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Both Tony Romo and Willie Parker are looking to be back with their respective teams this week in time for their games.

Chiefs RB Larry Johnson returned to the practice field this week, after 4 weeks of inactivity.

Adam "Pacman" Jones may finally be down to his last chance.

Sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen on Sunday that the Cowboys defensive back must strictly adhere to the terms of his reinstatement and any missteps will lead to a lifetime ban from the NFL.

Commissioner Roger Goodell relied on the recommendations of clinical specialists who oversaw Jones' 30 days in a rehab facility when deciding to reinstate him from his latest suspension.

Jones is slated to return to practice Monday and be eligible to play Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh.

Jones must now continue intensive rehab and counseling on an outpatient basis. Even a missed appointment will mean the end of Jones' troubled career in the NFL.

Friday

A weary and beaten-looking O.J. Simpson was put away Friday for at least nine years -- and perhaps the rest of his life -- for an armed robbery in a hotel room, bringing a measure of satisfaction to those who believed the football star got away with murder more than a decade ago.

The 61-year-old Hall of Famer listened stone-faced, his wrists in shackles, as Judge Jackie Glass pronounced the sentence -- a maximum 33 years behind bars with eligibility for parole after less than a third of that.

Moments before the sentence, which could likely translate to a maximum of 19 years served in prison, Simpson made a rambling, five-minute plea for leniency, simultaneously apologizing for the holdup as a foolish mistake and trying to justify his actions.

He choked back tears as he told Glass: "I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody ... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it."

The judge said several times that her sentence in the Las Vegas case had nothing to do with Simpson's 1995 acquittal in the slaying of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

"I'm not here to try and cause any retribution or any payback for anything else," Glass said.

But Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, and sister, Kim, said they were delighted with the sentence.

"We are thrilled, and it's a bittersweet moment," Fred Goldman said. "It was satisfying seeing him in shackles like he belongs."

Simpson said he and five other men were simply trying to retrieve sports memorabilia and other mementos when he stormed a Las Vegas hotel room occupied by two dealers on Sept. 13, 2007. He insisted the items, which included his first wife's wedding ring, had been stolen from him.

But the judge emphasized that it was a violent confrontation in which at least one gun was drawn, and she said someone could have been shot. She said the evidence was overwhelming, with the planning, the confrontation itself and the aftermath all recorded on audio or videotape.

Glass, a no-nonsense judge known for tough sentences, imposed such a complex series of consecutive and concurrent sentences that even many lawyers watching the case were confused as to how much time Simpson got.

Simpson could serve up to 33 years, according to Elana Roberto, the judge's clerk.

In state prison, he will remain in his own cell protected from the general prison population because of his celebrity.

Simpson's lawyer suggested again that his client was a victim of payback for his acquittal in Los Angeles.

"It really made us all aware that despite our best efforts, it's very difficult to separate the California case from the Nevada case," attorney Yale Galanter said.

Some people who followed the case said justice had finally caught up with Simpson.

"You do things and you've got to expect karma to come around," said Greg Wheatley, 32, of Los Angeles.

Simpson was led away to prison immediately after the judge refused to permit him to go free on bail while he appeals.

Simpson's co-defendant and former golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, was sentenced to up to 27 years in prison but would be eligible for parole after 7½ years, court officials said.

The judge could have sent both men to prison for the rest of their lives. The state parole agency recommended at least 18 years. The defense pushed for the minimum six years.

District Attorney David Roger revealed that Simpson and Stewart had both been offered plea agreements during the trial that would have resulted in lesser sentences. He would not provide details.

The prosecutor also said that because the crimes were considered violent felonies, Simpson and Stewart will not be eligible for good-behavior credits to lessen their sentences. He did not expect them to be immediately released when they do seek parole.

The Goldmans took a share of the credit for Simpson's fate, saying their relentless pursuit of his assets to satisfy a $33.5 million wrongful-death judgment "pushed him over the edge" and led him to commit the robbery to recover some of his valuable sports memorabilia.

Nicole Brown Simpson's sister, Denise Brown, released a statement from her family referring to the date her sister and Ron Goldman were killed.

"Allowing wealth, power and control to consume himself, he made a horrific choice on June 12, 1994, which has spiraled into where he is today," the statement said.

Simpson and Stewart were both brought to the courtroom in dark blue jail uniforms, their hands chained to their waists. Simpson, who had not been expected to speak, delivered his statement to the judge in a hoarse voice before a hushed courtroom.

Both men were convicted Oct. 3 of 12 criminal charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery.

Simpson's sentence included 15 years for two kidnapping counts with a maximum "enhancement" of six years because a gun was involved, plus a maximum of 12 more years on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

"We were preparing Mr. Simpson for the worst," Galanter said. "We felt we did really well. Obviously, he's upset about the possibility of doing nine years."

