Johnson turns down Titans, will retire - ESPN
Keyshawn Johnson has declined an offer from the Tennessee Titans and has decided to retire.

The wide receiver, who also expected to receive an offer from the Oakland Raiders, is expected to announce his decision at a Wednesday afternoon news conference at his alma mater of USC, his agent, Jerome Stanley, told ESPN.com's John Clayton.

Stanley said Johnson is expected to pursue a broadcasting career.

"The timing of it was just right," Stanley said. "There were a couple of slots open in broadcasting...

Leinart throws celeb-studded birthday bash in Scottsdale - Arizona Republic
What’s the point in being young, rich and famous if you can’t have a star-studded birthday bash?

No point at all.

So Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart kicked off his 24th birthday celebration Saturday afternoon, May 19, at the Mondrian Scottsdale.

Celebrities who partied by the pool with him included Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo.

Following a private barbecue, Leinart and his friends made their way to Skybar and continued celebrating VIP style until the club opened to the general public at 10:30 p.m.

Party with the unwashed? Please...

Also, Cardinals digesting playbook - East Valley Tribune

Seau is back on the inside - Boston Globe
Junior Seau is staying in school.

The 38-year-old linebacker officially signed on for his second year of postgraduate work yesterday, inking a one-year deal with the Patriots. The move was anticipated...

...The signing comes less than two years after Seau said he was graduating from football, not necessarily retiring. At the time, following 13 years with the Chargers and three with the Dolphins, he said he would play if the right situation presented itself...

...Seau, now entering his 18th NFL season, later told the "Patriots All-Access" television show that he had two plates inserted in his arm, with 14 screws.

With Seau in the fold, the linebacker corps gets a boost...

Also, Pats officially get Seau back - Boston Herald

Former Arkansas QB Mustain enrolls at USC - LA Times
After five months of considering his options, quarterback Mitch Mustain officially left Arkansas behind and enrolled at USC on Monday.

"I spent one day in class and I love it here," said Mustain...

...Mustain, who is 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, passed for nearly 900 yards and 10 touchdowns last season...

..."We're excited about him," USC Coach Pete Carroll said. "I think it's a great investment in the future...

...Mustain is the second Arkansas player to transfer to USC since the end of the season. Receiver Damian Williams...enrolled in January and is recovering from shoulder surgery. He also will be eligible in 2008...

Also, Mustain enrolls at USC - Inland Empire Press-Enterprise
Mustain makes transfer to USC official - OC Register
Mustain attending classes at USC - Pine Bluff Commercial
[Caparell] But Will He Play? - CSTV.com

No Helmet, No Pads, No Escape - NY Times
When Johnnie Morton finished playing wide receiver in the National Football League, he carefully reviewed his retirement options: be host of a talk show, expand his real estate profile, maybe work on his golf game.

After much consideration, Morton decided that it would be best to spend his free time being body slammed into a chain-link fence by two men named Joker and Gun.

“Crazy, huh?” Joker said...

...Together, they are teaching Morton how to compete in mixed martial arts, one of the few sports that may be more violent and more dangerous than professional football.

[Maisel and Schlabach] Can't wait to see these things this fall - ESPN
[Maisel]...OK, seriously: who plays tailback at Tailback U.? If you have 10 running backs, as USC will have on scholarship this fall, do you have one? And will it matter to the consensus preseason No. 1? It sure would help if quarterback John David Booty discovers a go-to receiver in the huddle. Patrick Turner is the leading candidate but has never held the job...

[Schlabach]...Will Pete Carroll simply plug holes with more high school All-Americans? The Trojans are the consensus preseason No. 1 after blasting Michigan 32-18 in the Rose Bowl. Quarterback John David Booty played spectacularly against the Wolverines, but top targets Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett are gone. Remember these names for the fall: Patrick Turner and Vidal Hazelton...

In private equity, he is calling big plays - LA Times
The website of his private equity firm notes that Pat Haden graduated Phi Beta Kappa from USC, was a Rhodes scholar and earned his law degree...

...Absent is any mention of his standout college and professional football careers.

That's the way Haden likes it.

"I try to distance myself to a certain extent from my athletic career," he says. "We've all seen athletes who hang on to their glory days a little too long."

