Free Agency

Former Pittsburgh Steeler coach Chuck Noll's contract and recent coaching record were the focus of debate at the NFL antitrust trial, with the players' attorneys critical of both. Attorneys for the eight players suing the league over its free-agency system said Noll's 10-year consulting deal with the Steelers, which took effect in 1989, is worth $1 million. Money, particularly salary, is a continuing issue in the trial no matter who is on the witness stand.

Brian Cashman , the New York Yankees' general manager, said this in spring training: "The story that we're too old gets written so much that at some point they'll be right. " This appears to be that point. The Yankees learned last week that Derek Jeter's left ankle had fractured once again, and he'll be 39 when he returns after the All-Star break. Then again, the Yankees thought he might be ready for opening day. Mariano Rivera is 43, and he says this season is his last.

TEMPE, Ariz. - The words "free agency" had barely left a reporter's mouth before Jered Weaver shot back. "I don't give a . . . " Weaver said. "You can quote me on that. " Actually, you can't, at least not in a family newspaper. Weaver wanted no part of any of the questions - whether he enjoyed a winter without the hassles of free agency, whether he had any second thoughts about his decision to pass up free agency, whether he might have thought differently had he known the Dodgers would emerge from bankruptcy as baseball's biggest ATM. Weaver would have been a free agent last winter had he not signed a five-year, $85-million extension with the Angels in 2011.

By defecting from his superstar agent last week, Robinson Cano made the Dodgers look pretty smart. It's not all about the money, even for the local team that has an apparently endless amount of it. Cano ditched Scott Boras to ally with Jay-Z, the rap mogul who sang his "Empire State of Mind" hit at the New York Yankees' World Series parade in 2009. The song includes this line: "I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can. " Cano could be the marquee name in free agency this fall, but the agent switch makes it far more likely he stays with the Yankees.

This is the first in a series of profiles focusing on this year's free-agent class. Deron Williams, point guard Most recent team: New Jersey Nets (moving to Brooklyn next season) Type of free agent: Player option, Unrestricted Positives: Well, we are talking about the most talented candidate in the free-agent pool. Even if the Lakers upgraded at point guard this season by acquiring Ramon Sessions, his shaky postseason play and Williams' superior talent still makes him a worthy candidate for the Lakers back court.

Infielder Jorge Cantu opted for free agency Monday, leaving the Angels' Triple-A affiliate Salt Lake Bees as part of a contractual opportunity of his deal with the major-league club. Cantu was batting .291 (25 for 86) with four home runs and 22 runs batted in in 21 games playing first base for Salt Lake. He hit .277 with two homers and 10 RBI in spring training. The 30-year-old, eight-year major-league veteran formerly with the Tampa Bay Rays, Florida Marlins and San Diego Padres failed to crack the Angels' roster out of spring training.

The crux of Darius Morris' exit interview with Mike Brown and Mitch Kupchak centered around the NBA Summer League. That's because the Lakers want to see a few things. They want to see how much growth he experiences this off-season. They want to see if Morris in an elevated role will give them a better idea as to whether they should consider him in the team's future. Meanwhile, Morris enters this off-season wanting to use the summer league, which goes from July 13-22 in Las Vegas, to impress two parties.

An interesting reality surrounds Devin Ebanks as he steps on the court. His promotion to the Lakers' starting small forward during Metta World Peace's seven-game suspension serves as an audition for two different parties. One party involves Lakers Coach Mike Brown, who has given him scarce playing time after starting him for the season's first four games. The other part of the equation involves other teams, since Ebanks will become a restricted free agent on July 1. Still, Ebanks maintained after Monday's practice at the Lakers' facility in El Segundo that "I'm just focused on the playoffs" and declined to entertain his thought process heading into free agency.

*Audio of Troy Murphy's exit interview Lakers forward Troy Murphy said although he "enjoyed playing here," he wasn't sure he would re-sign with the team. "Unfortunately, it ended sooner than we had expected," Murphy said Tuesday after his exit interview at the Lakers' practice facility in El Segundo. "I'm going to take some time off and collect my thoughts and see what the future has in store. " What Murphy thinks very well might not matter. The Lakers signed him last year to the veterans' minimum for $1.4 million, and The Times' Mike Bresnahan reported he isn't expected to return.

It may be the dog days of the NBA offseason, but there's still plenty of things to monitor. First of all, Laker fans can still get their hoops fix by watching the 2012 London Olympics. Among the notable subplots: Kobe Bryant has played an elder statesman role with Team USA where he's providing leadership, deferring teammates and playing defense. Pau Gasol remains Spain's No. 1 option, became the country's flag bearer and hopes he can rectify his native country's gold-medal match loss to Team USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Record-breaking major league contracts were the order of the day, but baseball's newest financial power may yet be heard from. People familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Friday that the Dodgers were having contract conversations with former National League Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw . The cost of securing Kershaw long term rose earlier Friday when right-hander Justin Verlander agreed to a $180-million,...

