here.  I don't know if it's racial.  I don't know what it is."

Poindexter had more to say: 

POSTED 6:34 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

FEDS SEARCHING FOR DOG CARCASSES, BLOOD

Patrick Terpstra of WVEC-TV reports that federal authorities searching Mike Vick's Surry County, Virginia property are looking for dog carcasses, more dog-fighting equipment, and blood.

The search warrant was issued on Thursday by a federal magistrate judge in Richmond.

All things considered, this is a horrible development for Vick.  It means that the federal government is fully engaged in the process, and that Mike can expect to be contacted soon to provide his side of the story. 

If he chooses to talk, he should also tell the truth.  If he thinks he can pull a fast one on the feds, he should chat with Martha Stewart or Scooter Libby.

Alternatively, Vick could invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.  In the court of public opinion, however, that's the equivalent of admitting guilt.  (Then again, his weeks of silence in the face of damning evidence have already taken care of that one.)

If Vick faces federal charges, he won't be in front of a jury plucked from rural Surry County.  The jurors will come from a much broader swath of countryside.

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POSTED 6:26 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

MARCO GETS WHACKED

Hmmm.  On Wednesday, Cowboys guard Marco Rivera speaks out (scroll down) against NFLPA executive director Geno Upsharrino.  On Thursday, Rivera gets cut.

Could there be a cause-and-effect thing going on here?

Consider these facts:  Upsharrino is represented by Tom Condon of CAA.  The Cowboys' starting quarterback and running back are represented by Ken Kremer of CAA.  The Cowboys' starting quarterback has one year remaining on his contract, and negotiations on an extension are looming.

Are we suggesting that Condon or Kremer let it be known that a swift conversion of Rivera from active to inactive player would be remembered with fondness at the bargaining table?  No. 

We'll just call it a coincidence.  A hell of a coincidence.

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POSTED 6:02 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

POINDEXTER GETS PUNTED

In yet another stunning development from a roller coaster investigation that has featured contradictory public statements from the part-time prosecuting attorney, federal authorities are searching Vick's Surry County, Virginia property.

Oh, and prosecutor Gerald Poindexter is off the case.  Finally.

The search comes only a week or so after Poindexter and Sheriff Harold Brown put the kibosh (whatever in the hell a kibosh is) on a search warrant issued on May 25 by a Surry County magistrate.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the feds have taken control of the investigation.

Said Poindexter:  "Mike Vick, is he the target?  Who else would be?  I never imagined such interest."

So why are the feds on the case?  "Obviously if the feds come in, the jurisdictional basis is some sort of interstate violation," Poindexter said.  "We don't know what it is -- the training of dogs, gambling racketeering, whatever they want to call it."

Poindexter was advised at 3:15 p.m. EDT that federal agents and state police were at the property.  Poindexter was told that a search was proceeding pursuant to a "sealed" warrant obtained by federal authorities.

We have previously argued that Poindexter should be removed from the case.  Though some have argued that he should not be criticized for moving deliberately, his wishy-washy public remarks coupled with the perception of foot-dragging were creating the impression of incompetence at best, corruption at worst.

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POSTED 2:19 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

MARCO RIVERA UNHAPPY WITH GENE UPSHAW by Michael David Smith

It hasn't been a good week for NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw.  When he's not threatening to break the neck of a fellow Hall of Famer, he's being told that members of Congress have some questions they'd like him to answer.

And now an active player is speaking against him.  Cowboys guard Marco Rivera tells Matt Mosley of ESPN.com's Hashmarks blog that he's upset with Upshaw for failing to do more for retired players.

"Retired veterans were left out in the cold," Rivera told Mosley. "You go back to guys like [Johnny] Unitas, and those are the guys that put professional football on the map. They laid out everything for the gigantic contracts that we have today."

Per Mosley, Rivera said Upshaw's comments about Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure have Rivera thinking it's time for the players to replace Upshaw as the head of their union.  And Rivera says he knows he's not the only player who feels that way.

"I've come across a lot of players who are unhappy with our current union situation," Rivera said.

If a lot of players are unhappy, though, it's hard to understand why more of them aren't saying so. Upshaw, after all, works for them. But so far only two active players, Rivera and Vikings center Matt Birk, have questioned Upshaw's leadership publicly.

And Rivera might not have any say in union matters for much longer.  Although he started all 16 games in Dallas last season, there's a good chance that Rivera, who is 35 and has a history of back problems, will retire before the 2007 season.  If he does, the NFL players' union would lose a member with two important qualities:  The ability to think independently and the willingness to speak publicly.

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POSTED 12:49 p.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

BAD NEWS, LENDALE: CHRIS BROWN COULD RETURN TO TITANS by Michael David Smith

It's been well established that the Tennessee Titans aren't very happy with running back LenDale White. A second-round pick last year, White has been criticized for everything from his weight to his work ethic to his failure to inform the team of his whereabouts to his penchant for having his saliva end up on teammates during practice.

But there's one person who might be happy with White: Running back Chris Brown. After spending his first four seasons in the league with the Titans, Brown's contract expired this off-season, and he didn't seem likely to return. However, as White has given the Titans' brass more reasons to doubt that he's their long-term answer at running back, Brown now looks likely to re-sign with Tennessee.

Per Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean, Titans General Manager Mike Reinfeldt said he'd like to have Brown back. "We have two talented young players, but if you can get an experienced guy like Chris to be in the mix, it would be a good thing for us. Plus their styles are a little bit different,'' Reinfeldt said.

Reinfeldt and Brown's agent, Wynn Silberman, aren't ready to draw up a deal just yet, but the mere fact that Brown could return -- and the fact that the Titans spent a second-round pick on running back Chris Henry of Arizona -- says a lot about what the Titans think of White. When Tennessee drafted White in the second round of the 2006 draft, he looked like he'd be the future of the team's running game, just as first-round pick Vince Young would be the future of the passing game.

Instead, White has the team looking elsewhere.

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POSTED 11:34 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 11:59 a.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

WHAT IF GENE UPSHAW WAS ITALIAN?

We were talking with a high-level NFL source earlier on Thursday about the whole Gene Upshaw-Joe DeLamielleure spat, and the source raised an excellent point that we previously hadn't considered.

What if Upshaw, who recently said that he would break Joe D.'s neck, was Italian?

Think about it.  An Italian-American union boss threatens to crack the cervical spine of a former union member who has the gall to exercise his First Amendment rights.  What kind of firestorm in the media would this have triggered?

With all that said, we still think that the words that came out of Upshaw's mouth regarding Joe D. could become the long-time union leader's Don Imus moment.  Plenty of active players think that Upshaw's conduct was unbecoming of the position he holds, and it might make more of them inclined to start asking tough questions and commenting publicly on the situation.

And we think that more folks in the "real" media should be sounding off on this with the same zeal that we would have witnessed if the NFLPA executive director's name was Gene Upsharrino.

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THURSDAY LATE MORNING ONE-LINERS

49ers DE Melvin Oliver will miss the season after tearing an ACL in "non-contact drills" (wink, wink, fart) this week.

Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander says that his foot is fine.

Seattle WR Nate Burleson is a full-blooded Canadian.  (We've never once heard him say "eh".)

Raiders QB Andrew Walter will be recovering for the next few weeks from arthroscopic surgery on his knee.

Broncos S Sam Brandon (knee) still isn't ready to hit the field.

Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt is happy that so many players have decided to attend "voluntary" practices.

Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell is looking pretty good so far.

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POSTED 7:00 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 8:03 a.m. EDT, June 7, 2007

CONGRESS ENTERS DISPUTE BETWEEN NFLPA, RETIRED PLAYERS

The Washington Post reports that the U.S. Congress will hold a hearing later this month regarding one of the primary sources of friction between the NFL Players Association and retired NFL players.

Specifically, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law will examine on June 26 the procedures for players to attempt to recover disability benefits.

"The NFL is a billion-dollar industry and yet the players who built the league are too often left to fend for themselves," said Committee Chairperson Linda T. Sanchez (D-Calif.) in a Wednesday night statement.  "The subcommittee has seen recent reports that the benefit plan offered to retired players may be stacked against players who need serious medical care."

Both NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell have been invited to attend the hearing.  To date, neither man has agreed to attend.

Others who have been invited include Mike Ditka, Harry Carson, and Curt Marsh, whose right foot and ankle were amputated in 1994, which he claims was the result of football injuries.

The problem in this regard seems to be that the powers-that-be might be setting the bar too high for proof that a former player is genuinely disabled based on things that happened on the football field.  With Congress sniffing around, the message is that the parties responsible for this system can fix it on their own, or risk that Congress will fix it for them.

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FRUITLESS SEARCH FOR MARINO SUCCESSOR CONTINUES

Since Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino retired after the 1999 season, the team has burned plenty of draft picks in an effort to replace him.

Now, in 2007, the Fins have sent a fifth-rounder, which could move to a fourth-rounder, for Trent Green.

But it could be the second-round pick that the team used in April to obtain former BYU quarterback John Beck that could bring this cycle to an end.  Once Beck ascends to the job after the Green era concludes, he could hold the job for more than a year or two, which would allow the Dolphins to use their draft picks on something other than finding the next quarterback who, in the end, couldn't get it done.

The irony here is that, when Marino was playing, the team's defense generally wasn't good enough to propel the team to the highest levels of success.  After Marino left, the defense became dominant.  And now that the pendulum on offense could be swinging back the other way, we've got a feeling that the defense will gradually begin to slide backward. 

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ARREST COUNTER SETS NEW RECORD

In case you haven't noticed, our "Days Without An Arrest" counter has made it all the way to 17.  And that's a new record, folks.

So how high can it go?  With OTA sessions winding down over the next couple of weeks, players will be left to their own devices for 4-6 weeks until training camp opens.  With more than 80 guys on each roster right now, that's more than 2,500 guys who have to stay clean for 40 days and 40 nights.

In other words, we'll be back to zero before too long.

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THURSDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

QB Daunte Culpepper likely will be out of Miami before the weekend.

Pats CB Ellis Hobbs, on the lesson he has learned from the passing of DE Marquise Hill:  "There's no reason you can't have fun and enjoy yourself, but do it the right way.  If you’re in the water, put on a vest or something like that.  If you do ride motorcycles, put a helmet on.  Be safe.  There's no reason you have to feel like you're in the Indy 500 when you're driving your Lamborghini or Ferrari or whatever.  You can enjoy all those things, but do it in a cautious way.  Understand, you're not invincible."

Jags coach Jack Del Rio loves Fat Albert like water.

The Jaguars might soon use the rule that would allow the RFA tender of DE Bobby McCray to be cut from $1.85 million to $480,000.

Mike Vick is eyeballing some new property in Surry County, which apparently would be used for the legal killing of certain animals.

Though CB Shawn Springs has finally shown up at Redskins workouts, he has yet to practice.

Eagles QB Kelly Holcomb realizes that he's facing long odds to make the team.

The Eagles have released WR/KR Bethel Johnson, but he could return when he is able to pass a physical.

Pats WR Randy Moss says he doesn't plan on changing.

Patriots S Brandon Meriweather has missed a couple of days of practice with a hamstring injury.

The agent for Pats CB Asante Samuel says that the Jets have not been in contact with him.

LB Junior Seau is happy to be back with the Pats.

Gil Brandt has some strong opinions about Pats WR Wes Welker.  (We can't help but wonder who Brandt swiped those thoughts from.)

New England WR Kelley Washington could be laying the foundation to be one of the odd men out.

The Lions' final OTA session will be conducted at a local high school, and made open to the public.

A "foul wind" followed Jags QB Lester Ricard in college.  (He apparently was on an all-burrito diet.)

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POSTED 10:46 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:33 p.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

CULPEPPER TRADE STILL POSSIBLE?

