Posted by Josh Katzowitz

• Redskins owner Dan Snyder’s decision to sue Washington City Paper has attracted the attention of at least one member of Congress. Rep. Steve Cohen – a Democrat from Tennessee – will try again to pass a bill through the House of Representatives that prevents people from filing “strategic lawsuits against public participation.” Which basically means that a rich dude can’t file a meritless lawsuit simply for the purpose of obtaining revenge.

• This, I believe, qualifies as good news. The Bills players are donating $10,000 to support the help efforts being made in Joplin, Mo. Punter Brian Moorman also said the players are uniting with New Era, which will provide 10,000 pieces of clothing. Hopefully, they’re not all Bills hats.

• In the midst of praising DE Aaron Kampman, Jaguars GM Gene Smith also sheds light on his feelings for 2008 first-round pick Derrick Harvey. Smith doesn’t call Harvey a bust, but he doesn’t exactly say he’s the bedrock of the defense either.

• If you’re looking for the top ex-con athletes playing pro sports today, it should be no surprise to you that many of them are football players. From Plaxico Burress to Michael Vick, Forbes.com has you covered. Nice to see a jockey and a darts player (thrower?) in there, as well.

• Among the newsy items in this transcript of Patriots QB Tom Brady from his charity football game Friday: his surgically-repaired foot feels good; his newest haircut looks good; and he’s confident a solution to the lockout is forthcoming.

• In case you’ve forgotten about the NFL strike of 1987, CBSSports.com’s own Chuck Finder is here to remind you about how crazy it was.

• Titans S Myron Rolle’s parents always told him that he should try to transcend others’ lives. Looks like he’s trying to accomplish that this offseason.

• He won’t take part this year, but Falcons owner Arthur Blank says he’ll consider allowing Hard Knocks to film his team at some point in the future.

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Posted by Ryan Wilson

Warrick Dunn played 12 NFL seasons and by the time he retired in 2008, he had rushed for nearly 11,000 yards and 64 touchdowns. But Dunn is probably better known for his contributions off the field, specifically the Warrick Dunn Family Foundation which, according to the website, is "dedicated to providing opportunities for economically disadvantaged single parents and children who have demonstrated a commitment to achieve financial independence and stability." Essentially, Dunn helps families become homeowners.

But last week police stopped Dunn outside Atlanta because the window tinting on his automobile was too dark. Dunn was also told that he fit the description of a criminal.

On Friday, Dunn wrote about the incident on Facebook.

"Pulled over outside Atl because he said my window tint was too dark. During the stop he asked a lot of personal questions, said I had the characteristics of people transporting drugs & guns. So he searched my car and gave me a warning for my tint. Felt violated and I've had my car since '08, nvr been pulled ovr for tint. Taken back bc I think the reasoning was bad. Ruined my day but not my spirit."

He also tweeted that, "Funny thing is you can see inside bc my tint is not dark. It was cloudy and 5-0 was 20 yards behind at an angle."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a spokesman for the Georgia state patrol didn't have any information on the incident, and Dunn couldn't be reached for comment.

Three weeks ago, former NFL quarterback Kordell Stewart was arrested in Alpharetta, Georgia for driving with a suspended license due to an outdated traffic ticket for tinted windows.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

While a number of players continue to find themselves in handcuffs during the lockout and as we continue to ponder Ray Lewis’ theory that crime will rise (IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!) if games are lost to the labor dispute, we have another (former) NFL employee in trouble.

And this time, it’s a cheerleader.

The Athens Banner Herald reports that ex-Falcons cheerleader Kori Lanard was arrested April 29 and has been linked to an accused chop shop operator.

According to her Facebook page, Lanard, 30, is in a relationship with Kirk Devon Bray – who was arrested May 5 after he crashed a stolen truck in Athens. Later, authorities accused him of running a chop shop in suburban Atlanta, and they have linked him to numerous stolen vehicles from Atlanta to the South Carolina border.

"There are so many agencies with so many different pieces of the picture," Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry told the paper. “This is a case that's turning into epic proportions. Every rock you kick over, you find new evidence.

"People all across the state of Georgia and Tennessee are working on this guy.”

A few days before Bray was arrested, an Oglethorpe (Ga.) County deputy stopped a stolen Ford F-350, but Bray and Lanard ran from the officer and escaped. She wasn’t so lucky the next time a cop tracked her down, but hey, at least she showed that she has plenty of spirit and, when people are coming after her, she can be aggressive, B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E.

Photo courtesy of Facebook.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

Colts director of pro player personnel Clyde Powers wants to clarify: he is not retiring, he was fired.

Joe Webb likes the simpler verbiage of the system that new Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave is installing.

Falcons running back Jason Snelling supports the NFLPA but isn’t a fan of the litigation route.


Jeff Fisher’s son, Brandon, is now a member of the Detroit Lions defensive coaching staff.


LaVar Arrington gets what Ray Lewis is saying about the lockout and crime rate.


Fed-up longtime Bengals fan Brett Kostoff gave up his support for the stripes and auctioned off his fandom on Ebay. The winning bid? $510 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.


Rex Ryan is getting work-stoppage advice from Joe Gibbs, the greatest work stoppage head coach in NFL history.


