Pacman Jones should know his fate by the end of the week

Suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week in Atlanta about a possible reinstatement, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.

Jones, who is suspended indefinitely, is hoping to get a decision this week according to the report, which cites anonymous sources.

Jones told the NFL Network on Sunday he's done everything he can to be reinstated.

"For the most part, I think I should be all right. This year has been one of the hardest years in my life besides when my dad died. But it's also been a learning experience. I made a lot of bad decisions and thank God I'm getting a second chance. ... I own up to my decisions, but the past is the past and I'm ready to move on."

His suspension bars him from going to the team's practice facility, but the Morning News says he has managed to meet his teammates at charity events.

Should the NFL add a 17th game to the season?

Do you think that the NFL should add a 17th game to the schedule. Roger Goodell recently made the proposition due to the lack of interest in pre-season games.

Do you think its a good idea.

Should the NFL add a 17th game to the season?

Do you think that the NFL should add a 17th game to the schedule. Roger Goodell recently made the proposition due to the lack of interest in pre-season games.

Do you think its a good idea.

The Cooley Zone: My draft day story has a happy ending

The Cooley Zone: My draft day story has a happy ending

No player really knows where the hell he's going in the draft (except Jake Long). I know this because playing four years in the NFL has taught me that anything is possible. Watching high-profile draftees sulk while teams pick in every different direction but theirs shows that anything is possible. Ryan Leaf vs. Peyton Manning is possible:

Still, people make a great living deciding which team and city an athlete should play for, but what happens in the 15 minutes on the team's clock falls on the shoulders of all the agents, scouts, GMs and teams.

I went into my own draft day with high hopes, as I'm sure every player does. I was predicted as high as the third tight end taken, down to as low as the sixth or seventh. These predictions put me anywhere from the middle of the second round to anywhere in the fourth. As any player would have, I expected it would be somewhere in the second round. High hopes are more fun.

I made it casually through the morning before the start of the draft. No chance I was getting taken in the first round, so my plans were to go golfing and wait for a phone call. I figured a little golf was much more relaxing. As it turned out golfing on a Saturday in Logan, Utah is a popular event. I made the rounds to four different courses, striking out at all of them. If the first round could have been Sunday it would have worked out great for me. No Mormons golf on Sunday, I would have had the course to myself.

Since golf didn't work out, I did nothing. Waiting around to get drafted felt almost like running on a treadmill. I was helpless to do anything but sit and stare at the clock and wait for it to be over. A parade of naked women could have run through the living room and my eyes would have never left the TV.

Toward the end of the second round my mind was running wild with scenarios. Maybe San Francisco would take me. I would love to play for the Broncos. I was even ready to settle for Detroit. As a matter of fact I didn't care where, just now!

My mind drifted back to a trip to visit the Cowboys. Everything was great until I made my way into Bill Parcell's office. After sitting down, the first words out of his mouth were, "I'll be honest, the reason you're here is because we like you as a special teams player. I don't think you'll ever be a starter in the league. We're thinking about taking you around the sixth round." I'm a pretty confident guy, so I walked out of the office with my head high. I did a great job and blocked out the trip, but by the middle of round three I was dying.

Two months earlier I got my first cell phone. Yeah, 2004 and Chris Cooley finally has a cell phone. The problem wasn't that I had a phone, the problem was the service. I couldn't keep more than one bar in the corner of the phone, and I was starting to believe that I must have been missing calls. I had spent the last four hours glued to the screen, but had to drag myself outside to at least see if I got a message from someone. By the time my foot hovered over the bottom stair of the front porch the house erupted. The cheering couldn't be mistaken, but I had still never received a phone call.

Eighty-first pick to the Washington Redskins and I could have never felt more relieved. I remember thinking why hasn't the team called me? It was a perfect thought as my little brother turned to me and said, "Oh yeah, some guy is on hold for ya, he's only been on hold for a couple minutes." I took the phone and Joe Gibbs says, "I hope you want to be a Redskin, we had to trade up for you." Joe Gibbs! A Hall of Fame coach wanted to trade up for me.

One of the most important factors in the NFL draft might be how a player matches a team. Becoming a Redskin couldn't have been a better fit for me.� I have been given every opportunity to succeed and have always worked to make the best of them. With all the things I have accomplished in my short career, draft day�will always be one of my best memories.

