Moment of Strange

Mike Westhoff, the Jets’ special-teams coach, has had his carefully researched list of free-agency targets ready to go for months. On Monday morning, he was staring at a roster on his office wall full of blank spots, and preparing to pick up the phone to start recruiting the players he wants the Jets to sign as soon as he is allowed. Across the country, some of the most prominent agents in the game were preparing to sleep in their offices, the better to manage the expected round-the-clock negotiations to come.

After nearly five months of inactivity by all but a handful of negotiators, the N.F.L. sprang to life again Monday when 32 player representatives voted unanimously to recommend approval of a 10-year labor deal that owners largely approved last Thursday. With an apology to the fans from the New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft, and the applause of a few spectators who had gathered on a sidewalk to witness the announcement, the process to lift the lockout was put in motion. The longest work stoppage in the game’s history thus ended with only the loss of the Hall of Fame exhibition game.

After the final details were worked out Monday morning, the lawyers who were the pre-eminent figures of the unusual off-season finally gave way to coaches and players desperate to get on the field and to an expected frenzy of player signings and trades the likes of which the N.F.L., normally a model of meticulously planned stasis, has never experienced. Rookies can start signing contracts and every other free agent can begin negotiating them Tuesday, when trades can also begin; teams will start opening training camps Wednesday; and Friday, about 400 free agents can begin joining new teams — five months of activity being funneled into just a few weeks.

The NFL is back in business and the Philadelphia Eagles are winging their way to Lehigh for training camp. NFL players agreed to a new 10-year contract on Monday after owners approved a deal last week. For now, the Eagles' players will show up on Wednesday in Bethlehem, Pa., and go through a walkthrough practice on Thursday. Fans will probably see some players on the field on Friday, but it certainly won't be the entire team.

One issue is that the Eagles can't start signing rookies and draft picks until Tuesday. The team can also start trading players, like Kevin Kolb, on Tuesday. But NFL teams won't be able to sign veteran free agents until Friday at 6 p.m., so it will be days before a full squad can be assembled at Lehigh.

Fresh off a season in which they won 10 games, captured the NFC East title, and found a new franchise quarterback in Michael Vick, the Eagles were more than pleased with Monday's news that football is back. "In the end, both sides gave enough to get the deal done, and we can all go back to work feeling good about what was accomplished," Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said. "A 10-year contract is unprecedented in professional sports. By the time this contract ends, the NFL and its players will have been able to play 33 uninterrupted seasons of football."

Philadelphia will hold training camp, as planned, at Lehigh University. The players will report on Wednesday. Camp will break at Lehigh on Aug. 17. "I'm happy that the NFL and its players can get back doing what they love to do," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "The coaches can get back to coaching. Players can get back to playing and we're all pleased about that." Philadelphia will play host to Baltimore in the preseason opener on Aug. 11 at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Bears had big issues on the offensive line last season, and even though Kreutz might not be quite the dominant force he once was, he remains one of the team's leaders. Heading into his 14th season, he's healthier than he was this time last year. And agent Mark Bartelstein made it clear he hopes to stay. Players put an end to the 4 {-month lockout when they OK'd the deal on Monday, days after the owners approved a tentative agreement, and turned the focus from the negotiating table to the field. The frenzy will start at 9 a.m. Central time Tuesday, when teams can start talking with free agents and sign draft picks and undrafted rookies. Veterans can't sign until 5 p.m. Central on Friday, the same day the Bears are scheduled to report to camp at Olivet Nazarene University.

Assuming that plan does not change, the first practice will be on Saturday. Between now and then, there's plenty of work to do. The Bears have apparently decided not to bring back Brad Maynard. The Chicago Tribune, citing a source close to the player, reported on its website Monday that the team informed the veteran punter that he would not be re-signed. His agent Chad Wiestling did not return calls seeking comment. The 37-year-old Maynard spent the past 10 seasons in Chicago after starting his career with the New York Giants. Even so, it's no shocker that the Bears would let him go, considering he ranked 32nd in punt average (40.1 yards) and 29th in net average (35.2).

Chicago signed Richmond McGee to a two-year contract in February and could also bring in a veteran punter. The Bears could use another defensive end to create havoc and complement Julius Peppers. They could also use some linebackers, considering they have only two Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs -- under contract. Pisa Tinoisamoa, Nick Roach, Brian Iwuh and Rod Wilson are all free agents, and rookie J.T. Thomas could fill a backup role. Re-signing defensive tackle Anthony Adams figures to be one of the top priorities, and on offense, many fans would like to see an upgrade at wide receiver. The bigger issue, though, is on the line.

The Dallas Cowboys have some serious money issues. The team is $20 million over the salary cap limit, and they spend two times as much on their players than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who played better than the Cowboys last season. Something’s got to give. Jason Garrett is going to have the Dallas Cowboys on the practice field during training camp for nearly as much as the new rules allow. With a lost offseason to be made up for, and with the new coach still trying to implement a tougher work ethic than his predecessor, Garrett has tentatively scheduled the Cowboys to be on the turf of the Alamodome for four hours a day on 11 of the 14 days of camp.

Starting Thursday, the Cowboys are supposed to have a walkthrough from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., then a full practice from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day of camp. The only exceptions are both Sundays, when the walkthrough will be dropped, and the final day, Aug. 10, when there will only be a walkthrough because everyone will head back to Dallas for the preseason opener against Denver the next night. The schedule was released Monday afternoon hours after word that the NFL lockout was ending. Players will be allowed to report to team headquarters on Tuesday and must be in San Antonio on Wednesday. All NFL teams will be scrambling to get players in football shape, and to make sure guys know each other and the playbook, so it remains to be seen how extreme Garrett's schedule compares with others. Regardless, it'll be a big change from the way Wade Phillips ran things last year.

A lazy, cross-country training camp is among the reasons many believe the Cowboys started 1-7 last season, costing Phillips his job. Garrett took over as interim coach and demanded everyone work harder. Practices became more physical and the team went 5-3 over the second half, earning him the job for keeps. Things could still change, but the initial camp schedule clearly sends the message that Garrett means business.

With at least 92 dead and a suspect in custody, Norwegians trying to make sense of the bombing and shooting attacks here turned repeatedly Saturday to the one example that seemed to fit: the Oklahoma City bombing. Here, as there, a quick assumption that Muslims were at fault proved to be erroneous. Norwegians now know that a 32-year-old Christian, who railed against multiculturalism, is the principal and perhaps only suspect in the killings that occurred Friday in Oslo and at an island nearby. His name is Anders Behring Breivik; police say he has admitted to the shootings. A Norwegian newspaper reported that he had recently bought a large quantity of fertilizer, which can be used to make bombs as the Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy Mc­Veigh, showed in 1995.

Breivik has lived on the margins of Norway’s extreme right wing, a movement that has been in decline for at least a decade. The writings denounce politicians in general for betraying the nation — but offer no hint of violence. The country of 4.5 million was plunged into grief Saturday, especially because more than 80 of the victims were teenagers attending a Labor Party camp on the island of Utoya. Oslo was hushed, even though thousands came out on the streets, whether out of curiosity or in solidarity. As soft showers fell, the loudest sound was of workmen sweeping up broken glass.