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that there's a 50-50 chance that the Dolphins will strike a trade for quarterback Daunte Culpepper, and that the Fins currently are talking with three possible suitors.

Schefter also reports that Culpepper is willing to reduce his $5.5 million base salary in order to make a trade happen.

This news conflicts with Culpepper's Wednesday morning e-mail message from Culpepper himself, during which he declared that he doesn't want to be traded.  All he has to do to keep a swap from happening is to refuse to lower his base salary.

And wouldn't he be better off as a free agent?  That way, he could leverage any and all interested teams against each other in an effort to get the best deal.

If, of course, he had an agent.  For more than a year, Culpepper has been representing himself.

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SEVERAL TEAMS NOT KEEN ON 'PEPPER

Though the identity of the teams interested in quarterback Daunte Culpepper isn't known, Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that several squads have indicated that they aren't interested in acquiring his services.

The Bears, Vikings, Falcons, Giants, and Raiders are in the "no, thanks" club.

NFL personnel execs have speculated that the Jaguars, Pats, Rams, and Lions could be interested.

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SOME REAL COMPETITION FOR MADDEN?

EA Sports locked up the exclusive NFL video game license just as Sega was putting together a game that, in time, could have been superior to the Madden series.  The immediate concern was that the ensuing dearth of competition would cause the Madden game to stagnate.

And, frankly, it has.  The Madden offerings for Xbox 360, for example, have been disappointing. 

But now there's a new entry.  Courtesy of Darren Rovell of CNBC.com, by way of the folks at Deadspin.com, we've learned about All-Pro Football 2K8 from 2K Sports.  It will feature more than 240 former NFL players, including Barry Sanders, John Elway, Jerry Rice, Dan Marino, John Unitas, Mike Singletary, and Walter Payton.

On the other hand, the game also has O.J. Simpson.

Recognizable names from other eras add a mild dose of intrigue.  But without NFL trademarks and logos, will anyone want to play?  We think it all comes down to the how good the game is.  If the product is superior to Madden, it will sell.

It won't outsell Madden, by any means.  But plenty of folks will buy both of them, if/when they realize that the non-NFL game is better.

Are we rooting for the new product to take off?  Yes, if for no reason other than that it could force EA to make Madden better.

Then again, now that we've discovered Guitar Hero, we might never buy another football game.  Ever.

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WEDNESDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

Says Pats WR Randy Moss:  "I still love to play the game."  (When, of course, I want to play the game.)

A bunch of NFL players will get some education in radio and TV.

Former Syracuse QB Perry Patterson lasted a whole day with the Eagles.

Former NFL QB Mike McMahon, whose condo was once burglarized, now has had his Escalade stolen.

Saints first-round WR Robert Meachem is out 4-6 weeks after surgery to repair his meniscus.

Dolphins exec George Paton is reportedly heading to Minnesota.

To whoever robbed the mother of Marquise Hill during his funeral we say, "See you in Hell."  (We don't hope to actually see you there.  Unless we're not there ourselves and one of the channels on the satellite dish with an unobstructed view in pretty much every direction features a reality show originating from the Ironic Punishments room.)

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POSTED 10:37 p.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

THURMAN CHARGES A MONEY GRAB?

A league source tells us that the pool of persons who were allegedly roughed up over the weekend in Georgia by Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman has grown to four -- and that they are willing to drop all charges and put the matter behind them.

In exchange for a payment in the amount of $250,000.  Each.

Per the source, the Thurman camp politely (or otherwise) declined.  The quartet then threatened to take the thing to the media, to which the Thurman camp responded by providing the phone number to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Indeed, the charges already have hit the press.  Thus, the threat to go public is, at this point, sort of meaningless.

Due to the fact that the alleged victims waited until the next day to call the cops, a hearing will be held on Friday to determine whether an arrest warrant will be issued for Thurman.

Thurman is currently serving a one-year suspension for violation of the NFL's substance-abuse policy.  He could face separate discipline under the Personal Conduct Policy based on the outcome of the situation in Georgia.

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POSTED 4:39 p.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

INFORMANTS SAY VICK ATTENDED DOG FIGHTS

Surry County, Virginia Sheriff Harold Brown says that people who have come forward in connection with the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation say that Vick attended dog fights.

Brown also said that Vick will be charged if investigators can find evidence backing those claims.

Gee.  What might such evidence be?

HEY GUYS -- HOW ABOUT THE 66 CANINES AND THE DOG-FIGHTING PARAPHERNALIA FOUND ON THE PROPERTY THAT VICK OWNS?

This really is getting ridiculous.  Vick owned real estate in Virginia.  On that property, evidence of dog fighting was found.  Neighbors and other locals say that Vick was frequently there.  Vick claims he never goes there, presumably to cover up his knowledge of and involvement in the activities.  As item after item of incriminating evidence has been reported by the "real" media, Vick has uttered not a peep.  Under what warped notion of common sense does this not point directly to, at a minimum, charging the guy with a crime?

And now there are people who say that they have seen Vick at dog fights.  What evidence do the authorities need to back up these claims?  There are ways to check out the story in order to ensure that the cops aren't dealing with a John Mark Karr nut job who merely wants attention.  Where do these people claim that the fights occurred?  When did they happen?  Where was Vick at the time?  Surely, his deal with AirTran resulted in some type of a paper trail as to his travel habits.  (The AirTran records might also come in handy with respect to the whole "I never go to Surry County" thing.)      

But if the Sheriff or the prosecutor won't accept what these witnesses are willing to say without photographic or video evidence of them standing next to Vick at the edge of the dog-fighting pit, why not just close the case right now?  It would save all of us who have been following the case a lot of time and trouble.

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POSTED 2:04 p.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

CHRIS PERRY: ODD MAN OUT IN CINCINNATI? by Michael David Smith

Two years ago, Bengals running back Chris Perry looked like the perfect fit to be the change-of-pace back for starter Rudi Johnson.  He logged 61 carries for 279 yards as Johnson's backup in 2005 and, although he hadn't earned the starting job, he appeared to justify the 2004 first-round pick the Bengals spent on him.

But Perry had knee and ankle surgery after the 2005 season, started the 2006 season on the physically unable to perform list, and broke his leg in November.  Perry got just 10 carries last year, and Kenny Watson became the Bengals' No. 2 option at running back.

Now Perry is expected to go back on the PUP list to start the 2007 season, and as Kevin Goheen writes in the Cincinnati Post, the Bengals are counting on second-round pick Kenny Irons to do what Perry hasn't:  Spell Johnson and stay healthy. Quarterback Carson Palmer says of Irons, "[H]e's fast, he's quick, he's explosive -- he's all of the things you want to see."  [Editor's note:  And he's not on parole.]

Palmer isn't the only one singing Irons' praises. Overall, the comments out of Cincinnati make it clear that the Bengals didn't draft Irons to have him sit on the bench. And as Ryan Wilson notes at the FanHouse, Irons will be the out-of-the-backfield pass-catching threat, while Johnson will be the between-the-tackles mauler.

That doesn't leave much of a place for Perry.  After just 73 carries, 337 yards, and zero touchdowns, the Bengals' 2004 first-round pick is looking like the odd man out.

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POSTED 11:29 a.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

GOODELL'S PRAISE DOESN'T SPEAK WELL FOR UPSHAW by Michael David Smith

If the CEO of General Motors had nothing but praise for the president of the United Auto Workers, that would not be a sign that the head of the UAW was working as an aggressive advocate on behalf of his members.  To be effective, union leaders often have to be adversarial.

So when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praises NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw, as he did in Charlotte yesterday, he's really doing Upshaw no favors.

"I don't think there's anybody I know who has done more for the retired players and players in general than Gene Upshaw," Goodell said Tuesday, as reported by Charles Chandler of the Charlotte Observer.  "I think he's done a tremendous amount for them."

But if Goodell supports everything Upshaw has done for the retired players, isn't that a sign that Upshaw hasn't done enough?  If you were a member of the union, wouldn't you prefer to read that Goodell thinks Upshaw is too demanding?

In less than a year as commissioner, Goodell has done great work cleaning up the NFL's image and cementing its status as America's most popular sports league.  But he hasn't done much about the many retired players living with serious health problems from their playing days.  Maybe he would have if he had a more aggressive union pushing him.

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POSTED 10:32 a.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

TERRELL SUGGS WANTS AN EXTENSION by Michael David Smith

Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs is entering the final season of the contract he signed as the 10th pick of the 2003 NFL draft, and while he says he's focused on the coming season, he's also clearly focused on the big payday he has coming to him as a Top 10 pick who lived up to his potential.

Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome says he's negotiating an extension with Suggs' agent, and Suggs sounds like a man who would rather get a deal done now to stay in Baltimore than test the free agent waters (or, more likely, get the franchise tag) next spring.  

"I'm a Baltimore guy," Suggs tells Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun.  "I love playing in this city and for this organization.  I really don't think about free agency.  When [the extension] gets done, it gets done."

If Suggs plays at the same level in 2007 as he has in his first four seasons and then hits the open market, he'll fetch a bigger contract than his former teammate, linebacker Adalius Thomas, got from the Patriots this off-season.  Suggs is only 24 years old and already has 40 career sacks.  General Managers salivate at the mere thought of locking up a player that young and that accomplished to a long-term deal.

And that's why there's approximately zero chance of Suggs actually hitting the open market.  Newsome will try to get Suggs locked up long before the 2008 free-agency period begins, but if they don't have a deal in place, the Ravens will do with Suggs what they didn't do with Thomas, and give him the franchise tag.

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POSTED 9:27 a.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

CULPEPPER DOESN'T WANT TO BE TRADED

Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald reports that the Miami Dolphins have informed quarterback Daunte Culpepper that he no longer is in the team's plans, and that the franchise will attempt to trade him.

The report confirms Adam Schefter's Tuesday night tidbit that Culpepper is indeed "one and done" in Miami.

But there's a catch.  Culpepper doesn't want to be traded.  

"'They would like to trade me in order to 'get something for me,'" Culpepper said in a Wednesday morning e-mail, which at least was sent to the Herald and might have gone to other members of the South Florida media.  "However, it is my position that I have already been down that road and I am not interested in being traded.

"They have told me throughout the off-season that I am under contract to the Dolphins.  Therefore, it will be up to them to either keep me under contract or release me.  In the meantime, I will continue to work out at the facility with the team and prepare myself for training camp, wherever it may be.''

Culpepper is due to make a salary of $5.5 million in 2007; thus, any trade would require a willingness on his part to accept less money.  Since he has said he doesn't wish to be traded (and given that he still acts as his own agent), Culpepper's desire not to be dealt means that he most likely won't be -- unless someone is willing to buy his contract as it currently is written, with future salaries of $6 million in 2008, $6 million in 2009, $7 million in 2010, $8 million in 2011, $9 million in 2012, and $10 million in 2013.

We'd be shocked if anyone would be willing to take on that type of a deal for a player whose career is clearly at a crossroads.

The more likely reality is that the Fins will cut Culpepper, soon.  He was cleared to return to practice on Tuesday, which means that, if he's cut, the team will be able to argue that it's not on the hook for $250,000 in 2007 salary due to the lingering effects of last season's knee problems.  The downside is that, if he re-injures his knee, the Fins could be looking at an injury settlement of up to $5.5 million.

With a full-squad minicamp scheduled for the weekend, the wisest move would be to cut him before he sets foot (or knee) on the practice field. 

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POSTED 7:46 a.m. EDT; UPDATED 8:08 a.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

JETS SNIFFING AROUND SAMUEL?

Albert Breer of the MetroWest Daily News reports that the New York Jets could be plotting a late-offseason run at Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel.

Samuel, a free agent whose movement is limited by the franchise tag, is free to talk to any other team, and he also can sign an offer sheet with any other team.  But if the Pats opt not to match the offer sheet, New England would be entitled to two first-round draft picks as compensation.

