DIVISION PREVIEWS
A quick look at how the six divisions shape up

SEASON PREDICTIONS
Our thoughts on division champs, award winners and more

NFL WEB GUIDE
Essential bookmarks for the true football fan

A sampling of the best football sites to hit on the Web

Aside from collecting Simpsons audio files and sending personal e-mail on company time, the best part about the Internet is that it allows sports fans to remain connected to their teams 24 hours a day.

Or maybe that's the scariest part.

Anyway, it's true. And by using this Web guide, any NFL-related information you may need — whether it be player news, ticket info or a 6,000-word salary cap breakdown of the New England Patriots (we're not kidding) — can be accessed online.

(Don't forget to rearrange your office so that your monitor faces away from coworkers. And camouflage your bookmarks in a folder titled "Vendors.")

Now, the categories...

NEWS

NFL teams suffer practice injuries and make transactions during the day, which is a drag when us work-a-bees are in meetings. Make it a point to hit the NFL front pages of these major news sites when Client Snoozer hits the elevator:

• ESPN
• CBS Sportsline
• CNN-SI
• The Sporting News
• USA Today

SCORES

In conjunction with CBS Sportsline, the best scoreboard is at NFL.com. It features in-game progress (of course), seamless navigation to all other games and player pages, and it even includes links to game audio through RealPlayer.

EXPERTS

Any pro football scribe can tell you Ricky Williams will be out with an injury, but only the true pigskin hounds can take you behind the scenes of the NFL and really make you hate your job.

Here are the best of the bunch:

• Sports Illustrated's Peter King
• Sports Illustrated's Paul Zimmerman (Dr. Z)
• ESPN's Chris Mortensen
• The Sporting News' Dan Pompei
• San Francisco Chronicle's Ira Miller

FANTASY FOOTBALL

The best free fantasy football site on the Web is Fantasy Football Commissioner, hosted by CBS Sportsline. Everything is customizable — from the scoring system to the number of teams, and even their logos. Features include projected results of upcoming games, automated scheduling and in-game scoring updates. Maintenance is at a minimum with player news updates, free-agent pools that are sortable by position and statistics, and a league message board. If your scoring system is set before your draft, view the cheat sheet for player projections customized to your league settings.

To prepare for your draft, it's best to check a host of cheat sheets to try to find a consensus of opinion:

• ESPN's Draft Kit — Just add a printer, this has everything you need — player rankings, projections, depth charts, position battles and analysis from Hector the Projector and Victor the Predictor.
• Gil Brandt's Fantasy Primer — It's a little strange to see the longtime Dallas Cowboys personnel director playing make-believe like the rest of us, but no one can doubt his credentials. His analysis here on NFL.com isn't as deep as we'd like, but it would be foolish to not take a look at his rankings by position.
• USA Today's Cheat Sheet — Extensive rankings by position (the paper ranks 50 QBs alone), plus links to player preview pages that provide analysis and stats for the last three seasons.
• Fantasy Football Mastermind — These folks have been a hit on the Web for years, and they've shared their preseason rankings on CNN-SI.
• Fantasy Football Today — A hearty site with not only the ubiquitous player rankings but a load of features and advice on running a league.
• DraftCenter Player Rankings — Current and comprehensive notes on each player.

NFL DRAFT 2002

The hardcore fans read up on an NFL Draft that's eight months away. Here's where they're headed for info:

• ESPN's Mel Kiper — The Dean of the Draft, Kiper can predict well into the future but maintains a hairstyle that's 20 years old. But the man knows his football, and ESPN knows how to build a Web site.
• Pro Football Today's 2002 Draft Links — Features a chronology of new draft info available on the Web, with new links added, on average, every few days. An invaluable Web destination for draftniks.
• TFY Draft Preview — Lists, in order, the top 200 prospects for the 2002 NFL Draft. Includes an easy-to-use and active message board.

HISTORY

Of course, fans of the Browns and Cowboys can't be too concerned with the present — it's too depressing. Luckily for them, it's easy to go back in time and remember the NFL before the $12 million signing bonus.

• Pro Football Hall of Fame — Relive the careers of Jim Brown, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas and 208 other NFL legends. View the register of inductees and sort players by pro team, college, high school and more. You can also read and hear many of the enshrinement speeches.
• Information Please NFL Through the Years — Answer almost any trivia question with this almanac's data on all-time and season-by-season stats leaders, award winners, results from every Super Bowl and Pro Bowl and more.

CHEERLEADERS

Where would the NFL be without cheerleaders? Probably in the same position it is now, as America's favorite sports league. But where would the Internet be without aspiring models? That's another story altogether.

• San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush — Includes information on appearances, auditions and a calendar.
• Seattle Sea Gals — Includes information on appearances, auditions and a calendar.
• Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders — The site for the mother of all cheerleading squads includes information on appearances, auditions and — you're not gonna believe this — a calendar.

GETTING TO THE GAME

Buy tickets, check the weather, get directions, read the local paper, and make sure to buy an inflatable helmet chair to relax in.

BY FAR THE WEIRDEST SITE I CAME ACROSS WHILE RESEARCHING THIS GUIDE

Before I die, I will read all 5,955 words of DraftLinkMiguel's Unofficial Patriots Salary Cap Information Page.