Assuming a new deal doesn't get done this week, and assuming the cap will be $95 million, here are the teams with the most money available entering the free agent market, according to salary-cap documents as of late last week:

1. Minnesota: $24.1 million
2. Arizona: $23.6 million
3. Green Bay: $20.7 million
4. Cleveland: $20.1 million
5. San Diego: $17.4 million
6. San Francisco: $16.5 million
7. Baltimore: $16.1 million
8. Seattle: $15.7 million
9. Jacksonville: $15.3 million
10. Cincinnati: $14.0 million
11. St. Louis: $11.1 million
12. New Orleans: $10.5 million

Teams in trouble? The Raiders are $29.9 million over the projected cap. (Getting down won't be impossible because of easily erasable contract-inflating clauses, such as the $8 million bonus due to wideout Ronald Curry. Such a bonus can be canceled and Curry, should he choose to stay, would sign a near-minimum contract, counting for an $8.4 million savings for Oakland.) The Jets have to shave $29.2 million and started doing so late in the week by rejiggering the contracts of heavy-money guys like Curtis Martin. Kansas City ($120.2 million), Washington ($120.2), Denver ($119.6 million), Tampa Bay ($109.6 million), Tennessee ($109.5 million) and Atlanta ($108.0 million) need to see the light. And fast.

"We're holding our breath in these negotiations,'' Washington coach Joe Gibbs said. "It's hugely important for us, and for lots of teams.''

Lest you think teams can just sign players to huge signing bonuses, as has been the case in most early free agency periods, and spread the pro-rated deals over many years, that's a thing of the past, too. Signing bonuses can now be spread over only four years, which means if a team signs James to a rich deal, it's likely to have fewer guarantees than in the past.

So I know you think free agency has been like a mid-winter Christmas gift in the past few years. But now, there's going to be a load of tantalizing free agents and very few teams out there moving heaven and earth to sign them. It's a sea change.

"I hope it's a big edge for us,'' Arizona coach Dennis Green said. "I hope we can sell the fact that we've got money and not a lot of teams do. We'll be aggressive on the guys we want.''

They'll be in the minority, unless a new deal's done in the next 48 hours.

Quote of the Week

"He's in India, he's in a retreat and I respect that.''

-- Miami coach Nick Saban, on running back Ricky Williams, who is suspected of failing a drug test. If that's true, Williams would be suspended for a year.

Factoid That May Interest Only Me

Friends came in from Boise, Idaho, to see their grandchildren in Manhattan last week, and my wife and I dined with them in New York on Wednesday night. Nice meal, though over-the-top pricey, at Le Bernardin on West 51st.

Midway through the meal, Brian, a native Canadian and one of our dining mates, came back from the men's room and announced: "I have just seen something I've never seen before in my life.''

What, pray tell?

"Well, the urinals in the bathroom went all the way down to the floor,'' he said. "And the bottom of the urinals, in addition to the mint all urinals have, was full of ice cubes. Have you ever seen that?''

"Can't say that I have,'' I said.

"What would be the purpose?'' he said. "I'm racking my brain, and I can't figure it out.''

"I have no idea,'' I said.

About 45 minutes later, it was my turn to use the facilities. I went into the men's room, and, unless I was mistaken, there was a fresh batch of ice cubes packing the bottom of the urinal. I asked a restaurant employee, a man who appeared to be in charge of the facilities, but he didn't speak English very well, so the mystery was on. Back at the table, more conversation ensued about the Case of Ice Cubes in the Urinal. We solved nothing.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do,'' I said. "I write a column called Monday Morning Quarterback and I'll raise the question in the column this week. I'm sure one of my readers will solve this one.''

And so now it's in your hands, lovers of the NFL. Please e-mail me, hopefully on Monday, if you know why a restaurant would put ice cubes in the bottom of a urinal. Maybe there's a restaurant professional out there -- or a urinal professional -- who knows what in the world is going on out there. I'd love to be able to give out a prize for solving this, but we're not that kind of Web site. (What would I give out, anyway? A scale-model ceramic urinal with an NFL logo?) Thanks in advance for your help.

Factoid That May Interest Only Me II

Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler hails from Santa Claus, Ind.