Wednesday Open Thread: March 9, 2016

Hump Daaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!! It's the peak of the week, and the new league year begins at 3 p.m. CT. Then the fun REALLY begins. Today is kinda' my Thursday since I'm taking Friday off, so yay for me!

Here's a schedule for the next month or so of the off-season:

TODAY!!!!!!: 2016 league year begins. Free-agency period begins at 4 p.m. ET.

March 20-23: Annual league meeting, Boca Raton, Florida.

April 4: Clubs that hired a new head coach after the end of the 2015 regular season may begin offseason workout programs.

April 18: Clubs with returning head coaches may begin offseason workout programs.

April 22: Deadline for restricted free agents to sign offer sheets.

Mid-to-late April: 2016 schedule release

April 28-30: 2016 NFL Draft, Chicago.

'Round here since our last open thread(s):

The rumor is that Osemele is heading to Oakland.

Audie Cole is back in purple for another season, per Eric.

Here's the free agency tracker that Chris put together.

It looks like Wrestlemania 33 is not coming to Minneapolis.

Ted shared a report that the Vikings are 'in on' safety George Iloka.

It appears that the Vikings will release WR Mike Wallace, per Chris.

Vikings news from other sources:

From Vikings.com, here are some college highlights featuring WR Laquon Treadwell.

The NFL Network says the Vikings could become the 2016 version of the Panthers (with a better ending, I assume).

Go here to cast your vote for the best free-agent signings in Vikings history.

Here is NFL.com's top 9 free agents.

The Strib says that Wallace's release gives the Vikings over $30 million to spend on free agents. I guess they forget that we also have to pay our draftees, so I don't think that we can spend the full $30 million on free agents, but considering the source........

Around the NFL:

NFL.com looks at the biggest agreed upon deals as we prepare for the first actual day of free agency.

Here are the latest deals and reports of agreed upon deals from NFL.com:

Janoris Jenkins is to sign with the Giants.

Chris Ivory is to sign with the Jaguars, as is Malik Jackson.

Mario Williams signed a deal with the Dolphins, who are looking to win free agency again, since it worked out so well last year.

Here is NFL.com's 10 best receivers of all time.

Twins update:

Nolasco looked good, but the bullpen didn't, and the Twins fell to the Cardinals, 5-3.

With that, we come to today's media selection. Here's one of my favorite modern musicians, it's Chris Knight singing "Hell Ain't Half Full".

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:

-No discussion of politics or religion
-No feeding of the trolls
-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
-Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags 
-No pictures that could potentially get someone fired or in serious trouble at their place of employment
-If you can't disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
-While navigating the open thread, just assume it's sarcasm

With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up & tie one on. Don't forget to tip your waitress, & try the beer can chicken.

Tweets from https://twitter.com/JoshDungan1/lists/free-agency-list