Vic: He’s not holding out. OTA’s are voluntary. He hasn’t done a thing wrong. Mini-camp, however, is mandatory. That’s when we’ll know if this is an issue.

Vic: You need them? I need them.

Vic: The Bucs had no tradition. Any identity they had achieved in their old uniforms was an identity they wanted to change. In the new uniforms, they’ve achieved a positive identity. Now they have something worth keeping. Changing their uniform design now, in my opinion, would be a big mistake. In other words, if you’re gonna make a change, make the change before you win a Super Bowl. Of course, the Bucs could’ve kept the old uniforms and won a Super Bowl in them, and that would’ve immediately validated all the years of losing those old uniforms represented. When the Bucs changed uniform style, they pretty much discarded their history. See what I mean?

Vic: My favorite uniforms are the ones that never change. When I see the Browns play, I wanna see the ghost of Jim Brown. When I see the Steelers play, I wanna see Franco Harris making the “Immaculate Reception.” I wanna see Paul Hornung turning the corner in his Packer number five, and so on and so on. When you’ve watched football as long as I have, uniforms and numbers represent players. That’s why I don’t like retiring numbers. I wanna see a Colts player in an all-white uniform bearing the number 24 because that’ll help bring back fond memories of Lenny Moore, but that can’t happen because the number has been retired. It’s a mistake. Don’t hide your tradition. Don’t retire your history. Put it on display. I don’t care who wears Steelers number 75, it’ll only ever belong to Joe Greene. Show it to me. Let it stimulate my memories. Jim Taylor wore 31 and Tommy McDonald wore 25 and Bobby Layne wore 22 and Y.A. Tittle wore 14, etc. I was there the day Tittle’s head was cracked like an egg. Let me see it again. It’s a way of remembering where you were, who you were with and what your life was like then. It’s about more than just football. When numbers are retired and uniforms are changed, so are a lot of our memories. It’s the same for college football. Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State, Alabama, USC, Oklahoma, etc., have been wearing those uniforms forever and they are a big part of their traditions. My favorite uniform as a kid was the Syracuse uniform from the Ernie Davis era. I remember seeing Floyd Little run all over the place one day and I wanted to do everything I could to look like him. I wore my socks at the same height, the sleeves of my jersey the same way and even tried to stack my pads as Little stacked his. Our helmets had the one thin stripe down the middle and the numbers on the sides, too, and I loved it. I think that’s my all-time favorite uniform, the Syracuse road-white jersey with the orange pants and orange helmet. They should’ve never changed it. Now, if they go back, it’s a throwback jersey and that’s not the same. Once a tradition is ended, it has to start from scratch.

Vic: The message is that the owners want to negotiate a new deal.

Vic: You need to pose your questions to the author of that story. I have no information that would confirm or refute his story. What I can tell you is this: a sold-out stadium will settle all of this. That’s the solution and we all know it. What’s to talk about? I promise you that if the Jaguars reach the point that their stadium is sold-out on a season-ticket basis year in and year out, as is the case with the strong and stable franchises, this team won’t go anywhere. It’s that simple. Yeah, naming rights, sponsorship revenue, etc., are major items that go to the team’s bottom line, but nothing succeeds like a waiting list for tickets. That says it all. Any doubt about this franchise’s future is a direct result of blackouts. The Jaguars had built a two-year of tradition of no blackouts until last season produced three. Now we have to start all over and build a new streak. That’s the ticket. Prove to the football world that the Jaguars are a hot ticket in their own town. When the word gets out that tickets to Jaguars games are at a premium and the demand far exceeds the supply, doubts about the Jaguars’ future will cease. Don’t blame the media. Just buy the tickets.

Vic: Absolutely; we’ve all been in that situation. All you can do is keep digging. You never put your name on a story without being absolutely sure of your facts. I made that mistake once; a long, long time ago. I learned at a very young point in my career not to play fast and loose with the facts. We all make honest mistakes. I think those should be forgiven. It’s the big mistakes that are the result of reckless reporting that are unforgivable. They’re also unforgettable.

Vic: A Collective Bargaining Agreement between the owners and players protects several of the league’s mandates and institutions. The draft is the most notable. Without a CBA that provides for the draft, the draft could be challenged in the courts and it’s highly possible that it would be extinguished by court order. The CBA is an operating agreement. It provides stability to the league and its players and it protects the league from litigation.

Vic: Teams can still sign players to contracts that go beyond 2011 and first-round picks will not be limited to four-year contracts. What you’re talking about refers to a very technical rule about guaranteed money in uncapped years. Doing the deal after the opt-out would have made it impractical to do a six-year deal. They would’ve had to change the structure to conform to the new cap rules that would’ve come into play following the opt-out.

Vic: And the little lights weren’t twinkling, either.

Vic: Nothing’s been decided. Ingram is in a job battle with Justin Durant at strongside linebacker. That’s not going to be decided in the spring. That’s for training camp and the preseason.

Vic: I saw a promo for “Dancing With The Stars” in which Taylor tore off his partner’s dress and she ripped off his shirt and any doubt I had that the Jaguars did the right thing drafting two young defensive ends instead of trading for an old one was immediately extinguished. I could be wrong about this, Logan, but I don’t think the Jaguars are going to make a move for Taylor. I think you should give it up now.