Breer also reports that the Pats plan to hold firm to their rights in this regard, and won't accept a trade offer for something less than two first-round picks.

Several teams reportedly have expressed an interest in matching Samuel's asking price, which is in the range of Nate Clements' eight-year, $80 million deal.  In reality, however, the Clements contract is a seven-year, $64 million contract, due to a phony final season.

But if the Jets are truly interested in Samuel, why have they waited so long to get serious about it?  They moved up to get cornerback Darrelle Revis in the draft, which would seem to reduce any pre-draft interest that they might have had in Samuel.

Our take?  On the heels of Samuel's recent proclamation that he plans to sit out the first ten games of the 2007 regular season, the Jets are looking to push even deeper the wedge that currently exists between the Pats and their franchise player, in the hopes that he'll follow through on his threat.  If the Jets bring him in for a visit under the guise of talking about a possible offer sheet now, nothing will prevent the Jets from saying whatever they need to say in order to persuade Samuel to report to the Patriots on the last possible date in 2007, with a wink-nod understanding that the Jets will make a move for him in 2008.

As a practical matter, if the Pats can't sign Samuel to a long-term deal, either Samuel or cornerback Randall Gay will be on the open market next March (since the Pats, like every team, have only one franchise tag to use), and the Jets would then be guaranteed of getting a clear shot at one of them. 

But Samuel is clearly the better of the two, and the cost to the Patriots of franchising him in 2008 would be $9.348 million.  And that tells us that Samuel has six more regular-season games in New England, and that he'll be free to walk (possibly to the Jets) after the season.

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WEDNESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

QB Trent Green still has to pass a physical before the trade sending him to Miami becomes official.  (The way this thing has gone, we wouldn't be shocked if he flunks it.)

Our condolences to the family and friends of Ann Litt; the 54-year-old Redskins nutritionist died suddenly this week.

Redskins RB Clinton Portis is recovering from tendonitis in his knee.

Troy Aikman thinks that his problems with migraines have no connection to his ten concussions (of course, he reached that conclusion using a brain that has . . . suffered . . . ten . . . concussions).

Maybe Texans coach (and former Coach Kevlar lieutenant) Gary Kubiak should just give WR/KR Jerome Mathis a lie detector test the next time he gets hurt.

Pats QB Tom Brady doesn't want to talk about the adventures of "Little Tommy."

The teammates of Pats CB Asante Samuel aren't saying much in his favor.

The Packers might be buying out the contract of would-have-been president John Jones.

Former Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil thinks that QB Trent Green has two more good years in him.

Lions WR Calvin Johnson has dropped a pass. 

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POSTED 7:07 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 7:26 a.m. EDT, June 6, 2007

PUSH COMING TO OUST UPSHAW?

After more than two decades of keeping a hammerlock on his position as executive director of the NFL Players Association, Gene Upshaw might finally be facing a threat to his tenure.

Key word:  "might."

A league source tells us that a group of older players are currently contemplating the possibility of trying to get Upshaw removed.  They believe that Upshaw makes "way too much money," and that his recent reference to breaking the neck of Hall of Famer Joe DeLamielleure was "totally out of line."

It would be a tough battle, in our view.  Upshaw is deeply entrenched in the position, and he has been able consistently to set the agenda with the players who are in management positions.  We've heard him on the radio, and he is a very persuasive speaker. 

Any players who are inclined to take on this challenge need to get themselves sufficiently educated on the issues, and they need a very smart member (someone who went to, say, Harvard) to be the face and voice of the cause.

That someone could be Vikings center Matt Birk.  Last year, the Pro Bowler teed off on Upshaw in an unprecedented attack from an active player.

"Don't put this in the paper . . . no, wait, go ahead and put it in," Birk told Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune in early 2006.  "Gene Upshaw is a piece of [expletive].  Too many guys in the league just accept whatever Gene says.  I don't know why no one has called this guy out."

At a time when Upshaw was rattling the sword about an uncapped year if a new CBA wasn't reached, Birk recognized that the grass wouldn't be greener without a salary cap, since (for example) the years of service necessary to become an unrestricted free agent would have moved from four to six.

POSTED 10:50 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

THURMAN IS STILL A BENGAL

We've seen some creative strategies over the past few months from teams who want to disown players who have gotten in trouble with the law.  The Saints tried to pretend that they'd cut practice-squad linebacker E.J. Kuale long before he was busted on weapons and drug charges.  The Steelers cut linebacker Richard Seigler after they found out that a warrant had been issued for his arrest on charges that he's a pimp, but before the warrant was actually served.

The Bengals are now attempting to try out a new approach, in light of the accusations directed at linebacker Odell Thurman.  Faced with the possibility that a warrant for his arrest will be issued following a Friday hearing regarding an alleged assault, the Bengals are already taking the position that Thurman isn't really on the team.

"His situation is controlled by the league, he's not officially on our roster," team spokesman Jack Brennan told the AP.  "Since his possible reinstatement is in the league's hands, we would defer any comment to the league."

Oh, but he is.  He's not on the active roster.  But the Bengals still hold his rights as a member of the team's reserve/suspended list.  If/when he's reinstated following a minimum banishment of one year for violation of the substance-abuse policy, he'll be back on the team.

So he's no less of a Bengal that Ricky Williams is a Dolphin, Pacman Jones is a Titan, and Tank Johnson is a Bear.

If the Bengals wanted to wash their hands of Thurman, they should have done so.  Sure, it might have been a violation of the CBA, but it was a violation of the CBA to cut linebacker A.J. Nicholson after he was arrested last month.  That didn't stop them from doing it.

Thus, until the team washes its hands of Thurman, Thurman is a member of the team. 

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POSTED 9:57 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

CULPEPPER TAKES THE HIGH ROAD

Greg Bedard of the Palm Beach Post reports that, on the same day that the Dolphins finally reeled in quarterback Trent Green from the Chiefs, incumbent veteran Daunte Culpepper has finally received clearance to return to the practice field.

And despite reports that Culpepper would ask to be released, Culpepper has finally figured out that there's a thing known as "the high road."

"I am preparing to practice tommorrow [sic] unless you know something that I don’t know,” said Culpepper.  "My position on Trent is that the Dolphins should get the best players that they can and let them compete for the starting job."

The reality here could be that Culpepper realizes there's no need to clamor for his walking papers since it's pretty much a given that he'll either be traded or cut.  So if he's going to be trying to get another team to take a chance on him, he needs to avoid coming off like a boob -- like he did in 2006 as he was trying to get out of Minnesota.

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POSTED 9:52 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

DELAMIELLEURE WANTS TO GET GENE FIRED

In a Tuesday interview with our good friend Brad Riter of WGR in Buffalo, Bills Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLamielleure elaborated on his animosity toward NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw.

The full interview can be heard right here.

"I wake up every day trying to get Gene Upshaw fired," DeLamielleure said while explaining his dissatisfaction with the current leadership of the NFLPA.

Joe D. (it's a helluvalot easier than spelling his last name) also addresses Upshaw's recent comment that he's "going to break his . . . damn neck."

"When a union guy who's the head of a multi-billion-dollar union threatens to break your neck. . . .  I'm not afraid of Gene Upshaw, but he has a means to do it if he wants to," Joe D. said.  "So the rest of my life when I don't answer a phone or my cell phone's out, my wife's gotta worry."

For the record, Joe D. isn't pointing a finger at the league, since the owners are giving 60 percent of the gross revenues to the players.  His beef is with a union that fails to take sufficient care of the players from days gone by with the huge chunk of money that is now being paid to the players.

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HOW TO GET MORE MONEY TO THOSE WHO MADE THE GAME GREAT

So what can be done to help take better care of the players who helped propel the NFL to the heights of popularity it now enjoys?

Here's a thought:  Install a rookie wage scale that gets rid of the unwarranted windfalls given to the unproven players (and their agents), reduce the salary cap accordingly, and use the extra money to better fund pension benefits, health care expenses, and disability benefits.

But it'll never happen, because the union will never try to do it.  Why?  Because a handful of agents who pull the union's strings want to get their perpetual three percent pieces of those rookie megadeals.

So the rookies who have never taken a snap in the NFL will continue to be eligible for those $50 million contracts, the agents will be able to get their cuts, and Upshaw will continue to make more than $4 million per year in salary.

Oh, and NFLPA president Troy Vincent won't rock the boat on this one because he has his eyeballs on the chair (and the pay scale) that Upshaw currently occupies.

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POSTED 9:28 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

PORTIS FINALLY APOLOGIZES, WE THINK

Though it took a couple of weeks, Redskins running back Clinton Portis finally has offered up a "real" apology for his comments from last month suggesting that dog fighting shouldn't be a crime.

"When I made those comments I didn't understand the seriousness behind it," Portis said on Tuesday, according to Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post.  "I didn't know it would affect that many people and didn't think what I said was that offense [sic].  But after doing some research and seeing how serious people take this, I shouldn't have made the comments.  Hopefully it will die down and people will understand that at that time I had no idea the love people have for animals and I didn't consider it when I made those comments."

We accept the explanation, but we've read the comments a few times now, and at no point does Portis ever say he's sorry.

Hey, Clinton, who's doing your P.R. work now?  Pacman Jones?

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POSTED 9:20 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

CLANCY, BROWN CUT LOOSE

A day after we reported that the Cardinals had given a "take a pay cut or move on (and move out)" ultimatum to defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy and offensive lineman Milford Brown, the team dumped both players.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt said on Tuesday that he met with the players on Monday to ask them to reduce their pay.  They both declined.

"I didn't want it to come down to a situation in training camp where we had to make a decision about these guys based on the money," Whisenhunt said.  "Also, if they didn't want to restructure, I wanted to give them the opportunity to get on somewhere else.  They decided they didn't want to restructure, so I respect them.

"We're doing some things differently offensively and defensively.  Out of respect to Kendrick and Milford, I didn't want it to come down to a situation at the last cut and have to make a decision at that point."

Though it all sounds rather magnanimous (thanks, Tiki) of Whisenhunt, there's also that little thing about not having enough cap room to sign all of the team's draft picks, and needing to unload salaries in order to get the rookie deals done.

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POSTED 9:09 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

GREEN DEAL FINALLY GETS DONE

Multiple media outlets (as far as we can tell, Jay Glazer of FOX had it first, but we could be wr-wr-wr-incorrect) are reporting that the Chiefs finally have traded quarterback Trent Green to the Dolphins.

The deal got done for a fifth-round pick that could upgrade to a fourth-rounder based on playing time.

So it is that almost one year to the day on which the Titans traded Steve McNair to the Ravens for a fourth-rounder, the Chiefs and Fins finally resolved their protracted impasse.

Per Glazer (and possibly others), the Chiefs told the Dolphins that today was the last day to get it done.  And thus done it got.

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ONE AND DONE FOR DAUNTE

We reported on Monday that, if/when Trent Green lands in Miami, quarterback Daunte Culpepper will ask to be released.

Before it comes to that, the Fins apparently will try to trade the guy for whom they gave up a second-rounder in 2006.  Per Adam Schefter of NFL Network, the Dolphins were peeved that news of the Green deal leaked, because the Fins were trying to unload Culpepper.  (Surely, guys, there are more interesting ways to waste your time.)

Schefter also reports that, regardless of how it comes down, Culpepper won't be back with the Dolphins this season.

So where will he land?  Schefter floats the possibility of Culpepper going to Atlanta.  (Psssst, Adam, you might want to retract that one, or Len Pasquarelli's head might explode. . . .  On second thought, don't take it back.)

We think that the Jags should make a play for Culpepper, but we have a feeling that V.P. of player personnel Shack Harris won't go for it.  Another possibility?  The Patriots, who could use a proven backup in the event that Tom Brady gets hurt during a year in which the deck is otherwise stacked for a Super Bowl run.

