@Donald_Driver80In case you were wondering (and you shouldn't be, if you know his life story), Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver is the epitome of a class act.

When he found out that young Stephen Wagner had the cleat that Driver threw into the stands following the Packers' charity softball game on Sunday stolen right out of his hands, he went on a mission to connect with the boy.

Wagner had the cleat stolen by a reprehensible person named Robyn Ereth, who actually had the temerity to brag about the get on her Facebook page before having to take said page down when she encountered a hail of well-deserved Internet abuse.

Meanwhile, Driver was using Twitter to set things right.

[Also: A Green Bay Packers ring from the Super Bowl turns up in a federal drug bust]

After reading Tyler Dunne's review of the scandalous incident, Driver tweeted this:

@Donald_Driver80

A few hours later, the Packers fan base had pointed Driver in the direction of the young man in question.

@Donald_Driver80

He did indeed connect with Stephen on Monday (you can see the picture above).

@Donald_Driver80

Driver, a good guy all along, even had a few kind words for Robyn Ereth, who's probably hiding in a garage somewhere in Wisconsin right now.

Ed Hochuli will now explain the negotiations. This should only take a few days. (Getty Images)

With no current agreement between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association, and negotiations toward a new agreement proceeding more slowly than it takes Ed Hochuli to explain a holding call, the league has taken steps to put replacement refs in place for the 2012 season. We first reported this a few weeks back based on a story written by Alex Marvez of Fox Sports (with a few ideas as to who could best take the place of certain high-profile officials, including Mr. Hochuli), but things are getting pretty real between the NFL and NFLRA. The two sides had been negotiating a new agreement since last October, but the NFL's side is led by Jeff Pash (the league's King of Rhetoric) and Ray Anderson (the NFL's King of Minutiae), so we can only imagine how those sessions have gone.

"Negotiations with the NFL Referees Association on a new collective bargaining agreement remain unresolved and the previous CBA has expired," the league said in a statement on Monday. "Therefore, in order to ensure that there is no disruption to NFL games this season we will proceed immediately with the hiring and training of replacement officials.

"Our goal is to maintain the highest quality of officiating for our teams, players and fans, including proper enforcement of the playing rules and efficient management of our games ... We have great respect for our officials and in keeping with that view have made a proposal that includes substantial increases in compensation for all game officials."

The statement also said that regional training for replacement officials will begin this month. No specific word on where that pool will come from, but we can assume that there may be some former NFL refs involved, and perhaps some from the NCAA ranks. As long as the NFL stays the heck away from whatever it is the PAC-12 has officiating games, they might actually be able to pull this off.

The two sides will continue to negotiate  "under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service," per the NFL, but that's not how the NFLRA sees it.

From NFLRA lead negotiator Mike Arnold:

After only two sessions with a Federal Mediator, the NFL today terminated negotiations and announced the recruitment of amateur referees as replacements. We learned that they sent out letters to potential replacements on Saturday and Sunday before we even finished our negotiating session with the Federal Mediator.

Additionally, the NFL's negotiators took fewer than five minutes to review the NFLRA's offer, which requested increases smaller than those the League agreed to in 2006, before walking away from the bargaining table.

It is now clear the League never intended to work toward a fair agreement, even through mediation.  There are no additional negotiating sessions currently scheduled. However, our organization's professional referees will continue preparing for the 2012 NFL season to the best of their abilities, despite the NFL's refusal to provide them with vital training and educational materials. It is unfortunate that as referees' responsibilities are expanded that the NFL would jeopardize player health and safety and the integrity of the game by seeking amateur, underqualified referees to administer professional games.

And if that sounds very much like the statements the NFLPA put out during the 2011 lockout ... well, the NFL Players Association would most likely agree. Its Monday statement:

Gronk gets buzzed for a great cause. (@RobGronkowski)

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is known for a great many things. We know him as the man who set a record for touchdown catches at his position in 2011 with 17. We know him as the man who freaked out on YouTube when attempting to get his face on the cover of Madden '13. We know him as the man who was willing to sacrifice Tim Tebow's virginity, and we know him as the man who has spent time with a certain member of the adult film industry.