Chris Cooley is a Pro Bowl tight end for the Redskins and blogs every Wednesday here on Shutdown Corner. Read more from Cooley on his personal blog, where he gets awesome all the time.

Fish trying to trade Jason Taylor?
Clark Judge of CBS Sportsline reports that the Dolphins are trying to trade Jason Taylor. Supposedly, they're looking for a mid-to-late first round pick for him. I don't think they're getting that, and I'd put the chances of this trade actually happening at about 5%.

Unhappy with contract, Jets TE Baker bolts workouts

New York Jets tight end Chris Baker, disgruntled with his contract status and management's apparent refusal to renegotiate, has left the team's offseason strength and conditioning program in protest, The New York Post�reported.

Baker, who's fresh off the best season of his career, having caught 41 passes and become more of a focal point in the Jets' offense, has two years remaining on his $6.6 million contract and he's clearly underpaid by NFL starting tight end standards. Without attempting to make any significant waves, the 28-year-old Baker spoke after the 2007 season about his desire to sign a new deal that would pay him more fairly and keep him in his native New York for the rest of his career.

"Hopefully, we'll get something done," Baker said the day after the season.

I doubt there will ever be a Julius Jones tribute song

I assume that some team will take a flyer on the recently-released Shaun Alexander, provided that he's willing to play for something near the veteran minimum. So we probably haven't seen the last of him.

Still, that's no reason we can't pause to reflect on his career with the Seahawks. And what better way to do that than with a brutal song that will firmly lodge itself in your head all day long, and may eventually cause you to ram a steak knife through your ear, so that you might stop thinking about it for even one second.

Sorry I had to do that to you. But if I'm suffering, you're all going to suffer, too.

Cowboys are willing to deal for a receiver

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones acknowledged Tuesday he has asked another team about the availability of a veteran wideout according to the San Antonio Express-News.

"I wouldn't give who it was, but the answer is yes, we have talked (with another team)" Jones told reporters in Irving. "I wouldn't give you a time frame on it either, if you're talking the last week or the last few days. But certainly since (the start) of the offseason."

With Terry Glenn's status for next season uncertain, the Cowboys are in the market for a receiver to take pressure off Terrell Owens. Speaking at a news conference to discuss the draft, Jones said the first round Saturday wouldn't yield such a player. Jones emphatically denied that he's talked to Cincinnati about the availability of disgruntled receiver Chad Johnson, who is threatening to sit out the season if he doesn't get a new contract. ESPN reported this week that the Bengals informed Washington, which was offering its first-round pick (No. 21) and a conditional third-rounder in 2009, that Johnson wasn't available. Arizona's Anquan Boldin and Detroit's Roy Williams are other veteran receivers the Cowboys could be eyeing.

If the Dolphins didn't go for Jake Long, it would've been Chris

Bill Parcells had a Tuesday deadline to get "Quote Machine" Jake Long signed to a deal, or he would've moved on with the same offer to defensive end Chris Long of Virginia. That's according to Chris Mortensen, who attributes it to Dolphins team sources.

Wrote Mort:

Bill Parcells, the vice president of football operations for the Dolphins, had set an internal deadline of Tuesday to get the deal done or he would have turned to Virginia defensive end Chris Long, according to team sources.

Parcells even sent a letter on Monday to Jake Long's representatives -- Tom Condon and Ben Dogra of Creative Artists Agency -- suggesting Parcells would have to move on if the deal didn't come to a conclusion.

That sounds like a very Bill Parcells-ish thing to do. "If you want to be the #1 overall pick, you'll have to agree to our terms by Tuesday, or you can go stuff it, mister, because I am in charge here, and not you." That sort of approach has worked pretty well for him through his career thus far.

I don't think I buy it, though. I'm not saying I don't believe Mortensen, I'm saying I think Parcells was full of dolphin excrement.

If you've identified one guy that you think is the best player in the draft, then that's the guy you draft, right? Would Parcells really have taken a lesser player, just because someone wouldn't give in to his tough-guy act? That's cutting off the nose to spite the face, right?

I know you'd like to twist and contort everyone to the uncomfortable pose of your choice, Bill, but if you can't, you're just going to have to figure something else out. I don't think Parcells is petty enough to cost himself the best player in the draft, just because he felt like setting some arbitrary "I'm just doing this so you know I'm the boss" kind of deadline.

