Create your own free news widgets.

As Anquan Boldin stays away in a contract dispute, Steve Breaston has confidently moved up to the No. 2 wide receiver spot for the Cardinals. Breaston knows how important these spring and summer practices can be. It was a year ago that Breaston opened the eyes of coaches with his talent and effort. The speedy receiver went on to become Arizona's third 1,000-yard receiver in 2008, catching 77 passes for 1,006 yards, an average of 13.1 yards per catch. Breaston has worked with the first-team offense so far this offseason and is glad to have his coaches' trust and to prove the naysayers wrong. 'I told a lot of people that once I left my school there was a big cloud lifted,' Breaston said. 'What they said back in college or what I did in college, it doesn't determine where I'm going or what I'm going to do in this league. When I got here, I had a chip on my shoulder but the cloud was gone. No matter what people say, they can't determine the outcome I will have in the NFL.'

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Lawyers for the NFL say the league won't try to enforce its four-game suspension of Minnesota Vikings Kevin Williams and Pat Williams for their use of a banned substance for the moment....

Andre Johnson is one of the top receivers in the NFL, piling up yards and accolades by the armful in his six-year career. But Johnson knows he won't go down in history as one of the game's best unless he can help the Texans to more than just their first playoff appearance. Johnson's performance last season was key in Houston ranking third in total offense with more than 382 yards a game. He finished with a career-high and NFL-best 1,575 yards receiving and made his second Pro Bowl a year after a tough season where he missed seven games with injuries. 'I play this game of football for only one reason and that's to win,' Johnson said Monday. 'I don't play it for anything else. When you go over guys' careers, of all the former guys that have played, the first question they ask is how many Super Bowls have they won. So that's my goal. To win as many Super Bowls as I can before my time is up.'

A small fire has damaged the office of NFL players' union head DeMaurice Smith.

Lawyers for the NFL say the league won't try to enforce its four-game suspension of Vikings Kevin Williams and Pat Williams for their use of a banned substance for the moment.

The calm before the storm has surfaced around the NFL Universe and with training camp roughly two months away, Scout.com's Chris Steuber is prepared to handle an avalanche of questions from football fans with cabin fever. Join Steuber on Wednesday evening at 8 p.m. EST.

If you're a sports fan who roots for a good story, ROOT for Anthony Harris. No, you've never heard of him, but that's the point.

Longtime NFL executive Joel Collier has been hired by the Kansas City Chiefs as assistant general manager to GM Scott Pioli. The Chiefs also hired manager of football operations Chris Caminiti, and area scouts Dom Green and Ryan Kessenich on Monday. Collier enters his 19th NFL season; he most recently spent three years as an assistant coach with New England. He also spent 11 seasons coaching with Miami (1994-04).

The NFL and the players' union will start negotiations tomorrow in Manhattan on a new collective bargaining agreement, hoping to avoid a lockout in 2011. And even though commissioner Roger Goodell said he was confident of avoiding a work stoppage...

If the two sides don't reach an agreement by next March, 2010 will be an uncapped year.