Other teams that could give 'Pepper a sniff include the Redskins, Bears, Rams, Seahawks, Ravens, Steelers, Colts, Broncos, and Raiders.

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POSTED 4:46 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

BENTLEY OPTS AGAINST SURGERY, FOR NOW 

Browns center LeCharles Bentley has decided not to undergo yet another surgery on a patellar tendon that popped last summer and thereafter hosted a staph infection.

The move is good news (sort of) for the Browns, since surgery would have knocked Bentley out for all of the 2007 season.  The procedure tentatively had been set for this week.  

"We've indicated since the fall this was a pivotal week," G.M. Phil Savage said.  "I can report there's nothing scheduled for yesterday, today, or this week.  He's opted at this point not to have another surgery and he's going to continue to rehab.

"Without reading too much into it, it's a positive sign there's a thought process that he's healing to a point where he can at least think about [returning to football]."

Still, surgery could ultimately become necessary.  The team is expecting another update within the next three or four weeks.

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POSTED 4:20 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:38 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

MORA DIDN'T LIKE HERNDON

We mentioned in a Tuesday Morning One-Liner that cornerback Kelly Herndon wasn't released pursuant to the post-June 1 designation, which allows the cap hit to be divided over two cap years.  Herndon was cut on the last possible day that a player can be released with absorption of the full cap charge in the current cap year.  And this has caused us to wonder why the Seahawks didn't release him earlier.

Per a league source, the Seahawks waited so long because the team was hoping that new defensive backs coach Jim Mora would reconsider his position regarding Herndon.  As it turns out, Mora simply didn't like him.  As of June 1, Mora hadn't changed his mind.

So the team pulled the trigger, took their cap medicine now, and moved on.  (Or moved out.)

Meanwhile, look for Herndon to land somewhere else pretty quickly.  Though 30 years old, he has only five years of NFL wear and tear.  He'll be particularly attractive to other NFC West teams who might want to pick his brain about the Seahawks' playbook and other top-secret stuff.

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THURMAN ARREST MIGHT NOT HAPPEN

The failure of the two men who claim that Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman and his brother beat them up and thereafter pointed guns at them to make an immediate report to authorities could make it very hard for Thurman and his brother to face charges.

Though there's no legal requirement that police be called immediately when someone is beaten up or put on the wrong end of a pistol, the failure to get police on the scene promptly to investigate the situation and determine whether charges should be pursued will provide plenty of ammunition for the defense lawyers in their quest to conjure reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.

Since the charges came the next day, the case initially will hinge on a hearing that essentially amounts to a swearing contest between the accusers and those who are friendly to them, and the accused and those who are friendly to them.  The mere fact that the accusers waited will make it harder to persuade a jury that Thurman and his brother are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The key will be the presence of any truly neutral, unbiased witnesses.  Even then, the ultimate question that needs to be asked is whether the testimony supporting the notion that an assault occurred is enough to overcome any reasonable doubt arising from the testimony that it didn't happen. 

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POSTED 1:09 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

THURMAN REPORT CONFIRMED

As we explained on Monday, the folks at WithLeather.com took a big risk by going with unsubstantiated reports of a ruckus involving Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman.

As it turns out, the reports were on the money.

WCPO-TV in Cincinnati reports that Thurman is facing accusations of assault in Georgia, based on complaints made against Thurman and his brother by "a couple of men."

The accusers claim that Thurman and his brother punched them at a party, and thereafter returned with guns drawn.

A hearing will be held on Friday to determine whether an arrest warrant is issued.  We've got our fingers crossed, since we'd rather not see the "days without an arrest" meter hit 20.

With all that said, being "right" in the end doesn't mean that going with the report wasn't risky to the point of reckless, given the potential for a defamation suit.  If the overriding goal is to keep a quasi-media business viable over the long haul, getting it other than "right" on a subject like this only once can be fatal.

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POSTED 10:11 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 12:15 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

POINDEXTER CONTINUES TO SPEAK OUT OF BOTH SIDES OF HIS MOUTH

Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter continues to inspire zero confidence regarding his handling of the investigation regarding evidence of possible dog-fighting found at Mike Vick's property in late April.

According to the New York Daily News, Poindexter said on Monday that he still has no evidence linking Vick to the activities that were (or were not) occurring on the land he owned (or still owns).

"Evidence is a gun, sworn testimony, an affidavit," Poindexter said.  "I don't have any evidence.  I don't have any investigative reports, none whatsoever.  That doesn't mean that the leading investigator in this case is not working vigorously."

Actually, Mr. Poindexter, evidence is the cache of dog-fighting paraphernalia that was found on the property that Vick owned.  Evidence also is the bloody carpet and blood spatters that ordinarily wouldn't result from a legitimate dog-breeding operation.

Furthermore, evidence is the stuff that the search warrant for dog carcasses buried on the land might reveal, if the warrant hadn't been killed by Poindexter -- or if it were re-drafted by Poindexter to resolve his supposed concerns regarding the language of the document.

And yet despite a string of contradictory statements that he has made and circumstances suggesting he's not pursuing the case as diligently as he could or should, Poindexter believes that all is well.  "We are going to do the best we can," Poindexter said. "I am not afraid of convicting Michael Vick or anybody else that might have been involved in dogfighting in Surry County."

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DID STOLEN ITEMS POSSIBLY HAVE VALUE TO THE CASE?

The only development regarding the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation on Monday was news that his house had been burglarized at some point between May 7 and May 18, and Poindexter's predictable claim that various items stolen from the house have no relevance to the investigation.

But how can anyone be sure?  Apart from what might have been lurking in the bottom of that wet/dry vacuum cleaner, what if the house also was scoured by the "burglars" for any video or photographic evidence that wasn't found when investigators recovered the dogs and the equipment from the buildings in the back of the property?   What if the theft of the three plasma televisions and the couch was merely cover for a more sinister goal?

Instead of presuming that the theft was merely "feuding over the spoils," shouldn't Poindexter be tracking down all of the persons who lived in that house to confirm that it was only about claiming property and not about covering tracks?

In our view, the only hope that any semblance of justice will be done in this case is if Poindexter is relieved of responsibility for this investigation right now.  With each passing day, it'll be harder and harder to repair the damage that his thumb-twiddling is causing.

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MAGIC DEMAND ISN'T UNREASONABLE

So we're listening to our new-old friend Colin Cowherd, and he's arguing against the Orlando Magic's request that "former" coach Billy Donovan agree not to take another job in the NBA for the next five years in exchange for letting him out of his paper-still-warm-from-the-printer contract.

Cowherd claims that he doesn't like the idea of someone telling a guy where he can't work.  In the next breath, however, Cowherd argues that the team should force Donovan to serve out the full term of his five-year deal, which is a far more extreme imposition on his overall exercise of liberty.

But if the Magic have concluded (wisely) that they don't want Donovan because he doesn't want to be there, it's a no-brainer to ask that he commit to refrain from taking a job coaching another NBA team during the five years that he would have been coaching the Magic.

It's a fair request, in our view.  If Donovan is turning tail because he wants to stay in Gainesville, then he should stay there.  At least for the five years he would have worked for Orlando.

If Donovan balks, it suggests that his decision had less to do with staying in Gainesville over the long haul and more to do with not coaching the Magic.  And this means that Donovan would still want to be able to keep his options open to jump for another NBA job that might become available in the next half of a decade. 

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TUESDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

Former Colts QB Jack Trudeau now faces a felony charge of obstruction for refusing to give up a list of the kids who were at a party at which he allegedly served booze.

Pats CB Asante Samuel didn't attend the wake or the funeral for DE Marquise Hill.

Bears DT Tank Johnson isn't expected to appeal his eight-game suspension, which will be cut to six if he continues to behave himself.

'Skins CB Shawn Springs has finally shown up for OTA workouts, and will practice on Tuesday.

The Redskins have yet to commence negotiations with TE Chris Cooley.

Former Redskins OL Ray Brown won't return as a kinda-sorta assistant coach.

Pats LB Tedy Bruschi's wrist is fully recovered.

Pats WR Randy Moss is busting his butt, for now.

Broncos DT Sam Adams is half a hamburger away from being the heaviest player in team history.

Cowboys OT Flozell Adams will miss this week's OTA sessions after undergoing "minor surgery" on his right knee.

The Cowboys and Broncos will practice together on August 15 and 16, before meeting in an exhibition game on August 18.

Says Surry County resident Winston Jones regarding Mike Vick:  "He's dirty.  He's dirty as hell, but don't lock another black man up.  He did it, but he's a young man and grew up in the 'hood.  Y'all clean him up and help him out."

Giants CB R.W. McQuarters has gotten his first haircut since his rookie year, and as a result he is wearing a helmet that is two sizes smaller.

RB Verron Haynes has re-signed with the Steelers.

Five players and counting have tried their hand at center in Pittsburgh.

Texans TE Mark Bruener has finally gotten his college degree.

Lions G Damien Woody has lost 31 pounds and plans to be a starter in 2007.

After throwing a golf ball farther than the drives offered up by two of his teammates, Pats QB Tom Brady cranked out a 307-yard effort on Monday.

With CB Kelly Herndon gone, CB Kelly Jennings has taken over as a starting corner in Seattle.

Seahawks C Chris Spencer (shoulder) took part in some individual drills on Monday.

The Seahawks did not designate CB Kelly Herndon as a post-June 1 cut, which means that the full cap acceleration will hit the cap in 2007.

Ravens LB Dan Cody could be facing his third knee surgery since being drafted in 2005.

We get a little love from the Arizona Republic.

Bears TE Greg Olsen is looking good in his reps with the first team.

On Monday, Chris Harris of the Bears worked ahead of Adam Archuleta at strong safety.

Giants LB Antonio Pierce has some strong words for folks who fight dogs.

49ers coach Mike Nolan will be allowed to wear a suit and tie twice this year, but he is still trying to get permission to do it all the time.

The Niners have excused G Larry Allen from three weeks of voluntary OTA workouts.

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POSTED 7:26 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 7:45 a.m. EDT, June 5, 2007

HALL OF FAMER FEARING A MEADOWLANDS FUNERAL?

Hall of Fame Bills guard Joe DeLamielleure and NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw are escalating their public war of words, and DeLamielleure is raising the specter of guys like Jimmy Hoffa in reference to the possible lengths to which Upshaw might go to quiet his critics.

Then again, Upshaw walked right into it with recent comments suggesting that he'd like to inflict serious physical harm on DeLamielleure.

In an item that appeared in the Philadelphia Daily News on June 1, Upshaw had this to say regarding DeLamiellure: 

POSTED 9:41 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 10:20 p.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

UPSHAW REELS IN MORE THAN $4 MILLION IN SALARY

With help from a reader, we've gotten our eyeballs on the LM-2 report filed by the NFLPA for the 12-month reporting period ending on February 28, 2007.

Here are some highlights.

First, NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw was paid a salary of $4.264 million.  Assistant executive director Doug Allen got more than $1.9 million in salary, and general counsel Richard Berthelsen was paid more than $598,000. 

In all, 26 employees of the union made at least $100,000 in salary.

We've got no problem with folks being paid handsomely, but at a time when the NFLPA continues to stand idly by while teams make a mockery of things like the offseason workout rules and the federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, we've got to ask whether the players are getting a good return on their investment.

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MONDAY NIGHT ONE-LINERS

Pats CB Asante Samuel, restricted by the franchise tag, says he won't show up until Week Ten of the regular season.

Hey, Mangini, way to do your part in fighting the presumption among non-Italians that we're all "connected".

Some guy we never heard of who used to play in the NFL has made a movie that we'll likely never see.

The guy whose house hosted the rape of a woman is supporting the guy whose house might have hosted dog fighting.

