San Diego Chargers' stranglehold on the AFC West

Dez Bryant was more than on time for the start of the Dallas Cowboys training camp. The first-round pick was the first player on the field Saturday.

"I'm just ready to play, that's the message," Bryant said. "I'm ready to do whatever they ask me to do. I'm here to work hard, I'm here to give 100 per cent, just bring my A-game."

There was major flooding this week in Wisconsin, a state where Brett Favre used to ply his trade.

It was getting pretty deep once again in Mississippi, too, in what has now become an annual rite of summer. The drama queen of the South was giving interviews and accepting selected visitors, including one who for some reason still wants to coach him this season.

 Kaye Cowher, the wife of ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher and a former basketball player at North Carolina State and in the now-defunct Women's Professional Basketball League, has died of skin cancer. She was 54.

Cowher died Friday in her native North Carolina, where the family relocated at her urging during Cowher's final year as coach in 2006, one season after the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The family had lived since in Raleigh.

Sixth-round draft pick Eric Olsen has signed with the Denver Broncos.

The 6-foot-3, 305-pound offensive lineman started 31 games for Notre Dame, playing all three interior line positions.

 Jets centre Nick Mangold says he will report for training camp with the rest of the team next weekend despite not having a new contract in place.

Mangold tells the NFL Network on Friday night that it wouldn't do him any good to hold out, so "I'll be there with bells on."

MIAMI - The Miami Dolphins moved quickly to find a replacement for injured defensive end Phillip Merling.

Follow the dollar signs in recent months. If the Broncos finally overtake the San Diego Chargers' stranglehold on the AFC West, the difference may well be the almighty dollar.

The Broncos, who moved into their mostly taxpayer- funded Invesco Field at Mile High nine years ago, have been the NFL's most aggressive team in free agency the past two years and recently committed $89.5 million to satisfy two of their own restricted free agents, guard Chris Kuper and sack king Elvis Dumervil.

Meanwhile, the Chargers jerseys have been unable to persuade their taxpayers and politicians to help fund a new venue. Stuck in outdated Qualcomm Stadium, where the revenues trickle in compared with what pours out of Invesco, the Chargers have lost more talent than they've gained through free agency. And they may lose starting receiver Vincent Jackson and offensive tackle Marcus McNeill because the team won't give long-term contracts to restricted free agents.

Here's the AFC West stat of the century: From 2004 — when the Chargers football jerseys division dynasty began — through 2009, the Broncos, according to Forbes, have generated $1.27 billion in revenue. That's $108 million more than the Kansas City Chiefs, $162 million more than the Oakland Raiders and $164 million more than San Diego.

When you consider that the Chargers, Raiders and Chiefs all play in older stadiums, the Broncos' decisive revenue advantage in the AFC West has made their decade-long run of mediocrity even more infuriating.

And so Mike Shanahan has moved to Washington.

There are a few reasons why the Chargers have captured four consecutive Darren Sproles AFC West titles and five of the past six despite their distinction as the division's least-funded team.

One, despite the impending labor battle that threatens to shut down the game next season, the NFL salary cap system largely works. In 2009, the Chargers' payroll was $115.3 million compared with $111.5 million for the Raiders, the Broncos' $102 million and the Chiefs' $83.1 million.

Let's pause to allow Broncos season-ticket holders who pay up to $110 a game Antonio Gates for a lower-bowl seat to stew. Why, Mr. Bowlen, is a team that led the division in revenues only third in payroll?

A partial explanation is that for all those extra revenues the Broncos have drawn, they have also incurred significant stadium debt. They are responsible for 25 percent of $364 million in construction costs and nearly 100 percent of operating costs.

The nicer the house, the higher the bills.

The Broncos' disproportionate payroll also leads to reason No. 2 why they have only one division title the past 11 years: It's not how much money you have but how you spend it. The Broncos led the NFL last season with $29.6 million in dead money (salary to players no longer on the team).

Add the dead money into active dollars and the Broncos' payroll would have exceeded the $128 million cap last year.

This season, for the first time since Denver taxpayers went along with Bowlen's plea, dollars could more closely correlate with success.