The countdown is on…

For free agents to sign in the NFL. As I start this, thirty minutes remain until the thinnest free agent pool in years hits streets. Thanks to labor unrest (yippee, unions make our lives better) the NFL has tied up about 212 players who would have been UFAs (Unrestricted Free Agents) into RFAs (Restricted Free Agents). Let’s put this simply, good players that are RFAs do not change teams. These also happen to be players with 4 or 5 years in the league, PRIME meat to be picked up and contribute. Instead, the free agent market is stuffed with past their prime 28 and 29 year olds. Ouch, that makes me feel old.

I’m staying up tonight to see who gets signed the fastest and if the hometown Lions make an early plunge. The possibility of getting Chester Taylor is intriguing. As is the trade rumor of pulling in Corey Williams for a low pick and Kyle Van Den Bosch for the DL.

This is the best time of year for a Lions fan. Free agency will see a few new faces brought in. The draft is around the corner. And no games are being played. It’s Thursday, March 4th, and I’m a jacked up Lions fan at nearly midnight.

Wow. Fifty years of losing really changes a fan’s perspective.

Quick hits of the day:

– Favorite name in the NFL – Legedu Naanee.

– Sneaky late tender by the San Diego Chargers of Darren Sproles. A market was developing, interest piqued and now GM A.J. Smith gets to take those whet appetites and dangle Sproles back out there – for something in return.

– Nice to see someone trying to rank MLB GMs. Theo and Friedman are young studs that give every 20-something hope to run a club early in life. What was Theo’s path to land his gig? And dominate it? Research that one (and I will too).

– Someone shot at The Pentagon today. The shooter is in critical condition. Like the person didn’t expect to be shot back at when firing at the home of the defense department. Hmmm, makes me think he was eating at The Paint Creek Tavern today, which boasts a sign stating “If idiots grew on trees, this place would be an orchard.” Join the trees shooter, join the trees.

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