While it's hard to compete with the drama of a Rex Grossman vs Kyle Orton duel, seven more training camps get underway, all with their own unique storylines.

Here's what I'm watching...


San Francisco 49ers Alex Smith, we're still waiting? Shaun Hill showed some promise in a few reserve appearances, but San Francisco needs Smith to turn into at least a third round talent. Baby steps. 1st overall pick production is probably out of the question. To his credit, the offensive line hasn't exactly been superb and his best receiving option has been an oft injured tight end in Vernon Davis. Mike Martz comes to town as the OC, which is either a blessing or a curse. Martz brought with him Isaac Bruce and signed Bryant Johnson from Arizona who I've always felt was underutilized. No excuses this season for Alex. While that will grab most of the attention, I'm looking forward to seeing the continued to development of what could become one of the best defenses in the league. Patrick Willis is a beast, Manny Lawson is healthy, and Kentwan Balmer should add some presence on the line. Rookie to watch: Josh Morgan, WR

Kansas City Chiefs What to watch? Well that's easy... QB Brodie Croyle's wife, Kelly.

Oh, on the field you say? Yikes. The Chiefs are going to struggle mightily to score on offense, so we might as well focus on the other side. If it's possible to call a top five overall pick a steal, then Glenn Dorsey qualifies. I long argued he was the best overall prospect and Herman Edwards will need him to play as such. Let's see how quickly he takes over the line of scrimmage in the NFL, even as a rookie. Rookie to watch: Jamaal Charles, RB (will be needed with Larry Johnson gets injured)

Indianapolis Colts There will be mass overreaction to Peyton Manning's injury which was suspiciously hidden all offseason, but I suspect it was handled that way because it's truly not that big of a deal. Either way, it's Jim Sorgi and Josh Betts time! It's true, the Colts have two other signal callers on the roster just so that the sideline is filled out. However, I'll be focusing my attention on Dwight Freeney. We were told his Lisfranc injury could affect his long term production. Does he still have his devastating speed off the line? The Colts season will bank on it. Rookie to watch: Jacob Tamme, WR/TE who will produce immediately

Philadelphia Eagles New year, same story: How healthy is Donovan McNabb? NFC East will be an incredibly competitive division race, and as always, his consistency tell the Eagles story. But that's boring, we focus on McNabb always. I want to know if DeSean Jackson, return man extraordinaire, can have a Devin Hester like impact? Other rookie to watch: Quintin Demps, S

Giants Still motivated? It's going to be extremely difficult to top last season's accomplishments, upsetting the 18-0 New England Patriots with one of the most memorably plays in NFL history. No Michael Strahan leadership in the locker room, so will this now become Eli's team? I'll be looking to see what strides he's made in terms of being more vocal and becoming the new face of the franchise. Rookie to watch: Mario Manningham, WR.

Oakland Raiders Darren McFadden, Darren McFadden, Darren McFadden. Will Al Davis remain alive? That's about it, right?

Seattle Seahawks Honestly, I'm just looking forward to Owen Schmitt. Need a reminder?



And no, he won't be used as a punter.

With a strong to quite strong defense, bolstered by Lawrence Jackson, and a guaranteed at least seven wins at home, if not eight, the focus is all on the restructured running game. Julius Jones will get the bulk of carries and TJ Duckett will handle the short situations. Sounds good to me. If they're effective, go ahead and pencil the Seahawks in for another division title and a home field wild card game.

Minnesota Vikings I so desperately want to jump on the Vikes bandwagon, but when has the trendy preseason pick every delivered? Obviously all eyes are on Adrian Peterson. If he's healthy for all 16 games, the single season rushing record is in jeopardy. Tarvaris Jackson needs to eliminate interceptions, so that will be watched closely, as will John David Booty who I suspect will put a great deal of pressure on the starting position. While the offense should improve, it's mandatory that the defensive secondary show some sort of defensive capabilities. If Antoine Winfield can lock down one side of the field and rookie Tyrell Johnson can become a reliable safety, the Vikings will have little trouble tearing up the NFC North. Other rookie to watch: Speedy Jaymar Johnson, WR

That's what I'm watching... what interests you about these training camps?

One of the best stories from this spring's NFL Draft was the Detroit Lions 7th round selection of Army football safety Caleb Campbell. He was more than deserving of getting a chance to play in the NFL, and was in person to talk about the honor with ESPN.