Simpson would be eligible for parole after nine years, which include six years on the kidnapping charges and three on the counts for assault with a deadly weapon.

Galanter planned to file a notice of appeal later Friday. He believed the Goldman family's presence in the courtroom was inappropriate.

Most of the 63 seats in the courtroom were taken by media, lawyers and family members of the defendants. Fifteen members of the public were also allowed.

After sentencing was over, the Goldmans left the courtroom and Kim threw her arms around her father and wept.

Simpson's sisters, Shirley Baker and Carmelita Durio, were also in the courtroom and declined to comment, but Baker said on her way out: "It's not over."

Jurors who heard 13 days of testimony said after the verdict that they were convinced of Simpson's guilt because of audio recordings that were secretly made of the robbery at the Palace Station casino hotel.

The confrontation involved sports memorabilia brokers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong. It was recorded by collectibles dealer Thomas Riccio, who was acting as middleman.

"Don't let nobody out of this room!" Simpson commands on the recordings, and he instructs other men to scoop up items.

On Tuesday, the judge is scheduled to sentence four former co-defendants who took plea deals and testified against Simpson and Stewart.

Michael McClinton, Charles Cashmore, Walter Alexander and Charles Ehrlich could receive probation or prison time. McClinton could get up to 11 years; the others face less.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Monday, 12/15

NEW YORK -- The Arena Football League canceled its 2009 season Monday pending an agreement with its players union. The decision throws the future of the 22-year-old league into question just days after it said next season had not been suspended.

The AFL's owners voted against playing next year during a conference call Sunday night. It was unclear what had changed since the league issued a statement Wednesday night that said the 2009 season had not been suspended "despite rumors and reports to the contrary."

The league said in Monday's statement it was "developing a long-term plan to improve its economic model."

"Every owner in the AFL is strongly committed to the league, the game, and, most importantly, the fans," acting commissioner Ed Policy said in a statement. "Owners, however, recognize that, especially in light of the current unprecedented economic climate, the AFL, as a business enterprise, needs to be restructured if it is to continue to provide its unique brand of this affordable, fan-friendly sport."

Last week's statement came after a meeting of the league's board of directors and did not say the AFL definitely would play next year.

The AFL's woes come at a time when the world of sports, once thought to be largely recession-proof, has felt the economic chill. The NFL has said it would cut 150 jobs, while the NBA and NASCAR also have laid off dozens of workers. The NHL is in a hiring freeze while the Internet operation for Major League Baseball also has trimmed positions.

The AFL had been in limbo for weeks. With rumors swirling about its viability, the 16-team league delayed indefinitely the start of free agency, the release of next season's schedule and a dispersal draft to award players from the defunct New Orleans Voodoo.

The AFL has not selected a permanent replacement for longtime commissioner David Baker, who abruptly resigned from the 22-year-old league two days before the ArenaBowl in July.

"These are trying economic times," rocker Jon Bon Jovi, co-owner of the ArenaBowl champion Philadelphia Soul, said in a statement. "The revamping will ensure that the AFL continues to provide value to its fans and not only survives but thrives in the years to come."

Jim Renacci, the Columbus Destroyers' co-owner and vice chairman of the AFL executive committee, will lead the restructuring process.

Since November 2007, the AFL's board of directors has been looking into various ways to bolster the league's finances.

"Although it is disappointing to suspend the 2009 season, the Arena Football League and its owners feel it is essential to reevaluate the current business model to ensure the livelihood of the AFL in the future," Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, co-owner of the Colorado Crush, said in a statement.

ESPN has a minor, nonmanagement financial interest in the AFL.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Monday, 12/29

The Pro Bowl will be played one week before the Super Bowl in 2010 and both games will be staged in Dolphin Stadium, a person directly involved in the decision told The Associated Press on Monday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL has not announced the move, but Hawaii's governor and Honolulu's mayor both confirmed the situation later Monday.

"While I am disappointed the Pro Bowl likely will not be played in Hawaii in 2010, I respect the NFL's decision to play the post season all-star game in the same city as the Super Bowl, one week before the Super Bowl, on a one-year test basis," Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle said in a statement.

It's not a new notion to have the game moved up to take place between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. The NFL has discussed it multiple times in recent years, and commissioner Roger Goodell told the AP last month that having the game precede the Super Bowl would avoid a "somewhat anticlimactic" ending to the season.

"Plans for future Pro Bowls are not final, but we have stated publicly several times that we are giving strong consideration to moving the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said. "We also have been exploring playing future Pro Bowls at the site of the Super Bowl as well as in Honolulu."

The Pro Bowl has been held in Honolulu since 1980, and it's probable that the game will return to Hawaii after 2010, although not on the permanent basis as has been the case over the past three decades. Lingle said she was hopeful a deal could be struck in time for the 2011 game to return to Honolulu, and the city's mayor, Mufi Hannemann, told The AP that he also is optimistic for eventual Pro Bowls.