As teammate Wes Welker recently told Shutdown Corner about Gronk, "He's just one of those guys -- he's funny, and he's just being himself. We always tell him, 'Dude, don't change for anything.' It's pretty comical to watch. I encourage it a little too much, I must admit. Believe it or not, he's a pretty intelligent guy. He does a good job of being in the plays for the coaches, and he's so physically gifted, that he's able to make some plays for us."

One thing we'd like to encourage is what Gronk recently did for the One Mission's Buzz For Kids event -- he had his head shaved at Gillette Stadium on Sunday morning to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer, and to help families deal with the issue. The event raised about $500,000, and 450 people volunteered to get buzzed.

As you would expect, Gronk had the crowd going the whole time. "I thought I was getting a number two," he said while the buzz was happening. Then, when appraising the new cut on its conclusion, he said, "It looks better than Tom Brady's."

"It's a great foundation," Gronkowski told the Boston Herald. "The least is buzzing off my hair, that's all I can do to help out. That's no problem. That's easy to do.

"I saw many of the kids already. They're all having a blast. They're all having a lot of fun, too. It's cool seeing that. It makes you cherish your life more when you see little kids that are age 5, age 10, and they have cancer right now, going through a tough time. It's great to put a smile on their face being out here with them. It puts a smile on your face, too, seeing them smile. I'm having a real blast out here."

The man on the right just got himself a bigger hammer. (Getty Images)

At some point, Jonathan Vilma and the other "aggrieved parties" involved in the Saints' bounty scandal who are still fighting the fight against their own suspensions will have to realize that they're running out of air. Jason Cole's story late last week about the existence of a ledger detailing bounties struck a blow against Vilma and his buddies in the court of public opinion, and now, the arbitrator assigned to hear the Saints' appeal in certain suspensions has rules decisively in the NFL's favor.

On Monday morning, Special Master Stephen Burbank ruled that Roger Goodell had jurisdiction to suspend Vilma for a year, and three other current and former Saints players for a series of games, based on a collective bargaining agreement that was established after some of the alleged "pay-to-injure" incidents took place. That was the big blow to the Saints' case, as Burbank ruled that the idea of "pay-for-performance" was more onerous than any specific incident that may have come out of it.

The NFL summarized it thusly in a statement:

"System Arbitrator Stephen Burbank upheld the commissioner's authority under the Collective Bargaining Agreement to impose "conduct detrimental" discipline on players who provided or offered to provide financial incentives to injure opponents. He also upheld the commissioner's authority to impose such discipline against players who obstructed a league investigation. The System Arbitrator thus confirmed the commissioner's authority to suspend Mr. Fujita, Mr. Smith and Mr. Vilma. He invited the commissioner to clarify the precise basis for his discipline of Mr. Hargrove who, among other things, was found to have lied to the league's investigators and obstructed their investigation."

While the players and the NFLPA believe that the suspensions fall outside the purview of the "conduct detrimental" clause Goodell invoked in his letters to the players informing them of the suspensions, Burbank ruled that such arguments are irrelevant.

The NFLPA, of course, disagreed.

In the opinion, system arbitrator Stephen Burbank wrote, "[I]t is important to emphasize — with respect to all of the Players — that nothing in this opinion is intended to convey a view about the underlying facts or the appropriateness of the discipline imposed."

The union believes that the players are entitled to neutral arbitration of these issues under the CBA and will continue to fight for that principle and to protect the fair due process rights of all players.

Vilma, Saints end Will Smith, and current Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita are still awaiting a decision from arbitrator Shyam Das on a grievance filed in early May. That claim states that since the alleged incidents happened on the field, the penalties for any involvement are the jurisdiction of collectively bargained arbitrators Ted Cottrell or Art Shell. The NFL went with the global "conduct detrimental" argument in that case as well, and if Das rules in favor of the league, you can expect "conduct detrimental" language to be used as the hammer for every league ruling against the players.