He was an Army recruiting dream, which is what he was told would be his military service if he could secure a position on an NFL active roster. It was a good faith policy decision, emphasis on was.

Campbell was told yesterday as he prepared to report to Lions training camp that he would be reporting for traditional military duty instead due to a change in policy to comply with a Department of Defense measure.

It's disappointing on several fronts. First, why did this happen on the night before he was going to embark on his football career? Secondly, Caleb Campbell would have been a recruiting machine for the Army, who desperately needs those services.

I understand when Campbell signed up at West Point, he understood what was expected of him and was committed to actively serving the military and with the likelihood he would be sent to the Middle East. But then why tease a kid with a "good faith" policy to allow him to pursue a career with his unique talents, one that would have benefited the Army immensely.

I'm hardly capable of understanding all the complexities here, so I'd rather hear from those with military backgrounds. Do you think it was fair for Campbell to bypass traditional military duties and earn NFL dollars?

The thing that gets me most, is that it's another PR hit for the military. Campbell is a very charismatic West Point graduate and could have single-handedly improved recruiting efforts with his notoriety as an NFL player. Sometimes it's not so much whether it's right or wrong, but how it appears to the public as a whole.

Blue Jays GM JP Ricciardi trashed Adam Dunn about a month ago, saying that the Blue Jays weren't interested at all. While I understand his point that 200 K's don't really help a ballclub, his Jays are competing with the Orioles for last place in the AL East, while Dunn is tied with Ryan Howard with and MLB-best 29 HR's, after hitting a grand slam last night, to lead the Reds over the Padres, 9-5. Might want to re-think your strategy, Mr. Ricciardi. Dunn finished with 5 RBI's, while Edwin Encarnacion and Javier Valentin also homered for the Reds.

The loss kept Greg Maddux winless for his 14th straight start, dating back to May 10, when he won his 350th career game. He has been rather inconsistent this year, and the Padres simply haven't had a very potent offense, leading to several losses and no-decisions for the MLB's active leader in wins.

It's a good day when you can produce runs from the 8th and 9th spots in your batting lineup. That's exactly what happened for the Rays, as Ben Zobrist (2-3, HR, 2 RBI) and Jonny Gomes (1-2, 2-run HR) provided all the offense that the Rays would need in a 4-3 win over the A's. The rest of the lineup combined for only 3 more hits, but James Shields was excellent on the mound, going 8+ innings, and only allowing 3 ER on 6 hits, while walking none, and striking out 7. Of the 6 hits, two were HR's, courtesy of Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez, who provided the only runs for the A's.

The White Sox and Rangers played a crazy one... Ozzie Guillen got ejected arguing balls and strikes (shocking, I know), the White Sox committed 4 errors, and were losing 8-4 at the 7th inning stretch. But they scored 1 run in the 7th, and 5 in the 8th to defeat the Rangers 10-8. "Every Day" Eddie Guardado might be better served taking some days off, as he gave up 4 of the 5 runs in the 8th. Carlos Quentin played a huge role in the win, with 2 HR's and 4 RBI for the Pale Hose.

How do you think Brewers fans are feeling about that CC Sabathia trade now? Sabathia improved to 4-0 since moving the the NL, pitching his 3rd straight complete game for the Brewers in a 3-0 shutout over the division rival Cardinals. That makes it 7 wins in a row for the Brewers, 3 of which have been won by Sabathia. The Brewers will send their other ace Ben Sheets to the mound tomorrow to try to complete the 4-game sweep.


----- Other games -----
AL:
Red Sox 6, Mariners 3 - Mike Lowell: 2 RBI in the 12th inning, Sox sweep Mariners
Yankees 5, Twins 1 - Mussina: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K ... Rivera: 25th SV in 25 chances
Tigers 7, Royals 1 - Armando Galarraga: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 7 K, 1 BB, he was perfect through 6
Angels 14, Indians 11 - Jeff Mathis: 4-5, 2 R, 6 RBI, Grand Slam ... Kendrick: 4-5, 3 R, 3 RBI
***Blue Jays 2, Orioles 1*** - This one was suspended in the 6th due to rain, and will be completed tomorrow before the regularly schedule game.