Power of Parcells clearly evident in Long signing
Be honest. If Cam Cameron were the one announcing that Jake Long is the Miami Dolphins' No. 1 draft pick, frazzled South Florida fans would be screaming bloody murder today.

Instead, it's Bill Parcells spending the top overall pick on an offensive tackle from Michigan and doing it four days before the draft is conducted, which virtually eliminates the possibility of another team making a late trade offer.

This, of course, is more than acceptable. It's commendable. It's Big Tuna commencing what promises to be an impressive haul. Such is the power of Parcells, and I have no argument with it. Between him and head coach Tony Sparano, a former offensive line coach, Long's potential will be stretched to the limit.

Saints looking to move up and grab Dorsey

Saints looking to move up and grab Dorsey

As it turns out, the Atlanta Falcons have gotten calls from teams interested in moving up to No.3 in this weekend's NFL draft according to Profootballtalk.com.

One of them came from the New Orleans Saints, who were linked last week to the St. Louis Rams at No. 2.

The Saints are believed to be hoping to move up in an effort to land LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey. They currently hold the 10th overall pick in the draft.

Glazer on Long


'Very good chance' Long will be signed before draft
The Miami Dolphins are close enough in pre-draft negotiations with Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long that a finalized contract could be announced any day, an NFL source told The Palm Beach Post today.

The source said "there's a very good chance" Long already will be under contract as the No. 1 pick before the NFL Draft begins at 3 p.m. Saturday at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
The source dismissed prior reports that the Dolphins had issued a deadline for Long to sign so that they could move on to negotiate with other possible candidates if necessary. The source also said the�Dolphins have not negotiated with any other players.

The Dolphins declined to comment. A call to Long's agent, Tom Condon, was not immediately returned.

Pacman paid $15,000 in extortion money
Court documents allege that a 29-year-old man arrested for a Las Vegas strip club shooting extorted hush money from suspended Tennessee Titans cornerback Adam (Pacman) Jones.

Police said Arvin Kenti Edwards, of Renton, Wash., used go-betweens to reach Jones, who paid $15,000 over several installments to various people after the shooting.

Three people were shot - including Long Islander Tommy Urbanski, who was paralyzed from the waist down — after a melee at the Minxx strip club during the NBA All-Star Weekend in February 2007, Jones had been at the club earlier that night.

Packers could take a quaterback in the first round
Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson won't pass up a worthwhile passer in this weekend's NFL draft.
And if the Packers end up taking a quarterback with the 30th pick in the first round, Thompson said it shouldn't be interpreted as a lack of confidence in new starter Aaron Rodgers.

"If we take a player at any other position, it's no slight on the players that we have at those positions," Thompson said in his pre-draft news conference Monday. "Aaron, he's comfortable in his own skin. He understands the NFL is the NFL."

Rodgers, the Packers' first-round pick in 2005, finally gets his chance to start next season now that Brett Favre has retired -- presumably for good. Thompson said that won't change, even if the Packers draft a quarterback early.

No doubting Dorsey's ability, just his durability

NFL teams seeking a potentially dominant defensive lineman atop this year's draft know it all comes down to the three Ds. Dorsey. Doctors. Durability.

Based on pure talent, production, and intangibles, Louisiana State's Glenn Dorsey is widely considered a slam-dunk choice, certainly worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick. Yet as is often the case, it isn't that simple.

Teams thinking of drafting Dorsey must put faith in their doctors because of his medical history — primarily a stress fracture in his right leg and a right knee sprain. The injuries never sidelined Dorsey during his four-year collegiate career, but they have become a concern to teams that might invest such riches in a potential top-five draft pick. It's one thing to play through those injuries in college, but the physical toll of the NFL is that much greater, so correctly evaluating Dorsey's health — and potential durability — is what clubs at the top of the draft are grappling with.

Report: Fish are close to an agreement with Jake Long

Report: Fish are close to an agreement with Jake Long
Tom Curran at MSNBC says that a contract agreement between the Dolphins and Jake Long is "nearly in place." Again, I don't believe anything anyone says this time of year.

Keith, upon being arrested: 'I'm a Colts player'
Colts running back Kenton Keith was out of jail Monday after being arrested for refusing to leave a nightclub parking lot and yelling at officers that he was a Colts player who had done nothing wrong, police said. Officers working security tried to clear a crowd from the parking lot of the Cloud 9 club after it closed at 3 a.m. Sunday. The 27-year-old Keith and several others refused to leave and were laughing, dancing and joking, police said.