WR David Patten is hoping to make a contribution in New Orleans this year.

Pfizer is hiring Roger Staubach to help sell some of its property.  (Is he getting paid in Viagra?)

The Packers have signed fifth-round WR David Clowney.

Hey, Pacman -- here's what it really means to take your suspension like a man.

QB Jake Plummer is still retired.

Panthers C Justin Hartwig won't bitch if he's moved to guard.

The Lions are starting their last string of OTA sessions.

Today's sign of the Apocalypse:  Eagles QB Donovan McNabb appeared in-studio with Angelo Cataldi and some of our other friends at WIP.

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POSTED 8:43 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 9:20 p.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

MEACHEM NEEDS KNEE SURGERY

Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that receiver Robert Meachem, the Saints' first-round selection in the 2007 draft, will undergo arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday, and will thereafter be out of action for four weeks.

It's a cartilage problem in Meachem's right knee; he had similar issues at Tennessee, but nothing that caused him to miss extensive action.  Still, it's not a good sign for the former Volunteer, since each human knee has a finite amount of cartilage, and it doesn't grow back.  Once it's gone, the player will be dealing with bone-on-bone contact.  The choices?  Play in excruciating pain, retire, or undergo microfracture surgery, a relatively new procedure that has had mixed results.

It's not a good sign for a team that used a first-round pick on a position at which, in 2006, they got the steal of the draft when nabbing Marques Colston in round seven.

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VICK HOUSE GETS BURGLARIZED

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the house owned by Michael Vick in Surry County, Virginia was burglarized at some point between May 7 and May 18.

Surry County prosecutor Gerald Poindexter doesn't think that the thieves were trying to abscond with any evidence that might be used against Vick in connection with a pending investigation regarding dog fighting. 

Taken from the home were three plasma-screen televisions, two floor buffers, a wet/dry vacuum, an upright washer and dryer, and a leather sofa.  And three dog skeletons.  (Okay, were kidding about that.  Leather sofa . . . right.)

Meanwhile, the investigation regarding the dog fighting thing is moving along.  Or whatever.

"I don't have, to date, one investigative report," Poindexter said.  "I have nothing on my desk.  I'm in touch with people who can assure me they can provide me the stuff.  That's where we are."

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BILLY NEEDS TO QUIT ACTING LIKE A KID

Lost in this whole "should he or shouldn't he" and "will he or won't he" nonsense regarding Billy Donovan's career as the guy who gets paid huuuuge money to tell five guys in shorts how to go about putting a ball through a steel ring are basic notions of honor and integrity.

And though this has nothing to do with the NFL, we can envision a similar situation arising at some point in pro football.  Especially if Donovan ultimately gets his way without any real consequence.

Donovan agreed last week to leave Florida to coach the Orlando Magic of the NBA.  He both gave his word and signed his name.  No gun was pointed at his temple, and Grover Gill wasn't twisting his arm behind his back.

Despite using a version of the name "William" better suited to a six-year-old, Donovan is a grown man.  He should be able, before making a fairly significant decision, to weigh the pros and the cons and make a sound choice. 

And once he makes a decision, he should stick with it.  Though he might have misgivings or regrets, he should proceed for at least a year before trying to get out.

Are we so old that concepts such as keeping your word have now become outdated?  That it's okay to get a quick do-over if you ask nicely?

We realize that circumstances can often change, and that a guy can realize that the job ended up being different than he thought it would be.  But that conclusion normally isn't reached 24 hours after signing the contract.

Besides, why in the hell didn't Donovan insist on a contractual term providing a brief period during which he could change his mind?  He had all of the leverage.  Though plenty of criticism has been heaped on Nick Saban for leaving the Miami Dolphins after only two seasons, Saban had the foresight to ensure that the contract allowed him to do so.  All Donovan had to do was ask for the ability to leave for the college game at any time without penalty, and he likely would have gotten it.  If the Magic had declined, then Donovan should have passed.

At some point on Monday, we saw a suggestion that Donovan believes he was pressured to sign with the Magic.  Once again, Donovan is an adult male, who presumably is in full control of his body, mind, and emotions.  If he thought that the Magic were working on him too hard to ink the deal, shouldn't the little voice in the back of Donovan's head have told him to run as fast as he could back to Gainesville?

Regardless of how all of this turns out, it's a major embarrassment (in our opinion) for Donovan.  Though he'll likely never receive serious interest from any other NBA owner for fear of the same outcome, opposing college coaches will constantly hound his targeted recruits with whispers that players will never be able to know for sure when Donovan is going to catch a wild hair and leave again.

With all that said, if we owned the Magic (and Orlando fans everywhere should be glad we don't), we'd let Donovan go.  Not because we would be inclined to do him a favor, but because we would have concluded that he'd done us a favor by exposing major character flaws that previously were unknown.  Donovan is wishy-washy, and he has no regard for doing the right thing regardless of whether it meshes with what he subjectively wants.

Before cutting him loose, however, we'd want Florida or Donovan or someone else to sign a check with plenty of zeroes for making us look like idiots in the national media. 

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POSTED 5:18 p.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

CLANCY WON'T TAKE A PAY CUT

In response to our post regarding the Cardinals' efforts to squeeze defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy and offensive lineman Milford Brown into taking a pay cut, Clancy's agent says that it's not gonna happen. 

"Kendrick will not take a pay cut to stay in Arizona," Ron Del Duca said when we contacted him this afternoon.  "We like his contract there as it is now.  It's now up to the Cardinals to decide to release him or not.  If he gets cut I'm confident he'll end up somewhere else, relatively soon."

Indeed, veteran defensive tackles don't hang around long on the open market.  Clancy was highly regarded during his stints in Pittsburgh and with the Giants.  With Tank Johnson poised to miss up to eight games, Clancy could get a chance to join the NFC's elite team -- and perhaps render Tank expendable.

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POSTED 4:47 p.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

CARDS SQUEEZING CLANCY, BROWN

Two of the free agents that the Arizona Cardinals reeled in with much fanfare in 2006 were defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy and offensive lineman Milford Brown.

One season later, the Cards could be cutting them both loose.

A league source tells us that the Cardinals have asked Clancy and Brown to restructure their contracts.  If they refuse, they will be cut.

Clancy is scheduled to earn $1.5 million in base salary in 2007.  Brown is due to make $2.35 million in base salary.

The Cardinals are looking to create cap space in order to sign their 2007 draft picks.  This uncharacteristic cap problem apparently is the result of the team's reluctance to use signing bonuses and other devices that spread cap dollars over time.

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POSTED 4:22 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 4:42 p.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

BRONCOS ADD ADAMS

The Denver Broncos have expanded their taste for former Browns defensive linemen to another Ohio city.

On Monday, they signed former Bengals defensive tackle Sam Adams to a one-year deal.  Though financial terms have not been disclosed, the contract presumably is for the veteran league minimum, which per a CBA quirk encouraging the retention of older players will pay Adams $820,000 at a cost in real dollars and cap dollars of only $430,000. 

Earlier this year, the Broncos tried to trade for a guy who once was the No. 1 overall draft pick in Cincinnati, but defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson failed to report for his physical and the deal was scuttled.

Kudos to the Broncos for moving quickly to lock up Adams.  Given the suspension of Tank Johnson, the Bears might have been tempted to make a run at Adams as a replacement.

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BLOGGER TAKING A BIG RISK?

There's a blog thing out there called WithLeather.com, which has said mean things about us in the past. 

Hey, we can take it.  We've been called a lot of things, many of which are accurate.  But we never, ever, ever, ever (did we say "ever"?) make stuff up.

Another thing we never, ever, ever, ever (did we say "ever"?) do is go with a tip that a guy has been arrested or committed any other type of misconduct that could damage his reputation, unless we have solid sources who have verified the information.

Over the years, it has caused us to miss out on "breaking" many a story that eventually became public, such as the rumors that Joe Horn fathered a baby with Willie Roaf's wife.  But, on the bright side, we've never been taken to People's Court (or any other court of law).

It's one of the benefits of that law degree thing that the Poobah picked up 16 or so years ago.  We know where the line of liability is, and we stay the hell away from it.

On Monday, WithLeather.com is doing the lambada on that line by going with unverified tips that Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman beat the crap out of some dude over the weekend, returned with a gun-wielding posse, and later tried to buy the victim's silence.

Maybe the information is completely accurate and, if so, kudos to the site for getting the truth out there.  But it's one thing to be wrong about a trade rumor; it's quite another to be wrong about something that inflicts even more damage to a guy's image than he already has inflicted himself.

In this case, if the tip turns out to be embellished at best or fraudulent at worst, the folks at Fat Penguin Media will need to be ready to post a retraction before the process server shows up at the headquarters in Mesa, Arizona.

And if the tip is on the money, it might be time for Odell Thurman to throw out his cleats, because he'll never, ever, ever, ever (did we say "ever"?) need them again.

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POSTED 3:34 p.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

TANK JOHNSON SUSPENDED EIGHT GAMES by Michael David Smith

Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson has been suspended for eight games for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy, the NFL has announced.

The report said Johnson's suspension could be reduced to six games, and that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was impressed that Johnson seemed contrite when the two met shortly after Johnson finished his 60-day stay in the Cook County Jail.  Still, the lengthy suspension contradicts several reports that Johnson would get off relatively easy, including some bizarre suggestions that the fact that Johnson had done time behind bars should entitle him to gentler treatment from Goodell.

The suspension makes Johnson the third player this offseason to lose at least half a season under Goodell's new get-tough policy. Previously, Bengals receiver Chris Henry got an eight-game suspension, and Titans cornerback Pacman Jones was suspended for all of 2007.

Johnson's time in the slammer was the result of a parole violation on a 2005 weapons charge.  Johnson has had multiple run-ins with the law, and during the season, Johnson's friend Willie B. Posey was arrested on drug charges after police searched Johnson's house.  Two days later, Posey was shot and killed while out at a nightclub with Johnson.

For the Bears, the loss of Johnson for half of a season means they desperately need their top defensive tackle, Tommie Harris, to stay healthy.  The Bears' defense declined at the end of the regular season and in the playoffs after Harris got hurt, and starting the season with both Johnson and Harris out could cause serious problems for the defending NFC champions.

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POSTED 12:42 p.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

BRADY QUINN HOLDOUT COMING? by Michael David Smith

Five months ago today, Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn was waking up the morning after an ugly loss in the Sugar Bowl ended his college career. The game hadn't gone well for him or his team but, at that point, Quinn still had realistic hopes of becoming the first pick in the 2007 NFL draft.

Alas, draft day turned out to be even uglier for Quinn than the Sugar Bowl.  By the time the Browns selected him with the 22nd overall pick, he had watched the value of his rookie contract decline by many millions of dollars.

According to Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer, a dispute over just how many millions of dollars Quinn will get from the Browns could result in Quinn staying home at the beginning of training camp. 

Curnutte cites Browns insiders who say there's a good chance Quinn's agent, Tom Condon, will hold out Quinn once training camp starts.  Quinn was noncommittal when reporters asked him about contract negotiations.

"That's something, I don't know, that's [Condon's] job," Quinn told reporters who cover the team.  "The pressure's on him, not me.  The pressure's on me to perform on the field.  I think there [are] two sides to it.  It's not just on me.  It's on him and the Browns.  They've got to come to an agreement and figure something out.  I'm just a guy out here playing.  They're doing all the talking."

It's a little disingenuous for Quinn to say he's just a guy out there playing.  Condon works for Quinn.  If Quinn chooses to sit out training camp until the Browns give him an offer he thinks is fair, that's fine, but he should acknowledge that it's his call, not Condon's.  And he should also remember that no matter where he thought he was going to get drafted, the fact is that he was the 22nd pick, and he should be ready to get paid like the 22nd pick.

