FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- When Rex Ryan finally got a chance to meet with Darrelle Revis  last Saturday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- after a previously unsuccessful drive-by in New Jersey -- the New York Jets' coach acted like he was on vacation.

"He was smiling like he took a trip to Disney World," Revis said Monday after officially ending his 36-day holdout, signing a four-year, $46 million contract.

Graham Darrelle Revis is the NFL's best at any position. And the Jets couldn't be taken seriously as Super Bowl contenders without him -- and knew it, writes ESPN.com's Tim Graham. Blog

O'Connor Until the small hours of Labor Day, Woody Johnson and the Jets had given us little more than their version of April Fool's Day over and over and over again, writes ESPNNewYork.com's Ian O'Connor. Story

Cimini The Jets haven't started the season yet but they're already 1-0 by winning a high-stakes game of poker with Revis and his agents, ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini writes. Story

Ultimately, Ryan came home with a souvenir.

It was a tense and heated negotiation -- Ryan threw a self-described "tantrum" Sunday night -- but the Jets welcomed Revis back to their team with applause, hugs and good-natured razzing. The star cornerback admitted to having butterflies when he strolled on the field late in practice and was greeted with a "Rudy" clap, that slow clap made famous in the inspirational movie. His teammates also chanted his name.

"It was hurting me so bad," Revis said of his holdout. "I didn't know how my teammates would accept me when I came back because I wasn't there in training camp. I was in the news every other day, and I'm sure they were tired of hearing my name."

After reconnecting with his teammates, Revis retreated to an upstairs board room, where he signed his new contract. The deal includes $32 million in guarantees, including $7.5 million in total 2010 compensation, according to league sources. It culminated a seven-month odyssey that began when the Jets told Revis after the season they wanted to rework his contract, and included two secret negotiation sessions at the Roscoe Diner in upstate New York.

According to a source, language in the contract dissuades Revis from holding out again. The source said the contract is technically a seven-year deal, but if Revis doesn't hold out through 2013, the final three years are voided and he becomes an unrestricted free agent. If Revis does hold out, it would remain a seven-year deal, and he'd make $9 million total over those final three years.

According to the source, there's also language in the deal that prohibits the Jets from using the franchise tag or transition tag when the contract is up.

But for now, the black cloud over the Jets is gone. Now they can get on with the business of trying to reach the Super Bowl. There was relief in every corner of the building, from the locker room to Ryan's office.

"There was an energy in the building and on this team when we knew Darrelle was coming back," Ryan said.

Nose tackle Kris Jenkins felt the energy.

"The stress is gone," Jenkins said. "My pupils are actually starting to dilate a little bit. It's a natural high right now. I feel so much better because it takes a lot of pressure off us. We're just happy he's back. We're happy we've got our team back."

Revis will be on the practice field Tuesday, and he will be in the starting lineup when the Jets open the season Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens. He arrived at the Jets' facility around 1 p.m. after an early-morning flight from Ft. Lauderdale, appearing emotionally drained after a long night and a sometimes acrimonious negotiation.

"This experience humbled me very much," said Revis, who passed the time during his holdout at his homes in Ft. Lauderdale, New Jersey and Aliquippa, Pa.

Actually, Ryan, frustrated by the lack of progress in negotiations, showed up recently at Revis' New Jersey home, hoping for a sitdown. But his best defensive player wasn't home. Last Friday, he and owner Woody Johnson decided to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, hoping to break the ice.

According to Revis, the coach told him, "We need to get you up there. We need to win the Super Bowl."

In that meeting, which lasted three hours, Johnson and Ryan discussed financial parameters, including a 10-year contract. Johnson believes the fast-approaching season opener convinced Revis to soften his stance. He also said they talked to Revis about his legacy in football.

"We talked about the Hall of Fame, how important it is to keep it on the right track," said Johnson, adding, "Hall of Fame and 'Darrelle Revis' aren't a strange pair."

Revis Will Be Tested Early

The Jets needed Darrelle Revis back for the early going, as they'll start the season facing three teams that have receivers who had at least 80 receptions and 1,000 yards last season.
   

All parties said they left the meeting with a renewed sense of optimism. But early Sunday evening, the talks almost broke off. Ryan blew a fuse, screaming into a speaker phone at Revis' agents.