Eli Manning's wedding album
You owe it to yourself to check out this photo gallery of Eli Manning's wedding. Jeremy Shockey seemed to enjoy himself.

Man begins to get over Brett Favre; marriage slowly heals
As I read this column this morning, written by a woman whose husband was distraught over the retirement of Brett Favre, I couldn't tell if it was real or a parody. I think I've settled on real.

Reading it felt a little like watching Best in Show, a Christopher Guest mockumentary that looks real, but is, in actuality, actors poking a little fun at the culture depicted; in that case, dog show people. Here, I couldn't tell if it was really a story about a "Oh no, Brett Favre has retired, and my life will never by the same" kind of guy, or a mockery of that kind of guy.

If you're a young filmmaker, I think there's a documentary to be made about situations like this one. It's too crazy to be mocked or spoofed, like that one about the guy who loved bears (actual bears, not the Chicago Bears) so much that one ate him.

A snippet, from OCRegister.com:

Days later, however, our TV remained stuck on sports channels giving all angles of the retirement story. Once, when I urgently needed to watch "Lost," Joe was fixed to the TV — it was Favre, again, choking up about leaving football.

Favre's eyes were as red as my husband's. And the look on Joe's face said something sad was happening on television. (Anybody remember the first episode of "Little House On the Prairie," when the Ingalls' dog almost drowned? Like that time; Joe was crying.)

I gingerly asked if what he was watching would go on long. "Oh," he said, wiping away a tear, "this is taped."

Yikes. And another:

Was I sad for the Packers and the games Joe would miss? No. I was calculating the money we'd save. Money once devoted to Joe's love life. No more Prime Ticket on Direct TV; no more trips to Green Bay. We'd even save on the Packers gear Joe insisted our entire family wear during the season.

Our daughter needs braces and more riding lessons. The older kids would be in therapy for years, what with the absence of their dad due to football.

Thank goodness Favre retired when he did. People must've been getting sick of looking at this guy's daughter, with her Favre jersey and gooned-up teeth.

And this is a family in southern California. Imagine the carnival of freakish behavior going on in Wisconsin right now. Marriages and families have actually been brought back together by the retirement of Brett Favre. It's up to you, Aaron Rogers, to tear those apart again.

Draft rumor mongering: Roy Williams to the Eagles?

I've never been one to post seemingly random trade rumors, but it's the week of the draft, this one's fun, and it at least has a source. So we'll roll with it.

GCobb.com, which, according to ProFootballTalk.com, has been "nailing many an Eagles scoop this offseason," reports that the Eagles are attempting to trade for Lions wide receiver Roy Williams.

There's video of his report, but I'm going to opt to just give you the quote, because I don't think many of you are interested in what Lee, the mustached car-salesman at Infiniti of West Chester, has to say.

Here you go:

"Talked to Mike Quick today. The Eagles are going to do something this week, when it comes to the draft, they're going to make a move after a wide receiver. I don't know whether they're going to be successful or not, but they're going to be going, and the word is that Roy Williams is going to be one of the guys that they're targeting. Trying to get a deal done. The Lions are holding out trying to get everything they can, but we'll see what happens."

Cobb also breaks the news that many Eagles fans are desperate for female companionship. I can't imagine why that would be so, and I don't believe it.

PFT says that the Redskins and Cowboys are also bidding for Williams, which would mean that 75% of NFC East's teams are in on this. That would seem to put Lions GM Matt Millen in an advantageous negotiating position ... at least, it would, if he wasn't Matt Millen.

Smith to Jarrett: 'You're here to play football'
Steve Smith wants Carolina Panthers teammate Dwayne Jarrett to get his act together. Carolina's three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver was asked Monday if the embattled Jarrett was due for a coming-out party after his disappointing rookie season was followed by an offseason charge of driving by impaired. "You know, the party session is actually over. This is the NFL," Smith said. "You make plays. You're here to play football.

Vital draft body parts: Glenn Dorsey's right leg
The only thing you can count on in the days leading up to the NFL draft is that everyone's lying. Teams lie about who they want, players lie about past injuries, GMs lie about non-existent trade offers, and agents lie about everything. I lie to you three or four times daily right here (that was a lie).