  Join Times Dodgers writer Dylan Hernandez and Angels writer Mike DiGiovanna at 10:30 a.m. today for a live discussion of the Angels and Dodgers. Two big topics: The Angels are on the verge of trading Vernon Wells to the Yankees, while the Dodgers need to figure out what to do with Yasiel Puig. As Hernandez wrote this week about Puig: "Manager Don Mattingly has dropped hints in recent days that spring-training sensation Yasiel Puig could make the Dodgers ' opening-day roster as a reserve outfielder.

SURPRISE, Ariz. - Manager Don Mattingly has dropped hints in recent days that spring-training sensation Yasiel Puig could make the Dodgers' opening-day roster as a reserve outfielder. But if Puig is with the Dodgers on April 1, he will probably be sent to the minor leagues soon after. Puig is 22 and the Dodgers want him to play regularly to round out his rough edges, which won't happen in the major leagues with Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Carl Crawford in their outfield. There's something else the Dodgers have to consider when deciding what to do this season with the Cuban defector: his eventual free agency.

PHOENIX - Shortly after the Dodgers announced they had optioned Yasiel Puig to their double-A affiliate in Chattanooga, Tenn., Manager Don Mattingly was jokingly asked if he knew what ever happened to the high school basketball coach who cut Michael Jordan. "We're going to be Dean Smith, who enhanced his fundamentals," a smiling Mattingly said, referring to Jordan's coach at the University of North Carolina. Puig, 22, was the revelation of this camp, as he batted a Cactus League-leading .526 with three home runs, 11 runs batted in and four stolen bases.

The Detroit Red Wings expected life would be complicated after the retirement of incomparable defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and pesky forward Tomas Holmstrom. But they didn't expect a steady stream of injuries would constantly test them and force them to rely heavily on rookies this season. "We're probably right about where we thought we'd be, but we thought we'd have a way different team," Coach Mike Babcock said. "We knew it was going to be scratch and claw for us this year, just with our back end. " But scratch and claw they have, sweeping two statement games from the Ducks in Anaheim on Friday and Sunday.

Time really is money. Nobody knows that better than Elvis Dumervil and the Denver Broncos. Dumervil found himself out of a job and the Broncos were without their best defensive end Friday afternoon after they reached an agreement on a new contract but saw it all come undone when tardy filing of the paperwork forced Denver to release him. A person familiar with the negotiations gave the Associated Press details about the confusion. The person did not want to be identified because the negotiations were not public.

Greg Jennings will hit the free agent market next week, meaning a seven-year run with the Green Bay Packers that included a Super Bowl victory is likely over. The Packers declined to use their franchise tag on the star receiver, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel first reported. They would have had to offer Jennings a one-year, $10.5-million contract in guaranteed money and decided instead to prepare for a potential salary-cap crunch. Green Bay technically could still bring him back as a free agent, but top receivers are hard to come by this off-season so chances are another team will be willing to pay top dollar for the two-time Pro Bowler.

Baseball's new collective bargaining agreement eliminates compensation for teams that lose top free agents, and that could lead to an increase in trades made at the July 31 deadline. "The compensation [change] is big," Minnesota Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said. "There was no harm in keeping a guy if you think you are going to get compensation. Now that's a more difficult scenario. I would say people would be more apt to find places for those kind of players. " … The Twins, who know their future hinges on building a competitive rotation, could trade left-hander Francisco Liriano , closer Matt Capps , center fielder Denard Span or even should-have-been All-Star Josh Willingham . The New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays are interested in Liriano, who had a 2.74 earned-run average in his last eight starts before the break.

Having already changed coaches this off-season, the Buffalo Bills are starting from scratch at quarterback too. In their first move once the NFL's free-agency period opened Tuesday, the Bills released quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick after two-plus inconsistent seasons as starter. The decision came after Fitzpatrick and the team were unable to reach an agreement to restructure the quarterback's contract, and a day before the he was due a $3-million bonus. Fitzpatrick's up-and-down performance and his expensive contract were factors in his release.

A day before Tuesday's start of free agency, some of the NFL's outstanding hands already changed hands. Minnesota traded receiver Percy Harvin to Seattle, and Baltimore traded receiver Anquan Boldin to San Francisco. Both deals are contingent on the players' passing their physical examinations. Teams are not allowed to comment on trades or free agency until the new league year begins at 1 p.m. PDT on Tuesday. A lot of notable receivers are expected to run go routes to new teams in the coming hours and days.