How can agents say that there is collusion in baseball? Well, teams shaved a collective $47 million in payroll from last year. A lot of free agents took a bath or didn't get signed at all.

Welcome to America circa 2009! Scott Boras's contention that baseball is in great financial health relative to the rest of the world may be true. But the same could be said for his clients.

Attendance is down 5% which is a miracle considering yours and my stock portfolios are still gasping for air. But many MLB teams tried to get a tad more conservative with their spending. You can't blame them considering we are hardly out of the recession yet.

People ask me all the time about the "impending doom" of an NFL work stoppage in 2011. I would be surprised if it happened. The last thing fans want to hear about is millionaires arguing with billionaires while unemployment pushes 10%. Of course, I would hope the economy would be better by the time we get past the 2010 season. That would slightly soften the ire of the fans. Still, I expect cooler heads to prevail and play to continue.

Another thing I always get asked about is the Texans' contract situations with O.D., Dunta and Demeco. I don't exactly have a wire tap into Rick Smith's phone but I would be totally shocked if these guys aren't coming out of the tunnel September 13 completely focused and prepared to beat the Jets. The rest is conversation.

You hear a lot of things: the teams says this, the player tweets that. The bottom line is contract disputes and negotiations are just a reality in sports. As my buddy RJ says, no one wants to see the sausage being made. Well, ignore the noise, wait for the opener and bon appetit!