So I don't know what we should believe about Glenn Dorsey's leg. Mr. X-ray machine is probably not lying about the dark spot on the X-ray, and some GMs are concerned about it, according to STLtoday.com. Dorsey says he suffered a stress fracture there in his junior year when he banged it against something in the weight room, but that he played two years with the injury, and it never bothered him.

He also suffered a sprain of the right knee last year, but again, he never missed a game, and says it's not an issue. Backing Dorsey up on this are the Nagurski (best defensive player), Lombardi (best lineman or linebacker), and Outland (best interior lineman) awards on his mantle.

Two things concern me about Dorsey. One, it's a stress fracture, and Dorsey says he suffered it while banging into something in the weight room. That's not what a stress fracture is. Stress fractures are caused by repetitive motions.

And two, there were too many times last year where Dorsey went for long stretches of a game being pretty blockable. He made as many spectacular, eye-popping plays as any defensive lineman you can mention, but there were also a lot of times when he'd disappear for a good stretch of the game.

But he's got nearly ideal measurables, and the leg has passed every test it's been put through, so there's still a very good chance he'll be taken in the top three. I certainly don't think he'll slide out of the top ten. But his leg is going to be key in how the top of the draft shakes out.

These teams should have passed on these WRs

These teams should have passed on these WRs
The Eagles took Freddie Mitchell when they could have had Reggie Wayne. That isn't the only WR misfire Ed Thompson found.

Colts RB Keith arrested outside Indy nightclub
Colts running back Kenton Keith was out of jail Monday after being arrested for refusing to leave a nightclub parking lot and yelling at officers that he was a Colts player who had done nothing wrong, police said. Officers working security tried to clear a crowd from the parking lot of the Cloud 9 club after it closed at 3 a.m. Sunday. The 27-year-old Keith and several others refused to leave and were laughing, dancing and joking, police said.

Eli Manning married in Mexico

Eli Manning married in Mexico

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning wed Abby McGrew during a beachfront ceremony Saturday in Mexico, the New York Daily News reported on its website.

Brohm has no regrets, evening as draft stock falls
If the NFL draft were the stock market, then Louisville's Brian Brohm would be Bear Stearns.�Last year at this time, Brohm was considered by many a top-five pick, his value peaking. Yet he bypassed the 2007 draft to return to Louisville, had a difficult campaign, and now he might slip out of this year's first round completely.

While this year's crop of quarterbacks is headlined by Boston College's Matt Ryan, who is expected to be selected within the first eight picks, the 6-foot-3-inch, 230-pound Brohm might have the most compelling story because of his unexpected plunge. He insists he has no regrets.

"My season didn't go as well as expected, but I feel like I learned a lot from that," the 22-year-old Brohm said. "I wouldn't go back and change a thing."

Baltimore tight end Sypniewski suffers knee injury

Baltimore tight end Sypniewski suffers knee injury
During a minicamp practice Friday morning, tight end Quinn Sypniewski's left knee buckled after hauling in a pass and awkwardly bumping into linebacker Antwan Barnes. In obvious pain, the 6-foot-6, 270-pounder was carted off the field. There's concern that this could be a season-ending injury that would require surgery according to the Carroll County Times.

Afterward, Sypniewski was on crutches in the locker room and had a walking cast on his leg before leaving the training complex to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging exam. Further tests are going to be conducted to determine the full severity of the injury.

"You hate to see that, you don't want to see guys go down, said tight end Todd Heap, the only healthy tight end on the roster since backup Daniel Wilcox isn't fully recovered from ankle surgery. "It does not look good. I definitely feel for Quinn right now, and I hope he's all right."

Seattle GM said Seahawks could trade down

Seattle Seahawks general manager Tim Ruskell on Friday said there is a good chance the team will trade down in the April 26-27 draft in order to acquire additional picks.

The Seahawks hold the 25th (first round), 55th (second round) and 86th (third round) selections. Seattle does not have a fifth-round pick, which was traded to Jacksonville for running back Alvin Pearman last season.

Ruskell said because the Seahawks signed running backs to fill a need in free agency, they have the flexibility to move around in any round to acquire extra picks.

Roy Williams might not play on third downs for Dallas
This is a make-or-break season for Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams.

He might be the only man who has started in the Pro Bowl who has so many questions about his role in his organization. Some people at Valley Ranch don't trust him on the field anymore. Don't be surprised if Williams is benched on third downs this fall. Teams love throwing to the tight end on third down to keep the chains moving.