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POSTED 8:39 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:55 a.m. EDT, June 4, 2007

IF GREEN IS A DOLPHIN, DAUNTE WILL ASK TO BE DUMPED

Not long ago, Miami quarterback Daunte Culpepper threw down the gauntlet with would-be Fins quarterback Trent Green, warning the veteran signal-caller that he wouldn't be the starter in South Florida without a battle.

But it now appears that, if/when Green lands in Miami, Culpepper won't try to stick around for the fight.  A league source tells us that Daunte will request a release once Green joins the team.

Culpepper is scheduled to earn $5.5 million in base salary in 2007; surely, the Fins won't want to pay him that kind of money if Green becomes the starter.  But with no obligation to pay Culpepper anything until the season starts, the Fins could choose to keep him around through training camp and the preseason, in the event that Green gets his knee blown out in a preseason game (like he did in 1999).  

The Fins also might want to try to get something in return for the second-round pick that the Nicktator pissed away in 2006.  A trade could be difficult to pull off, however, given Culpepper's ongoing knee problem and the necessity to restructure his contract.  The fact that Culpepper insists on being his own agent also complicates the process.

If/when Culpepper is cut, we think that he could land in Jacksonville, where former Vikings coach Mike Tice is an offensive assistant.  The Jags currently have a trio of mediocre quarterbacks; Culpepper (if healthy) could be better than any of them.

Another possibility is St. Louis, where Culpepper would be reunited with former Vikings offensive coordinator Scott Linehan.  The last time Linehan and Culpepper worked together, Daunte had an MVP-caliber season.  If the Rams could get him at a fair price, Culpepper would provide a capable backup for starter Marc Bulger, along with a little leverage in the talks aimed at extending Bulger's deal, which expires after the 2007 season.

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LEAGUE RISKING "DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO" PERCEPTION

We've been very supportive of the efforts of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to take swift and strong action against players who threaten the popularity of the game of pro football by their actions off of the field.  In order to continue with these efforts to clean up the game, Goodell must be careful not to create the impression that more than one standard is being applied.  

The lawyers for Pacman Jones, for example, have clumsily (in our opinion) tried to show that Jones is being treated unfairly in comparison to other players.  Moving forward, the media will surely be quick to question whether players are getting fair punishment in comparison to those who already have been disciplined.

But there's another basis for comparison that, to date, has been ignored.  At a time when Goodell is clamping down on players who are making the game look bad, what if anything is he doing about the actions of the teams?

Just last week, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan admitted that he subjected receiver David Kircus to a lie detector test aimed at determining whether Kircus was the aggressor in an incident that left another man with a broken face.  Though Kircus has sworn up and down that the lie detector test was his idea alone (we'd like to give him a lie detector test on that one), the fact that the Broncos would have cut Kircus if he had failed means that the team most likely violated federal law.

The fact that Shanahan admitted that he has used polygraph tests in the past suggests that multiple violations have occurred.

So where is the NFL on this one?  If the new personal conduct policy holds non-players to a higher standard, why isn't the league looking into whether Shanahan and/or other employees of the Broncos should be punished for their behavior?

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello informed us last week that the league has no policy allowing lie detector tests, and we've determined that the CBA between the league and the NFLPA is silent on the issue.  Technically, a player could file suit against the Broncos for violation of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, or the union could file a grievance.  (Please, try not to laugh so hard that you spit cookies on your monitor at our suggestion that the NFLPA would do anything about this situation absent a complaint from the player.)   

Also, the U.S. Department of Labor could impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 per occurrence.  The Department of Labor also has the ability to force the Broncos to stop the practice of imposing lie detector tests.

With that said, doesn't the league have the same power?  In the absence of any type of separate enforcement action by a player or by the federal government, should the NFL stand silent at a time when the available public comments suggest that the Broncos have been brazenly violating the law?

Silence in this case sends a strong message to the players.  If they admit to breaking the law, state or federal, they will be punished.  If a coach or a team makes a similar admission, the NFL will look the other way.

Though we suspect that the Commish might have made it known discreetly that the Broncos should strongly consider not using lie detector tests in the future (or, at a minimum, not announcing at a press conference that they have done so), we think that a public admonition from the league office is necessary in this case, if for no reason other than to preserve the integrity of the league's efforts to crack down on players who break the same kind of societal rules that the Broncos have ignored.

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LEN MISSES THE POINT ON FOUR-YEAR DEALS

In the special weekly "you can only read it if you pay us money" portion of the Tip Sheet on ESPN.com, Len Pasquarelli addresses the proliferation of four-year deals for rookies drafted beyond round two.

This year, nearly every contract signed by players selected in rounds three through seven has had a length of four years.  (The only two three-year deals were signed by punter Daniel Sepulveda and offensive lineman Cameron Stephenson of the Steelers.)  

Curiously, Len fails to educate his audience as to one of the primary reasons for the shift.  Though he mentions that four-year deals are being used because the new CBA permits a maximum contract contract length of four years for rounds two through seven, Len completely ignores the fact that a four-year deal allows a team to avoid the guessing game that arises after a player's third year, when he is eligible for restricted free agency.

In the poison-pill era (man, we haven't mentioned that one in a while), teams have been tendering restricted free agents at high levels in order to prevent another team from swooping in with an offer that can't be matched.  It's one of the reasons why the Chargers slapped the highest possible tender on backup running back Michael Turner and the Pats used a second-round tender on so-so cornerback Randall Gay.  Though most teams steered clear of the poison pill in 2007, the fact remains that it's an all's-fair weapon in the free-agency arsenal, and a team that has a restricted free agent who might be attractive elsewhere has to factor the possibility of an offer sheet into the decision as to the level of the tender offer to be made.

If the player is already under contract for his fourth NFL season, it's not an issue.

And Len clearly knows that this is one of the reasons for the shift, since he mentions that the four-year deals contain a year-four escalator based on playing time and/or performance.  The escalator typically takes the salary from the league minimum for a fourth-year player to the lowest RFA tender at the time.

So it's stoopid not to think that teams will be more inclined to use four-year deals.  The system expressly permits them, and the system has a built-in incentive to use them.  The only leverage that a player has is to sit out the year and re-enter the draft, or to sign the one-year tender for the rookie minimum salary, forego the signing bonus that goes with a long-term deal, and then sign one-year exclusive rights tenders after their first and second seasons in the league.  (Before doing so, however, it might be a good idea to give Guss Scott a call.)

And we can't quite figure out Len's motivation for omitting a dynamic that he's surely smart enough to know about.  He's not trying to curry favor with the teams (with the exception perhaps of the Steelers), since he generally accuses them of "strong-arm[ing]" the picks into four-year deals.  He's also not sucking up to his usual sources of information, since he chides agents for their willingness to comply.  Maybe he's decided to begin to try to develop relationships directly with players, and maybe this item is a step toward convincing them that, while their teams and their agents might be screwing them, Uncle Len is looking out for their interests.

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MONDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

The Broncos are expected to sign DT Sam Adams to a one-year deal.  (They apparently think he played for the Browns last year.)

The guy who got shot during the Pacman rain dance is getting better.

Please don't give Tony Romo a hard time for dating celebs and judging beauty contests.  (It's far more effective to continue bringing up his misadventures while holding for a kick.)

The Chiefs will continue to reduce reps from Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle as part of the Trent Green stare-down.

Bengals CB Johnathan Joseph will have surgery on his foot, but is expected to be ready for training camp.

Soon to be Hall-of-Fame RB Thurman Thomas has no desire to appear on Dancing with the Stars:  "I love to dance, but I'm just not a ballroom dance kind of guy.  I grew up in the 'hood.  We didn't have any ballrooms there."

Dolphins RB Lorenzo Booker thinks he could have been a Reggie Bush in college.

Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt will call the plays on offense.

Former Georgia WR Fred Gibson, who has bounced around the league for two years, is making an impact in Atlanta.

Vikings V.P. of player personnel Rick Spielman says that RB Adrian Peterson "can do some special things in the passing game."

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell apparently is being groomed to call the plays.

Seahawks DE Patrick Kerney is getting ready to make his practice-field debut in Seattle.

Fins DB Jason Allen is getting more comfortable in his second year in the league.

Bengals QB Carson Palmer is realistic about the problem of player arrests:  "I mean, there's only so much you can say," Palmer said.  "Nobody needs to hear, 'Hey, don't do anything illegal.'  Everybody knows that. . . .  You can state the obvious, but that doesn't really do anything."  

Saints first-round WR Robert Meachem was wearing a sleeve on his right knee and limping on Sunday.

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POSTED 3:42 p.m. EDT, June 3, 2007

ALL IS STILL NOT WELL WITH WINFIELD

Although Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield reported for a mandatory minicamp and had a heart-to-heart with coach Brad Childress regarding whatever it is that kept Winfield away from voluntary practices, it's now apparent that the bug that climbed into Winfield's butt still resides there.

"I'm still pretty much at the same spot," Winfield said after Sunday's final minicamp practice, according to Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

"Pretty much, I'm going to do this thing on my own," Winfield said.  "Work out on my own.  I don't feel like I really need to be around here.  I pretty much know the defense now.  I know what I need to work on, when I’m away from here.  I don't think anything is going to change."

Winfield's dissatisfaction apparently traces to the team's failure to upgrade the offense.  Before declining to comment on whether he's concerned about the personnel on offense, Winfield said, "They're not going to bring in Peyton Manning, or anything like that."

But Winfield spoke highly of quarterback Tarvaris Jackson.  "I thought he has the skills to play at this level," Winfield said.  "He has a great arm.  He’s definitely picking up on his offense a lot better.  Getting the ball out of his hands fast. Going through his reads.  I definitely have a lot of confidence in him."

So what is the basis for Winfield's concern?  Tailback Chester Taylor had a solid season in 2006, and running back Adrian Peterson was the team's first-round draft pick.  We think that Winfield primarily is concerned about the lack of talent at the receiver position, where players like Koren Robinson and Travis Taylor and Marcus Robinson have left in the last 10 months, with no real effort to replace them with proven veterans.

Maybe Winfield has been lobbying for the Vikings to make a play for Eric Moulds, who spent several years with Winfield in Buffalo.  And maybe Winfield's words have been ignored. 

Or maybe he simply doesn't realize that he can help the current receivers get a lot better by working across from them during offseason workouts.

Regardless, Winfield said that he'll report for training camp.  

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POSTED 12:14 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 1:15 p.m. EDT, June 3, 2007

WILL BIG SHOW BE THE BIG CHEESE IN GREEN BAY?

Though it's nothing more than speculation at this point, the Green Bay Press-Gazette tosses an intriguing name into the mix for the position of president of the Packers.

Mike Holmgren.

Holmgren, known lovingly (or otherwise) in football circles as the "Big Show," coached the Packers from 1992 through 1998, leading the franchise to its first Super Bowl win in 29 years.  He left in 1999 to become coach and G.M. of the Seahawks.  He has since given up the G.M. title (under some duress), but is still the head coach.

It has been believed for a couple of years that Holmgren has been thinking about calling it quits.  He has made millions in Microsoft money, and he doesn't need to subject himself any longer to the 12-month grind of coaching.  So he could take on what would be a less stressful and demanding job, where he would be somewhat insulated from on-field struggles but at the same time in prime position to claim credit for success.

Other candidates include Titans executive V.P. and General Manager Mike Reinfeldt.  Though there's a chance that the Titans would have to give the Packers permission to interview Reinfeldt, since he is in charge of football operations in Tennessee, the fact that the president of the Packers is the top dog in the entire organization, with the power to hire and fire the G.M., likely makes it a vertical move, which by league rule cannot be blocked.

But the Press-Gazette questions whether Reinfeldt is too close to current Green Bay G.M. Ted Thompson.  If the decision to dump Thompson needs to be made, could his long-time friend pull the trigger?

