-- Two league sources have told the New York Post that negotations on a new CBA are sputtering and that free agency will begin as scheduled on March 3rd.
-- An unidentified scout gives his top-10 mock draft. The minor surprise -- Vandy QB Jay Cutler to Oakland at pick six. He's assuming the Raiders win the coin flip with the 49ers, which will take place late this week at the combine. If the 49ers win the flip, look for Miami to dangle all forms of player/picks packages in front of the 49ers eyes. Nick Saban wants Cutler badly.
-- The Raiders may not get that chance. Gary Myers of the New York Daily News writes that Chad Pennington Jets' career is over and speculates they could select Cutler at pick four.
-- Want a piece of football history? Get your checkbook and a stronger coffee table. Kraken Sports and Media Limited of England and the NFL will publish Super Bowl XL Opus this coming September. The book will be roughly 950 pages long, have over 2,000 images and weight 90 pounds. Only 20,000 copies will be printed, at a cost of over $7 million. 19,600 will be sold for $4,000 each. 400 more, containing the autographs of each Super Bowl MVP, will cost $40,000.
But if you order now, you'll get a 10% discount. That's $4,000 off the list price.
I'm serious.
-- Packers QB Brett Favre is consulting Troy Aikman about retirement. Aikman told the AP that his team's situation had as much to do with retirement as his physical condition. Favre is weighing the Packers immediate future as he ponders his.