From any angle, Aaron Rodgers is one of the NFL's best. (AP)

Aaron Rodgers knows what it's like to be humbled, and he knows what it's like to be great. He didn't receive a single Division I scholarship offer out of high school and had to go to Butte College in his hometown of Chico, Calif., before Cal picked him up a year later. After an impressive college career, he then had to sit behind Brett Favre in Green Bay for three interesting years after dropping to 24th overall in the 2005 draft. He learned patiently behind Favre, and he watched as Utah's Alex Smith, taken first overall by the San Francisco 49ers (the team Rodgers loved as a kid), struggled mightily.

We know the story from there. After Favre's first of many retirements in 2008, the Green Bay Packers became Rodgers' team, and he's put up the kind of numbers you see from people who are messing with cheat codes on Madden. One season after leading the Packers to their fourth Lombardi Trophy, he had one of the best years any quarterback has ever enjoyed -- 343 completions in 520 attempts (68.3 completion percentage) for 4,643 yards, 45 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He led the NFL in touchdown percentage (9.0) and yards per attempt (9.2).

Now, at age 28 (just a few weeks younger than Cleveland Browns first-round pick Brandon Weeden), the man who recently told the Green Bay Press-Gazette that he wants to be a "Packer for life" stands on the precipice of a host of similar seasons. There's no reason not to believe that he'll be one of the game's great players for years. Anyone who believes that Rodgers will slack off in the face of success doesn't understand the slights that drive him.

"I think it's a little bit less of that now and more of remembering where I came from and remembering the path I took to get here, which the doubters were a part of that," Rodgers told the Press-Gazette, when asked about the motivation given from those early struggles. "But just remembering the journey and where I came from as a high school player in Northern California going to junior college, being a backup at Cal, and remembering the hard work that it took to get to where I am now. That's kind of more of a motivator than the doubters because I realize as hard as it was to get to this point, it's going to be just as hard to stay and maintain at this point."

Like Tom Brady, another Northern California kid who came up the hard way, Rodgers now has it all at his disposal. A coach in Mike McCarthy who operates in lock-step with his own talents, the best receiver corps in the league, and a formerly befuddled defense strengthened in the 2012 draft by defensive linemen Nick Perry and Jerel Worthy. Green Bay's first-game elimination from the 2011 postseason at the hands of the New York Giants was disappointing after a regular season that saw just one loss, but Rodgers also knows that this team is primed to get back to the biggest game more than once.

Things are not starting well in the relationship between the Jacksonville Jaguars and first-round pick Justin Blackmon. The former Oklahoma State standout receiver, whom the Jags traded up to select with the fifth overall pick, was arrested early Sunday morning on a charge of aggravated DUI in Stillwater, Okla.

The arrest, first reported by Kelly Hines of the Tulsa World, was for a specific charge tied to a blood alcohol level of .15 or more -- in fact, according to reports, he blew a .24, which is quite a bit more than the legal limit of .08. He was booked into jail at approximately 10 a.m. CT.

Per the World's report, the officer who pulled Blackmon over at approximately 3 a.m. CT "smelled alcohol and observed Blackmon was unsteady on his feet, had slurred speech and glassy and blood-shot eyes."

Blackmon's Sunday mugshot. (Tulsa World)This is not Blackmon's first issue of this type. In October of 2010, he was arrested in Carrollton, Texas, at 3:45 a.m.  on a DUI complaint while driving to a Dallas Cowboys game. According to police radar, he was driving 92 mph in a 60 mph zone when the cops caught up to him. He was on his way to the game without permission to leave the team from head coach Mike Gundy, who suspended him for one game.

"I'm embarrassed to be in this position. ... I look forward to redeeming myself and proving to everybody that this isn't who I am," Blackmon said after the incident. "I'm not this guy. I'm humbled by this experience and I will grow from it."

This will not help his case.

