NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police were working Sunday to unravel the relationship between slain former NFL quarterback Steve McNair and his friend, a 20-year-old woman who was found shot to death alongside him in his downtown condominium.
Steve McNair came off the bench in the first game of his freshman season and rallied Alcorn State to a victory against Grambling State.
When the Houston Oilers fled Texas for Tennessee more than a decade ago, the franchise needed a face to sell the NFL in a place where college football ruled for decades.
HONOLULU (AP) -- Former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang, one of the most prolific passers in college football history, has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and released without charges pending further investigation.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- At least 16 people associated with the New Orleans Saints, including coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees and Hall of Famer Archie Manning, are among investors who lost $1.9 million.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL suspended Jets linebacker Calvin Pace for four games without pay Thursday for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
The vast majority of team rosters are set barring an unforeseen injury early in camp. Though there are still some "name" free agents available, like one-time Colts teammates Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James, most of those players are past their prime and still on the market for a reason. Here's my look at the best and worst offseasons for NFL franchises:
Musings, observations and the occasional insight as we flip the calendar to July, a month that starts with fireworks and ends with the long-awaited return of NFL football. ...
There were 67 young Tedy Bruschis playing football on the New England Patriots field on Tuesday.
Picture in your mind the NFL's all-time most dominating defensive players.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police were working Sunday to unravel the relationship between slain former NFL quarterback Steve McNair and his friend, a 20-year-old woman who was found shot to death alongside him in his downtown condominium.
Steve McNair came off the bench in the first game of his freshman season and rallied Alcorn State to a victory against Grambling State.
When the Houston Oilers fled Texas for Tennessee more than a decade ago, the franchise needed a face to sell the NFL in a place where college football ruled for decades.
HONOLULU (AP) -- Former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang, one of the most prolific passers in college football history, has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and released without charges pending further investigation.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- At least 16 people associated with the New Orleans Saints, including coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees and Hall of Famer Archie Manning, are among investors who lost $1.9 million.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL suspended Jets linebacker Calvin Pace for four games without pay Thursday for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
The vast majority of team rosters are set barring an unforeseen injury early in camp. Though there are still some "name" free agents available, like one-time Colts teammates Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James, most of those players are past their prime and still on the market for a reason. Here's my look at the best and worst offseasons for NFL franchises:
Musings, observations and the occasional insight as we flip the calendar to July, a month that starts with fireworks and ends with the long-awaited return of NFL football. ...
There were 67 young Tedy Bruschis playing football on the New England Patriots field on Tuesday.
Picture in your mind the NFL's all-time most dominating defensive players.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In taking a case involving the National Football League's exclusive licensing deal for sports merchandise, the Supreme Court could go beyond caps and give leagues more leeway in areas such as team relocation, legal scholars said Monday.
PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) -- The former home of the Detroit Lions may be headed to the auction block.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Former Cleveland Browns receiver Joe Jurevicius sued the team and the Cleveland Clinic on Friday, saying the team misrepresented the cleanliness of its training facility and blaming doctors with negligence over a staph infection in his right knee that kept him from playing last year.
The upper management that runs the publicly-owned Green Bay Packers may have some explaining to do the next time it attends meetings with the owners of the NFL's 31 privately held franchises. That's because recent news of the Packers' operating profit of over $20 million last year appears to hurt the owners' argument that opting out of the latest Collective Bargaining Agreement with the players was necessary. If a franchise in a miniscule market can turn a profit during a historically down economy, what does that say about big money owners like Dan Snyder and Robert Kraft?
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) -- The Detroit Lions have signed center Dominic Raiola to a four-year contract extension.
MIAMI (AP) -- Singer Gloria Estefan and her husband, producer Emilio Estefan, are becoming minority owners of the NFL football team the Miami Dolphins.
Were the Texans brilliant in the 2006 draft? Or just lucky?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- With one signature, Julius Peppers went from a disgruntled star seeking to leave town to a rich man who may stick around in Carolina for awhile.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings has a three-year, $27 million contract extension and he didn't have to boycott the offseason program or training camp to get it.
Claiming to know the greatest draft pick of all time in each of the top 30 slots is a good way to start an argument. In this case, I leaned toward draft picks who helped create team success. While going through the lists year by year, I was reminded just how difficult it is to find impact players -- even when dealing with a top-three pick. To go through the draft lists over the last six decades is to realize that the likes of Bill Russell and Michael Jordan are rarely discovered.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City Chiefs will retire the number of the late Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas during a ceremony Dec. 6.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City Chiefs have signed kicker Ryan Succop, one of the team's three seventh-round draft picks.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Jets are taking advantage of a new NFL rule this summer that will allow them to place a corporate logo on their practice jerseys as a source of additional revenue.
