Lane Kiffin

John Harbaugh's high-intensity offseason practices crossed the line for the NFL Players Association. The Ravens were forced to cancel next week's offseason camp -- their last one before training camp -- after violating the collective bargaining agreement's offseason workout rules. The penalty was the resolution after the players union lodged a complaint against the Ravens. It was determined that the Ravens had broken the rules concerning the intensity and tempo of drills conducted at their offseason camps as well as the length of time spent by players at the team's facility, according to a joint statement Monday from the NFL and the players union.

Every year we must explain to students the "Five W's" of college football turnover. Who? What? Went where? Why? Things don't stay the same very long. Players cycle out every four or five years, and for coaches, the grass is usually greener anywhere the green involves money. Here's a look at some new faces in new places: Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp couldn't wait out his coach-in-waiting position at Texas and jumped at the chance to replace Urban Meyer at Florida.

  Why not Summitt? Shannon Ryan Chicago Tribune The best option to take over the Tennessee men's basketball program to replace the fired Bruce Pearl actually would be women's coach Pat Summitt, but why would she want to leave the security of her job for this shaky one? In reality, the Volunteers will want to look for a young coach who has a history of winning, can recruit well and energize a fan base that was deflated by the firing of Pearl.

No more deception Teddy Greenstein Chicago Tribune Absolutely. Especially after USC's Lane Kiffin made a fool of himself last week by suspending a beat writer for (correctly) reporting that a Trojans kicker had undergone surgery. Kiffin ignored his own policy, which was to punish media members who report an injury while observing practice. Surgeries don't take place during practice, so Kiffin apologized. Now he needs to apologize for having his team unprepared to play Stanford.

1. Alabama (8-0): Nick Saban celebrated 60th birthday Monday by scaring kids off his porch. (1) 2. LSU (8-0): Sorry Les Miles, only "hat" welcome where you're headed is Houndstooth. (2) 3. Stanford (8-0): Andrew Luck should save his pick-six plays for Santa Anita racetrack. (3) 4. Oklahoma State (8-0): Cowboys defense has created more turnovers than Pillsbury. (5) 5. Boise State (7-0): Word on street is school about to hire new schedule-strength coach.

When Brian Billick was hired by the Ravens in 1999, he seemed to fit the stereotype of what NFL general managers were looking for in a head coach. He had been working in the league for nearly two decades and had been offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings for six seasons. He was 44 years old and considered one of the game's up-and-coming coaching stars. When Billick looks across the field at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon during his team's 2007 home opener, he will see what many consider to be the face of the NFL's coaching future.

This is not the type of shutout that Rex Ryan is used to. Or ever should get used to. One NFL head coaching opening remains, now that Bill Parcells has quit on another team - er, ah, retired after a trying season with the Dallas Cowboys. When the first five jobs opened up this offseason, Ryan - the Ravens' defensive coordinator, but you knew that already - got no interviews. If the early indications about the last one are true, he won't get an interview for the sixth, either. Being the coordinator of the top-ranked defense in the NFL, the one that anchored the team tied for the second-best record in the league, apparently doesn't get you as far as it used to. The snubs do bring two pieces of good news.

News item: The Ravens hope to bounce back from their tough Monday night loss when Kerry Collins and the undefeated Tennessee Titans visit M&T Bank Stadium this afternoon. My take: Collins has to be looking forward to his reunion with Chris McAlister, who was one of his leading receivers in the January 2001 Super Bowl. News item: The Orioles' front office will assemble in Sarasota, Fla., this week to hold the team's annual organizational meetings, during which Andy MacPhail will compile information heading into the free-agent and trade markets.

Judging from the actions of coach Wade Phillips, WR Terrell Owens and CB Adam Jones, the Cowboys are either unraveling in Week 6 or playing an inside joke. This much seems clear: After losing to the Redskins and nearly the Bengals, they aren't the same team that won their first three games decisively. Phillips was so incensed by a reporter's suggestion that Dallas "stunk" against Cincinnati that he stalked off in mid-news conference. Owens went from complaining one week about his number of chances per game to crying in front of the media over the loss of a family member the next.

In one of the most bedeviling statistics of the NFL's first half, the Chiefs are demonstrating that a strong turnover margin doesn't always equate with winning. Kansas City has 18 takeaways, second most in the league, and is plus-seven in turnover margin, which ranks third in the NFL. The Chiefs also lead the NFL with 11 recovered fumbles. Yet, they are a woeful 1-7. The past two weeks are symptomatic of their struggles. They had seven takeaways against the Jets and Buccaneers and lost only one turnover themselves.