"It's not that this comes as a surprise," Hannemann said. "The NFL has made it known for some time now that they were looking for some sort of rotational basis. We just need to get a new agreement with the NFL, whether it's every year or every two years or every three years. The ball's in our court to get that done."

It won't be South Florida's first Pro Bowl: the 1975 game took place in Miami's Orange Bowl, during a period when the site rotated annually.

Barring a schedule change, next season's Pro Bowl will take place Jan. 31, 2010, with the Super Bowl that year on Feb. 7. The league's plan is for players on the AFC and NFC championship squads not to take part in the Pro Bowl.

Miami was awarded the 2010 Super Bowl three years ago, a record 10th time the game will come to the Dolphins' home city. The notion of adding the Pro Bowl to the lineup in South Florida was first discussed several months ago. It's not clear when the final decision was made to move the game.

Hawaii tourism officials have lobbied in recent months to extend the game's current contract, which expires after this season's Pro Bowl, pointing to the fact that it's been sold out every year since moving to Honolulu and generates about $30.5 million in visitor spending and tax revenues.

Lloyd I. Unebasami, the interim CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, told The AP that his organization -- which has been involved in negotiations to extend the contract -- had not yet received anything official from the NFL about the switch.

"We're working toward assuring ourselves that we'll be one of the Pro Bowl stops of the NFL," said Unebasami, adding that his organization is also working on luring international soccer matches to Hawaii in 2010 -- just in case the Pro Bowl isn't there and creates a void in the state's sport-tourism landscape.

Earlier this year, Hawaii's state government released $11 million for lighting and roofing improvements at Aloha Stadium, part of ongoing upgrades designed to refurbish and modernize the aging stadium. State officials have also considered demolishing the facility and building a new stadium.

Losing the Pro Bowl, combined with slowdowns in tourism because of the sluggish economy, is a double-dose of bad news for Honolulu, which estimates that 25,000 people came from out-of-state for Pro Bowls.

"It's not a shock because in talking with the NFL last year and this year, you realize the potential was there that it wouldn't stay in Honolulu forever and ever," said the mayor, Hannemann.

1/30/2009

Though confident of reaching a new labor agreement before the 2010 season, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell criticized a union report that said the league was highly profitable and therefore the current revenue-sharing system still works.

"There's a lot of fiction in that report," Goodell said at his annual state of the NFL news conference Friday.

On Thursday, a union-commissioned study showed the average value of franchises has grown from $288 million to $1.04 billion during the past decade, and that teams averaged a $24.7 million profit in the last year -- even as the economy took a turn for the worse.

Goodell disputed those figures and defended the owners' decision to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement, which assures players about 60 percent of the applicable revenues.

If a new deal is not reached after the 2009 season, the following year would be played without a cap. The union says if the salary cap disappears, it won't accept one later.

In 2011, the league could face its first labor stoppage since 1987.

"The $24 million in profits is completely inaccurate," Goodell said. "We understand our numbers. Ownership has spent a lot of time evaluating the current CBA and determined it is better to terminate that agreement and come up with a new one that will be beneficial to the clubs and players.

"I'm optimistic we will be able to sit down and reach an agreement with our players to allow the league to grow."

The union is in the midst of appointing a successor to Gene Upshaw, the longtime executive director who died in August. Once that happens, negotiations can begin.

Goodell pointed to the layoffs by teams and the league itself as further evidence that the weakened economy has hit pro football.

"The economy turning sour has accentuated the importance of the CBA," he added. "I believe the NFL can become an extremely valuable escape at a time like this."

He also disputed the NFLPA's claim that player salaries automatically would go down under the current CBA should league profits also plummet.

"That is fiction," Goodell said. "There is a rule in the CBA that the cap can't go down. It's a longstanding rule. The cap continues to grow; it will be up to $123 million this year.

"The union has very in-depth knowledge of our economics and they also know our largest cost is player costs. What's happened is the system has changed and the environment has changed. ... The model has shifted over the years and we will address that in negotiations."

On other topics, Goodell:

• Indicated the competition committee will look at tweaking overtime, perhaps moving up the kickoff to serve as something of an equalizer when a team wins the coin toss. He said 47 percent of teams winning the OT toss won the game on the first possession this season.

• Said the game got safer in the second half of the season after a series of fines for illegal hits caught players' attention. Tapes he viewed showed the tackling techniques that endangered players were reduced significantly late in the season.

• Noted the league has shared research data and knowledge on treating concussions with the Department of Defense.

• Said he's hopeful of staging a regular-season game in Mexico in 2010 as part of the league's initiative to play games that count outside the United States.

eh...It usually just get's messy. We leave holes - sometimes we post minor stories, and leave bigger ones out. It's best if our guild members just use these sites for NFL news and updates:

NFL on NFL.com

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