The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a far more conservative three judge panel than Federal Court judge Susan Nelson, has given NFL owners a leverage boost by making the stay on the lockout injunction permanent.  The ruling Monday sets the stage for the case to be heard in the 8th Circuit on June 3.   They'll decide on the league's appeal over the original injunction granted by Judge Nelson declaring the lockout illegal earlier this year.   A decision may not come until mid-June and time is getting tight.  The first NFL training camps are scheduled to open the weekend of July 23.  The Packers are tentatively set to convene camp the weekend of July 30.  Meanwhile, another federal judge, David Doty, is considering the players request for over 700 million dollars in damages from the NFL's network TV contract that according to players, set aside 4 billion dollars in league payments even if games are cancelled because of the lockout, a violation of anti-trust rules.   Never thought I'd need a law degree to follow the NFL.

Cheeseheads may get their football fix even if the lockout eliminates pre-season games in August because the Green Bay Chill has arrived, the newest member of the very cheesy Lingerie Football League.  Born out of the Super Bowl Lingerie Bowl commercial, the professional league has a dozen teams, most in major markets.  The Chill will be coached by former Packers player Gilbert Brown.  It's 7 on 7 tackle football with the players clad in briefs, bras and eye black.  Oh they don a helmet and padded shoulders but the appeal isn't over the competition, it's putting skin in the pigskin.  The LFL has it's own TV deal, and you can guess where their demographics are skewed, with games shown on MTV2.  The Chill plays a four game schedule with the inaugural game August 26 against the Minnesota Valkyrie at the Resch Center. Tickets are on sale now!

Greg Jennings is the latest Green Bay Packers player to be ranked in the top 100 players of 2010 by the NFL Network.  The network polled players across the league to compile the list, being relased 10 players at a time each week.  Jennings is ranked number 74.  The pro bowler was second in the league with 12 touchdown catches last year after a slow start and had a huge Super Bowl game with a pair of scores against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  While Jennings deserves to be on the list, hard to believe there are 14 receivers ranked higher than him.   I'll give you the Larry Fitzgerald's and the Andre Johnson's the league, but 14?  A bit of a slight I would say.  B.J. Raji made the list last week at number 81, Nick Collins was ranked 96 and Chad Clifton at number 99.    I'd have Collins, a three time Pro Bowler ranked well above Raji.  The Packers will have 7 players on the list, most among any teams and you gotta figure the remaining three are Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews and Aaron Rodgers.   I'll guess Woodson shows up in the 30's, Matthews maybe the high teens or early 20's and Rodgers has to be a top 10 player on the league's top 100, stay tuned.