11.   No dress code from the NFL fashion police, who would prohibit Deion Sanders and others from wearing scarves beneath their helmets, the real hard caps.

12.   Owners want a hard cap without loopholes or clauses that allow salaries to escalate.

13.   Players oppose elimination of the Bird exception or anything resembling a hard cap.

14.   So what is the alternative to a hard cap?

15.   Tagliabue and the owners want the same thing, but not without a giveback on the hard cap.

16.   The hard caps are berries.

17.   The hard cap is anathema to the players, who view the Bird exception as an untouchable issue.

18.   The hard cap is the best way to go.

19.   The league would love to institute a hard cap, such as football has, which would prevent teams from spending wildly.

20.   The league, saying owners need cost certainty, have sought a hard cap on player salaries.