[Related: The Shutdown 50: #9 -- Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State]

Jonathan Vilma has taken his fight to the courts. (AP)

Very soon after New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma did an interview with Ian Rapoport of NFL.com to forward the notion that he's innocent of all charges in the bounty scandal that has him suspended for the 2012 season and suing Roger Goodell as a result, Yahoo! Sports' own Jason Cole came through with a real bombshell. On Friday afternoon, Cole reported the existence of a ledger allegedly kept by the Saints' coaching staff to keep track of the bounties paid under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.

The NFL has a copy of a "ledger" that was kept detailing weekly earnings for players in the New Orleans Saints bounty system, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

The ledger, which shows both money earned for "cart-offs" and "whacks" and deducted for "mental errors," also points to the fact that players were told on a week-by-week basis of their performance.

According to sources, the NFL showed portions of the ledger during meetings with some of those who have been investigated in the scandal.

"The players clearly knew what was going each week with the payments," a source told Yahoo! Sports. In fact, multiple sources admitted that Saints defensive players would regularly encourage teammates to put money earned from the bounty system back into the pool. It's unclear if that was to increase the potential winnings or eventually use the money for some other purpose.

Regardless of whether the money was paid out or not, the mere implication of a cash payment for such plays is considered a violation of league rules.

If true, the ledger puts the Saints in violation of salary cap rules as well as on the wrong side of the "pay-for-injury" equation. Proof of such a system would cement the suspensions laid down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, but as Vilma, who is heavily implicated in the scandal, says that this is more about due process, and the fact that those accused have never seen the evidence

"What I've said before, there was no bounty program in place," Vilma told Rapoport. "I never paid anybody, intended to pay anybody — that's the truth. Never sought out to injure people. That's the truth. That's really about it. I can't really go into detail ... "We asked for evidence, and [Goodell] wouldn't give it to us ... I said, 'OK. How can I defend myself if I don't know what I'm defending against?'"

Vilma's answer was to file a lawsuit against Goodell, which he did on May 17. The suit claims that "Goodell's Statements forever falsely taint and permanently damage Vilma, in the eyes of NFL Clubs, media, fans and sponsors, as a player who brazenly disregards NFL rules and  intentionally attempts to injure his opponents."

Osi Umenyiora has been a key cog in some great Giants defensive lines. (Getty Images)

Soon after he fired his most recent agent, Tony Agnone, New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora agreed to a restructured contract that ends a contentious time between team and player.  Terms were not available, but it's interesting that the Giants termed the contract restructured as opposed to anything else -- we'd assume it's a branch on the deal he signed on Christmas Eve, 2005 -- a seven-year, $41.38 million deal that guaranteed him $15 million and gave him a $3.975 million base salary in 2012. Originally selected in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft out of Troy, he's been one of the more consistent sack artists of the last half-decade.

Initial reports have the deal paying Umenyiora about $7.5 million this year, and providing a voidable 2013 season, which would put him on the open market next season, at age 31. In the 2011 season, the second one in which he's been part of a Giants team that won a Super Bowl, Umenyiora totaled 25 tackles and 9.0 sacks. He has amassed more than 10 sacks in three of the last six years.

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Umenyiora had missed all voluntary organized team activities through the 2012 preseason, and there was some concern that he might miss the mandatory minicamp scheduled for June 11-13. which would have put the two sides at odds more than they already were.

"I appreciate Osi's patience and effort through this process," Giants general manager Jerry Reese said in a team statement announcing the new deal. "We talked it out, and it makes sense for everybody involved. We are very pleased, excited and looking forward to seeing number 72 on the field at Monday's OTA."

"This gives me peace of mind, definitely," Umenyiora said. We just resolved a situation. It really was affecting me in a bad way. Because I didn't like all the negativity that was surrounding the whole situation. I couldn't stand it, because if you know me, you know I'm not that type of person. I'm just happy all that is over with and I'll be there. I'll play out this contract, I'll play this year and I'll play my heart out."