After careers of getting knocked around, NFL players are suddenly discovering that this kind of behavior doesn't do wonders for the long-term health of their brains and a lot of reports and studies are backing them up on this.

But Dr. Ira Casson, who is the co-chairman of the league's committee on concussions, is ready to contest anything or anyone that suggests that concussions and the brain trauma that occurs during the natural progression of a professional football game have anything to do with former players having brain-related problems.

So the NFL Players Association is supposedly trying to get Casson ousted from the committee, according to the New York Times. "Our view is that he's a polarizing figure on this issue, and the players certainly don't feel like he can be an impartial party on this subject," George Atallah, the union's assistant executive director for external affairs, told the paper.

Source: New York Times

The Minnesota Vikings want a new stadium. And the team wants one that will likely cost $900 million-plus. In case you haven't noticed, money is tight for everybody these days and the folks in Minnesota aren't excited about the idea of shelling out all that dough for a football stadium. The Vikings' current 30-year lease runs out at the end of 2011 and the team is making it pretty clear it's not planning on playing one more game than necessary in the Metrodome.

So the Vikings are apparently starting to use the threat of moving the team to Los Angeles a little more often these days, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, and one wonders if there is a growing truth to the threat.

L.A. has been without a team since 1995 when the Rams and Raiders left town and a new stadium is apparently going to go up there to hold whatever financially strapped team decides to move there.

"There is a very real and meaningful risk we could lose the franchise. It's clear," said Mike Kelly, a Vikings' executive vice president till 2005. "I did a lot of work when I was there on stadium financing and generally on team finances and even when we sold out, it was clear that the team could not be profitable in that stadium."

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

It's looking like running back Cedric Benson(notes) won't be taking the ball at all this Sunday when his team takes on the Oakland Raiders, according to NFL.com.

Benson's hip injury kept him out of a second straight practice and the rumor is that he just won't be ready to bear a full load on Sunday. So the recent signing of Larry Johnson(notes) may come in handy pretty quickly. There is talk that Johnson has gotten a lot of repetitions in practice and will be getting the ball a fair amount this weekend if all goes as planned but the conventional wisdom has Johnson sitting well behind Bernard Scott(notes) on the depth chart.

Johnson has only had two days of practice with the team though he's apparently said that he's feeling pretty comfortable with quarterback Carson Palmer(notes).

Source: NFL.com

Now that the Buffalo Bills need a new head coach, the team is apparently ready to throw open the doors to all the former NFL coaches out there: Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan will apparently be the first in line, according to NFL.com.

Shanahan will supposedly meet with team owner Ralph Wilson and COO/GM Russ Brandon next week. (This will have to be a tough choice for Brandon since Shanahan would likely fire him if the team ends up hiring him.)

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher is also supposedly on the team's list, according to Buffalo News. And other possibilities include former Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren as well as former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick.

Meanwhile, interim coach Perry Fewell has seven games to show himself off to the team and will likely get a formal interview at season's end unless he leads his team to a total implosion.

Source: NFL.comBuffalo News

Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton(notes) apparently sat out yesterday's practice with torn ligaments in his left ankle. So now he's had problems in both ankles in the last two years, but Orton doesn't want to sit out this weekend's game against the San Diego Chargers, according to the Associated Press.

Backup Chris Simms(notes) took all the snaps in practice yesterday and had a dismal outing on Sunday when he went 3-for-13 for 13 yards in the second half against the Washington Redskins. The word is that the Broncos coaching staff doesn't want to see that again and is planning on starting Orton, who won't possibly be fully healed by then.

Orton is in a contract year so he is apparently really wanting to get back out there and show other teams just how tough he is. One hopes Orton's plan doesn't backfire.

Source: Associated Press

Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress is reportedly close to getting a contract extension, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

The extension is expected to be signed soon but it isn't clear how long the extension is for or how much money Childress will be taking to the bank with this one. It should be announced right at season's end before the playoffs begin.

These days, Childress supposedly makes $2 million a year, which is actually the lowest in the NFC North division. He'll supposedly get at least twice that in his next deal.

Wonder if he would have gotten this deal if Sage Rosenfels(notes) or Tarvaris Jackson(notes) had been his starting quarterback this year instead of Brett Favre(notes).

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Brett Favre(notes) is signed by the Minnesota Vikings for next season for $13 million but one never knows what Favre will do and it's been suspected that he would just send in his spikes to the Hall of Fame if he can get the Vikings to a Super Bowl. It is becoming clearer, though, that Favre is planning on returning next season to Minnesota, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Things that may hold him back from returning include what other players come back, who the coach is, and what is going on with the team's efforts to get a new stadium.

The scuttlebutt, though, is that Favre has bought a bunch of land in Preston, Minn., for deer hunting. That seems like a pretty good sign that he'd like to stay in the area.

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Miami Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington(notes) had a third surgery on his right shoulder six weeks ago, which ended his season and some suspected his career.

But Pennington is planning on playing again in the NFL, according to the Miami Herald. He's apparently planning to be back next season but isn't predicting where he'll be until he gets some more information about how his shoulder handles the recovery process.

One major thing he has going for him is that the injury and surgery apparently caused no muscle damage. The 33-year-old has his sites set on March 1 being the date he can work out for any team.

Meanwhile, Pennington will have more time to devote to his 1st and 10 Foundation.

Source: Miami Herald

Now that Brendan Shanahan has finally hung up his skates after 21 seasons in the NHL, rumor has it that he may end up working for the league, according to the New York Post.

There's no information on exactly what that job might entail but the suspicion is that it will include working with the NHL Players Association on the next collective-bargaining agreement. Shanahan has always been heavily involved in union issues so is very familiar with how the machinery of the league/union relationship works.

In fact, Shanahan was one of the main players involved in negotiations with the league during the last lockout so having him onboard should help the league understand where the players are coming from at the negotiating table sometimes.

Source: New York Post

Any way you slice it, the Cleveland Browns need some fixing up right about now and team owner Randy Lerner is apparently leaving no stone unturned to bring in a new head of football operations to help turn his team around.

He has supposedly been coveting former Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren for the gig and the new rumor has it that Lerner actually spoke with Holmgren yesterday about the job, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Jim Brown, who is an executive advisor to the club, kind of spilled the beans at a luncheon yesterday when he told the crowd that Lerner was interviewing somebody right then for the job: "At this moment, right now Randy Lerner is meeting with one of the great football minds in this country," he said. "And if things work out, that person will come in to run the football side of the Browns." When someone asked if it was Holmgren, Brown supposedly said, "You said it ... and I heard it."

Note to self: Don't tell Jim Brown secrets.

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer