ST. LOUIS -- The confusion surrounding the NFL's recent ruling regarding testing for the new designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) is coming into clearer focus now, and I hear the players who tested positive for the substance are very upset about it.

Eleven days ago NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue ruled -- or so we thought -- that all NFL players who had previously tested positive for THG before Oct. 6 were off the hook. They are -- for 2003 only. Tagliabue left open the possibility that players would be suspended next season.

"What Tagliabue ruled last week," said a source close to one of the players who tested positive for the substance, "is definitely not a victory for us. The league and the NFL Players Association played it off as a win-win situation. But it's only a victory for the league, if you ask me."

After reviewing a copy of the the league's THG memorandum, which was intented to update the league's testing procedures, I believe it confused the the public more than anything. In brief, the league announced it had learned in September that THG could reliably be detected via the regular steroid testing that was under way, and so it planned to begin testing for THG in October. The NFLPA had insisted that players' urine samples collected prior to the Oct. 6 date, when the league announced that the steroid would be included on the list of banned substances, not be considered for specimen-testing. And so when the league announced none of the players who tested positive -- according to CBS Sportsline.com's Jay Glazer four Oakland Raiders have done so -- would be suspended during the 2003 season, it was perceived as a satisfactory compromise for both the players and league. Not so. Under the heading, "Pre-October 6 Samples and Tests,'' Tagliabue ruled thusly:

"Any player testing positive for THG based upon samples provided before October 6 will be subject to discipline and reasonable-cause testing. However, players will not be suspended from playing any games during the remainder of the 2003 season for any pre-October 6 positive test. I have concluded that this is appropriate for a number of reasons related specifically to THG. These include uncertainty at this time as to whether suspensions based upon pre-October 6 tests could be imposed during the 2003 seasons with the requisite competitive fairness for all 32 teams.''

When the Raiders Four heard this, I am told, they were not happy. One of the four will be a free agent after this season. How will he be able to get a decent contract if potential employers suspect he might not be able suit up until October? If I were this player, I'd want the penalty -- if the league indeed has the right to impose one, and if indeed I were ultimately found culpable -- to be imposed this season so next year I'd be able to be a free agent with a clean slate rather than a guy who might only play 12 games.

I also hear that when the players met with NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw, he told them, basically, "Don't worry. This will all go away after the season." Well, Tagliabue hasn't said that. He hasn't said the NFL has given up the right to re-test the old samples, which the league absolutely should not be able to do, in my humble opinion. Until Tagliabue says that, this story's an open book. League spokesman Greg Aiello told me last week the commissioner is not ruling out fining or suspending any offending players next year. Until he rules it out, I don't buy what Upshaw is selling.

By the way, if Upshaw loses this, and Tagliabue imposes discipline of any kind on these players next year, I look for two things to happen: One, players around the league will make things difficult for Upshaw, demanding to know why he can't stand up for their rights and get the league to throw away months-old samples and disallow retesting of them for substances that hadn't even been discovered by the league when the tests were taken. As this source told me: "Imagine being suspended in September 2004 for a sample taken in July 2003 and retested in November or December 2003. Where was it stored? How do you know the sample's composition didn't change in that time?'' Two, players will sue the league. Big deal, you say. Probably. But this is a chance for the NFL to avoid picking a fight with the NFLPA, which is the most cooperative players' union in all of sports. Why tick it off? I don't understand why Tagliabue isn't taking the chance to throw this issue away.

Offensive Player of the Week

Miami WR Chris Chambers, for his three touchdown receptions in the Dolphins' 40-21 rout of Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. I've thought for a while that Chambers was on par with the really great ones in the game, but I expected that he'd always have a hard time showcasing his talent as part of that feeble Dolphins passing game. Thursday he showed the breadth of his talent -- his game-breaking speed, and his Cris Carter-like ability to make the impossible catch while getting both big toes down before falling out of bounds. Use Chambers more, Norv Turner.

Defensive Player of the Week

St. Louis defensive end Leonard Little, for, in his words, "the best game of my life.'' Shoot, this might have been the best game of his career if he were Lawrence Taylor: six tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles. At 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, Little doesn't look much like your classic NFL defensive end. But if you can't be blocked on passing downs, doesn't that mean you should be a pretty good defensive end?

Special Teams Player of the Week

New England WR/KR Bethel Johnson, who is fast becoming a real threat in the return game as well as the occasional deep threat in the passing game. Just before halftime of New England's showdown against the Colts in the heartland, Johnson took a Mike Vanderjagt kickoff and tightroped it 97 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. In the second half, he set up another New England score with a 67-yard kick return. Don't look now, but Johnson now has a better kick-return average than Dante Hall.

Coach of the Week

Miami coach Dave Wannstedt. We know the pressure Wannstedt's under. He's coaching to keep his job right now. But he got his team ready to go under the most adverse of NFL circumstances -- a Sunday-night donnybrook at home, followed four days later with the set-up match against the red-hot Cowboys halfway across the country. I mean, how do you even have a good practice during that short a week? You can't work your players hard on Monday, 13 hours after a brutal game, so you have to pack three days of preparation into Tuesday. And then you have to fly out Wednesday afternoon. But his guys still went out and totally embarrassed Dallas. Heck of a job by Wannstedt and his staff.

Goat of the Week

Carolina K John Kasay is one of the most decent men in all of sports, but that didn't help him against the Eagles. Three misses, two inside the 40. It was so stunning, particularly for a man who'd been 15-for-15 inside the 40 entering this crucial game.

Stat of the Week

Exactly one hour and 59 minutes after the Red Sox announced they had reached a contract agreement with Curt Schilling Friday evening, an e-mail arrived in my inbox from MLB.com announcing the Schilling-Sox marriage. Also in the e-mail was a link advertising, "Be the first to own a Curt Schilling jersey."

This is an amazing, instamatic world. In the time it takes to play half of a baseball game, the baseball merchandisers of MLB got Schilling jerseys ready to order. Guess it's just a coincidence Friday was the first day of the Christmas shopping season.

... With resurgent Cincinnati quarterback Jon Kitna, who, thanks to his terrific play this season, has relegated Carson Palmer to the bench for the rest of the year.

MMQB: After you threw the clinching touchdown pass to beat previously undefeated Kansas City two weeks ago, you pointed repeatedly at your wristband. Why?

Kitna: A lot of people are trying to give me credit for being a changed quarterback. What I had on my wristband was a cross. The thing that has sustained me in the NFL is knowing that Jesus Christ is in total control. He has asked me to try to do things right, and right things will happen to me. So all of this is not about me.

MMQB: It looks like you have better weapons that we all thought, too. Peter Warrick is playing great.

Kitna: I'm so happy for him, because nobody on our team works harder than Peter Warrick. He's a great blocker, and he sacrifices himself in the running game. You're right about our weapons. We've got some great ones. I'm surrounded by a great cast that is maturing all at the same time. And the line is doing a great job, better than anyone thinks. Just watch the tape on us.

MMQB: Do you get along well with Carson Palmer? How are you and he handling what could be an awkward situation?

Kitna: First of all, our relationship is awesome. We room together on the road. He's loose, and he doesn't take things too seriously. I'm an analytical guy, and I sometimes get too serious. He's really good for me to have around because I don't stay very serious around him. Hey, he's a great kid. I know he'll be a good player in this league, and someday I'll be watching him do great things.

The Washington Times' Thom Loverro on Bruce Smith's chase of the "all-time" NFL sack record, all-time in this case covering just a quarter of the league's history.

"Imagine, if you would, that Hack Wilson never drove in 190 runs in a season. Or that Rogers Hornsby never batted .424 in 1924 and George Sisler never got 257 hits in one year. Imagine that no baseball statistics existed before 1982. That, in essence, is what the NFL is doing in its campaign to sell us on the idea that Redskins defensive end Bruce Smith has tied the all-time sack record. Smith was credited with half a sack of Dolphins quarterback Brian Griese, giving him 198 for his career -- the official mark -- and tying him with Reggie White. This, of course, is predicated on the illusion that sacks did not occur before 1982, when the stat was first kept. And that is what drives Deacon Jones crazy. 'I wish somebody would tell me how I got in the Hall of Fame,' Jones said. 'I wish somebody would tell me how Bob Lilly got in the Hall of Fame. Merlin Olson, Doug Atkins, Willie Davis, Gino Marchetti -- how did they get in the Hall of Fame? It's very aggravating when the media and football experts say 'all time.' It was like we didn't play.' "

Couldn't have said it better myself.

"I've got the 'Skim Milk' Game ... two percent of the country.''--CBS Sports color man Jerry Glanville, commenting on the viewership for his Dec. 7 assignment, the San Diego-Detroit game.

I was driving down the New Jersey Turnpike last Friday before dawn, on my way to Baltimore to see Jonathan Ogden before his morning meetings, and I had the radio on scan. On 88.7 FM, I caught the feed of the ABC TV affiliate out of Philadelphia. I'm not sure what technology makes this possible, but I have noticed in some cities that you're able to get the audio from a TV station at the very bottom of the radio dial.

Anyway, the morning news show featured a reporter who was live from the Wal-Mart in south Philly, and she claimed that there were hundreds of people in line waiting to shop when the store opened at 6. One shopper told the reporter she arrived at 9 p.m. Thursday to get a good spot. "I think we may see a stampede,'' the reporter said, giddily.

It was raining pretty steadily as I drove by exit 3 of the turnpike, the one closest to downtown Philadelphia, and it registered 39 degrees on my dashboard thermometer. I kept the radio on that same station until the next time this reporter went live, just after 6, when she said of the store opening: "It was like a volcano waiting to erupt.''

Am I the only one who wants to throw up? Human beings standing in line in the rain and frigidity for hours. TV anchors talking about what a wonderful and cute custom this is. All for this year's Elmo or Barbie or $29.99 DVD player. America. Land of the free. Home of the unquenchable thirst for the next material possession.

I am going to miss field hockey, and apparently I am not alone. On with this week's batch.

MOUNTIE WITHDRAWAL. From Byron Day, of Raleigh, N.C.: "I am really going to miss reading about 'our Mounties.' You, Mary Beth, the rest of the parents and her teammates provided us with a wonderful parallel every Monday -- young athletes playing for the sheer joy of team and competition, as opposed to the many pampered, overpaid and underachieving NFL players that you write about. Thanks for taking us along.''

You're welcome. Withdrawal, powerful withdrawal, has set in.

	MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

NOW HERE'S A NICE MAN. From Bernd Ingram, of Lansing, Kan.: "I've read with great admiration your stories on your girls' softball and field hockey. You have captured every emotion, and every feeling a parent who truly loves his or her kids and wishes happiness for them has. Many of us know from whence you speak, and it is the heart, and a human condition called undying, everlasting love. Your daughters are lucky to have a Dad like you, and here's hoping more like you will join our ranks.''

Now Bernd, you don't want to make a grown man cry, do you?

I THINK HE WANTS TO START A MARY BETH FAN CLUB. From Glenn Besser, of Batavia, N.Y.: "How old is Mary Beth really? She has the composure and thought process of someone twice her age. What a wonderful young lady. You and Mrs. King should be proud indeed.''

Thanks, Glenn. Now, I'd like you to do me a favor. Could you write back and tell her to clean her room?

WELL, I GUESS WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT FOOTBALL SOME. From Jess E. Turner, of Denton, Texas: "Did Starbucks spike your latte with vodka? You 'loved the orange uniforms the Dolphins wore last night'? Those uniforms were so horribly ugly, there should have been a 'viewer discretion' advisory warning on the screen. I guarantee you at least a dozen small children watching the game were blinded thanks to those uniforms.''

My taste in fashion borders on the dyslexic, but I must say I thought those were really cool uniforms.

JIM FASSEL IS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES. From Mark Healy, of Huntington, N.Y.: "You mentioned Bill Parcells winning games with special teams moves. That got me thinking about Jim Fassel's tenure with the Giants. How is it that in seven years Fassel was never able to correct the club's special-teams problems? Can he blame it on his staff? I really feel that his inability to coach this part of the game is the reason he will no longer be coaching next year.''

I agree with you. I think Fassel kept thinking he had special teams solved, particularly this year. But special teams coaches Larry MacDuff and Bruce Read didn't get the job done and that will be part of what costs Fassel his job. You have have an attitude that special teams are just as important as offense and defense. Parcells and John Fox (and Marv Levy and Jimmy Johnson, too) always had that attitude. I never sensed it on Fassel's Giants teams until it was too late.

1. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of the NFL weekend:

a. Priest Holmes is not only really good, he's really smart. Late in the Chiefs' win at San Diego Sunday, he had room to run, and he had room to go out of bounds, but he kept diving to the ground short of the sidelines to keep the clock running.

b. When the Packers' epitaph on the season is written, it will say this: Really, Really Good Team About 40 Percent of the Time.

c. I'll tell you who is having an absolutely invisible but extremely good season: Dan Wilkinson.

d. Bet you don't even know who he plays for now. Wilkinson, the perpetual underachiever at defensive tackle, signed with Detroit before the season, and he was phenomenal in crashing through the Packers line and helping hold Ahman Green to 57 yards Thursday. Nothing new there. The man's playing very well.

e. Can a running back perform any better than Deuce McAllister is playing? Nine 100-yard games in a row, and he's not just edging over 100. He's getting 100 by halftime.

f. Welcome back, Michael Vick.

g. Leonard Little has more sacks than Jason Taylor has the past three years, and that isn't meant as a slap at Taylor. It's intended to show that Little's pretty good.

h. You can't tell me Steve Spurrier hasn't entertained some fond thoughts of Chapel Hill during the last couple of weeks.

i. Way to show up, Bills.

j. I could say something about the Giants, but the only thing that comes to mind is something about beating a dead palomino.

k. I officially give up on the Bucs.

2. I think, after seeing the Vikings play on Sunday, that I have no faith that they will beat Seattle. This weekend's going to tell the tale of the NFC Central. Chicago at Green Bay, Seattle at Minnesota. I can't believe the Packers have another chance at the division title, but the Vikings are so inept on defense that Green Bay will keep getting chances unless the Pack loses out with Chicago, San Diego, Oakland and Denver left.

3. I think the Bears baffle me. I've spent much of the year thinking they're god-awful, and yet they've won four of their last six games, and their two losses are by two points apiece. I'll be very curious to see if Dick Jauron gets interviewed for another head job if he gets canned after the season.

4. I think I always appreciated Lawrence Taylor because he was a great player, and even though he was a destructive human being and an awful husband and father, he never tried to hide who he was. Nothing he said last night surprised me in the least.

5. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. I don't want to get too excited about Clocks by Coldplay, but it just might be one of the 20 best songs of all time. The louder the better. For a month I haven't been able to get it off my brain.

b. Coffeenerdness: It has been a long time since I have complained about the quality of coffee drinks at Starbucks. But this drives me nuts. It's egg nog latte season, as you all know (Of course! How could you not?), and the egg nog latte is ridiculously different at various Starb's nationwide.

c. Montclair (N.J.) Field Hockey Note of the Week: Big awards banquet coming up tomorrow night, so I just might have to include one more field hockey installment next week ... before, of course, "Montclair (N.J.) Mock Trial Note of the Week" begins shortly after the first of the year. And for those who follow this sort of thing, kudos to Eastern High of Voorhees, N.J., the field hockey team Montclair was dying to play, which beat our double-overtime conquerors, Hunterdon Central, 6-0 in the state championship to stretch their unbeaten streak to 113 games. What a team. MHS knew it would have had to play an absolutely perfect game to beat Eastern, but just to be able to have the chance to play the best team in America with all the marbles on the line would have been sweet. In a preseason scrimmage, Eastern whomped us, 6-1; it was 4-0 after 15 and they'd hit three posts already. I mean, this team is incredible. Way to go, girls.

d. Last field hockey sighting of the year: Next Sunday afternoon, at Montclair State University's AstroTurf field, the coaches' all-star game will be played, featuring North Jersey seniors. There will be a Mary Beth King sighting. It saddens me that there will not be a Peter King sighting. If you haven't noticed, there are a few pretty good football games next Sunday -- Dallas-Philly, Indy-Tennessee, Cincinnati-Baltimore, Kansas City-Denver, Miami-New England -- and occasionally during the fall I have to work.

e. New Jersey's Scott Stevens set an NHL record for games played by a defenseman last week, and, of course, nobody paid any attention at all. I watch this team a few times a year in person, and a few more times on TV, and Stevens' presence, leadership and ability make him, in my mind, the most underrated athlete of our day ... in any sport.

f. And so the Red Sox get Curt Schilling. "I wouldn't want to be having dinner tonight with George Steinbrenner,'' Peter Gammons said on ESPN Friday, reporting the news. I'm very happy about this move, because I think it will give Pedro Martinez a nasty soulmate -- even though Schilling did call Pedro a punk when he did that stuff against the Yankees -- and also relieve some of the pressure off him to always be the ace, even when his arm's sore. I couldn't care less about the chemistry implications, and whether Pedro's feelings will be hurt. If they are, he's a selfish player. This game is about winning. Gammons' point about George is interesting. I think he'll now feel pressured to go out and get either Bartolo Colon or Javier Vasquez, who, along with Andy Pettitte (provided the Yankees sign him), Mike Mussina, Jose Contreras and Jon Lieber (remember that the Yankees signed him last year?) will make a rotation as formidable or moreso than Boston's. I'm not trying to look on the dark side, really. I'm trying to look at the realistic side -- which, basically, is that Steinbrenner would rather plunge a sharpened titanium letter-opener deep into his left ear than lose to the Red Sox.

g. Ah, Thanksgiving weekend in the airports of America and on its fine tiny planes. I flew two commuter jobs in and out of St. Louis from Newark -- why don't you just jail me for a weekend? -- and had an alcohol-oozing, Cardinals-hatted 25ish-year-old male for a seat partner on the way out. He slept and drooled from both sides of his mouth during the entire 134-minute flight.

g. I have a great holiday book idea for you. It's an NBA book, and I'm not even a basketball guy. But Elliott Kalb, my partner on HBO's Inside the NFL, has written an intelligent book -- Who's Better, Who's Best in Basketball? -- about the top NBA players of all time. That's interesting enough, I suppose, but the parts of the book I especially like are the ones, for example, where Kalb compares Charles Barkley and Elvis Presley. Both were born poor in the south, both Republicans, both played for the Suns. Well, actually, Elvis played for Sun Records. Cool book.

6. I think if I had my pick of all the games this weekend to attend, I'd choose Cincinnati-Baltimore. A novelty act, I suppose. But after Anthony Wright put up 44 points two weeks in a row and with the Bengals two games over .500 as December dawns ... I mean, as Parcells is fond of saying, sometimes God is playing in these games. God is weary of smiting the striped ones.

7. I think one player we've forgetten about because of the badness of his team is Chargers CB Quentin Jammer. But from what I saw him do against against K.C. (he had two picks), Jammer can cling well in man coverage and isn't afraid of taking chances.

8. I think I think I am venturing out of my league a little bit, but I will tell you who'd give up the ESPN blazer off his back for that Nebraska head-coaching job: my old buddy and Nebraska grad Trev Alberts. In our chats when we worked together for CNN, he talked about how much he'd like to coach the Huskers someday.

9. I think, as much I admire Doug Flutie, it's time for the Chargers to go back to Drew Brees. Not that it matters. Bonnie Bernstein reported a funny (sad, really) tidbit late in the Chiefs-Chargers game: Marty Schottenheimer got so ticked off after Kansas City's fourth touchdown that he flung his headset to the ground, smashing it to smithereens. On the Chiefs' two key fourth-quarter possessions, when the game was still in doubt, Flutie fumbled one drive away and threw a pick on the second.

10. I think I'm chickening out on picking the NFL Texas Death Match Week coming up. I go with all the homestanders. This is my early line:

a. Tennessee 16, Indianapolis 14. Colts' defensive speed is neutralized on the choppy Adelphia turf, making Dwight Freeney less of a factor.

b. Philadelphia 19, Dallas 6. I know the Eagles aren't great on offense. They're better than Dallas, however.

c. New England 23, Miami 20. I can't believe I'm writing this, but Jay Fiedler is playing so well right now that this is basically a pick-'em affair.

d. Baltimore 24, Cincinnati 16. Kitna won't be intimidated, that's for sure. He may need to put up 30 to win.

e. Denver 27, Kansas City 24. Biggest regular-season game for Mike Shanahan in a very long time. He finds a way.

f. Detroit 988, San Diego 0. The real biggie. Doug Flutie, I'm telling you this for your own good: Walk out of Ford Field right after the game, hide behind the bushes until it's dark, wear black clothing, and sneak across the bridge to Canada. You might not be happier, but at least you'll have a chance there.

1. Tennessee (9-2). Watch DT Robaire Smith Monday night. He's not famous but he's a very, very good run-stopper. He will give Curtis Martin a headache.

2. Kansas City (11-1). Many of Dick Vermeil's players chafe at the longest practice hours in football, but I talked to four or five of them recently who said basically the same thing about their motivation to play well: They didn't want to let Vermeil down. Dan Deirdorf made the same observation to CBS viewers during the Chiefs-Chargers game Sunday.

3. New England (10-2). Willie McGinest, take a bow for that extraordinary tackle in crunch time on the goal line. You saved the game.

4. Philadelphia. (9-3). Donovan McNabb again made some very big throws yesterday.

5. St. Louis (9-3). Not to rain on the Rams, but that defense scares me. On one second-quarter drive by the Vikes, the Rams let Daunte Culpepper convert a third-and-18 and let him run 42 yards on a draw. Great teams don't give up 465 yards at home. Or anywhere, for that matter.

6. Miami (8-4). Jay Fiedler. Man possessed.

7. Indianapolis (9-3). Defense. Defrocked.

8. Baltimore (7-5). Pardon me while I stuff the Pro Bowl ballot box for Anthony Wright.

9. Carolina (9-3). I will continue to watch football for a long time, and I don't know if I'll see any good kicker ever have a day as bad as John Kasay had yesterday.

10. Dallas (8-4). The 40-21 debacle against Miami may have been the worst game played by a good team all year.

11. Cincinnati (7-5). Did you see that last Bengals scoring drive, and how efficient and accurate Jon Kitna was? I am in awe of how improved a player this man has become. Right now, if I had a 10-man MVP ballot, Kitna would be about seventh.

12. Seattle (8-4). Two really good games in a row for Matt Hasselbeck, and he's getting Koren Robinson more involved again.

13. Denver (7-5). I know you're starting to wonder, but I can assure you Mike Shanahan will be coaching this team next Labor Day.

14. Green Bay (6-6). I have no idea why.

15. New Orleans (6-6). Deuce McAllister is about to pass Walter Payton, from the looks of things.

A haiku about Jets and Titans:

Will Steve McNair play?

Herm Edwards cares, but I don't.

I like Rocky Tops.

My pick: Voleks 21, Penningtons 13.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week.