"It's kind of like a boyfriend-girlfriend thing, but the parents won't let you get together," Ryan said. "That was kind of how I felt. He wanted to play. I wanted him to play, but for some reason it wasn't happening."

Said Jon Feinsod, one of Revis' agents: "Rex got a little upset with us. He told us he was going to go coach his football team and that he was sick and tired of us."

Several players admitted they didn't think a deal would get done before the start of the season. As linebacker Bart Scott said, "I was preparing myself to go to the game without him."

Added Scott, "He's a tremendous player who allows us to do a lot of things, allows us to open up our playbook a little bit."

Revis came off his demand to be the league's highest-paid cornerback. Before training camp, he was adamant about receiving $16 million per year, topping the Oakland Raiders' Nnamdi Asomugha ($15.1 million average). The Jets weren't going to go that high, but they satisfied Revis with $32 million in guarantees.

Revis said he's in great shape, but he admitted he's not in football shape. Nevertheless, he expects to play the entire game against Baltimore. He already has been studying tape of wide receiver Anquan Boldin.

"He makes our job a lot easier," Ryan said. "Mike Pettine and I, we're better coaches now. Dennis Thurman is a better coach today than he was yesterday. He allows us to do things on defense that we probably couldn't do if he wasn't with us."

Now the Jets get back to football after what Revis described as an eye-opening experience. He was surprised to see "how nasty it can get."

A big contract can ease the nasty.

New England Patriots receiver Randy Moss, who has kept silent for most of training camp, expressed some frustration Monday afternoon about not having a contract beyond this season.

    “ Moss I think I am getting wiser in how to use my physical skills. That's the frustrating part when you put so much heart and desire into things and feel like you are not wanted.
    ” -- Randy Moss

"When you have done so much and put so much work in, it kind of feels like I am not wanted," Moss told William Bendetson of CBSSports.com. "I am taking that in stride and playing my final year out and whatever the future holds is what it holds, but it is kind of a bad feeling -- feeling not wanted. It is not like my production has gone down. I am speaking from an individual standpoint. I don't know about [Patriots quarterback] Tom [Brady's] or whoever else's contract.

"I am a little older and understand the nature of the business -- the older you get the more your skills supposedly diminish, but I think I am getting wiser in how to use my physical skills. That's the frustrating part when you put so much heart and desire into things and feel like you are not wanted."

Moss, 33, is entering the final year of a three-year contract and will earn $6.4 million this season. Last season, Moss caught 83 passes for 1,246 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Brady, whose contract also expires at the end of the season, and Moss went out to dinner together Monday night, according to a source.

Moss has been quoted more than once this offseason as saying he thought this would be his last year in New England.

In May, in a Boston Herald story about Moss parting ways with longtime agent Tim DiPiero, Moss was quoted as saying, "I don't think I'm realistically in the future plans of the Patriots. But if the New England Patriots don't want me in their future, [it's a business]. I understand."

Moss made similar comments in February. "I don't think they are going to extend my contract here," Moss said, according to The Boston Globe.

"You know the Patriots don't really pay, so when I got my second contract from them that was a blessing in disguise. I understand the business. I don't think they're going to re-sign me back. I'm not mad. I'm not bitter. It's just the way things are in this NFL, so like I said after this year I'll be looking for a new team. I think so."

LANDOVER, Md. -- Kellen Moore and Boise State look as if they are going to be in this national championship chase for a while.

Moore hit Austin Pettis with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 1:09 left and No. 3 Boise State passed what might be its toughest test of the season, beating No. 10 Virginia Tech 33-30 on Monday night.

The Broncos (1-0) came to FedEx Field with their best preseason ranking ever and ran out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, then had to rally themselves to extend their winning streak to 15 games.

Tyrod Taylor passed for 186 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 73 yards for the Hokies (0-1), who for the fourth straight season took a deflating early season loss.

As for the Broncos, even with 11 games left in the season, the debate will start about whether they should become the first team from a conference without an automatic BCS bid to play for a national championship if they go undefeated.

"Game 1, and that's what it is," said Chris Petersen, who improved to 50-4 as coach of Boise State. "We're just pleased to get out of here with a `W."

Moore, the undersized Heisman Trophy contender, threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He led a five-play, 56-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes -- aided by a Virginia Tech personal foul penalty. After hitting Pettis on a quick slant for the winner, Moore sprinted to midfield with his hands raised high, waiting for a teammate to come and celebrate with him.

