Are you ready for some football? The NFL has told its teams and players to get back to football, at least for now. In a memo released today, hours before the draft, the NFL said players could resume voluntary workouts at team facilities, meet with coaches and go over playbooks beginning Friday. It also promised to distribute detailed procedures for signing free agents or making trades and other roster moves. That memo, the league says, will spell out the timing for the start of the league year. The NFL still hopes the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis restores the lockout. The court says players must respond to the league’s request for a stay by noon Friday. Then the league has until 9 a.m. Monday to respond to that filing. The NFL’s request for a temporary stay is still pending before the court.
Panthers eyeing Tiger star: Patrick Peterson, the LSU All-American cornerback, is one of four players the Carolina Panthers are looking at taking with their top pick in tonight’s NFL Draft, reports ESPN. The Panthers are also considering three other former SEC stars: Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green. Newton is emerging as the consensus pick; Peterson and Dareus are seen as safer picks, but neither would have the immediate impact on a 2-14 team as a quarterback would. Peterson is considered to be one of the best defensive players available in the draft; some projections have him going to the Denver Broncos, who pick second overall, or to the San Francisco 49ers, who have the seventh pick. The Saints have the 24th pick. Don Banks of Sports Illustrated says potential choices for the Saints could be Adrian Clayborn, a defensive end from Iowa, Alabama running back Mark Ingram, Temple defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson and Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor.
Fleet feet: Cassandra Tate, a junior at LSU, has been selected as one of this week’s Sports Illustrated Faces in the Crowd. Tate, a native of Hammond, was honored for winning her fourth straight 400-meter hurdles title at the Alumni Gold meet with a time of 56.31, the second-fastest in the country this season. Tate is the reigning SEC outdoor 400-meter hurdles champion. Tate is featured in the May 2 issue of Sports Illustrated, which has New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul on the cover.
