What would training camp be without a little bit of drama, right? Jacksonville sure has plenty of it with the absence of Maurice Jones-Drew and the 'fine' controversy.

I understand exactly what Shahid Khan, the Jacksonville Jaguars owner, is thinking. MJD is under contract; two years left. Technically and legally there is no need to pay him any more than what he is already getting. It isn't Khan's fault that MJD has played better than his contract.

That's the joy for a businessman in the NFL though; getting more for your money. Too often owners end up paying on the promise of results (like they used to do with rookie contracts). Now negotiations are skewed in the owner's favor.

However, what he's not understanding is that he is a new owner and his team has not been that good for some time. In fact, the only players that have really been producing with an regularity is his kicker (Josh Scobee) and MJD. 

Business is business, but sometimes you have to bend. The Jags need MJD in camp. He is the team leader and the best weapon they have. They need to have him operating on all cylinders when the season starts in order to give the team any chance at being competitive. 

Throw the man a bone Khan and move on before you alienate your best player and biggest draw. There will be plenty of teams that would love to steal him when he becomes a free agent...

It has to be a little tough being the new guy in town, even when you're an extremely wealthy millionaire. You want to do stuff that will make you popular with all the other kids, but you still have to be true to who you are (because eventually your true colors will come out).

Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, wants to be liked by the fans and has been quite active in the community in his short time at the helm of the team. However, he will be hated and burned in effigy if he doesn't do two things (to be fair he has to do one of them, but it would be smart to do both).

Khan needs to figure out someway to give Maurice Jones-Drew some more money and needs to lock in Josh Scobee to a new contract.

Scobee isn't  as importan as MJD (for obvious reasons), but he has been a vital piece of the team's offense since they drafted him in 2004. With an offense that will likely move the ball but have trouble getting the ball into the end zone, they need to be able to count on getting those much needed field goals.

Maurice Jones-Drew is the face of the franchise. He is a hard working, popular player that is one of the best at what he does. As bad as the team was last year and as non-existent as the passing game was, he still won the season rushing title--even though every defense knew to focus on him!

Being the businessman that he is, Khan sees a guy that still has two years left on his current contract. He doesn't need to pay him anymore than he already is. So why should he?

Because its the smart thing to do.

To be fair to Khan, even though it sucks, MJD is under contract. To be fair to MJD, he is one of the premier backs in the league and he's getting paid like a part time player. He deserves more; that goes without saying.

If he doesn't pay MJD anymore than he already is, MJD is supposedly ready to sit out the season. In this day and age I could see that happening. Players do not want to risk getting hurt before they are able to cash in. 

Do I think it will happen? Absolutely not. MJD is too much of a competitor. He will play; he'll just skip everything he possibly can. Then he'll play, have another stellar season, and when it comes time to actually negotiate a contract he'll wait and see what his value is on the free agent market.

Do not let the face of the franchise go Khan. Throw him a bone; find a way to give the man some more money and promise to do him right come contract time.

Howdy Sports Fans! What I'm about to talk about is something that was pretty well hidden during the week, but could have been pretty significant had something actually developed here.

Jacksonville almost lost the Jaguars.

What the h*ll are you talking about Blogger Man?

I know it sounds kind of crazy folks, but it is true. Allow me to explain.

Apparently when it comes to certain things like hiring a facility manager for the team's stadium, Everbank Field, the team was under the impression that they would gather a list of acceptable candidates and then submit that to the City. Well, the City thought that it was something that the two (being the City and the team) were supposed to collaborate on; not engage in two separate but related ventures.

For some crazy reason the city took this as a breach of contract and sent a letter to the team saying that it was in default.

Now for the Jags this could have been a golden opportunity. The team has had trouble selling out the stadium for years and has been in constant danger of local blackouts. Leaving Florida might not be a bad thing for them to do.

The obvious question is 'where would they go?'

The more obvious answer would be LA.

Los Angeles is one of the top markets in the country and has been without an NFL team for years. Plans for a new stadium have been well publicized over the last year; it puts many if not most current stadiums to shame.

LA would be a better market even if the team is not any better than it was last year. From a business perspective thought it will be more profitable.

Whoever sent the letter must have been slapped around, because it was an absolutely ludicrous thing to do. Lucky for the City and the Jaguar Faithful the City came to its collective senses and retracted the letter (and hence the window that had temporarily opened for Shahid Khan).

Maybe the possibility of the team he has yet to sign with leaving town made Justin Blackmon a little despondent. Over the weekend the Jag's first round draft pick and future best friend for Blaine Gabbert was arrested for drunk driving. It appears like there will be no way for his lawyers to get around the charge; the man blew a .24.

He wasn't just drunk. The man was seriously loaded!

At this point in the off-season it becomes necessary to dig a little deeper in order to find something truly football-oriented to write about sometimes (especially if there is no one on any of the teams your covering getting in trouble with the law). With mini-camps there is something going on--glorified touch football (yawn).

So basically, without a trade or an injury there just isn't a whole lot going on. However, in times like this I think it is an opportune time to draw attention to some of the things that teams do that would otherwise not get any attention--like what Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars did recently.

Locals probably already know this, but the man has committed himself and his team to making a difference in the local community. According to reports in the media on Friday the team donated $1 million to help local veterans make the transition from active duty back into the civilian realm when they return home.

"In my short time in Jacksonville I have seen the impact and the importance of the military here in this community," Khan said.  "We're honored to be able to help support and assist members of the military upon their return.  We owe them a debt of gratitude for their loyal and selfless service to protect us and our freedoms, and we hope this commitment will benefit many veterans in their pursuit of training, jobs, housing and quality of life with their families."

Now professional sports team owners donating money is nothing new. They do it all the time as do the players. What I like about this guy is that he donated a cool $1 million; not $10,000 or $5000 or anything in the low range five figures like what owners and athletes normally donate. He donated a million dollars.

To him it is likely nothing; a literal drop in the bucket. To many players in the NFL it would be nothing as well. Yet more often than not you see these folks making donations that while useful and great barely scratch the surface of what they could really do.

Don't get me wrong. I am very glad that so may athletes do as much as they do--time and money--for the many charities that are lucky to have them involved. Many charities could do little without the help that many of these guys do give. I just think they could do so much more while still barely scratching the surface of their bank accounts. With as much as the fans do for them...

So Mr. Khan, thank you for making a difference. The men and women of the armed forces deserve the help that your donation will give them. 

Awesome mustache by the way.