Morning Briefing

NFL tidbits you need

to know

The long march to the beginning of the regular season is almost over, and the NFL offered an assortment of players’ pre-game rituals to get you to the first kickoff.

A smattering:

Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Daniel Loper puts his equipment on left to right.

Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor does everything right to left.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning reads the game program, cover to cover, before every game.

Houston Texans running back Ahman Green watches the film “Pure Payton” the night before.

San Francisco 49ers running back Moran Norris won’t walk under the crossbars before the game.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end John Henderson gets slapped before every game by assistant trainer Joe Sheehan.

Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher eats two chocolate-chip cookies before each game.

And finally: Philadelphia Eagles safety Brian Dawkins applies a green strip that helps him breathe easier on the right half of his nose and a silver one on the left half.

Trivia time

Which four major-college football conferences have an odd number of members?

Whoopi and Ookie

Whoopi Goldberg seemed to defend Michael Vick’s involvement with dogfighting Tuesday on ABC’s “The View,” saying “it is part of his cultural upbringing” because he is from the South.

Goldberg is from New York, and we won’t say anything ignorant or stereotypical about that.

Appalachian state

EBay is suddenly awash in Appalachian State items -- 356 at one count -- including a game program and two ticket stubs that had attracted a bid of $46.00.

The seller’s description, posted below a photo of a cute shaggy-haired boy who was pulling for Michigan:

“The program belongs to my heartbroken ten year old son (on crutches and in a leg cast!) who attended the game with his father. He loved the book until the last quarter, managed to bring it home, and now wants it out of the house.

“Whatever he sells this program and tickets for, he’ll save for his future education . . . perhaps now at Appalachian State!”

Nightmare League

If you’re no good at fantasy football, maybe the spoof site TheOnion.com has the league for you.

“If you can pick the biggest bunch of disappointments, let-downs and general losers-of-the-week from our pre-picked pool of underperforming superstars, you win $500. Predict a perfect train wreck of a season -- 17 weeks’ worth of overpaid fumbles, over-hyped interceptions, and dismal underproduction, and earn $5,000. All it takes is a cool, calculated sense of cynicism, a discerning eye for the overrated, and a willingness to trust the sinking feeling in your gut.”

Trivia answer

The Big Ten (11), the Mid-American (13), the Mountain West (9) and the Western Athletic (9).

Thanks to reader Bob Brown for the question.

And finally

Stephen J. Dubner, an Appalachian State graduate and co-author of the bestseller, “Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything,” in the New York Times:

“By the way, it is pronounced app-uh-LATCH-un, not app-uh-LAYCH-un, and that goes for the mountains, too, not just the university. Thanks to what happened on a football field in Ann Arbor on Saturday, a lot of people will remember this name forever.”

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com