My last mailbag for a month will be yours, mostly, with a few announcements up top:
DALLAS (AP) -- NFL offensive linemen bang heads all the time. A trio of Dallas Cowboys linemen are now professional head-bangers, too.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Veteran defensive tackle La'Roi Glover is retiring after 13 NFL seasons.
It's happening to Derrick Brooks. After 11 Pro Bowls, six first-team all-pro nods, one Super Bowl victory and one Defensive Player of the Year award, football is saying to him, "We don't need you anymore.''
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- The Green Bay Packers haven't been sacked by the recession despite a rough season on the field and significant financial challenges off it, but officials remain wary of the future.
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The San Diego Chargers have signed fifth-round draft pick Brandon Hughes to a four-year deal.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- The Minnesota Vikings have waived quarterback Sean Glennon, offensive lineman Bobby Lepori and tight end Nick Walker.
One of the best perks of being an NFL player -- aside from, you know, getting paid a lot of money to play a game -- is the amount of free time you have in the offseason.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Two months after drafting Josh Freeman as their quarterback of the future, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not ruling out the prospect of him earning the starting job much sooner than expected.
DENVER (AP) -- The Denver Broncos have released linebacker Louis Green, safety Herana-Daze Jones, running back Kestahn Moore and cornerback Rashod Moulton.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth has been suspended indefinitely by the National Football League, days after he pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol, the NFL said.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Louisiana's government would lease office space from the owner of the New Orleans Saints as part of a deal to keep the team in the state.
AURORA, Colo. (AP) -- Holdout wide receiver Brandon Marshall reported to camp -- his own.
Tony Romo recently was back in the news when Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett suggested the star quarterback was "bottom-heavy" and needed to report to training camp in better shape (which, predictably, Romo says the media blew out of proportion). Will that be the difference-maker for Romo and the Cowboys, who haven't won a playoff game this decade? If not, what is it going to take for Romo to lead the Cowboys to the next level? SI.com NFL writers Don Banks, Jim Trotter, John Mullin, Ross Tucker and Andrew Perloff discuss.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- After a futile attempt to accelerate progress toward a contract extension with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, linebacker Barrett Ruud is back on the practice field with his teammates.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- It's all up to Brett Favre now. Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf made that much clear on Wednesday night.
In light of the Philadelphia Eagles' giving Donovan McNabb a significant pay raise over the next two years, it occurred to me that he has to be among the most underappreciated players in NFL history.
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) -- New Green Bay safety Anthony Smith wasn't around for the distractions caused by last season's Brett Favre unretirement saga. But should Favre follow through on his flirtation to come back with division rival Minnesota, Smith would relish the chance to face him on the field.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) -- At least for now, the Chicago Bears are ready to go to training camp with the wide receivers on their roster to complement new quarterback Jay Cutler.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- The Broncos have released linebacker Boss Bailey, bringing a quick end to the Bailey brothers reunion in Denver.
Matt Millen got another job this week, which to some might definitively prove the sagging U.S. employment market must be on its way back up after hitting rock bottom.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The Giants and Jets are willing to wait for the right price before selling the naming rights to their new $1.6 billion stadium in the New Jersey Meadowlands.
The NFL is supposed to be among the most objective places of employment around. If you can play, you can stay, as the saying goes. Or in regard to coaches, win and you can stay in. The best players should start, make the team, etc. Likewise, the best coaches should get the head jobs, coordinator roles, etc. Yet in an ultra-competitive industry, that isn't always the case. There are still a number of personnel decisions that are pre-ordained. Call it the theory of the self-fulfilling prophecy.
DENVER (AP) -- Brandon Marshall is saying his good-byes to the Denver Broncos and their fans even as coach Josh McDaniels talks about seeing his holdout Pro Bowl receiver at training camp next month.
HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Texans are partnering with the Texas Lottery on an instant-win game featuring the team's logo.
I had a feeling no matter what I wrote about the NCAA's penalty against Alabama for Textbookgate, a ton of mail would follow. Crimson Tide fans didn't disappoint. As we try to slog through the longest months of the year for college football fans, let's tackle their concerns, your reactions to my suggestions for conference realignment and the lengthy rap sheet of Urban Meyer's Florida Gators.
