Quote of the Week I

"I think if you told our guys a month ago that they were going to be the hunted instead of going hunting, they probably would have asked you, 'Well, how's that going to happen?'"

-- Minnesota coach Brad Childress, whose Vikes won their fourth in a row, 27-7 at San Francisco.

Quote of the Week II

"Well done is always better than well said. That's been the motto of this team.''

-- New England quarterback Tom Brady, three days before the Patriots beat Pittsburgh. He was responding to reports of Steelers safety Anthony Smith guaranteeing a Pittsburgh victory in the days before the game.

Am I alone in thinking that Brady always says the right thing? I mean, always? So I asked him: Where'd you learn the "well done'' line, and who taught you to always say things the way your coaches and parents and fandom would want you to say them? Which leads me to my ...

Text Message of the Week

"Ben Franklin said that. I learn from where we all have, my dad!''

--Tom Brady.

Stat of the Week

So you want to know how active your team will be with a good free-agency market coming up in three months? Here's a chart of how much cap space each team was due to have next spring as of Saturday, along with how many players each team has under contract:

And yes, you read it right. The Washington Redskins are $20 million over the projected '08 cap, a number that will be reduced once the 'Skins convert some bonuses assigned to the '08 cap (including a hefty one paid to tight end Chris Cooley) to signing bonuses, which can be pro-rated over the life of the contract.

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me

So you wonder how important Romo is to the Cowboys? He came along not at the right time, but at the perfect time.

The Cowboys began selling tickets to their new stadium in Arlington last week, and the prices floored some buyers. Lower-bowl seats will have one-time personal seat license (PSL) fees between $16,000 and $150,000, which will give each ticket-holder the right to purchase seats at the stadium for the next 30 years. Those who pay the license fees will have to fork over $340 per ticket for 10 games -- eight regular-season, two preseason. Team Marketing Report claims that the previous highest PSL price was $12,000 per seat in Carolina, and that Gillette Stadium, home of the Patriots, did not have PSL fees when it opened.

The prices seem other-worldly. That's putting it mildly. Dallas owner Jerry Jones is fond of saying the public will determine the market. If he sells out the new palace, either Texans are flush with more money than the rest of the country, or they'll mortgage their futures to make sure they see how far Romo can take this team in the next few years.

Enjoyable/Aggravating Travel Note of the Week

Brett Favre flew from Green Bay to the Teterboro Airport in suburban New Jersey late last Tuesday afternoon, then was driven into New York to accept the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award that night.

The first 756 miles of the trip, in the air, took 105 minutes.

The last eight miles of the trip, on the ground during rush hour, took 65 minutes.

That's 432 mph on phase one of the trip, 7 mph on the second leg.

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