I stumbled across this old profile on former Atlanta Falcons center Jeff Van Note at sportsillustrated.cnn.com today. I often check that site but only occasionally actually click on the stories they have in their “vault,” which for those who don’t check the site, is really a repository for old, interesting stories that seem to randomly pop up from time to time.

I started reading it because of Van Note. I can’t completely explain why but he’s one of my favorite players from the early 1980s when I started watching the game. And the profile was very interesting. It was written as his career wound down. He had lost his starting job at center but was sticking around for a final season or two for no other reason than he really loved the game.

If Wikipedia (and my math) is correct, Van Note is 64 now. He played in the NFL from 1969 to 1986, all of which was with the Atlanta Falcons. When he retired, only Jim Marshall of the Vikings had played in more games with one team (246).

He played mostly for teams that weren’t very good, though he was a solid contributor on the Atlanta teams in 1978, that made and won the team’s first playoff games, and in 1980, that won the NFC West and had arguably the league’s best team before falling victim to a Dallas Cowboys comeback in the the playoffs.

He made five Pro Bowls and strikes me as one of those guys who will not make the Hall of Fame but who will more than occasionally be brought up for consideration.

I was very young and just learning about the game back then but everything I remember and everything I read indicate that he was, at worst, a very solid, workmanlike player and, at best, during his prime, memorably good.

One of the things that struck me about the profile was that he broke the picket lines during a 1974 labor issue only to decide later that he made a mistake. He became a vice president to the NFL Players Association and then the union’s president from 1983 to 1984.

One of the issues of the time was rookie salaries. “We’ve got to stop paying all this money to rookies,” he told Sports Illustrated’s Ralph Wiley at the time. “Salaries are fine, but earn them. What do rookies know about winning in the NFL? Tilt the scales to the proven veteran.”

As top picks like JaMarcus Russell, Tim Couch, David Carr and Ryan Leaf continue to sign massive contracts and fizzle out after a few years, that continues to be one of the main issues in today’s labor discussions as well. Of course it wasn’t a billion dollar institution at the time Van Note played, but it’s still instructive – the league has been fighting about some issues for as long as 25 to 30 years and still hasn’t figured out how to get it right.

Van Note may never make the Hall of Fame. But it was blue collar guys like him who came unheralded from the University of Kentucky to play for just short of two full decades who helped turn this league into what it is today.

His voice was instructive in 1986 when this profile was written. And it strikes me that if you got a half-dozen or so of his contemporaries into a room in an effort to solve the labor issues of today that you might have more success than the league and the union are having with some of the out of touch owners and players of today.

The Minnesota State Lottery has introduced a new Minnesota Vikings scratch off game that has a $200,000 grand prize with second-chance drawings that will make players eligible for other prizes, such as season tickets.

As is called for under state law, proceeds from the $10 tickets will benefit environmental causes and the state’s general fund, according to the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal.

Steve LaCroix, the Vikings’ vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement that the promotion is not tied to the team’s long-standing pursuit of a new stadium, but instead capitalizes on newfound popularity after the team’s strong showing during the 2009 season.

But the team saw progress in its pursuit of a stadium during the state’s legislative session this year and increasing gambling options statewide have been discussed as one possible funding mechanism for a new facility.

One could surmise that the team and the state might be taking a look at how this scratch off game performs as 2010 winds down, the 2010 season approaches and the 2011 legislative session approaches.

The Vikings’ lease at Metrodome expires after the 2011 season and team officials have said they will not renew the lease.

JaMarcus Russell had been linked in recent days to the New York Jets as a possible backup quarterback option, but it looks like he’s blown that long-shot opportunity.

He’s probably not going to be relegated to reprising The Longest Yard anytime soon. But the one-time-top-draft-pick-for-Oakland-turned-all-time-draft-bust just made it harder for himself to get a second chance.

Russell was arrested and charged with possession of codeine syrup, according to several media reports.

Hmm. His name is already becoming synonymous with luminaries such as Ryan Leaf and Tony Mandarich in terms of being a stiff despite high draft status.

He was so bad at quarterback for Oakland last year that when Bruce Grad-friggin-kowski upgraded the Raiders’ quarterback play to merely mediocre, the team immediately became more competitive.

Teammates and coaches have called him out for not having much – if any – work ethic.

Yes, this news just cannot help him in any way. If he actually WANTS a second chance in the NFL, he’s got a funny way of showing it.

One of the most exciting rookies entering the NFL this season is Dez Bryant, the wide receiver from Oklahoma State who fell to Dallas late in the first round.

Reports indicate that he is catching everything in sight and that, even if he is the third wide receiver by definition, he will be the first receiver by performance no later than by the end of the season.

Some seem to think it’s time to start carving Bryant’s bust for the Hall of Fame and that he makes Dallas an unstoppable offense that could be destined for the Super Bowl. To those people I say whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s hold on just a minute.

Without question the Cowboys have a great deal of offensive skill talent and Bryant will very likely be one piece of that puzzle. Tony Romo has been a good to very good quarterback, at least during the regular season. There’s Miles Austin, who made this blog look good last season by breaking out after we predicted he would well before the preseason started.

There’s Roy Williams, who has underperformed since Owner Jerry Jones traded a ransom for him but who also has the skills to be a productive wideout.

There’s the speed back in Felix Jones and the power back in Marion Barber III and they are accompanied by Tashard Choice, a more than solid reserve who could probably start on a handful or more teams. Rounding out the talent are Jason Witten, who arguably is the best tight end in the league, and a collection of parts like Patrick Crayton and Kevin Ogletree, who fill important roles on good teams.

So what’s wrong? Why should we not anoint Dallas the NFC representative in the Super Bowl?

Do you remember watching Tony Romo get smushed by a dominant Vikings defensive line in a second round playoff game in January? I was there watching as aging left tackle Flozell Adams was having his way with defensive end Jared Allen until he got hurt. That changed the entire complexion of the game.

Doug Free replaced Flozell the Hotel, who has since been released, and Free became a turnstile for Allen and Ray Edwards, and the Vikings went on to a dominant 34-3 win.

The most serious question facing Dallas at its offensive skill positions is how are there going to be enough balls to go around this season. But despite being destroyed in the playoff game, Jones, Wade Phillips and the Cowboys brass did little to upgrade that line during the offseason.

At the moment, Free is penciled in as the Cowboys’ left tackle for the season. Defensive ends around the league must be licking their respective chops at that news. The team did trade disappointing linebacker Bobby Carpenter to the St. Louis Rams for Alex Barron. That provides a body. But the fact that St. Louis would trade Barron for Carpenter should give an indication of how far the tackle had slipped in their eyes.

Left tackle also isn’t the only question mark on the line. Free actually played alright by most accounts when he replaced Marc Colombo at right tackle while the latter was injured. Colombo returns for another season but he is aging and likely is a point in his career where he will always be prone to miss a game or several.

The talk is that the three of them are competing fiercely for the two starting spots. Well, that’s great. But just because three guys are fighting hard for a starting job doesn’t mean any of them are going to suddenly start playing well.

Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t just to be a Cowboy hater. The weapons on offense are plentiful and they are for real. That is a scary, scary bunch of skill players. The defense likely will be very good as well. I don’t doubt for a second that the Cowboys are the favorite to win the division again.

But which of those wideouts is going to catch the passes Romo throws while he is laying on his back?

Yes, that was a trick question.

Dallas should win many games this year and the offense should be very productive. Fantasy football points should abound.

But let’s not get carried away just yet. Romo has been mostly durable during his days as Dallas’ starter. If he is constantly evading a swarming pass rush it will lead to incompletions, could involve interceptions and, in a worst case scenario, result in injuries. At a minimum it would make it difficult for Dallas to improve on a less-than-stellar performance inside the Red Zone, where the Cowboys in 2009 seemed to employ the offensive version of the bend-but-don’t-break philosophy typically applied to defenses that give up a lot of yards but hold tough inside the 20s.

If too many of those potential downsides occur they can derail even the best and most talented of teams – no matter how many accolades Dez Bryant and his new teammates get between now and throughout the season.

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I’m not smart enough nor do I have the time right now to understand ins and outs of college football’s Bowl Championship Series. If you do an archive search on this blog, which typically focuses more on the NFL than college football, you’ll see that neither my brother nor I like the BCS as it sits right now.

But I would guess neither of us would claim to be an expert on what conferences make huge chunks of money or whose teams have the worst chances of being selected for the big money bowl games.

I was intrigued during the last couple weeks, however, as discussion emerged about the possibilities of the Big Ten, which includes the University of Minnesota where we both went to college, potentially adding any number of teams from big name Notre Dame to up-and-coming Rutgers, to recent power Missouri to trying-to-re-emerge Nebraska.

But I’ve been hesitant to embrace the talks too much because when you follow college sports you know that A) the BCS sucks and B) there is always a money angle somewhere along the line.

Yahoo! Sports has a fantastic story describing one view of how the Big 10 fought off a “plus one” playoff format a couple years ago as part of a plan to get its own network up and running so it could now raid the Big 12 and become one of what could become three or four “super conferences”.

I don’t know if Dan Wetzel has all the answers in this story. But he did write a book on the topic (due out in October, as he tactfully pitches in the narrative) and this is the best and most illustrative story I’ve seen so far on the topic.

I love the idea of Minnesota hosting teams like Nebraska and Notre Dame on a regular basis. It’s not like my Gophers have been a powerhouse worth watching on their own merits often in my lifetime.

But I don’t like this level of alleged deceit or the idea that college football as a whole, particularly the medium to small-sized schools, may pay a huge price in the long term for these changes either.

I don’t know how this will play out. My instincts tell me we’ll know more in the next few days. The major discussions underway the last few weeks could change the landscape of the game in a big, big way.

The first NFL preseason publication, Athlon Sports Pro Football, hit racks around the country sometime over the weekend.

In the last few years I hadn’t bought Athlon. I thought they had traded the compilation of a lot of important news in exchange for being the first magazine on the racks. But this was Memorial Day weekend and I had some free time on my hands at the cabin of some relatives. So I decided to pick it up.

And I think it’s a better magazine than I remember from past years. First, Athlon has added thoughts from NFL scouts and opposing coaches on every team – and some of the notes are compelling. For instance, one expert noted the discomfort Tom Brady showed in the pocket as New England’s quarterback in his first year back from a torn ACL. “The knee injury had something to do with it, but some quarterbacks never get that feeling back,” he notes.

Then there’s the Fantasy Flash, where the magazine makes a prediction – not always going with the obvious (for example, Brandon Gibson was selected for St. Louis, not Steven Jackson) – and provides an explanation for who and why someone might be a good player to target in upcoming drafts.

Finally, interesting profiles on Jets Coach Rex Ryan and on the increasing prominence of 4,000 yard passers and the aerial game throughout the league made the magazine a good holiday weekend pickup.

It’s still not perfect. Because it came out in late May, there are still going to be a lot of changes the magazine misses out on in making sure it gets out right away. But it has found a way to still provide a compelling read for those football fans who can’t wait another few weeks for the rest of the magazines that will soon follow.

It wasn’t bad enough that JaMarcus Russell was benched for Bruce Friggin’ Gradkowski after throwing three touchdown passes in nine starts.

Or that after Gradkowski replaced Russell, the new guy’s ridiculously journeyman, mediocre level of play immediately made the Raiders competitive (Gradkowski was 2-2 as the starter).

Even the acquisitions of Kyle Boller as a free agent and Jason Campbell during a draft day trade this past weekend weren’t enough incentive for Russell to stay active and prepare for the 2010 football season.

Doesn’t pride kick in at some point?

The top pick in the 2007 NFL draft will soon be approaching Ryan Leaf levels of bust-dom if reports from the National Football Post are true. The publication reports that Russell has ballooned above 300 pounds during the offseason.

Raiders coach Tom Cable indicates that Russell will be able to compete for the starting position with Gradkowski, Boller, Campbell and Charlie Frye. Indications are that he is likely to get cut.

But if he keeps up his eating regimen he might be able to trade his shoulder pads and helmet for a mawashi and compete in a different sport where added weight is almost always a benefit.

Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk.com trashed Jim Kelly a few weeks ago when the old Bills quarterback said he’d have no problem recommending Florida quarterback Tim Tebow to the Bills.

Florio criticized Kelly for the recommendation because Kelly has never been a scout – despite the fact that Kelly acknowledged in his answer to a question that he had never been a scout and couldn’t guess where Tebow should be drafted (Then just a few days later Florio chipped in with draft advice of his own … who are you going to listen to more? Florio or Kelly? I thought so.).

Today Florio puts 49er Hall of Famer Joe Montana in his sites. Montana was asked by NFL.com about Jimmy Clausen, the Notre Dame quarterback who could fall in the draft due, at least in part, to concerns about his attitude.

Montana’s response? “He came in with a little bit more of an attitude than most people wanted, but if you don’t have an attitude, you don’t make it in the league,” Montana told NFL.com. “You can’t be timid and shy.”