The winningest team of the past decade in major college football, Boise State yet again was forced to prove it was worthy of all the accolades -- this time far from home on a field that was anything but neutral, packed with Hokies fans.

When it was over, they were taking a victory lap, exchanging high-fives with their fans who made the long trip.

 Manny Ramirez will fly his personal barber to Boston to have his famous long hair cut off in time for Friday's game against the Red Sox, according to media reports Wednesday.

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf sets high appearance standards and players A.J. Pierzynski and Joe Crede had to cut their hair in 2006.

"It seems like everywhere I go, people worry about my hair," Ramirez said after his White Sox debut Wednesday, where he went 1 for 3 in a 6-4 win over the Cleveland Indians. "I just want to go out there and play the game."

Ramirez's barber Angel Pena cuts the hair of a number of MLB stars, including Cliff Lee, Derek Jeter and David Ortiz.

 He'd never met of them before, yet Chad Ochocinco still felt compelled to buy dinner for 64 "fans" of his Wednesday night at St. Elmo's Steakhouse in Indianapolis.

A fine gesture, to be sure, but you see, the Bengals travel to Indy to play the Colts later this season, so Chad was using the opportunity more to cozy up to the city and, of course, to get himself yet more publicity before the season began and he's forced to split the spotlight with fellow Bengal receiver Terrell Owens.

Could he take catches and yards and touchdowns away from Ochocinco this year? It's a distinct possibility. However, not even T.O. can derail the growing pop culture phenomenon that is Chad Ochocinco. He's become the crown prince of the NFL, and he's soaking up every minute of it.

But his 64 guests didn't care. Thanks to Ochocinco's overactive Twitter account, these folks came from everywhere to get a free meal on Chad, who claimed the night to be a huge success.

Not only that, but he's since promised to have similar events in other opposing team cities throughout the season. It's sure to cost him thousands of dollars over time, but worth well more than that in good will and media play.

If he keeps catching touchdowns, though, there's a feeling he'll be able to keep up with the good natured stunts as long as he wants, of which there seems to be end in sight already.

 Remember the swanky bachelor pad that Tiger Woods supposedly moved into just days after he his divorce from Elin Nordegren

Well, according to local real estate brokers, Us Weekly got it all wrong in the Monday report.

The New York Post's Page Six had several agents chime in after the location was revealed yesterday.

"No way Tiger would live there. It's an '80s conversion, run-down, with leaky ceilings. If it really was Tiger who was spotted moving boxes in from a BMW, brokers say he might have been helping a girlfriend. It would have to be a mistress he doesn't care about," said one.

"If he does live there, it means his wife took every penny he has and he's at the end of his rope," said another.

Meanwhile, another source told the Post that Tiger always stays on his yacht "Privacy" whenever he visits New York.

Said the observer, "He hates it in New York. Why would he come here when he needs his privacy more than ever?"

On August 22, the disgraced golfer officially ended his six-year marriage with Nordegren. The divorce came about 10 months after Woods crashed his SUV outside his family home in Florida following an apparent dispute with Nordegren.

The accident gave rise to numerous reports of infidelity by Woods, who has gone winless on the tour this year amid his marital woes.

As part of their divorce settlement, Nordegren and Woods will share custody of their two children — daughter Sam, 3, and son Charlie, 18 months.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina coach Butch Davis suspended defensive tackle Marvin Austin indefinitely on Wednesday for violating unspecified team rules.

He may be the first of many Tar Heel players to be suspended, sources tell ESPN's Joe Schad.

Will Marvin Austin, who is under an indefinite suspension at North Carolina, continue UNC's trend of producing quality NFL defensive linemen?

"This decision is not a result of the ongoing NCAA review," Davis said in a brief statement issued by the school. "Marvin has violated team rules and has neglected his responsibilities to the team."

Austin, a senior, has been projected as a possible NFL first-round pick. He will not play Saturday night when the No. 18 Tar Heels face No. 21 LSU in Atlanta.

Austin is being investigated by the NCAA for his trips to Florida parties, California training sessions and his work with a tutor, sources told ESPN.

The suspension marks the latest twist during a turbulent summer for North Carolina, which is preparing to play against LSU on Saturday without up to 16 players, sources said Wednesday night.

The school is exploring the possibility of "rolling suspensions" with the NCAA, which would allow them to spread losses over multiple games.

