EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – As if the New York Giants and Victor Cruz weren't involved in enough of a stare down, fellow wide receiver Hakeem Nicks sent the team a little message by not showing up for practice Wednesday.

Pay day is coming soon for Nicks, too.

That was the unstated goal of Nicks' not attending the Giants' organized team activity practice, a team source indicated Wednesday. However, Nicks' agent Peter Schaffer strongly denied that the wide receiver missed the practice because of contractual reasons. Schaffer said only he and Nicks were fully aware of the reason for the player's absence and was unwilling to further discuss.

Strictly speaking, Nicks didn't violate any rules. OTAs are, after all, voluntary. However, in the lexicon of NFL, voluntary is a synonym for mandatory.

Even if that's an oxymoron.

Joe Hart, left, goalkeeper for the English soccer club Manchester City, runs a route for Eli Manning. (AP)Then again, it doesn't take a bunch of SAT words to get the point Nicks was making by not showing up. His absence left quarterback Eli Manning throwing passes to the likes of

Read More »from WR Hakeem Nicks skips Giants' workout, eventually hoping to land new contract

BOSTON – The NFL calendar is in such flux right now that you're almost better off noting events in pencil instead of pen.

On Tuesday, the NFL awarded Super Bowls L and LI to San Francisco and Houston, respectively. What the league didn't do is attach an exact date to either one of those games. Both cities are preparing for the game to be on one of the first three Sundays in February in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Likewise, commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL draft will be held either May 8-10 or May 15-17 next year and indicated the event will stay in May for the foreseeable future, assuming it stays at Radio City Music Hall or New York, generally.

The NFL draft is being pushed back farther into the spring. (AP)The NFL scouting combine may also move, along with the start of free agency each year, the structure of the playoffs, the regular season and the preseason. Be it the expansion of the playoffs, the possibility of an 18-game schedule or changes to the Pro Bowl, the NFL is entertaining any and all ideas.

Or as Goodell put it at one point,

Read More »from NFL noncommittal with announcing dates of two new Super Bowls, other events

BOSTON – The San Francisco Bay Area has been awarded Super Bowl L, the NFL announced during league meetings Tuesday. It will be the second time the area has hosted a Super Bowl.

The game is scheduled for February 2016 at the San Francisco 49ers' new stadium in Santa Clara. Levi's Stadium will officially open in 2014 and reportedly is nearing the halfway point in its construction. The stadium is adjacent to the team's training complex. It is also next to Great America amusement park and across from the Santa Clara Convention Center.

"It's an awesome, awesome thing that they've allowed us to host one of the biggest games; the golden anniversary in the Golden State," 49ers CEO Jed York said. "We're just really, really excited."

Niners CEO Jed York reacts following the announcement of San Francisco's winning bid. (AP)The last time San Francisco hosted the Super Bowl was January 1985, when the game was played at Stanford Stadium between the 49ers and Miami Dolphins. The 49ers won that game, the second of the team's five Super Bowl titles.

In addition, Miami came up short in its

Read More »from San Francisco wins bid for Super Bowl L

As the Houston Texans are left to wonder what they were or weren't told by safety Ed Reed about a hip injury that required surgery earlier this offseason, the NFL is taking a huge step toward eliminating such questions.

Eight teams, including the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers, are participating in the first stage of what the league calls "electronic medical records" reporting starting this offseason. EMR will be a comprehensive database for information on player injuries that a league source said will help eliminate troubling disclosures after an acquisition such as the one brought up in the Reed case.

All 32 teams are expected to use the database by 2014.

"What you should have in this system is a way for any team interested in signing a player – with player permission – a chance to access his records so there aren't disclosure issues," the league source said.

However, there are those on the player side who believe this will only cause athletes to be

Read More »from Source: NFL teams implementing medical records system for protection from undisclosed injuries

Linebacker Rolando McClain, 23, has gotten married, been arrested twice, been cut by the lowly Oakland Raiders, then signed by the champion Baltimore Ravens and has now retired.

That's a busy life for most people. McClain has managed to do all of that since the beginning of January.

On Wednesday, one of the more bizarre careers in NFL history ended, at least for now, with McClain telling Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome that he was done.

"Rolando let me know that he plans to retire from the NFL," Newsome said in a release from the Ravens.

Earlier this year, McClain spoke with the Madison (Ala.) Weekly News about his career, indicating that he was training for the upcoming season. At the same time, McClain talked about having changed his life, particularly after marrying college girlfriend Capri Knox in January.

Then Raiders linebacker Rolando McClain stretches prior to a game. (AP)"When you come into some money, some people think you owe them and they want some of your money, but I tried to always stay true to who I am," said McClain, who grew up in

Read More »from Rolando McClain's NFL retirement hard to explain

Former Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young pleaded not guilty in an Orange County, Calif., court Tuesday to three felony charges and five misdemeanor charges, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office told Yahoo! Sports. He was still being held on a $25,000 bail as of Tuesday evening. Six of the eight charges stemmed from an incident last Friday in which Young allegedly broke into a home in San Clemente and then fought with police as they apprehended him.

Titus Young had 33 receptions and four touchdowns for Detroit in 2012. (Getty)However, two felony charges were added as a result of Young allegedly later being caught on video stealing water, candy and cigars from a gas station convenience store in Laguna Hills on May 4, according to the court filings. The Laguna Hills incident was earlier reported by The Detroit News.

All of that comes on top of Young being arrested twice on May 5 in Moreno Valley. The first was for suspicion of driving under the influence. The other was for Young allegedly breaking into a tow yard where his car had been taken.

Read More »from Court documents: Titus Young caught on videotape stealing from convenience store

Editor's note: This is the second installment of Jason Cole's two-part conversation with Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick, who resumed his NFL career in 2009 after spending two seasons out of the league following a federal conviction and prison time on charges connected to dogfighting. Part 1 of the conversation appeared Monday.

 

Jason Cole: You say it was a mental challenge last year. But you also knew along the way that some people on the coaching staff during the season wanted to play rookie quarterback Nick Foles. You knew that and just dealt with it quietly. I imagine that the 22-year-old Michael Vick wouldn't have handled that the same way.

Michael Vick (shaking his head and laughing): Man, you would have never heard the end of me (back then). I mean, I would have been, "I don't care, it don't make me no difference, do what you want to do, I'm the best." I would have handled the media the exact opposite of what I did last year. I think when you understand the nature of the

Read More »from Michael Vick Q&A, Part 2: Warned by older friend that prison was in his future

Editor's note: This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation with Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick, who resumed his NFL career in 2009 after spending two seasons out of the league following a federal conviction and prison time on charges connected to dogfighting. Part 2 of the conversation appeared Tuesday, May 14.

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles quarterback Michael Vick is at a crossroads. At 32, he's the oldest player on his team, he's essentially on a one-year contract, and he's trying to return to his career-best 2010 level, all while playing for a first-year head coach (Chip Kelly) with no NFL background.

This is the second installment of Jason Cole's two-part conversation with Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick, who resumed his NFL career in 2009 after spending two seasons out of the league following a federal conviction and prison time on charges connected to dogfighting. And Vick couldn't look much happier about his prospects. If you follow his Twitter account, he writes one positive

Read More »from Michael Vick Q&A, Part 1: Beating LeSean McCoy in a race, lessons from previous NFL coaches