Isn't it great?  We're almost only a month away from glorious football.  Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.  With training camps underway, there are many new faces for each team.  Rookies, traded guys, and free agents.  While all of the big talk has been of the many traded players (and Brett Favre), the free agent list was a very interesting one.  Which free agents are going to make the biggest impact?  Here are ten free agents I think will help their new teams the most.

10. Javon Walker, Wide Receiver, Raiders
Walker hasn't been the same since his one fluke season in Green Bay.  He didn't do squat in Denver, but now he comes to Oakland, where he HAS to be the guy.  Because, let's face it, the Raiders have nothing else at receiver.  Walker is bound to make an impact just because he's going to get a lot of passes thrown to him.  But don't expect him to have great numbers by any stretch, since he'll probably get a lot of attention.  However, he'll still be the best receiver Oakland has.

9. Sammy Knight, Safety, Giants
The Giants lost a couple of good starters on defense this past offseson.  Michael Strahan retired, Kawika Mitchell left, and Gibril Wilson left.  Wilson's departure left a pretty big hole in the strong safety slot, but the Giants grabbed Knight.  Knight might be a 33 year old veteran, but he had a great year last season in his only year in Jacksonville.  Not only is he a talented safety who will make an impact, but he also brings the veteran leadership that left with Strahan.  He's a very good tackler and he's a good coverage guy as well.

8. Jake Scott, Guard, Titans
It sure seems like every player that leaves the Colts ends up playing for Tennessee.  The Titans offensive line was average last year, and this past offseason they lost both of their starting guards.  (Jacob Bell left for free agency, Benji Olson retired) Scott played very well for the Colts, and is a very strong pass blocking guard, who also is an above average run blocker.  He'll definitely fit in there as a starter for a few years.

7. Drayton Florence, Cornerback, Jaguars
When Antonio Cromartie started making interception after interception, it meant that Florence would be demoted to a nickel back.  He's definitely a starter-caliber corner, and he'll fit right in with a strong Jacksonville defense.  With Rashean Mathis on the other side, he'll get a lot of balls thrown toward him, and he'll get a chance to show his playmaking abilities.  This will also give the Jaguars a chance to try the former #2 corner Brian Williams an opportunity to fill a hole at safety.

6. Jason Elam, Kicker, Falcons
I know what some of you are thinking.  "A kicker???"  The Falcons haven't had much at kicker for a while. They tried their punter at kicker, and it failed miserably, and then ended up settling for Morten Andersen.  Now I love Morten as much as anyone, but the guy is 47, and can't kick for any distance.  Elam has been a very good kicker for many years with the Broncos, and he'll give them opportunities to kick long field goals that Morten couldn't do.  And with an offense that bad, they need the ability to try long field goals.

5. Alge Crumpler, Tight End, Titans
The situation that Crumpler is heading into in Tennessee is almost exactly the same as his early time in Atlanta.  He has a fast but inaccurate quarterback throwing it to him, and no other receivers of any value at all around him.  Crumpler has aged a bit, and isn't nearly as speedy, but he still can get catches.  Looking at the other options at receiver, Vince Young is bound to start throwing it to Crumpler a lot, and he'll give him a decent target for the first time in his pro career.

4. Bernard Berrian, Wide Receiver, Vikings
The Vikings haven't had anything at wide receiver for a few years now.  Berrian can become what Troy Williamson was supposed to be.  He's a very speedy receiver who will give them a great deep threat, and his hands are solid as well.  He did pretty well even with a crappy offense in Chicago, now he has a great running game to set up the passing threat.  I believe that Berrian will have a lot of success this year with the Vikings.

3. Gibril Wilson, Safety, Raiders
It's interesting that someone would leave a team that won a Super Bowl to go to Oakland, but money definitely talks.  The Raiders will not be disappointed in their investment.  Wilson is a very physical safety who will make a lot of tackles, and he's a solid coverage safety as well.  He'll join Michael Huff to make one of the best safety combos in the league. With these two, and the starting corners of DeAngelo Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha, the Raiders look to have a very strong secondary.

2. Asante Samuel, Cornerback, Eagles
Anytime you sign a guy as talented as Samuel, it's a good move.  He's easily one of the very best corners in all of the league, and he'll definitely help a secondary that only had 11 interceptions last year.  There are a lot of rumors that Lito Sheppard may be traded, but regardless, he'll definitely take pressure off of Sheldon Brown, a good but not elite corner.  If Sheppard stays, it'll be really tough to throw on the Eagles.  Either way, I expect Samuel to keep his success going in Philly.