At a time of life when many ex-jocks are reminiscing about their playing days, Haden, 54, is well into his second — make that third — career, as a partner at Westwood-based Riordan, Lewis & Haden...

MAKING HIS MOVE - New Orleans Times-Picayune
...John Curtis' Joe McKnight has been through it, seen it all, and he knows one thing, he said. It's time to move on. He's always in the fast lane, it seems...

... He said he's not worried about the change in lifestyle, the pace of the area he's going to be living in, school or competition on the Trojans football team, which has seven signed running backs who will be freshmen or sophomores this fall...

..."I'm expecting to go out there and prove to them that I'm not just some little Louisiana boy. I'm going to prove myself to them...

...McKnight has been out there a couple of times, and he said the lifestyle changes won't be significant. But even if they were, that would be a plus...

Also, Star recruit has folks upset back home - LA Times

[Dodd] Top Fives: Scooping sponsors while highlighting the best - CBS Sportsline
...College football's five best recruiters sponsored by headhunters.com...

...Todd McNair, USC: The former NFL running back has found his niche on Pete Carroll's aggressive staff. Credited with landing five-star backs Joe McKnight and Marc Tyler this year...

Pirates' Urquhart to play this weekend - Port Huron Times-Herald
...Bad news for the Continental Indoor Football League: The Port Huron Pirates' defense just got a little stronger.

Defensive end Daniel Urquhart is expected to return to the lineup Saturday after missing four games with a right ankle injury...

..."I'm getting back into shape," he said...

..."Daniel adds explosiveness," Featherstone said..."The pocket will collapse a whole lot faster."...

[Schwartz] NFL-READY - NY Post
Of all the rookies set to infiltrate Giants training camp in Albany this summer, Steve Smith is poised to outshine them all...

...Smith, a polished receiver from USC, appears to be far ahead of his classmates when it comes to readiness to make an instant impact.

On the first day of...minicamp...Smith, with every step and each catch, soared above the other 50 players...no one can ever say he hasn't been fully versed in what to expect.

Consider this: In college, he stepped on the practice field and was surrounded by the likes of Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, LenDale White and Dwayne Jarrett, an array of offensive talent that certainly could not be recreated at any minicamp...

Bush appears at Saints camp - Baton Rouge Advocate
New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush took a break from his offseason jet-setting to make a cameo appearance at the team’s training facility.

Bush arrived Sunday for the first time since the program began in mid-March, then visited with the media for 20 minutes Tuesday before leaving town...

...He said he came to “show my face, talk to some of the coaches, some of the players,”...

...The training facility’s spot on Bush’s offseason itinerary came after stops at the NBA All-Star Game, the White House, Spain, and the Playboy Mansion...

Also, Bush continues jet-setting ways - New Orleans Times Picayune
Bush goes with the Flo - Biloxi Sun-Herald
Training season: Shape guru helps Bush, L.T. prime - USA Today

Keyshawn to visit today - Nashville Tennessean
Since Keyshawn Johnson was cut by Carolina after the draft, Tennessee Coach Jeff Fisher said repeatedly Johnson could be a possible Titans target but that he'd have to talk to Johnson, a longtime friend, face to face before the Titans moved forward.

That meeting is now scheduled to take place today...

..."He's a possibility here," General Manager Mike Reinfeldt said. "You look at the consistency of his career, year-in, year-out he's been a productive guy. He's a big guy, a big target, a possession guy, a veteran. I think those are things that would interest us."...

...Fisher has known Johnson since Johnson was a kid, which could give Fisher sway to help create the right dynamic...

Also, Johnson to visit Titans today - Nashville City Paper

Cards want speed, versatility on O-line - Arizona Republic
...That kind of versatility requires mobility...

...It's especially important that the guards can run, because they're often asked to pull in this offense. That's why coaches want right guard Deuce Lutui, who played at 338 pounds last year, to lose weight...

...In coach Ken Whisenhunt's offense, guards don't just hit the linemen in front of them and then try to block a linebacker if they can. They'll often be asked to sprint to the other side of the ball and hit defenders in the open field...

...Lutui is losing weight and looked much better in the team's recent minicamp than he did in its first...

