Under the guise of tossing something against a wall to see if anything sticks, I offer this topic up for football fans.

An interesting footnote to the Rice trade to Seattle story. He asked Seahawks legend Steve Largent if Largent would allow his No. 80 to be unretired. Largent did agree to it. But I can't believe Rice had the grapefruits to make the request himself based off all we’ve heard about the surly receiver over the last few years.

I wonder if in the future the 49ers ever pick up a guy who used to be a star player and who wants to wear Rice's "80" in San Fran. What's the chance of Jerry smiling and offering to help the guy pull the shirt over his head?

With jerseys 11 through 19 now available for receivers, why didn't Rice do something fresh, like donning Joe Montana's No. 16? Okay, so punter Tom Rouen already wear No. 16 for Seattle. But he's a punter! Do they even need numbers? (Does Minnesota even need a punter!?!?!)

My question is simple. Did Rice cross the line in his request?