• The Eagle-Tribune, a small newspaper in Massachusetts, reported Thursday that the lockout was over (the linked story, BTW, has been amended). The Internet quickly poo-poo’d that report, though. Even NFL spokesman Greg Aiello tweeted a Yogi Berra reference (It’s not over ‘til it’s over). I think it’d be great if the Eagle-Tribune actually was the media outlet which broke the lockout-is-over news. In fact, if it can’t be us here at CBSSports.com, I’m rooting for the E-T to be the ones leading this story. Go get ‘em, boys.

• If there’s any question about QB Alex Smith’s commitment to the 49ers, then his four-day mini-camp with his teammates should answer that question. He also says he has more to prove than ever before.

• And speaking of the 49ers, first-round pick Aldon Smith showed up to practice with his new teammates.

• CBSSports.com’s own Mike Freeman explores how NFL players are talking trash about LeBron James on their Twitter accounts.

• Steelers LB LaMarr Woodley was asked recently if Ravens QB Joe Flacco could lead Baltimore to a Super Bowl. Said Woodley: Not in this lifetime.

• Bengals CB Adam Jones had some strong words for former QB Carson Palmer in a radio interview Thursday. “If Carson don’t want to be here,” Jones said, “damn him.”

• At some point, if the lockout persists, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers says his teammates will have to get together and practice.

• Titans QB Jake Locker apparently is a pretty good roommate.

• The hits keep on coming for Jets QB Erik Ainge. He’s revealed that he has a torn rotator cuff.

• Is Packers T Mark Tauscher’s career coming to a close? He’s not sure.

• An interesting chalk talk session with Texans DL coach Bill Kolar.

Aaron Rodgers recently appeared on ESPN Milwaukee 1450 and shared a few good Super Bowl stories. He talked about Christina Aguilera botching the National Anthem (Rodgers says he was one of the few Packers who actually noticed it at the time) and, more interestingly, about how he watched things get heated between two photographers just prior to the coin toss.
We’ll let Rodgers tell the full story:

"We walked out to the coin toss. The Super Bowl, there are these long TV timeouts. So we go out for the coin toss as one of the captains, there are five of us, and the Steelers guys are standing over there. And we're just standing there looking at each other for a good three minutes.

"Well, over to the left, about 10 cameramen have been trying to get in place to get the best shot, and two of them are fighting. They're yelling at each other in different languages, flipping each other off. The one guy is flipping him off, and the other guy below him is just taking all these pictures of it....

"So they're screaming at each other. The up guy is flipping him off and the down guy is taking all these pictures of him. So then the [low] guy stands up and he starts taking pictures of him. So they're both screaming at each other taking pictures of each other for a good minute and a half.

"And I'm tapping A.J. [Hawk], 'Look at that! Look at that! It's unbelievable!"

If we’re allowed to play psychologist and read into these stories (and, this being a blog, we most certainly are), then the takeaway here is that Rodgers clearly sounds as if he was preternaturally calm in the final moments leading up to the biggest game of his life.

In fact, in the same interview, Rodgers said of the Super Bowl, “It felt like a normal game. Is that bad? It felt like a normal game."

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• Wes Welker said something recently about enjoying the lockout. He recently clarified it, stating that he was saying it as a joke. (If you've ever met or interviewed Welker, this makes much more sense than him saying it in a really serious fashion.) He seemed especially cheesed that the owners decided to use it against him in court. 

• Aaron Rodgers distinctly remembers realizing that Christina Aguilera totally screwed the pooch on the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. He also has a pretty funny story about cameramen at the coin toss giving each other the bird.

• Brian Price of the Bucs is doing work, trying to get back to being totally healthy.

• Mike Lombardi told 620 KTAR that it's very hard to believe Kevin Kolb is worth a first-rounder.

• Cam Newton told the NFL Network that getting the No. 2 jersey for the Panthers isn't a big deal. 

• Lawrence Jackson recently told Pro Football Focus that he underwent ankle surgery and it's all good. He also might have said something about hitting Tony Romo. Or tackling him. Whatever.

• My friends Jimmy Traina and Richard Deitsch did a little podcast about the upcoming ESPN book. You should listen.

• Bills NG Michael Jasper has managed to lose 75 pounds. Now he only weights 378! (!!!)

• Brian McIntyre of Football Outsiders takes a look at the biggest draft holes for each NFC East team.

• Danny Amendola, unsurprisingly, might not be a fantasy sleeper this year in Josh McDaniels offense. 100 catches anyone?

Posted by Andy Benoit

USA Today has published a list of the top 15 most popular NFL player jerseys from the past year. Without further ado:

1) Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
2) Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
3) Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
4) Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts
5) Tim Tebow, Denver Broncos
6) Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles
7) Tom Brady, New England Patriots
8) Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers
9) Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
10) Eli Manning, New York Giants
11) DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles
12) Mark Sanchez, New York Jets
13) Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys
14) Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings
15) Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

The data is based on sales from NFLShop.com.

Last year, Favre ranked No. 1 in jersey sales. Vick ranked 20th. Matthews wasn't even in the top 25.