Also, What A Difference A Year Makes - Official Cardinals Website

This year, Palmer no spectator - Cincy Post
There is no sideline work for Carson Palmer this year. After having to watch his teammates go through offseason workouts, drills and practices without him last year, the Bengals quarterback quietly resumed his role under center Tuesday...

...Last year Palmer worked with trainers and strength coaches as part of the rehabilitation process that resulted in him returning from surgery to repair two torn knee ligaments to start all 16 games last season. He was selected to a second straight Pro Bowl and become the first quarterback in franchise history to throw for more than 4,000 yards.

"He looked really good," said wide receiver Chad Johnson. "It's nice to have him out here. We can get ourselves in a rhythm right away."...

Also, Palmer has team feeling better - Cincy Enquirer

[Wexell] Minicamp was no place for phonies - Uniontown Herald Standard
...On the other side of the room was more truth. Troy Polamalu had returned from a religious retreat on an island in Greece. He was pure ... just pure. The reporters peppering him with questions about money, money, money made me laugh...

...Four of us reporters were sitting at lunch when Troy came up to reply to one reporter's interview request. Troy told him not to rush his lunch, that he would wait in the hall until he was done eating. The reporter would hear none of it, of course, and immediately left to get the interview done. He came back a few minutes later shaking his head. "Is that guy for real?"...

...when I approached Troy for our chat in the locker room, he couldn't get his glove off to shake my hand. He was persistent, though, and finally did yank it off to follow the code of polite society. I didn't care, but he did. That made me care a whole bunch in the end...

White not worried about losing weight - Nashville City Paper
Running back LenDale White, who said Thursday he hopes to be back within two weeks from an injured left hamstring, says his weight is not an issue and that he will have it under control by the time training camp rolls around. White, who was around 260 pounds entering the offseason program, said Thursday he was around 245 pounds.

“I’m getting real close. I’ve still got till August,” White said. “I don’t really know what the coaches want me at. We haven’t really discussed that situation, but I’m getting closer. I’m getting the weight down every day. It’s getting easier. The conditioning is getting easier, so it looks good for me now. I’m at about 245 right now.”

White, listed last year at 235...says he is motivated to be the starter and does not presume that he is the front-runner.

Also, Titans' White sits out practice - Nashville Tennessean
Titans face quandary in backfield - Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle

UTC hires new tight ends coach - Chattanooga Times Free Press
Former NFL player Brad Banta has been hired as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's tight ends coach, Mocs coach Rodney Allison said Monday afternoon.

Banta, a 1994 University of Southern California graduate, played tight end and long snapper in the NFL from 1994-2004. He played for the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions.

According to the Lions' official Web site, Banta was "One of the league's most accurate long snappers throughout his career."

UTC will be the 36-year-old Banta's first coaching job.

[Mandel] Overflowing bag - CNNSI
...rank all 11 Division I-A conferences...

...2) Pac-10: I've always felt one reason the Pac-10 doesn't get taken seriously by most of the country is that outside of USC, no one has been able to stay consistently good recently. At the same time, however, no one has been consistently bad, either. In other words, the league's image is a victim of its own balance. USC appears to be the cream of the crop again this year, but remember, the Trojans lost to two Pac-10 teams last year...

Trojan horse: USC product Lua could be big weapon inside - Boston Herald
Southern Cal coach Pete Carroll might not have had room in his Trojan starting lineup for Oscar Lua last year during the linebacker’s senior season, but he has a hunch the Patriots just might have a place on their roster for his former defensive captain.

Carroll believes Lua possesses several Patriot-like qualities, especially when it comes to the protypical, 3-4 inside linebacker. More importantly, he believes Lua has traits Bill Belichick favors.

“He’s tough, he’s smart, he can handle a lot of different defenses, a lot of different schemes, and bring a great attitude with it,” Carroll said Friday night, on the eve of the Pats’ minicamp. “He’s real fiery, he’s a big hitter. You can count on him to make big plays on short yardage and goal-line situations. He can throw his body around. He can leap up over the top of a pile. He’s a guy they’re really going to like.”...

Also, Newest Patriots receive a handful of lessons - Boston Globe
Pats' Lua a go-getter - Attleboro Sun-Chronicle
Lua admires older Junior - Westborough Telegram