Regardless of whether the job goes to Holmgren or Reinfeldt or someone else, it appears that the sudden disqualification of the hand-picked successor to Bob Harlan has opened the door for the team to shift from an executive with no specific football experience to a guy whose name would be recognizable beyond the Wisconsin business community.

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ANOTHER POSSIBLE USE FOR THE UFL?

We recently speculated that, if/when the UFL ever establishes itself as another major American pro football league that plays its games during the "normal" football months, the NFL could choose to try to fashion the UFL into a second-tier receptacle for NFL franchises that can no longer compete on the field at an acceptable level, and as a pool of franchises from which the best teams could be promoted to the "better" league.

But we recently have realized that the UFL also could become a destination for franchises that choose not to compete any longer in the NFL.

In March 2006, a battle was raging among NFL owners.  Forced to expand the mechanism for funding the salary cap to include all football revenues, teams earning less of the money that isn't shared by all 32 teams saw their own labor expenses increase due to the financial success of other teams.

A compromise was reached, but the new formula for sharing previously unshared revenues can at best be described as an uneasy truce, which could explode if the device for providing supplemental revenue sharing to teams who can show that they need it pisses off enough of the franchises on either end of the spectrum.

A reader has reminded us that we one predicted that an impasse between the high-revenue and low-revenue teams could prompt franchises like the Bengals, Cardinals, Bills, and Jaguars to attempt to pull out of the NFL and start their own league.

We think the chances of such a split are remote, especially since it would raise a whole host of legal issues regarding whether individual owners even have the ability to withdraw.  But if there's a viable competing league at the time that the revenue sharing issue hits the fan, teams considered secession could try to work out a deal to jump to the other league.

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SUNDAY AFTERNOON ONE-LINERS

Broncos CB Domonique Foxworth says he's had his bell rung a couple of times, but he's never been diagnosed with a concussion. 

Early feedback on Eagles QB Kevin Kolb has been positive. 

New-old Chiefs LB Donnie Edwards says that he never wanted to leave Kansas City.

Fins coach Cam Cameron is more fan-friendly than his predecessor (which really isn't saying much).

Young linemen will have plenty of chances to win playing time in Miami.

Lions FB Sean McHugh might make Lions fans forget the name of the last fullback in Detroit, whose name we already have forgotten. 

Former NFL player and coach Dick Nolan has had a claim approved for benefits for retirees suffering from dementia.

Rest well, Marquise Hill.

The right side of the Vikings' offensive line could be coming together.

Second-year DE Ray Edwards could be a starter this year in Minnesota.

Is Kris Jenkins done in Carolina?

Some members of the Panthers thought that CB Ken Lucas was faking injuries in 2006.

Bengals RB Chris Perry (ankle) won't be back until October at the earliest.

Bengals linebackers coach Ricky Hunley, on second-year pro Ahmad Brooks:  "He's improving every day.  Is he a perfectionist?  No.  Do you have to constantly remind him, put your foot up his butt?  Yes."  (Extremely obscure Seinfeld reference:  George Constanza recently told Hunley's wife that she could do a lot better than him.)

The father of Steelers P Daniel Sepulveda is the CEO of Interstate Batteries.

Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt won't meddle in the Trent Green situation.

The Chiefs are practicing only once per day during minicamp.

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POSTED 11:40 a.m. EDT, June 3, 2007

JOHNNIE MORTON GETS HIS BUTT KICKED

Former NFL receiver Johnnie Morton, a star at USC and a 1994 first-round draft pick who played for the Lions, Chiefs, and 49ers, made his mixed martial arts debut on Saturday night.

If you blinked, you might have missed it.

Morton walked into fierce right hook from Bernard Ackah, and Morton's head appeared to bounce off of the mat when he landed.  The fight was stopped at 38 seconds into the first round.  Morton was taken out of the ring on a stretcher and in a neck brace.

After the fight, Morton refused to supply a urine sample for drug testing, and he was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.

Morton left the Lions after the 2001 season.  After a return to Detroit in 2003 for a game between the Lions and the Chiefs, Detroit CEO Matt Millen reportedly called Morton a "faggot."  Morton recently said that he'd like to fight Millen.

After last night's showing, we have a feeling that Millen would accept.

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POSTED 5:15 p.m. EDT, June 2, 2007

CHIEFS-GREEN FACE-OFF TO CONTINUE ON HBO?

The Kansas City Chiefs have announced that they'll be the next team to be featured on Hard Knocks, a joint venture between HBO and NFL Films.  (And not to be confused with Homer Simpson's college research film.)

The series started in 2001, with an inside look at Ravens camp.  In 2002, the series continued with the Cowboys.  After a year off, the show moved to NFL Network in 2004, with the Jaguars as the featured team.

"There are no scripts or retakes for us as filmmakers in a series like Hard Knocks," said NFL Films President Steve Sabol. "Our cameras will be rolling from the time the players leave their families to the time the coach decides if they're 'in' or 'out.' Chiefs training camp in River Falls is a throwback to the old training camps in the '60s and '70s and we look forward to taking the fans behind-the-scenes of one of the great franchises in professional sports."

The show will debut on August 8.

The biggest question, as we see it, is whether quarterback Trent Green will be on the team.  If so, we're looking forward to the parts where he continues to lobby to be traded or cut, and where G.M. Carl Peterson sweats like a mob boss at an FBI picnic every time Green walks onto the field -- and risks putting the team on the hook for his full $7.2 million salary if he blows out a knee or pops an Achilles' tendon.

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POSTED 2:26 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 3:51 p.m. EDT, June 2, 2007

REEVES SAYS HE DIDN'T SEE DOG-FIGHTING LINK WITH VICK

Former Falcons coach Dan Reeves, who coached quarterback Mike Vick for the first three years of his career, says that he was aware of no link between Vick and dog fighting.

Reeves says that, before the Falcons traded up in 2001 to make Vick the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, NFL Security told him that there were no concerns about the Virginia Tech phenom.

Neither did Vick's college coach.

POSTED 1:55 p.m. EDT, June 2, 2007

PROOF THAT TAZ HAS ALREADY HAD TOO MANY CONCUSSIONS?

A recent medical study has linked concussions suffered by athletes to the development of depression later in life.

But don't tell that to Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, who has had at least three concussions during his football career, probably more.

Apparently, Polamalu has found time during his NFL career to obtain a medical degree, and to engage in his own studies regarding the link, if any, between brain injuries and emotional disorders.

"To me, I think something like depression isn't something physical," Polamalu recently said.  "I think there are some physical mental diseases, but I don't think depression is.  To me, I think these can be spiritual illnesses sometimes."

Holy crap.  What next?  A public spat with Brooke Shields and/or Matt Lauer?

Troy, you're in what's called denial.  On the cusp of a major life-altering football contract, you don't want to accept the possibility that the things you are doing to your brain now might cause problems when the cheering and the money and the fame have stopped flowing. 

Or maybe your eggs have already been scrambled so many times that you can't accept the basic reality that, each time your brain gets banged around in its box, the chances increase that you'll have problems down the line.  

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POSTED 10:09 a.m. EDT, June 2, 2007

LOCALS WANT ACTION FROM POINDEXTER

The perception that Surry County, Virginia prosecutor Gerald Poindexter is dragging his feet on the Mike Vick dog-fighting investigation isn't confined to the media.  According to the Virginian-Pilot, local residents (also known as "registered voters") in the 7,000-person county are starting to think that Poindexter is moving too slowly, too.

"Here it's like, they've got the evidence, but they don't know what to do with it," said Mary Taylor, who works at Edwards Virginia Ham Shop, which is located down the street from Poindexter's law office.

John M. Seward, chairperson of the Surry County Board of Supervisors, was equally candid.   "I support what he's done so far," Seward said.  "But I do think it's time now to take action."

Unfortunately, the Virginian-Pilot also tries in subtle fashion to throw the race card onto the table, stating that "[c]ritics charge that Poindexter, who is black, is dragging his feet because of Vick's status as a popular black celebrity."

This isn't a white-black thing, in our view.  This is a case where a 66-year-old part-time prosecutor who gets paid the same amount regardless of his workload is now facing a potential O.J. trial in which he'd be flooded with motions and briefs and letters and faxes and other stuff that would force him to put in far more time and attention than he ever bargained for when he first took the job in 1972.

As we've previously explained, the inherently sweeping notion of prosecutorial discretion swings broadly to both extremes.  For every Mike Nifong who indicts innocent men prematurely, there's a prosecutor who looks the other way for a friend of a friend or a family member of a supporter or a rich defendant who can afford to hire someone like Johnnie Cochran or Jackie Chiles to handle the case.

And that's why we believe that Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell should appoint a special prosecutor to the case, and ask Poindexter to step aside.

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POSTED 9:04 a.m. EDT, June 2, 2007

MARTIN NOT GIVING UP YET

Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News reports that Jets running back Curtis Martin still hasn't given up on playing NFL football.

"He's talking about trying to come back," a source told Cimini.

But if, as reported, Martin has no cartilage in one of his knees and if, as we assume, he hasn't had microfracture surgery aimed at simulating cartilage growth via the development of scar tissue, we'd be shocked if Martin makes it back.

Besides, the Jets have Thomas Jones ready to take the job that Martin used to have.  So even if Martin can play, it's unlikely that he'd be the starter.

And, by the way, Martin's intentions don't exactly mesh with allegations he made last month in a court of law that he is permanently and totally disabled.

But the reality is that Martin's policies (like most disability policies) allow him to have a "rehabilitation period" of up to four regular season games.  So even if his goal is to come back for only one more game, he can still pursue his disability benefits.

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POSTED 9:20 p.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

NFL LOOKING TO LIMIT LIABILITY?

So why is the NFL telling teams to get rid of the beer and other booze from planes and buses and facilities?

We'd like to think that the NFL primarily is concerned about the safety of people who might be driving a car, motorcycle, SUV, or any other motorized vehicle after possibly consuming too much alcohol.  But, if that were the case, there would be real and meaningful restrictions on the extent to which beer could be bought at NFL stadiums.

And the NFL wouldn't have an "official beer sponsor."

So we'll take our usual cynical route on this one, and assume that the powers-that-be have realized that filling players and/or other team employees up with booze and putting them on the roadways could create potentially crippling legal liability.

The reality is that players who want to drink will still drink.  But if they do, and if they thereafter smash their cars and injure themselves or others, no one will be able to claim that the league or its teams have any responsibility.

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POSTED 8:58 p.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

'HAWKS CHOP HERNDON

The Seattle Seahawks have cut cornerback Kelly Herndon, according to Mike Sando of the Tacoma News-Tribune.

Herndon was scheduled to earn $2.5 million in salary this season.  As Sando wisely notes, the move doesn't mean that Herndon's release will be processed as a post-June 1 transaction.  Technically, the player must be on the roster on June 1 and cut thereafter to have the cap hit spread over two years.

Under the 2006 CBA, however, Herndon could have been cut before June 2 and designated as a June 2 release.  Teams can use this special designation on two players.

For cuts made on or before June 1, any signing bonus acceleration hits the cap in the current year.  For cuts made on or after June 2 (or designated as such if made before then), the cap hit is divided over two years.

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POSTED 8:51 p.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

FRED SMOOT COULD KICK SOME ASS IN THE NHL

Cornerback Fred Smoot is a scouting combine legend, due not to any specific Festivus-style feats of strength but because of a lack of them.

Specifically, Smoot struggled at best in 2001 to put up a couple of reps in the 225-pound bench press.

But in the land of the blind the one-eyed man is king.  And in the NHL Smoot would be an enforcer.

A reader sent us a link to some information from the pro hockey's scouting combine, and though the guys on skates are gritty and wiry and tough, they're not strong.  One guy pushed out only three reps in the 150-pound bench press.  Three reps!  And it was regarded as "impressive" that another guy got 12.

