Porter, who was nursing a sore calf while missing two days of practice, returned to the field on Friday and then spent his post-practice time venting to NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw about the Raiders holding him hostage. Upshaw, who is making the rounds of training camps, played with Shell for over a decade. Upshaw's bottom line is that he's happy that he's not Shell these days.

Randy Moss, who doesn't speak with local reporters, looks fit. He has publicly supported Shell and outside of practicing, is pushing his new juice product. If Porter doesn't come around, Doug Gabriel will move into a starting role. The club also has high hopes that Johnnie Morant, a third-year player from Syracuse, can push for more playing time.

Bad idea

How much goodwill is Reggie Bush flushing down the drain if he becomes a holdout with the Saints? Bush owns New Orleans right now, buying a new condo, donating money for the high school fields and pushing ticket sales through the Superdome roof as the team returns this season to the city after missing a whole year because of Hurricane Katrina.

Bush is in a great situation. Most fans in New Orleans still despise owner Tom Benson for attempting to move the franchise to San Antonio. If Bush drags his feet over getting $27 million guaranteed (as opposed to "just" $25 million), you can bet the fans, many still living in trailers, will remove Bush from his favorite son status.

Ray would shine

Falcons executive Ray Anderson appears to be the favorite to replace Shell as the league's head of football operations. It makes great political sense to hire Anderson, a minority, for the position. If the league has a new commissioner by the middle of August, his first move will be to fill this vacant role. Former Houston GM Charley Casserly was considered the favorite for this position because of his friendship with Roger Goodell, the league's No. 2 executive, but the word is that Casserly has been talking to CBS Sports about working there.

More than just hurt feelings

Hey, Bears running back Thomas Jones isn't faking a hamstring injury. He merely tweaked it attempting to meet the club's conditioning test. Yes, Jones is perturbed over his contract status because he is coming off a great season and was the team's most consistent offensive performer last season. It's tough for veteran players to see untested rookies and second-year players earn more merely because of their draft status. I'm not saying Jones is a great football player, but he's the type of player others should emulate when it comes to effort and toughness.