Williams knows he's not the same player he was a few years ago. His ears work. He knows the critics are out there. He did himself no favors in the locker room last year by being suspended for a horse collar tackle on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. Wade Phillips also chose not to start him for two games. He didn't register a single sack in 2007.

If McFadden is available at No.6, will Jets take him?
Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, once thought to be unattainable for the New York Jets at No. 6 overall, recently has been rumored to be falling somewhat. His character has been called into question as the result of two incidents outside nightclubs in 2006 and last January. He was not charged in the recent incident, but he is waiting for the follow-up results of a second test in a paternity suit — the first test showed him not to be the father — and he has two other paternity cases to be resolved.

Clinkscales, however, said McFadden passed the organization's extensive vetting and that the team would be comfortable selecting him. "If we draft a player, we've checked out his character thoroughly," Clinkscales said. "If that's the pick [McFadden] we choose to make, we'll be comfortable with that decision."

They also would be comfortable with the player they've been most linked to, Ohio State defensive end Vernon Gholston. "Vernon's a very explosive player," Bradway said.

San Diego nose guard Williams has knee surgery
The last of the expected offseason surgeries for Chargers players was performed yesterday when nose guard Jamal Williams underwent his second arthroscopic procedure this month.

Williams had his left tknee cleaned out, according o team sources. Williams' right knee was cleaned out April 1. His recovery from the procedure is expected to take two to three weeks, about the same time as his recovery from the first procedure.

Twelve Chargers, including eight starters, have undergone offseason surgery. There is a possibility tight end Antonio Gates (toe) and center Nick Hardwick (foot) will not be ready for the start of the season.

Eagles interested in obtaining Jets DL Robertson?

New York Jets defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson, a No. 4 overall pick in 2003, visited the Philadelphia Eagles and�took a physical, according to two league sources the Delaware County Times reported.

The Eagles can't comment on Robertson, who is still property of the Jets but became trade bait when New York switched to a 3-4 defensive alignment this off-season and signed Kris Jenkins to play nose tackle. Robertson�was also in conversations with at least four other teams, said one source, who couldn't confirm if the Eagles had made an offer to the Jets.

The Eagles have 11 picks in the draft, which starts next Saturday, and could pick up more if they deal cornerback Lito Sheppard. The Denver Broncos are also reportedly interested in Robertson.

Falcons have 11 picks ... and it isn't enough
The Atlanta�Falcons enter next weekend's NFL draft with 11 picks — enough to complete a starting unit on offense or defense. They might need more.

A three-day minicamp this week revealed a young, relatively untested roster. There is a lack of depth at several positions and the need for immediate help at others. Whom the Falcons will select with the No. 3 overall pick in the draft is the biggest question. Yet the players acquired with the second- and mid-round picks could prove most crucial. The Falcons need as many as two starters and other rotational players to step in right away.

Should the Falcons retain the No. 3 pick, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan, Michigan offensive tackle Jake Long and LSU nose tackle Glenn Dorsey are on the short list. Each fills a position of need. Ryan likely would sit for most of the season, learning and waiting for a solid offensive line to be formed.

Draft memories: McNabb gets a warm Philadelphia welcome

Draft memories: McNabb gets a warm Philadelphia welcome
YouTube is sadly and disappointingly bereft of much NFL draft footage, but one great draft moment that does live on via YouTube is this one: Eagles fans lustily booing their team's selection of Donovan McNabb.

If you're over the age of 10, it's not Halloween, and you're wearing metallic face paint in public, there should be some kind of law making it illegal for you to voice your opinion on anything. Unless you're a Raiders fan, in which case it's just assumed that you suffer from some form of mental illness anyway.

The fans were upset because they wanted the Eagles to take Ricky Williams, who had three or four good years before the weed got the best of him.

Good call. I guess the face paint does have that one advantage: no one can recognize you as the genius who almost had a coronary when the Eagles drafted Donovan McNabb.

Team that gets Allen will spend at least $70 million
Once a team acquires Jared Allen's�rights, the 6-foot-6, 270-pounder is likely to demand the same six-year, $72-million package paid by the Colts last year to defensive end Dwight Freeney. The deal included $30-million in guaranteed money according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Allen, entering his fifth season out of Idaho State, brings some off-field baggage. He was suspended two games last season for substance abuse violations, including two DUI arrests. He returned to start 14 games, finished with 64 tackles, made his first Pro Bowl and, according to Bennett, has grown.