ProFootballTalk’s headline, “Montana has a bias” leads to a piece where Florio again makes the claim that Montana shouldn’t be recommending draft picks … despite the fact that Montana didn’t recommend a spot in the draft where Clausen should be taken. Montana actually doesn’t say Clausen should or shouldn’t fall – just that between Tebow, Clausen and Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford that Clausen’s college performance will be the most telling because he played in an NFL offense.

Someone please tell me why former NFL quarterbacks – Hall of Fame quarterbacks for that matter – shouldn’t be able to offer opinions on how they think other up-and-coming quarterbacks might perform when they get to the NFL.

Kelly and Montana were both asked questions and they both answered them using their backgrounds and histories as former quarterbacks. Damn good quarterbacks. Quarterbacks who might have a hint of a clue what it takes to make it at that position in the pros.

I don’t know if Clausen will drop in the draft. I don’t know if Clausen should drop in the draft. But I do know that when it comes to which quarterbacks are worthy of being drafted or what attributes it might take to be a star in the NFL I am far more likely to put credence behind the thoughts of someone who has done it before.

Contrary to the pathetic and idiotic point that Florio has failed at least twice to make with any convincing evidence other than some thoughts from one anonymous, sniveling scout who apparently had his or her feelings hurt, neither of these guys is undermining scouts by doing offering these thoughts either.

And Florio is lessening any iota of credibility he still has by insisting that they are undermining scouts. Furthermore, he fails to mention the most convincing piece of evidence that there might actually be a bias involved in Montana’s thoughts — the fact that both Montana and Clausen attended Notre Dame.

Come on, Mr. Florio. Think this through a bit.Why do a lot of former players become studio hosts or game analysts? Because they know a lot about the game. Why do reporters go to former players to hear their thoughts about potential draftees? Because they know a lot about the game.

To think that is a conflict of interest is foolish and moronic. Kelly and Montana are former players with sometimes insightful opinions. And I for one enjoy reading them.

We’re not likely to become a site that recognizes every player who decides to retire. But I was struck this morning reading that Aaron Stecker is hanging up his cleats for good.

Stecker was far from a star. He ran for more than 1,500 yards for his career, not in any given season. He also contributed about 1,200 yards receiving. He played on special teams a lot as well.

He missed out on the New Orleans Super Bowl run last year when he left for Atlanta after five years in the Big Easy. But he did win a ring with Tampa.

I think the reason I liked Stecker was that he always stayed out of trouble and he seemed to pop up when it mattered. Couple backs get hurt. No problem. That’s what we’ve got Stecker for. Guys like that are invaluable on good teams.

He went undrafted out of Western Illinois but managed to string together 11 years in the NFL. As he put it in the New Orleans Times Picayune, “I lasted longer than a lot of running backs who got drafted before me.”

Well done.

The day the NFL schedule is released isn’t quite as exciting as opening Sunday or as important as the NFL draft.

But for some reason I still get a kick out of finally getting a chance to see when the Vikings are going to be playing division rivals or who we get to watch at Thanksgiving.

Speaking of which, I think the NFL put together some really decent Turkey Day matchups this year.

The Lions still aren’t very good yet but they should be better. They’ll be the underdog to New England without any question, but they should be in better shape to at least give the Patriots a game this year.

I love the rematch between the Super Bowl Champ Saints and the team that knocked them from the ranks of the unbeatens after 13 straight victories, too. And closing the evening with a playoff rematch of the Bengals and Jets is good too.

One of the most anticipated games of the season will take place October 3 when Donovan McNabb goes back to Philadelphia as a member of the Redskins. Yet it’s the rematch in D.C. that gets Monday Night Football billing on November 15 … that one seems like a bit of a missed opportunity, though it will probably keep Philadelphia fans from throwing up on Redskins fans on national television.

Brett Favre will get to play three games against former employers this season. Not only does he have a return trip to Lambeau on October 24 and a game in the Dome against the Packers on Nov. 21 but he gets to try out the new New York stadium when the Jets host the Vikings on October 11. … Wait, that assumes he is coming back.

And one of my favorite things about the schedule this year is that Commissioner Roger Goodell decided to try making the season’s final week 17 an all-division slate of games.

This is the right solution to making those games matter, not fining teams draft picks for resting stars or rewarding them for playing their starters.

It might not prevent teams from resting players in every situation. But with the Bengals against the Ravens, the Cardinals against the 49ers, the Packers against the Bears and the Titans against the Colts, among other intra-division games, there should be plenty on the line as the season winds down.

Yes, save for when the games start, this is as good a time as any for football fans.