1. Alan Faneca, Guard, Jets
When you sign a guy that's a Hall of Fame caliber player, it's always a good thing.  Even though he's aging, Faneca was almost single-handedly holding together a bad Steelers offensive line this past year.  For many years, his phenomenal run blocking has helped make the Steelers successful.  The Jets line struggled last year, and he'll fit in perfect between the young D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Nick Mangold; both players who are improving and will be strong linemen.  Faneca is the type of lineman who instantly leaves a huge mark on an offense, and he'll definitely improve the Jets offense drastically.  (And weaken his old offensive tremendously)

These are the guys I think will be the biggest impact free agents.  Who do you think will make the largest impact, and who do you think will be the biggest flop?

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the infamous George Brett pine tar incident at Yankee Stadium.

On July 24th, 1983, Brett launched a two-run, two-out homer in the top of the 9th to give the Royals a 5-4 lead over New York. Before Brett even finished rounding the bases, the easily irritated Yankee manager Billy Martin was out complaining to home plate umpire Tim McClelland.

McClelland examined the bat briefly with the other umpires, and then as we can all remember, motioned towards the Royals bench that Brett was ejected. No home run.

An epic tantrum ensued. I'd love to post the actual video of the event, but the powers that be at Major League Baseball have wiped it clean. I wonder why?

No worries. There's an even better video thanks to the old show "The Baseball Bunch," Johnny Bench and the San Diego Chicken recreate the pine tar incident better than anyone could. Outstanding detail paid to the 'staches.

Needless to say, Iraq has had a tough time of late. The country is a mess politically, economically, culturally, etc., etc., etc. The list could literally go on forever. So naturally, one way the country might find some way to forget about these problems for a day or two would be to see their 7 Olympic athletes compete in the Olympics. And maybe, just maybe, watching these athletes represent Iraq at the Games might make some Iraqis realize that their is hope for their country.

But you can forget about that now. The International Olympic Committee, which I've railed against pretty much forever, decided today to ban Iraq from taking part at this summer's Beijing Games.

Their reason for doing this? The move stems from an Iraqi government decision in May to suspend Iraq's elected Olympic Committee and form a temporary committee to handle its duties. The Iraqi government thought the original committee had not been operating properly - it held meetings without quorums and had officials serving in one-year posts for more than five years - and as a result undermined the sporting movement in Iraq.

Nothing unreasonable there, except here's the problem. Under the IOC charter, all committees must be free of political influence. And since Iraq made an attempt to fix their Olympic committee through political appointment, they got banned.

You've got to be kidding me. So the IOC would have been all right with a totally corrupt Iraq Olympic Committee - which the original one was - because it was free of political influence?

What a travesty.

The IOC, which seems to continually operate in some kind of dream world, apparently forgets - or chooses to ignore - that no Olympic Committee is free of political influence. How do they think countries get the Olympics in the first place? Of course there's political posturing, political connections, and other poltical shenanigans involved in getting the Olympics to come to your town.

Chicago's been trying like hell to get the Olympics for 2016. You think Mayor Daley would like some friends in his corner on the US Olympic Committee vouching for Chicago to the IOC? I do. And I'm sure he does have a few people in that position, since Daley has political connections all over the US.

Does that count as political influence? You're damn right it does.

It's especially discouraging to see the IOC ban a country that was actually trying to do the right thing. That may be the biggest the slap in the face.

And while I feel bad for Iraq, I feel terrible for the 7 athletes - two rowers, two sprinters, one archer, one weightlifter and one judo competitor. They've been training for years in a war torn country where they've literally put their lives on the line to achieve the Olympic dream.

And now it's all gone.

If the IOC actually had any heart, they'd look past this ridiculous rule and let Iraq compete. But hey, the IOC has it's own politics to worry about. Like how much money can we screw the next city that wants to host the Olympics out of by having them build everything from scratch that'll never be used again.

Way to be IOC, way to be.

While it's hard to compete with the drama of a Rex Grossman vs Kyle Orton duel, seven more training camps get underway, all with their own unique storylines.

Here's what I'm watching...


San Francisco 49ers Alex Smith, we're still waiting? Shaun Hill showed some promise in a few reserve appearances, but San Francisco needs Smith to turn into at least a third round talent. Baby steps. 1st overall pick production is probably out of the question. To his credit, the offensive line hasn't exactly been superb and his best receiving option has been an oft injured tight end in Vernon Davis. Mike Martz comes to town as the OC, which is either a blessing or a curse. Martz brought with him Isaac Bruce and signed Bryant Johnson from Arizona who I've always felt was underutilized. No excuses this season for Alex. While that will grab most of the attention, I'm looking forward to seeing the continued to development of what could become one of the best defenses in the league. Patrick Willis is a beast, Manny Lawson is healthy, and Kentwan Balmer should add some presence on the line. Rookie to watch: Josh Morgan, WR

Kansas City Chiefs What to watch? Well that's easy... QB Brodie Croyle's wife, Kelly.

