Hall of Fame receiver Michael Irvin may be hobbled (turns out he was injured during the EA Sports flag football game) but he remains larger than life.

Spend any time around the Hall of Fame, or the McKinley Grand Hotel and you begin to realize how connected Gil Brandt is. He is like the Wolf from Pulp Fiction.

CANTON, OHIO — We’ve already had 41 players stop by to sign helmets and footballs since Wednesday afternoon, with more coming in. The list of players is pretty impressive: Elvin Bethea, Bob St. Clair and Jim Taylor to just name a few. Honestly, if you are a geek for football history, this is truly the place to be. This room reminds me of those lines from Field of Dreams, “Is this heaven? No it’s Iowa.” Of course, this is Canton. And it’s football. And, well, let’s just forget that I said anything. I have to admit, I have entertained the idea of scooping up a bunch of the helmets and running out the door. Sure it would be my last [...]

Barely 9 a.m. in the morning, and already we’ve run into two-thirds of the famed “Triplets” of the 1990s Cowboys — Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.

The Ravens look like an elite team. Offenisvely, this is the best Ravens team in recent memory.

The Bengals are being guarded about Antonio Bryant‘s status, leaving a lot of room for speculation. Uncertainty abounds.

With the likelihood that OLB Elvis Dumervil is lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, the Broncos are forced to quickly find a replacement, and a source of a pass rush, in their 3-4 defense. Easier said than done.

Kevin Mawae is still a man without a team, and with each passing day it looks less likely that any future employment will come from his former team, the Titans.

We’ve heard quite a few opinions on Albert Haynesworth, but never do we recall him being referred to as “an infection.”

With reports swirling that the Minnesota Vikings would offer QB Brett Favre a financial enticement to return this season, RB Adrian Peterson has raised the idea that he, too, wouldn’t mind a little something for the effort.

The latest out of Bengals camp on Wednesday is some realistic talk from Terrell Owens about his $2 million in incentives included in his contract.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll isn’t hiding his disappointment that rookie first-round pick Russell Okung isn’t in camp.

Ndamukong Suh took part in afternoon practice Wednesday with his new Lions teammates, and coaches wasted no time in putting the No. 2 overall pick right where he had been during offseason practices — in the starting lineup.

Legendary Dallas Cowboys Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith co-host the 30-minute special “Emmitt Smith’s Road to Canton” on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on NFL Network.

A quick programming note to pass along for NFL Network: The one-hour feature “Jerry Rice: Catching History” makes its debut tonight at 8 p.m. ET.