So if this football thing doesn't work out, maybe Smoot can be a cement-head in the NHL.  We don't know, however, whether he has any stickhandling skills.

Or do we?

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POSTED 4:53 p.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

COWHERD ALMOST GETS THE "MOVE ON OR MOVE OUT" TREATMENT

Our new-old friend Colin Cowherd, who like us has been ahead of the curve on the whole Mike Vick "woof woof" thing, talked about the Vick situation on Friday morning with another ESPN employee.  

The guest on Cowherd's show was Len Pasquarelli of ESPN.com.  He's the guy who has been subtly denigrating the case against Vick and otherwise describing the glass that is Vick's career and overall prospects as five-percent full, not 95-percent empty.

While chatting with Len about the situation, Cowherd asked if the Falcons have a contingency plan, which prompted Pasquarelli to launch into an emphatic diatribe on the inaccuracy of reports that the Falcons have inquired about Trent Green of the Chiefs.  

(To the extent that Len was trying to take a dig at our reports on the matter, we've never said that the Falcons have contacted the Chiefs or Green's agent.  Instead, we shared in this space information about rumors among league insiders that the Falcons might be late entrants into the sweepstakes, as the Falcons ponder the possible outcomes of the currently-unfolding Vick drama.)

After Len finished his rant, Cowherd made the mistake of saying, "Gosh, so the Falcons have no contingency."

Len's head nearly exploded.  "They do have a contingency!" he exclaimed (apologies to Jake Jarmel).  "He's named Joey Harrington.  That's why they signed him."

Cowherd should have quit while he was behind.  Instead, he chose to mutter, "Yeah I guess."

To his credit, Cowherd decided to let it go.  We wish he hadn't, because we think that Len was a whisker away from muttering his famous catch phrase.

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OSTED 4:17 p.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

WINFIELD SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT MORE MONEY

Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield, who recently skipped voluntary workouts due as some believed to dissatisfaction with his contract, says that he has no beef with his pay.

"Let me clear up one thing," Winfield said, according to Sean Jensen of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.  "I've been reading on the Internet -- I don’t know which one of you wrote it -- but something about my contract, in some way, this is a quiet protest by me holding out.  Disgruntled about my contract.  That’s so far from the truth.  I haven't went upstairs and asked for any money, any extensions, so that's not it.  It's just me not being here, doing this thing on my own, and I’m just getting ready to play ball."

But Winfield declined to elaborate on the specific reason(s) for his absence, and he declined to comment on a report that he had asked for a trade.

Clearly, something was up.  Winfield admitted that he had a 15-20 minute conversation with coach Brad Childress on Thursday.

"Both of us said some things, got it off our chests," he said.  "But we’re going to keep that between us."

Winfield was critical of the team's offense in 2006, and a year before that he was critical of the defense.  Trading him or cutting him would not result in any significant cap consequences because the bulk of the bonus money paid when he signed was in the form of a roster bonus, which is not prorated over multiple years. 

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POSTED 12:22 p.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

WHALEY E-MAIL WENT TO "MANY OTHERS" ASSOCIATED WITH NFL 

Just when we thought the book had been closed on the case of the sordid e-mail message that was received by Steelers pro personnel director Doug Whaley and forwarded to offensive line coach Larry Zierlein and then forwarded by Zierlein to all of the league's power brokers and their secretaries, we've been advised that Whaley sent the thing to Zierlein via a "mass forward," and that "[t]here were many other names of people associated with the NFL" on the list of recipients.

The disclosure came from an unlikely source.  Last night, we mentioned in passing that Bills scout (he's actually, as we now know, an offensive assistant coach) Alex Van Pelt was another employee of an NFL team that received the video containing (as it was described to us) "very hard core" pornography.  

Alex didn't like the fact that we mentioned his name.  In an e-mail that we received on Friday morning, he let us know about it:  

"I do not understand why my name was mentioned in the article regarding Larry Zerlein's [sic] apology.  There had to be 40 other names in the forwarded e-mail.  Is it because I went to Pitt?  I only went to Pitt because WVU would not offer me a scholarship.  I would have been thrilled to be a Mountianeer [sic].

"Anyway, I feel like that was a personnel [sic] attack on me for absolutely no reason. 

"I would be interested in your response."

Our response was as follows:  "thanks for your message.  i was going to mention that you were a recipient when i first reported that whaley had sent it to zierlein, but it slipped my mind.  the point is that you work for an NFL team and whaley was sending the thing to other NFL team employees, with no apparent consequence.  i'm a little too old to be motivated by the pitt-west virginia rivalry.  i assume you're not denying that you received the message?  if my information on that is wrong, i'd want to know."

Van Pelt's reply?  

"Just because it was sent to me does not imply that I am guilty of any offense.  I get e-mail from many people that I instantly delete.  This is the case with that e-mail.  Your article makes it look like I am involved in the scandal.  I was merely a recipient of a mass forward.  There were many other names of people associated with the NFL.  I just wandered [sic] why you choose me to include in your article."

We suppose we could have refrained from using Van Pelt's e-mails in this space, but one of the things we might have learned in "J" school (if we had actually attended) is that, unless and until a source who contacts you in an unsolicited fashion requests that the communications be regarded as "off the record," then the communications are fair game.

So, anyway, there's the epilogue to the story.

UPDATE:  For the record, we only named Van Pelt as a non-Steelers recipient of the e-mail because his was the only name we had.  If we had the names of other NFL team employees who received it, we would have mentioned them, too.

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POSTED 8:22 a.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 10:53 a.m. EDT, June 1, 2007

BATTLE BREWING OVER WEB SITE CONTROL

One of the issues that was discussed, but tabled, during last week's ownership meetings in Nashville arises directly from the NFL's renewed focus on the league's web site, and the sites of its 32 teams.

Per a league source, the NFL hopes to exercise more control over club web sites.  The problem is that many clubs want to continue to operate their own web sites with autonomy, as they traditionally have.

The league office hopes to find a middle ground between the current approach in the NFL and, for example, Major League Baseball, which exercises complete control over team sites.

The issue is becoming quite contentious, we're told, and the several teams with otherwise dissimilar interests came together at last week's meetings and helped forge a decision to postpone the matter until the next round of meetings in October.

Our guess?  Teams will be more receptive to the notion of sacrificing control to the NFL if/when the re-launched NFL.com site (which we hear will be heavy on video content) establishes itself as a profit center.  The league is finalizing plans to operate the site on its own, with no involvement from an outside media company.

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UFL SHOULD TRY TO DEVELOP INTO A RELEGATION LEAGUE

A couple of readers have pointed out a concept to us that we think could end up having direct application, eventually, to the new pro football league that plans to launch as early as 2008.

It's highly unlikely that the UFL, which intends to compete with the NFL without trying to pay the same level of player wages, could ever trigger a true merger with the premier sports league in the United States.  The AFL, which pulled it off nearly 40 years ago, was the right idea in the right place at the right time.  Born on the heels of the epic 1958 NFL Championship game, which made pro football a living-room fixture throughout the nation, the AFL offered sizzle as a contrast to what could be, at times, a snore-fest.  The AFL also targeted (and paid) high-level college players, like Joe Namath.

The UFL doesn't aspire to provide the same degree of football quality, focusing instead on getting the best guys from the back end of an NFL team's roster, and possibly luring some of the players selected in rounds two or lower of the NFL draft.  So how can this new league, which will start with eight teams and presumably aspire to grow, ever make itself into something that the NFL might eventually choose to embrace?

By merging without actually merging.

It's the relegation concept, used in soccer leagues throughout the world.  NFL teams that can't compete on a consistent basis would be sent down a level; UFL teams that take on elite status would get an invitation to join the NFL.

Oh, and given that the NFL currently is plotting to attempt to become the dominant sports league in the world, the use of a tool with which many citizens of the planet already are familiar could help to forge the emotional connection necessary to draw billions of new fans.

And it would become a hugely compelling facet of NFL football.  No longer would teams at the bottom of the league be jockeying for the "right" to pay $30 million or more in guaranteed money to the top incoming rookie; the stakes would be much higher.  The worst team each season would be in danger of getting booted from the NFL, and then forced to play its way back in.  (Here's a recent article on the concept that we found in the Milford (Mass.) Daily News.)

Such an approach would make the NFL the ultimate meritocracy, with winning on a consistent basis more important than ever.  Each NFL game would have even more meaning, because the late-season salve of "wait 'til next year" would be replaced with the possibility that, at some point, there might not be a next year.  

At least not in the NFL.

Is such an arrangement likely?  Probably not.  Do we think it's an idea that should be fully explored?  Abso-frickin'-lutely.

The problem is that the 32 members of the Billionaire Boys Club currently have no incentive to ponder the notion of creating a minor league into which any of them could eventually be banished.  But if the UFL succeeds, it could force the NFL to devise a strategy bringing the two leagues together.  And we think that the UFL will succeed only if it understands and accepts its place on a tier beneath the NFL.

So if the UFL stays on a lower rung and becomes a force that the NFL can't ignore, the relegation concept will be, we predict, the natural solution. 

Are there plenty of other details that would need to be ironed out?  Sure.  But given that soccer leagues have been using the approach for years tells us that the wise men (and women) who run the NFL would be able to make it happen, if they ever choose to do so.

At some point, the UFL could force them to make that choice.

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GET DAD A SPRINT PHONE

Many of the folks who read this site have parents who are reluctant to embrace the wonders of modern technology.  Like the Grannies and Pap-Paps of a generation ago, who thought the microwave oven was a time machine and who were content to let the VCR flash "12:00" into perpetuity (thanks, Tiki), the mothers and fathers of today's adult generation often respond to the term "cell phone" by saying, "Why would I want to sell the phone?"

With Father's Day right around the corner, why not introduce your dad (or your grandpa) to the 21st Century with a Sprint or Nextel phone?  

Why Sprint?  Because your dad loves football (don't they all?), and the NFL Mobile feature available only to Sprint customers might be the thing that allows him to get comfortable with the newfangled doohickey that in some cases is the same size as his enlarged prostate.

So take care of the guy who took care of you.  Get him a Sprint phone.  Add him to your plan.  Or get him a plan of his own.  He'll appreciate it, especially if he's on a very fixed income.  

But there is one caveat.  You should make sure he understands how to properly receive and send (and, most importantly, forward) e-mails on his Sprint phone.  

Sprint and Nextel, by the way, are the official telecommunications sponsors of ProFootballTalk.com.  So we always encourage readers who enjoy our free content to show support for the site by choosing Sprint and Nextel, specifically by making purchases and upgrades through the links on this page.

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FRIDAY MORNING ONE-LINERS

The Fins have modified their offer of a sixth-round pick for QB Trent Green to include the possibility of the pick increasing to a fifth-rounder.  (Our guess is that the final deal will be a six with two levels of conditional upgrades, pushing the final value as high as a fourth-rounder.)

Here's a closer look at NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw.

Dog fighters are in part insulated from conviction because the other people who attend dog fights are generally regarded as unreliable witnesses.

Maybe Mike Vick will ask for a trade to the Ravens.

TE L.J. Smith's hernia was detected a week ago.

Jets OL Pete Kendall wants a raise, and is staying away from voluntary workouts in protest of his pay.

NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw will eventually meet with Mike Vick regarding the dog-fighting allegations.

The media finally got a look at Pats QB Tom Brady throwing to WR Randy Moss.

Thursday was the team's first OTA workout since the passing of DE Marquise Hill.

Speaking of Hill, there's a very tasteless photo on a popular satire site that already has Pats fans up in arms.

So with the NFL banning beer, it'll part ways with its official beer sponsor, right?  Right?  Bueller?

There won't be any cuts on June 1 (primarily because the rule that splits cap hits over two years doesn't kick in until June 2).