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Jurors in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Monday awarded more than 2,000 former professional football players a $28.1 million verdict against the NFL Players Association and its licensing and marketing division, after determining that the union and its subsidiary, Players Inc., failed to market retired players’ marketing rights under a group licensing authorization contract.

The contract was supposed to cover licensing of electronic games, collectables, and other merchandise. The jury award included more than $7 million in actual damages and $21 million in punitive damages for the claim, which was originally filed by Herb Adderley.

Adderley wept following the announcement and told the Associated Press “I won three Super Bowls and this feels better than all of them combined.” NFLPA Acting Executive Director Richard Berthelsen told the AP the union planned to ask U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup to toss out the verdict. If that fails, the union intends to appeal.

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I never did get around to posting season-ending predictions for the 2008 season which might be good because if things hold up I’d be about 75 percent wrong.

Never would I have suspected that Indianapolis and Jacksonville would both be 1-2, staring up by two games at Tennessee, which has been brought alive by Chris Johnson’s running, Kerry Collins’ steady passing presence and a fun, solid defense.

Nor would I have guessed that Baltimore would be undefeated (albeit with one of their games canceled) or that San Francisco would be tied for first place.

The Miami blowout this afternoon of New England, even sans Tom Brady, was the season’s biggest shocker of the season so far for me. It’s the great thing about the NFL - and the reason I cringe when I see the owners opting out of their labor agreement, bringing the potential of one or more seasons without a salary cap.

Anyone can compete in any given year - many teams don’t, but it’s generally bad signings, bad coaching or bad ownership that keeps teams in the doldrums for any long period of time. The NFL is the best professional sports league out there and it isn’t close.

New Jersey Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, D-Hudson, is fighting for New York Giants and Jets fans, sponsoring legislation that would ban the sale of personal seat licenses at all state sports facilities.

He urged the New York Giants to rethink their plan to sell PSLs for every seat in the under construction Meadowlands football stadium and applauded the New York Jets for allowing 27,000 fans in the upper deck to buy tickets without paying the one-time license fee, according to media reports.

The Giants, who declined comment for the linked Associated Press story, plan to sell seat licenses for as low as $1,000 to fans who want upper deck seats. Those desiring better seats could pay as much as $20,000. The Jets PSLs range from between $4,000 and $25,000.

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The owners of the Minnesota Vikings have been invited to meet with real estate developer Ed Roski Jr. to discuss moving the team to Los Angeles but to this point they’ve passed.

Lester Bagley, Vikings vice president of public affairs, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the team’s intention “is to resolve the [stadium] issue in Minnesota.”

Roski in April announced plans to build an $800 million, 75,000-seat stadium in Los Angeles with the goal of luring a team to the area. Roski’s business partner reportedly told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that seven franchises have expressed interest in Roski’s stadium but wouldn’t list them. Roski in April apparently named seven: the Vikings, New Orleans, Buffalo, Jacksonville, San Diego, Oakland and San Francisco that would be targeted for his 600-acre plot, which would host a stadium and entertainment complex.

The Vikings have a lease at the Metrodome in Minneapolis that runs through the 2011 season. The team has been floating a $954 million stadium project that would include other pieces as well but to this point has been unable to get support from the state Legislature.

Another plan recently announced by the Metropolitan Sports Facillities Commission would re-use certain parts of the Metrodome and cut about $!00 million off of the cost of a new facility.

CBSSports.com last month announced that it has launched an all-new version of its College Fantasy Football game, “continuing to be the only major fantasy sports service provider with a collegiate fantasy football game.”

CBSSports.com originally released the game in 2005. But the controversy this year is that for the first time, it will use real, individual player names rather than listing school and position, such as “FLORIDA QB” or “MICHIGAN RB”.

“As the leader in the fantasy sports business, we’re constantly looking for ways to distinguish our service from the competition,” said Jason Kint, senior vice president and general manager, in a statement. “We believe combining fantasy sports and college football will give fans and alumni yet another reason to get involved in the sport, increasing the popularity of college football much in the same way fantasy sports has affected professional football.”

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