Here are the highlights of Sunday’s claim day:

Before leaving the Falcons’ $11 million condo facility at the team’s top-flight Flowery Branch facility Wednesday night, I bumped into former NBA star Magic Johnson. He was checking into the guest suite next door to owner Arthur Blank’s room.

Johnson loves football despite the fact that his pro hometown, Los Angeles, is without the NFL. The former Laker has become a big USC fan.

“Every year I’ve been bringing in motivational guys to speak and meet with the players,” Falcons GM Rich McKay said. “I think it’s great for someone like Mike Vick to spend some time with Magic, who has experienced so much as a celebrity, as a star, and try to relate it to his own life.”

At the end of the evening practice, Falcons coach Jim Mora invited Michael Wallin, 35, to run into the team huddle. Wallin has been a regular at most practices at training camp.

“He screams out every players’ stats and seems to know something about everybody. He’s been a hoot,” said Falcons defensive end Patrick Kerney. “I’m sure there a 100 guys like him at the Cowboys’ practices. He’s been yelling for two weeks now.”

There is a debate in the NFC right now on which division is the strongest overall and my vote goes to the NFC South despite the defensive shortcomings of the New Orleans Saints. Reggie Bush, Drew Brees and the return of Deuce McAllister should at least make the Saints very exciting on offense.

“I know our division is tough, but I understand the hype over the (NFC East),” said Carolina head coach John Fox, whose previous job was as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. “It’s hard to compare. They have the big markets and Dallas has T.O. But we’re going to find out this season who is the best because we all play the East during the regular season.”

The Panthers have critical home games against the Cowboys and the Giants, a team they whipped in the playoffs last season. The Giants, remember, are the defending East champions.

“I think it’s difficult for anybody to say right now who is really the best,” Falcons head coach Jim Mora.

Just consider this: the top three teams in the South all have elite pass-rushers with the addition of ex-New York Jet John Abraham with the Falcons. The Panthers have the game’s resident athletic freak, Julius Peppers, and the Bucs have Simeon Rice.

The way the schedule breaks this season, the South also plays the AFC North, meaning the Steelers and Bengals, plus the improving Ravens, are on every team’s schedule.

“Whoever wins our division will be battle-tested and ready for the playoffs,” Fox said. “Our division and the East, because we all play each other, might have a tough time having two 11-win teams like we did last season.”

And if the East and South beat each other up, Fox realizes that if the Seahawks and Bears are as good as they were last season, they both will have a better shot at gaining home-field advantage for the NFC championship game.

No team seems interested in the Raiders’ Jerry Porter while the Bears still seem to be fishing around Denver receiver Ashley Lelie.

The Broncos want a high pick, first or second-rounder for Lelie, while the Bears have offered a fourth-round pick. The inclusion of defensive end Michael Haynes, the Bears’ No. 1 pick in 2003, shouldn’t be that tempting to the Broncos because of his bad back and his lack of production in Chicago.

The Falcons aren’t interested in either player despite the loss of receiver Brian Finneran for the season.

Mora said on Wednesday that he’s considering using cornerback DeAngelo Hall as a receiver.

“Depending on the flow o####ame, say there are a bunch of three-and-outs for our defense, we might be able to get him eight to nine offensive plays a game,” Mora said. “It’s not that DeAngelo is asking for this. I simply believe he can do so many special things when he has the football. And using him as a receiver, you can control more of what he’s going to do as opposed as to using him as a punt returner. A lot of bad things can happen on punts.”

However, if Hall is needed a lot on defense, he many never see the field on offense.

One of the first things I told Jim Mora today was that I know one general manager who would select Michael Vick over Peyton Manning if he had to choose between those two quarterbacks.

Mora laughed when told the GM’s name.

 “No question Michael is very special, and he’s having a very good camp so far, but he will only be a footnote as a quarterback if he doesn’t win a Super Bowl,” Mora said.

In my book, the same could be said of Manning if he never wins a title. Then again, many clubs believe the Colts have the league’s best overall talent and are geared to win this year’s Super Bowl.

My apologies to Green Bay GM Ted Thompson who insists that the Rams never called inquiring about trading backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and that the Packers would never be interested in the Harvard passer.

Another thought on Green Bay ... the tension that pervaded the building when Mike Sherman was the head coach is gone. The little people, the secretaries, those in the Pro Shop, enjoy the new working atmosphere under Thompson and new head coach Mike McCarthy. This is a bigger deal in Green Bay because it is such a small city.

“It was never a good working relationship between Ted and Coach Sherman because no matter how much Ted tried to open a dialogue with him, it never happened,” said a Packers’ source. “There simply wasn’t enough give-and-take between the two. And all Ted wanted to do was to help him and improve the team.”