Oh, on the field you say? Yikes. The Chiefs are going to struggle mightily to score on offense, so we might as well focus on the other side. If it's possible to call a top five overall pick a steal, then Glenn Dorsey qualifies. I long argued he was the best overall prospect and Herman Edwards will need him to play as such. Let's see how quickly he takes over the line of scrimmage in the NFL, even as a rookie. Rookie to watch: Jamaal Charles, RB (will be needed with Larry Johnson gets injured)

Indianapolis Colts There will be mass overreaction to Peyton Manning's injury which was suspiciously hidden all offseason, but I suspect it was handled that way because it's truly not that big of a deal. Either way, it's Jim Sorgi and Josh Betts time! It's true, the Colts have two other signal callers on the roster just so that the sideline is filled out. However, I'll be focusing my attention on Dwight Freeney. We were told his Lisfranc injury could affect his long term production. Does he still have his devastating speed off the line? The Colts season will bank on it. Rookie to watch: Jacob Tamme, WR/TE who will produce immediately

Philadelphia Eagles New year, same story: How healthy is Donovan McNabb? NFC East will be an incredibly competitive division race, and as always, his consistency tell the Eagles story. But that's boring, we focus on McNabb always. I want to know if DeSean Jackson, return man extraordinaire, can have a Devin Hester like impact? Other rookie to watch: Quintin Demps, S

Giants Still motivated? It's going to be extremely difficult to top last season's accomplishments, upsetting the 18-0 New England Patriots with one of the most memorably plays in NFL history. No Michael Strahan leadership in the locker room, so will this now become Eli's team? I'll be looking to see what strides he's made in terms of being more vocal and becoming the new face of the franchise. Rookie to watch: Mario Manningham, WR.

Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden, Darren McFadden, Darren McFadden. Will Al Davis remain alive? That's about it, right?

Seattle Seahawks Honestly, I'm just looking forward to Owen Schmitt. Need a reminder?



And no, he won't be used as a punter.

With a strong to quite strong defense, bolstered by Lawrence Jackson, and a guaranteed at least seven wins at home, if not eight, the focus is all on the restructured running game. Julius Jones will get the bulk of carries and TJ Duckett will handle the short situations. Sounds good to me. If they're effective, go ahead and pencil the Seahawks in for another division title and a home field wild card game.

Minnesota Vikings I so desperately want to jump on the Vikes bandwagon, but when has the trendy preseason pick every delivered? Obviously all eyes are on Adrian Peterson. If he's healthy for all 16 games, the single season rushing record is in jeopardy. Tarvaris Jackson needs to eliminate interceptions, so that will be watched closely, as will John David Booty who I suspect will put a great deal of pressure on the starting position. While the offense should improve, it's mandatory that the defensive secondary show some sort of defensive capabilities. If Antoine Winfield can lock down one side of the field and rookie Tyrell Johnson can become a reliable safety, the Vikings will have little trouble tearing up the NFC North. Other rookie to watch: Speedy Jaymar Johnson, WR

That's what I'm watching... what interests you about these training camps?

One of the best stories from this spring's NFL Draft was the Detroit Lions 7th round selection of Army football safety Caleb Campbell. He was more than deserving of getting a chance to play in the NFL, and was in person to talk about the honor with ESPN.

He was an Army recruiting dream, which is what he was told would be his military service if he could secure a position on an NFL active roster. It was a good faith policy decision, emphasis on was.

Campbell was told yesterday as he prepared to report to Lions training camp that he would be reporting for traditional military duty instead due to a change in policy to comply with a Department of Defense measure.

It's disappointing on several fronts. First, why did this happen on the night before he was going to embark on his football career? Secondly, Caleb Campbell would have been a recruiting machine for the Army, who desperately needs those services.

I understand when Campbell signed up at West Point, he understood what was expected of him and was committed to actively serving the military and with the likelihood he would be sent to the Middle East. But then why tease a kid with a "good faith" policy to allow him to pursue a career with his unique talents, one that would have benefited the Army immensely.

I'm hardly capable of understanding all the complexities here, so I'd rather hear from those with military backgrounds. Do you think it was fair for Campbell to bypass traditional military duties and earn NFL dollars?

The thing that gets me most, is that it's another PR hit for the military. Campbell is a very charismatic West Point graduate and could have single-handedly improved recruiting efforts with his notoriety as an NFL player. Sometimes it's not so much whether it's right or wrong, but how it appears to the public as a whole.