The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... The league and players' union jointly filed paperwork asking New York Judge Richard Berman to rule on Tom Brady's lawsuit by Sept. 4. And Berman quickly agreed to a timeline that should have the Brady conflict resolved well before Week 1, according to documents.

Diehards Line: Berman asked Brady's lawyers and the NFL to file a memo stating their positions on Aug. 7. Berman scheduled a conference for Aug. 12, requesting that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Brady be in attendance. Berman encouraged the two sides to continue to work on a potential settlement. Barring that, Berman also set an Aug. 19 date for both parties to meet again and either continue to conference or hear oral arguments. In the balance? Brady's four-game suspension, upheld by Goodell on appeal last week. ... Stay tuned.