A few thoughts on the terminal ugliness in Denver, Roger Goodell being plagued by the stalling injustice of Plaxico Burress (with a judge echoing me in deriding the legal process), and the Brett Favre HBO interview before I get to your mail:
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- The Oakland Raiders signed defensive end Greg Ellis on Monday night, acquiring a veteran presence as they work to upgrade their defense.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Brett Favre will know in several weeks whether his surgically repaired arm will allow him to come out of retirement again.
DENVER (AP) -- The Broncos signed free-agent receiver Brandon Lloyd on the same day a radio station reported Pro Bowl wideout Brandon Marshall wants to follow Jay Cutler out of Denver.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Jets signed third-round draft pick Shonn Greene on Monday to a four-year deal that includes a $905,000 signing bonus.
The NFL has broadened its "Rooney Rule" by requiring teams to interview at least one minority candidate when seeking to fill its senior football operations positions.
CARROLLTON, Texas (AP) -- The Dallas Cowboys scouting assistant paralyzed when the team's practice facility collapsed last month attended the start of minicamp.
Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco lived parallel lives a year ago, two rookies who learned the art of NFL quarterbacking in real time. In Baltimore, a rash of summer injuries pushed Flacco up the depth chart. In Atlanta, Ryan beat out a few journeymen for the right to replace a city's fallen icon. In both scenarios, the quarterbacks made the jump look remarkably seamless.
Kyle Orton was selected to be the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos on Saturday.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The NCAA hit Alabama's football program where it hurts -- the Tide's famed history.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Vince Young says he was embarrassed by the police search for him last September and then having to wait for a psychiatrist to clear him.
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) -- Jerricho Cotchery realizes what people are saying about him and the rest of the New York Jets' wide receivers.
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Veteran receiver James Thrash was released by the Washington Redskins on Friday after failing a physical.
HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Texans have signed quarterback Rex Grossman.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Donovan McNabb mentioned the Super Bowl five times in a 14-minute news conference discussing his reworked contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The big contract Michael Clayton signed three months ago isn't the only reason the sixth-year pro is excited to still be wearing the uniform of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
RENTON, Wash. (AP) -- Not every Seahawks player is thrilled with the return of Ken Lucas.
HOUSTON (AP) -- Defensive end Mario Williams has steadily improved during his three seasons in the NFL, yet the Houston defense has remained one of the league's worst. The Texans are hoping they've found a solution.
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- Eventually, the Minnesota Vikings will need to know: Is Brett Favre going to play or not?
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- Linebacker Blake Costanzo was one of five players waived by the Buffalo Bills after the team concluded its final spring minicamp session on Thursday.
The NFL is about winning but there are several parties in virtual no-win trick bags heading into the 2009 season. It isn't that they can't win in terms of victories. It's just perception has a nasty habit of becoming reality and the perception is they have been handed the keys to a Ferrari. If they win the race, it's the car. If they lose, it's their fault.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have released veteran cornerback William James and first-year tight end Charles Davis.
RENTON, Wash. (AP) -- Seahawks coach Jim Mora says Michael Vick deserves to be reinstated to the NFL, though that second chance apparently wouldn't come in Seattle.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The NFL is starting a spinal treatment program for retired players.
The prototypical NFL receiver is big and fast, capable of making big plays down the field by either out-muscling or simply out-running the defenders. Think Randy Moss and Terrell Owens over the past 10 years, sans the baggage and the drama.
On draft day, every pick can change the world. That's the nature of hope and sports. Every recruit is a future star. Every draft pick might go to the Hall of Fame. In the NFL draft -- the biggest talent-grab of them all -- you have these fun interviews with general managers and coaches after every pick. Every one sounds the same:
When commissioner Bud Selig announced the No. 7 selection of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, the Braves' pick of Vanderbilt lefthanded pitcher Mike Minor, the audience in MLB Network's Studio 42 erupted so heartily that Selig quipped from the podium, "He must be good, he brought his own cheering section."
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Seahawks coach Jim Mora are ready for a big trek -- up Mount Rainier.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Pio Sagapolutele, a defensive lineman who played five years for Cleveland and started in the 1997 Super Bowl for New England, has died. He was 39.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Sports agent Drew Rosenhaus says New Orleans Saints linebacker Dan Morgan has decided to retire from the NFL a second time.
