NFL players and owners today "will start the craziest week in NFL history." The league "will squeeze all the offseason activity it missed – free agency, trades, cuts to get under the salary cap, signings of rookies as well as undrafted free agents – into one week while teams open training camps." Jets FB Tony Richardson: "Chaos. That's the best word for it" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/26). Things will be "anything but peaceful in the NFL" starting today, with an "unprecedented burst of player acquisitions" (SI.com 7/25). Player agent Joel Segal said of the truncated free agency period, "I think it's gonna be fast and furious. I think we're gonna see deals done at a record-setting pace" (N.Y. POST, 7/26).

With the NFL back in business, here is how the first days of league business will go for players and teams:

Tuesday, 10:00am ET
• Trading begins.
• Teams can sign rookies and undrafted free agents.
• Teams can negotiate with, but not sign, veteran free agents.

Thursday, 4:01pm ET
• Teams can begin to cut players.

Friday, 6:00 pm ET
• Teams can officially sign free agents. Players who sign must report to new teams but cannot participate in physical activities until start of league year on Aug. 4.

Jets Exec VP/Business Operations Matt Higgins via his Twitter account posted an image of the "first thing" Jets players will see today as they return to Florham Park.

The vast majority of newspapers from the home markets of NFL teams today had a story about the end of the lockout on their front pages. Twenty-eight newspapers ran a full bylined story, while 12 others included some other kind of reference. The Green Bay Press-Gazette dedicated nearly all of its front page to the return of the NFL.

NBC Sports yesterday began running a 15-second "Back To Football" TV spot. The ad depicts Packers QB and reigning Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers exiting the tunnel at Lambeau Field. A stadium staffer holds Rodgers back for a brief moment before allowing him to run out onto the field. A voice-over says, "It's time to get back to football." The spot closes with a plug for NBC's Sept. 8 Saints-Packers season opener.

With the NFL and NFLPA agreeing to a new CBA, teams around the league are hurrying to re-engage fans and fill stadiums for the upcoming games. The Jaguars, "hoping to make up for lost time," today begin a season-ticket blitz with the theme, "It's Go Time." The team needs to sell about 17,000 non-premium tickets per game, including 10,000 season tickets, to "avoid TV blackouts for the second consecutive season" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 7/26).

Chiefs President Mark Donovan said that the team this morning "will announce improved training-camp amenities" for fans. Donovan: "The focus has got to be on the experience of the fan and making the experience at Arrowhead a more enjoyable one" (K.C. STAR, 7/26).

Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson, who was instrumental in putting together the new CBA, welcomes fans back with a letter that appears on the team website and in today's Charlotte Observer. The letter reads in part, "We are now at a place we hope proves beneficial for everyone: fans, players and the teams. The new agreement ... will enable the NFL to maintain the competitive balance that has made the League so great over the years" (THE DAILY).

Read more on individual teams' post-lockout efforts in today's issue of THE DAILY.

Under Armour today announced increases in revenues and income in Q2, raising expectations for full FY results in '11. For the period ending June 30, net revenues increased 42% to $291.3M, up from $204.8M in Q2 '10. Net income was $6.2M, up from $3.5M in the year-ago period. Q2 apparel net revenues increased 36% to $204.8M, up from $150.2M, and quarterly footwear revenues increased 31% to $46.9M, compared to $35.8M a year ago. The company now expects net revenues of $1.42-1.44B, representing growth of 33-35% from '10. It had previously projected revenues of $1.37-1.39B (Under Armour).

Meanwhile, the Baltimore SUN's Andrea Walker examines Under Armour's evolving strategy with regards to athlete endorsements.

The Pac-12 today will hold its football media day at the Fox Studios lot in L.A., with Commissioner Larry Scott scheduled to address the media this morning. Scott said, "I feel very good about the last year." The past year has included a new $3B TV deal and the expansion of the conference to include Utah and Colorado. But the "silver lining comes with a few dark clouds" in the form of controversies surrounding the USC and Oregon football programs (L.A. TIMES, 7/26).

The L.A. TIMES offers a numerical breakdown of the six major football conference's footprints, viewership, fan affinity and TV contracts.

The NCAA has sent a letter to the Univ. of Texas asking the school to "participate in an Aug. 22 'educational summit' on school and conference network telecasts of youth sports." The meeting will also include BYU and the Big Ten Conference, "which similarly have set up their own networks" (USATODAY.com, 7/25).

A group of Yankees that included RF Nick Swisher, C Russell Martin and former player Bernie Williams opened up the team's third annual Hope Week yesterday afternoon by "joining members of Daniel's Music Foundation ... at a concert at the Brooks Atkinson Theater." The team also donated $10,000 to the non-profit, which provides musical instruction to individuals with disabilities (NYTIMES.com, 7/25).

The Canucks' charitable arm Canucks for Kids Fund today will announce the recipient of grants for the '10-11 season, having raised a record $4.2M. The "core grant recipients" are the fund's longtime partners Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children' Hospice and BC Children's Hospital (VANCOUVER SUN, 7/26).

A crowd of 73,000 attended this past weekend's Dew Tour Pantech Open in Ocean City, Md. Dew Tour officials said that the attendance figure is "a new record for the tour" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 7/25).

"Just a couple of months ago, I was 60 or 70 percent certain we would miss training camp or some games. To be at this point and to see how fast this thing went over the past couple of months is a surprise to me" – Chiefs OL Brian Waters, who is a member of the NFLPA Exec Committee, on the new CBA (K.C. STAR, 7/26).

"All the clubs have called the office inquiring about me. Teams from Israel, China, Turkey, Spain. A lot of countries have been calling" – Knicks F Amar'e Stoudemire, on the number of int'l teams showing interest in signing him during the NBA lockout (ESPNNY.com, 7/25).

"It's a lot more difficult, these games, the way they're set up for the MLS clubs, than it is for the visiting teams, because the whole tournament is set up for them and their needs" – MLS Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, on MLS teams playing int'l friendlies against high-profile European teams (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 7/26).

"I will be reviewing all divisions of the university over time. ... The Division of Athletics is one of those areas of the university in which we have already begun this evaluation process" – New Univ. of Connecticut President Susan Herbst, who reportedly is trying to buy out the contract of AD Jeff Hathaway (AP, 7/25).

Browns LB Scott Fujita: “Many thanks to D. Foxworth & J. Saturday, who sacrificed more time away from their families than any player throughout this process.”

NFL Senior VP/PR Greg Aiello: “No player was more involved in negotiations than Domonique Foxworth.”

Eagles QB Michael Vick: “Congrats to both parties on settling the lockout. Intelligent men always find ways to win!!!”

Ravens FB Jason McKie: “About to get a Demaurice Smith jersey.”

If you see a tweet we will not want to miss, send it to us at editorial@sportsbusinessdaily.com. 

MLS and Manchester United players and execs will take part in an MLS W.O.R.K.S. event at the Highbridge Pool and Recreation Center in N.Y. The players and execs will help build a Splash House Pavilion, which will provide outdoor changing and locker and shower areas for the facility.

The Morning Buzz offers today’s back page sports covers from some of the nation’s major metropolitan tabloids:

N.Y. Post	N.Y. Daily News	Newsday

Philadelphia Daily News	Boston Herald

Last night’s “Final Jeopardy!” category was “Books About Books.”

“The 2003 bestseller ‘The Meaning Of Everything’ is subtitled ‘The Story Of’ this reference classic.”