NL:
Pirates 8, Astros 7 - Mientkiewicz: 4-4, 2 RBI, Jason Bay: 2-run HR, Pirates sweep 'Stros
Rockies 5, Dodgers 3 - Matt Holliday: 2-3, 2 RBI
Braves 9, Marlins 4 - Hudson: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K, 1 BB ... Gregor Blanco, 4-5, 3 R, 3 RBI
Mets 6, Phillies 3 - Jose Reyes: 3-run HR
Cubs 10, D-Backs 6 - Reed Johnson: 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI (Grand Slam)
Giants 6, Nationals 4 - Bengie MolinaL 3-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 doubles


----- Other MLB News -----

Marlins might be thinking about getting Brian Fuentes.

If Cal Ripken was the Iron Man, I think Chipper Jones must be the Ceramic Man.

Cubs fans are putting a hit out on Steve Bartman. At least that's what I suspect is going on here.

The Phillies' offense is ridiculous, in case you didn't know this already.

Melky being Melky... if only he could hit like Manny.



Streakers - In case any team tries to make history, I'm going to list the teams with the longest active winning and losing streaks. Today's streakers:
Brewers: 7 wins
Mariners: 5 losses

From the day we launched FanIQ, my brother has been asking me when he can stop going to ESPN to get his scores, news and standings.   Due to a ton of work by our team at FanIQ, I'm pleased to announce that today is the day.

Look up at the top of the page and check out our scoreboard.  The FanIQ scoreboard will not only show you the score during and after the game but it will also show you FanIQ's prediction and the number of Fan Comments from our gamepages:








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Ty

I hate NFL training camp holdouts, but every now and again there is one that's justified.

Rookies, who have yet to play a single down, holding out for that extra .2 million when they haven't earned a dollar yet in their career might be the most maddening yearly ritual in the NFL. It's never done anyone any good. Cedric Benson is a bum. Brady Quinn missed some time, and then had to watch Derek Anderson excel. JaMarcus Russell sure didn't look good in his time last season.

The other holdouts that rub me the wrong way are those made by veterans who are clearly on the downhill side of their careers, battling or hiding injuries, but use their loyalty to the city and love from the fanbase against the organization. In turn, the team almost always gives in to save face with the fans (see: Brian Urlacher).

However, every now and again a situation arises where a holdout is forgiven, if not mandatory. Devin Hester's qualifies as such.

The most electrifying return man the NFL has even witnessed, is set to make $445,000 this season, and $530,000 in 2009.

Bears play-by-play man Jeff Joniak would utter emphatically that 'Jerry Angelo, you are ridiculous.'

The Bears general manager worked out a deal with Lance Briggs this summer for six years, $36 million with $12 million guaranteed. He also wrapped up Tommie Harris for four years, $40 million, making him one of the highest paid at his position, despite not being one of the best and possessing some injury concerns. Then just this week, Brian Urlacher got what he wanted which was a one year extension on his current deal, worth $18 million, and a $6 million bonus on the spot.

All of these players are very valuable to the Chicago Bears, no doubt, but I'd argue Devin Hester has contributed more to Bears wins over the past two years than any other player.

Furthermore, after an offseason where the Bears failed to address their pressing needs at wide receiver and quarterback, the Bears are asking Hester to contribute even more on offense in addition to being the most feared return man in the game. As it stands today, Hester, despite not playing wide receiver much of last season, is likely the most talented player, if not the best wideout on the roster. That's not an endorsement of his receiving abilities, in case you were wondering.

Do you fear Marty Booker or Brandon Lloyd? I didn't think so. The Bears philosophy is to clearly keep stealing money from Hester and hope the defense returns to 2006 form.

They forgot one critical detail. Paying him what he deserves, or at the very least, half of what he should be earning.

What frustrates me the most is that Hester handled his frustrations admirably. He didn't embark on an immature media stunt like Chad Johnson. He didn't make his agent speak up on Sportscenter every night. He basically didn't complain at all, just expressed his earnest feelings, which is simply that based on my current contributions and what you're asking from me this season, the contract I signed as a rookie doesn't hold up in the current NFL market.

Most teams would fall over themselves to sign Devin Hester for $5 million a year. Allow me to repeat what he's making this season: $445,000. He's the single most underpaid player in all of sports.

Hester didn't need to say anymore than he did this afternoon:

"I'm not coming. I have to make a statement. I showed by going to [organized team activities] that I was a team player. But then, I just felt like they weren't taking it seriously that I wanted to get a new deal.

I can't go out and play this year making $445,000. Come on, man.''

Do your thing, Devin. The organization has no idea what they are doing, and you deserve better. This is one holdout I fully support.

The Bears shouldn't need a reminder of his services, but just in case, here's the complete Hester highlight reel:



P.S. That's just two seasons.