"He's gotten over that, I think," said Tampa's Michael Bennett, a teammateof Allen's in Kansas City. "Everybody makes mistakes. We've all been there. We learn from our mistakes, and I think he's matured."

Come on, you can't expect the Titans to smoke schwag
Court documents revealed yesterday that a lowlife drug dealer admitted to selling some top-shelf marijuana to Tennessee Titans players for about $1,000 an ounce. Or close to an ounce, anyway.

In cross-examination by Williams’ attorney Peter Strianse, Corey Cecil was asked about the transactions, “The people that were sending you those wire transfers were connections that you had made on the streets when you more or less were a hydroponic marijuana dealer to the stars; is that right?”

Cecil asked Strianse what he meant by “To the stars,” and the attorney replied, “Tennessee Titans players, you would set them up with ounce quantities of high-quality hydroponic?”

Cecil then replied, “Yes, sir.”

Cecil also confirmed in questioning that he was “pinching out” seven grams of each ounce and selling it to the players as a full ounce with the Titans players unaware of being shortchanged.

Pinching out of bags like that. Tsk. This guy has a lot to learn about being a respectable member of the community.

No players were named in the court documents -- and I certainly can't think of any that are likely to engage in this sort of behavior -- but this wasn't about nailing buyers.

As it turns out, this dealer, Corey Cecil, had an uncle on the force, and he and another officer would stage fake arrests of Cecil during drug deals, "confiscate" all the money and the drugs, and then allow Cecil to keep his weed, while all the parties involved split up the money.

All three of them were convicted. We'll see if this results in any reports of an increased work ethic in Titans minicamps and training camps.

Urlacher said he never threatened to quit over money
Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher disputed a report that he threatened to retire if the Bears don't reward him with more guaranteed money according to the Chicago Tribune.

"I never said that I was going to quit,'' Urlacher told the Tribune early Friday morning. "That's just a gossip column. Reports like that is why I choose not to speak to the media.''

Urlacher, who is seeking a multi-year contract extension that would pad the nine-year, $57-million contract he signed in 2003, has not attended the Bears' on-going voluntary workouts and said he is unsure if he will attend the team's mandatory minicamp May 30-June 1 if a contract agreement is not reached. He also cited the opportunity to spend more time with his children as a reason for staying in Arizona. He did not express plans to boycott training camp. The Bears, who sit about $16 million under the salary cap, continue to have talks with Urlacher's agents.

What we wrought this week: From bad tats to an angry Chad
•�Chad Johnson makes it clear that he doesn't want to wear the orange and black stripes anymore. Too bad. It's a fantastic look.�

•�Steve McNair, out of the blue, announced his retirement. We won't lose sight of how amazing McNair once was.

•�The Chiefs decide to trade Jared Allen because they're sick of having good players on their team.

•�The loose lips of Miami GM Jeff Ireland might have inadvertently sunk the Dolphins draft ship.

•�The schedule came out, and as always, it has its high points and its low points.

•�For some reason, Stephen Cooper was hopping himself up on ephedra.

•�In a TV interview, Herschel Walker discussed his disassociative identity disorder. Or maybe it was Herschel Walker. I can never tell.

•�The Pope planted one Kellen Clemens's kid.

•�Justin Smith and Willis McGahee have formed a wonderful bond based on threatened dental thievery.

•�A Patriots fan gets a tattoo of an ugly woman in a tattered blue dress and some kind of nasty infection on her right leg.

Shockey wouldn't be upset if he was traded
Jeremy Shockey has not formally demanded a trade from the Giants, but he has made it very clear he wouldn't be upset if it happened, either. The brash tight end, who missed the Giants' championship run with a broken leg, has been sounding off for more than a month about his frustrations with the Giants, according to NFL sources. And he has told friends he would welcome a trade to the New Orleans Saints, who made an offer for him last month the New York Daily News reported.

But while Giants GM Jerry Reese admitted yesterday that he has had "conversations" with other teams about trading Shockey, he also said he is not shopping his tight end. "Anything can happen in personnel," he said. "But right now, Jeremy Shockey is our starting tight end and we're looking forward for him to be back on the field for us this fall."

According to team sources, at least two clubs have inquired about Shockey and the Giants have made it clear they are willing to listen. The Saints reportedly offered them a second-round pick for Shockey last month, but the Giants wanted more. "We're not just going to give him away," the source said.