Dwayne Jarrett’s DWI trial will be in July. In a non-lockout offseason, that’s usually the time of year when Jarrett starts getting ready for his upcoming six months of underachievement.

Bears cornerback Charles Tillman says the only way to be in football shape is to play football. (In other words, player-organized offseason workouts won’t be good enough come end of summer.)


Chad Ochocinco is claiming he’ll act on Mike Brown’s sarcastic suggestion and take up snake-wrangling.

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Posted by Will Brinson



Got a link for the Hot Routes? Hit us up on Twitter (@CBSSportsNFL).

• Mike Kafka told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he's ready to "take that next step" and become the Eagles' official backup. Of course, that presumes that Kevin Kolb is traded. Fortunately, Andy Reid's got his back too. I know that Reid's really good at developing quarterbacks and all, but going from Kolb backing up Vick to Kafka backing up Vick is a significantly different proposition.

• Doesn't really sound like the 49ers are going to end up on "Hard Knocks" either.

• Jason Snelling isn't exactly towing the company line when it comes to discussing DeMaurice Smith, and he sounds pretty worried about the future of the NFL.

• Torry Holt says he hasn't retired yet and is hoping to make a comeback in 2011. Guess it's as good a year as any to be a free agent.

• Is it legal for the younger brother of an NFL offensive coordinator to teach that OC's new quarterback the offense? I mean, it's not, right?

• Clinton Portis said he'd like to play for the Giants. Just to spite the Redskins. How fantastic.

• Scott Fujita of the Browns appeared on PFT Live Wednesday and explained why it's tough to trust the owners.

• Chad Henne knows that he has to cut down on the "boneheaded turnovers" during games. Good call, bro.

• Are the Dolphins the team to watch for Marc Bulger?

• Shortened season might equal expanded rosters. This makes too much sense not to happen.

Posted by Will Brinson and Andy Benoit



Got a link for the Hot Routes? Hit us up on Twitter (@CBSSportsNFL).

• Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post writes in his mailbag today that, should DeAngelo Williams become a free agent, the Broncos would be quite interested in pursuing him. John Fox is a fan of Williams, in case you didn't know.

• Eli Manning says he'd be cool with Plaxico Burress coming back to the Giants. But, honestly, his quotes kind of sound like lip service.

• Bill Belichick was named "fan of the game" at the recent Boston Bruins game. So he's got that going for him.

• Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders put together 10 terrible trades. Here are the two consolation prizes (click through to Insider for the first 10).

• Julio Jones has made his way to the not-actually-team-sanctioned Falcons workouts, but he's taking it slow on account of his foot.

• This is only NFL related in that the NBA and NBAPA are getting ready to put their legal fisticuffs on. Just like football!

• Nearly 40 Redskins players (including 10 rookies) showed up for player-organized workouts Tuesday. Shockingly, none of them were named Albert Haynesworth.

• Not to be outdone (or wait, actually, they were slightly outdone) were the Raiders, who had 34 players show up for their workouts in Georgia.

• A locked out Brandon Jackson says he's bored.

• Brian Urlacher still has words for those who criticized Jay Cutler about the NFC Championship.

Posted by Andy Benoit

Ali White, the 21-year-old cousin of Roddy White, was arrested on armed robbery over the weekend. We wouldn’t report the story except that the Atlanta Journal Constitution did and Roddy was furious about it.

The Falcons receiver tweeted, “Can the atlanta journal constitution not call my phone anymore about stuff tht has nothing to do with me if its not football related don't call my #!@%*# phone. Better yet don't even associate me with criminal activities I aint done nothing u f****** a*******.”

The AJC noted that four years ago, Ali White was troubled and moved from Charleston, SC to Georgia to live with Roddy. They no longer live together. And if Ali is found guilty, they won’t be living together again anytime soon. According to the AJC, “Police say four men in ski masks -- one carrying a baseball bat, another carrying a handgun -- barged into the basement of a home on May 2 while a woman and her boyfriend were relaxing and playing a video game…One intruder struck the woman, while another pistol-whipped the man, causing him lacerations.”

To be clear, Roddy White had nothing to do with this. But he might learn a lesson here. White was angry that the AJC tied his name to the story. Still, it was a story confined almost strictly to the Atlanta area. By taking his anger to Twitter, White put the story in front of the entire nation.


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Posted by Andy Benoit

Over the weekend, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff indicated that his team might be ready for the HBO Hard Knocks spotlight. Dimitroff said the club turned down the opportunity two years ago but may respond differently if approached again.

That different response won’t come in 2011. Falcons coach Mike Smith told NFL Network’s Scott Hanson that the team had internal discussions about the possibility but came to the decision not to do it.

Lately, it seems like turning down Hard Knocks has become as popular as watching Hard Knocks. The Buccaneers and Lions have both said no, thanks. The Broncos are not interested. No one has mentioned the Patriots, Colts or Steelers, but we’ll assume that the old “when Hell freezes over” cliché applies to the likelihood of them participating. And, sadly for all fans, the Jets have indicated that they do not wish to give an encore performance.

Maybe these rejections won’t matter, anyway. After all, Hard Knocks is based on the assumption that training camps will be held.

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