Four weeks from Fourth of July weekend, I'm whistling a patriotic tune this morning, and alerting our men and women overseas that they're about to have some interesting visitors. There's more today -- including my thoughts on Brett Favre (who is going to have his own network, Web site and galaxy before his career's over). I've got Rodney Harrison as unplugged as he can get, the motivation of NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith, the eye-rolling in New Orleans over Jeremy Shockey and an update on your favorite college southpaw, Austin Wood, the Texas reliever who threw 13 shutout innings last week.
New Orleans tight end Jeremy Shockey said he plans to participate in the Saints final eight voluntary workouts and wants to turn the focus on him back to football.
The first decade of the 21st century is rapidly coming to a close, and it's been one of the most explosive periods in pro football history -- especially on offense, where it seems new records were set each and every year.
It may have slipped up on us all, but when training camps begin late next month, this decade's final NFL season will be at hand. Could there be a more natural starting point for the debate about which franchise deserves the league's team of the decade designation?
Top of the morning to you, and here are the topics of the morning as we flip the calendar to June:
Tom Brady is coming off a season-ending knee injury and returning to a Patriots squad that failed to make the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. Peyton Manning is fully recovered from last off-season's knee surgery and will lead a Colts team that's made the playoffs seven years running but that lost its long-time head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive-line coach. SI.com NFL writers Don Banks, Jim Trotter, John Mullin and Ross Tucker discuss which quarterback is better set up for success in 2009.
Is it really that hard to compromise? You know, we made some mistakes, you made some mistakes, let's meet in the middle and move on. It really shouldn't be but evidently it is as both the NFL and Minnesota's Pat and Kevin Williams seem to be firmly entrenched in their positions as it relates to the still unfolding StarCaps case.
Consider Frank Gore a man of his word. After showing up for the May 1 minicamp overweight, the 49ers' star running back promised his coaches he would drop 10 pounds before the offseason coaching sessions kicked off two weeks later. When he walked through the locker room doors May 18, there was no need to put him on the scale. Gore was noticeably trimmer.
Tom Brady returned to practice this week for the first time since a catastrophic knee injury ended his 2008 campaign just 7 minutes, 22 seconds into the season.
General managers, coaches and fantasy footballers rank 1-2-3 (though not necessarily in that order) as talent evaluators for quarterbacks and running backs. And they need to be good at it because jobs and bragging rights are at stake when it comes to those positions.
They're bigger, brawnier, and faster than the typical male, but are National Football League players healthier than other men their age?
Stop me if you have heard this before. NFL veteran with an unbelievable streak of consecutive starts finishes the 2008 season on the field, even though he's injured. This player appears determined to play in 2009, even though some people, including me, think it would be better if he called it a career.
That name. Sonia Sotomayor. President Obama's choice for Supreme Court justice rings a bell in the sports world, especially in Big Ten country. Remember?
Busy week. Late May, Memorial Day, and still the NFL doesn't slow up. TV deals, a ruling in the StarCaps case, the Brett Favre story (very quietly) heating up, debating the schedule expanding from 16 to either 18 or 17 games, Mike Vick living in home confinement, Tom Brady returning to practice with his team Tuesday for the first time in 37 weeks, Terrell Owens blaming Tony Romo for his Dallas demise, and the best special-teamer in football going on a wildcat strike. Did someone say "offseason?''
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Veteran cornerback Dre' Bly signed a one-year deal Thursday with the San Francisco 49ers, who moved quickly to fill the spot created by Walt Harris' knee injury.
This story appears in the May 25, 2009, issue of Sports Illustrated.
Big news of the day is the TV stuff I reported last night, with NFL Network and the league finally smoking the peace pipe with Comcast. Read the whole story here.
• Jessica Simpson and boyfriend Tony Romo, leaving Al Biernat's steakhouse in Dallas carrying a bottle of Macallan 21-year-old single-malt Scotch whiskey. Clearly, there was plenty of football talk over their meal: The pair dined with new Dallas Cowboys backup quarterback Jon Kitna and his wife Jennifer, as well as quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.
The NFL is about to solve one very, very large television headache, and get some momentum it hopes to carry over into negotiations for a new labor contract with the players.
What exactly is the incentive for an NFL team to lock up a player early in his career with a long-term contract with palatable salary cap numbers? It used to be the gold standard but now is being derided in some circles.
If the Raiders' goal is to see JaMarcus Russell become an elite quarterback, they have a funny way of showing it.
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