Boxer Amir Khan appeared on TBS’ “Lopez Tonight” last night. Host George Lopez introduced him by calling him “Britain's bad ass of boxing” and added, “Last weekend, he defeated Zab Judah in the most highly anticipated fight of the summer.” Khan said of it being his first American talk show appearance: “It's the first one and will always be the best one.” Lopez told Khan, “It does not seem like you’ve been in a fight. It seems like maybe you’ve been out a little late.” Khan: “I think the after-party was a bit more crazy than the fight. I think we’ll leave it there.” Khan, who now lives in L.A., said, “Don't get me wrong, I love fighting and training in England, but it's so hard to walk the streets that people know who you are, even non-boxing fans, ‘Hey, that's Amir Khan.’ It's like my mother when she send me to get a bottle of milk from the shop, it might take me an hour because I meet so many people. But the reason I moved from England to America was because I lost a fight and I really had to focus and regroup” (“Lopez Tonight,” TBS, 7/25).

MONOLOGUES:

CBS’ David Letterman: “Every weekend for the last several weeks we've had somebody break into the Ed Sullivan Theatre. The first time it was a drunk – really, really drunk – out-of-work actor. It was Charlie Sheen. … My mom and I, bless her heart, she's 90 years old, play a drinking game. We do a shot every time the debt talks collapse. They stalled again and just about now Obama, the President, wishes he was born in Kenya. … The President and members of the House worked over the weekend. President Obama had to cancel a couple of fundraisers to work on the thing. Speaker of the House John Boehner canceled a couple of tanning sessions. … The Republicans and Democrats still cannot make a deal. Doomsday is waiting. We're only a couple of weeks off before we are taken over by the Chinese. … Republicans and Democrats cannot make a deal. Ladies and gentlemen, where is Howie Mandel? … ‘Captain America,’ the No. 1 movie in the country and like $70 million in tickets. Today, Donald Trump demanded to see his birth certificate. … Jennifer Lopez, she was married to Tony Stewart, no…Who was she married to? Marc Anthony, that's right. On the bright side now, she's eligible to become a Yankee girlfriend. … Yesterday was Jennifer Lopez’ birthday. She celebrated quietly with her attorneys. But she did have a nice birthday. Don't worry about Jennifer Lopez. She's going to be fine. The room was dark and a bunch of her friends yelled, ‘Surprise!’ and they jumped out from behind her ass” (“Late Show,” CBS, 7/25).

NBC’s Jay Leno: “The crisis is over. We're going to have football! Pacman Jones is so happy he punched his parole officer in the face. It was that classic battle between the haves and the really haves. Some of the linemen appeared to be X-ing sections of the contract. Turns out they were just trying to sign their names. … ‘Captain America’ is the No. 1 movie in the country. The good news: It made $65 million. The bad news: Captain America owes Captain China $14 trillion. … There is still no deal on this debt ceiling thing. Each party is perusing its own special plan. One calls for the American people to get hosed. The other calls for the American people to get screwed. … House Speaker John Boehner said, ‘I don't know, it may be pretty hard to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.’ That shows you how out-of-touch Boehner is. Why is he quoting children's books? Bush is not president any more. … More details about the J-Lo and Marc Anthony break-up. According to US Weekly, they are reporting they nearly split two years ago after Marc allegedly had a fling with a flight attendant. It turns out, the sex was free but she charged him eight bucks for the pillow and the blanket. …Vanilla Ice has warned Justin Bieber that one day his career will be forgotten, to which Justin Bieber said, ‘Vanilla who?’ … In an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Mila Kunis said she used a butt double in her new film ‘Friends With Benefits.’ A lot of actresses do that. I understand Kim Kardashian has a butt triple” (“The Tonight Show,” NBC, 7/25).

LATE NIGHT LAUGHS:

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel: “Elsewhere in the world of sports, in the Nationwide Federated Auto Parts 300 this weekend in Lebanon, Tennessee – it rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? – Pastor Joe Nelms of the Family Baptist Church in Nashville said the pre-race prayer. I don't know if God is selling advertising time now or what but if he is, he definitely picked the right guy to sell it.” The prayer featured Pastor Nelms thanking several race teams and NASCAR partners. Kimmel: “I would go to church a lot more frequently if I knew he was going to be there” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 7/25).

“What is the Oxford English Dictionary?”