Oakland Raiders linebacker Aldon Smith could learn his football future soon, as the NFL is due to respond to his application for reinstatement this week.Smith applied for a return to the league Oct. 3, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had 60 days to render a decision on reinstatement, according to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement. The 60-day period ends Friday.Smith spent 120 days at a rehabilitation facility in Carbondale, Colorado, sources told ESPN, after a Periscope video on an account purportedly belonging to Smith posted an unidentified man and woman talking about a hand-rolled cigarette. Smith has denied it was him in the video, which was posted over the summer.Sources said the rehabilitation stay had a profound effect on the 27-year-old linebacker.There is guarded optimism within the Raiders organization that Smith will be reinstated and allowed to finish out the season, which would be a big boost for a team pushing to win the AFC West and make the playoffs for the first time since 2002.Smith was eligible to be reinstated Nov. 17, one year after the NFL hit him with a one-year banishment for violating the leagues substance abuse policy when he was arrested in August 2015 on drunken driving, hit and run and vandalism charges.ESPNs Ed Werder has reported that, because of the Periscope video, the NFL would investigate whether Smith violated the protocols required of a suspended player seeking reinstatement to the league following a violation of the substance abuse policy.Smith spent time in rehab in 2013 and served a nine-game suspension in 2014 for violating the leagues personal conduct and substance abuse policies. He was cut by the San Francisco 49ers during training camp after the August 2015 incident, his fifth arrest since coming into the league.?The Raiders signed Smith in September 2015, a month after he was released by the 49ers, and re-signed him to a two-year contract in April. He finished with 3.5 sacks in nine games last season and has 47.5 sacks in 59 career games.He said in a YouTube video earlier this month that he wont be defeated by the challenges he has faced. Cheap Jacksonville Jaguars Jerseys . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Cheap Jaguars Jerseys . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. http://www.cheapjaguarsjerseysauthentic.com/ . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Cheap Jaguars Jerseys Authentic .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. Jaguars Jerseys China . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. The offseason functions as a second season, in a way, as fans cant help but get swept up by roster speculation. Theres nothing you can do about it; its human nature to pay attention to rumors, and the rumor season started almost as soon as Mike Montgomery retired Michael Martinez.This is the time of the year when rumors surround both trade options and free agents. Now, this year in particular, potential trades are getting a lot of the attention, because the free-agent market is bad. Keith Law just posted his top-50 free-agent list, and heres how he began his write-up: This years free-agent class might be the worst Ive ever seen.Law is not the only person who feels that way. Industry consensus is that this market is terribly weak. Outside of a small number of players, theres not much to choose from at the top. But that doesnt mean this market doesnt have some depth.dddddddddddd The players below could help a winner right away, even though they didnt appear on Keiths list. (R.A. Dickey was originally on this list, but the Braves have already scooped him up.)Position playersMatt Holliday, OFHolliday is aging, absolutely. He doesnt profile to be an asset in the outfield, and he just had his worst offensive season since he was a rookie. But heres the thing I like: According to Statcast, Holliday just ranked third in the majors in average exit velocity. He was between Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Cabrera. The potency is still in there, so it seems to me like its too soon to give up on Holliday as a valuable player, when used right. ' ' '