Defensive end Robert Quinn is being investigated for his alleged interaction with an agent, a source said. Quinn has also worked with the tutor who allegedly wrote papers for some North Carolina players, a source said.

A source said North Carolina may have to play without seven defensive starters, including numerous high draft choice projections.

Among the players in danger of not traveling with North Carolina Friday are: Austin, Quinn, linebackers Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant and cornerbacks Kendric Burney and Charles Brown.

A source said North Carolina may also be depleted at running back on Saturday. The top two running backs for the Tar Heels following spring practice were Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston. Wide receiver Greg Little has also been questioned about his trips, agents and papers.

The Tar Heels are working with the NCAA and hope to be able to decide before Friday morning which players will not make the trip and which should be held out for precautionary reasons, a source said.

The NCAA made two trips to Chapel Hill this summer to look into whether Austin and Little received improper benefits from agents. Wednesday's announcement did not address Little's status. Both players had been working with the second team for much of training camp and haven't spoken with reporters.

South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, who also has been at the center of NCAA inquiries for possible improper agent contact, has been suspended by the Gamecocks. Saunders will not play Thursday night against Southern Mississippi, though South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Saunders' suspension was not connected to the NCAA probe.

The investigation at North Carolina expanded last week to include possible academic misconduct, with school officials saying it involved an unknown number of players and a woman who previously worked as a tutor for Davis' son. The school has declined to specify how many players could be involved or are in jeopardy of missing the LSU game.

The NCAA also has looked at a cross-country trip involving Austin and former Tar Heels player Cam Thomas, and the friendship between assistant coach John Blake and California-based agent Gary Wichard.

The investigation led to disruptions in game preparations for the opener. The team did not issue a depth chart earlier this week, a break from customary game-week protocol, and Davis said he is using a "fluid" informal depth chart during practice.

Earlier Wednesday, Davis said during the Atlantic Coast Conference's weekly coaches' teleconference that the Tar Heels were "in a holding mode." Team officials canceled all scheduled media availability with players in advance of the LSU game. Players had been scheduled to talk with reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Any Michigan man will tell you, there is nothing quite like beating Ohio State. Every Buckeye agrees, a win over that team from up North is priority No. 1.

Well, now Michigan and Ohio State could get two chances in a season to beat their fiercest rival. What would Woody and Bo have thought of that? A rematch!

Rittenberg: Surveying Changed Landscape

Low Adam Rittenberg has plenty of initial thoughts on the new-look Big Ten's divisions and schedules. Blog

The Big Ten announced its divisional breakdown Wednesday night and Ohio State and Michigan will be in different six-team divisions when the league expands to 12 members in 2011.

Neither division has been named but they break down like this: Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Northwestern in one. Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana in the other.

Commissioner Jim Delany said creating football divisions with competitive balance was the top priority and No. 2 was maintaining a cross-division rivalry game for each team.

"We felt like we could do equal competition and tradition with this move," Delany said.

Michigan and Ohio State will be a cross-divisional rivalry and continue to play each other each year in the Big Ten regular-season finale, as they have since 1943. That means they could wind up meeting again for the conference championship a week or two later. Not in the Big House or the Horseshoe but on a neutral field.

"Basically, we decided to go with the final season date because that was a way to maintain the tradition," Delany said. "The conference has a wonderful history of not only rivalry games but also trophy games."

Big Ten teams will play eight conference games the next two seasons, but that could increase in the future.

"The athletic directors have the intention of exploring a ninth conference game in 2015," Delany said.

Nebraska will join the Big Ten as its 12th team next year, allowing the conference to split into two divisions and add a lucrative championship game. The first Big Ten football championship game will be played in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium, the indoor home of the NFL's Colts.

The expansion put the conference in a delicate balancing act, trying to add to its coffers without diminishing its rich traditions, none bigger than Michigan vs. Ohio State.

"I'm very pleased that we came out of this with protected rivalries that will go on permanently with Ohio State and Michigan State," Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon told The Associated Press. "We'll play Ohio State in the last game of the regular season, following a tradition that has lasted for decades. And if we both earn the right, we can play the Buckeyes again in the Big Ten championship game."

There was speculation the Michigan-Ohio State game could be pushed out of its end-of-season spot, maybe even into October. It sent some fans into an outrage and Delany said that was a factor in the final decision.

"We heard the fans, there's no doubt about their voices mattered," Delany said.

For years, the matchup known simply as "The Game" in Big Ten country has been the conference's signature rivalry, one of the most storied and tradition-rich in all of sports. The Buckeyes and Wolverines have played 106 times since 1897.

Twenty-two times "The Game" has determined whether Ohio State or Michigan won the Big Ten championship.

Never was the rivalry more intense or more significant than from the late 1960s through the '70s, when Ohio State coach Woody Hayes and Michigan coach Bo Schembechler waged what has been dubbed "the Ten-Year War."

While "The Game" will never be the same since the title won't be at stake in the regular season, the league is still banking on it to be a big deal. And then there's the tantalizing possibility of even bigger TV ratings if the maize and blue meet the scarlet and gray in the league championship less than a month later.

"I think it's a great opportunity for both programs to win divisions and be in the championship games," Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said on the Big Ten Network, "and if we do play back to back, and if you look back over history quite frankly it's rare that happens, if it does happen it's great for fans."

Michigan-Ohio State wasn't the only tradition for Big Ten officials to consider. No conference has more trophy games than the Big Ten.

Longtime rivals such as Iowa and Minnesota, Michigan and Michigan State, and Purdue and Indiana wound up in the same division. Wisconsin and Minnesota were split, but the Badgers and Gophers will be cross-divisional rivals and play each season.

That means Iowa can still square off each fall with Minnesota for Floyd of Rosedale, a bronze statue of a pig, and Minnesota and Michigan can now play for the Little Brown Jug every season.

The other cross-divisional rivalries will be: Nebraska and Penn State, pitting the Big Ten's two newest members; Indiana and Michigan State, which play for the Brass Spittoon; and Iowa and Purdue; and in-state rivals Illinois and Northwestern.

Rivalries that took a hit were Iowa and Wisconsin, which play for the Heartland Trophy, and Penn State and Michigan State, which play for the Land Grant Trophy.

For now there are no plans for divisions in other sports. Delany said he sees no benefit to basketball divisions, but if conference leaders decide they want them, they would have to be drawn differently.

The scheduling format for the 2011-12 men's basketball season likely won't be decided until the Big Ten meetings in May, when the coaches and athletic directors are together again, Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.

Maturi reiterated what Delany said on Wednesday -- that the six-team divisional alignment announced was strictly for football. Basketball was not discussed, and the conference still hasn't decided if it would go to a 16- or 18-game schedule, Maturi said.

According to Maturi, Minnesota coach Tubby Smith has suggested using a similar format to what is used by the SEC. Smith, the former coach at Kentucky, said the league should look at the format of a 16-game schedule with home-and-home games against the six teams in one's division and then six games (three home, three road) against the other division.

The Big 12 has used the same formula, with the only difference being its standings show a 12-team block instead of divisions. Yet, the scheduling is formatted like football, with the basketball teams grouped into North and South divisions. The Big 12 will move to an 18-game, true round-robin format when it becomes a 10-team conference, possibly as early as 2011-12 if Colorado joins the Pac-10 after one lame-duck season, instead of two, in the Big 12, Nebraska is leaving the Big 12 after this season to join the Big Ten.

Alabama will be without junior running back Mark Ingram for Saturday's opener against visiting San Jose State, and probably longer, after the Heisman Trophy winner underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday morning.

Ingram suffered the injury late in Monday's practice, and Alabama coach Nick Saban said it was a "situation where everyone thought it would be better to take care of now, so he would not have any issues with it later in the season."

Although Alabama officials are ruling Ingram out only for the first game at this point, it's unlikely he would be able to get back in time for the Crimson Tide's second game, against No. 19 Penn State on Sept. 11 in Tuscaloosa. Saban said Ingram would be managed on a week-to-week basis after Saturday.

"We will make every decision on the future based on what's best for Mark and his career as we consult with Dr. [Lyle] Cain and Dr. [James] Andrews on his progress," Saban said. "This is not an injury that will affect Mark's future ability to make a full recovery in a relatively short time."

Sophomore Trent Richardson will move into a starting role after rushing for 751 yards last season as Ingram's backup.

The Crimson Tide also have redshirt freshman Eddie Lacy.

Ingram, who became Alabama's first Heisman Trophy winner last season, rushed for 1,658 yards and scored 20 touchdowns.

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