Awww...aren't the NFL Players sweet, thank their fans

((ht: nflplayers))

Hey, let's start singing "We are the world!". Though we can't figure out why so many Sportswriters were dancing in the street after the NFL and NFLPA settled their labor issue yesterday, the making nice with everyone has begun.

The players association put out a video this morning saying "Thanks to the fans". Which yeah, it is a nice sentiment, but at the risk of sounding cynical...what did the fans miss? Mini-camp? O-T-A's? Really, that and the "Hall of Fame Game" are going to be the only actual football anyone missed.

Anyway, here's your video, continue your celebrating NFL Fan, revel in victory!

Your NFL Lockout Update: Camp will still start next week (Rich vs. Rich)--Day 9444

Roger Goodell/DeMaurice Smith/File

Fear not NFL fan, despite the delay in ratifying the agreement by the players, you aren't going to lose much football. Unless you live in Canton, Ohio we suppose.

According to reports today, the league and the NFLPA (not a union for now), have ironed out most of their differences and according to Chris Mortensen and Professor John Clayton of the 4-letter word, the NFLPA executive committee will sign off on the deal Monday. It would allow the players to report to camp and actually vote in full on the deal come Wedneday

That would mean the league year could still start on Wednesday and training camps would start on Friday.

The intrepid Albert Breer of NFL.com doesn't quite go that far, but says it's more than likely going to happen.

Read the ESPN.com story RIGHT HERE

And Breer's story from NFL.com RIGHT HERE

Just so you know. None of this is surprising. We are very sure DeMaurice Smith and the players were not happy the owners publicly voted on and signed off on their version of the deal on Thursday. We think there was some disagreement on the timing and it sounds like some tweaking of verbiage.

Bottom line, the players felt dissed. Which we get. And by signing off on it and holding a press conference on it before the players got to look at things, boxed them in. It made the players look bad, like they were holding things up. It was a publicity stunt.

Considering how childish both of these sides of been, it's not surprising things are dragging out. But like we said, "Patience grasshopper", neither side wants to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

Professor John Clayton of ESPN discusses it here:

Will The Trade Association Vote Friday...???

((HT: No Bias No Bull Sports))

If you check in with Trade Association head DeMaurice Smith or any of the hard-line player reps, the answer is "probably not..."

If we were to look into the shield's version of a Magic 8 Ball...

Smith wrote in an email to the 32 player representatives shortly after the owners' decision and back-slapping pride in Atlanta: "Issues that need to be collectively bargained remain open; other issues, such as workers' compensation, economic issues and end of deal terms, remain unresolved. There is no agreement between the NFL and the players at this time."


The HQ is fairly cvertain, however, that Jeffrey Lurie gave New Dawg more direct eye contact than he did Albert Breer of the Shield's network...


Chris Mortensen is confident of a Friday vote, but for all 32 player reps and 1,900 players all to get their hands on a copy of this 500-600 page document in time for digestion would be rare...

NFL Owners Think Solution Is Good, Trade Association Disagrees...

((HT: No Bias No Bull Sports))

New Dawg was there for the duration along with Gil Tyree for OSG

So, here's where we are...

The owners got together in one of the many airport hotels in Atlanta and discussed their future. They thought they came up with a great CBA for themselves...

NFL owners voted 31-0 with the Oakland Raiders abstaining from the ratification in favor of a tentative 10-year agreement to end the four-month-old lockout pending player approval.

The vote was here are the greatest hits...

An agreement that covers the 2011 through 2020 seasons, including the 2021 draft.

Reducing the offseason program by five weeks and reducing OTA's from 14 to 10. Full-contact practices in the preseason and regular season and increasing number of days off for players. During two-a-days, contact itself will be limited.

A rookie wage scale gets four-year contracts for all drafted players (option for five years on first-rounders) and three-year contracts for undrafted free agents.

Unrestricted free agency for players after four seasons with RFA status for players with three seasons.

Close to a billion dollars wil go to a "Legacy Fund," which will be devoted to increasing pensions for pre-1993 retirees.

Salary cap plus benefits of $142.4 million per club in 2011 and at least that amount in 2012 and 2013.

Teams have to spend in the neighborhood of 90-percent of the cap or 99-percent of league operating revenues...

Here's Jim Irsay again talking everything from the Krafts to the, ahem, settlement...


But that's where the fun started shortly after 7PM eastern time. The player's trade association said they weren't consulted on some aspects of the new CBA- and they weren't pleased...

The NFL is saying the PA has to recertify by mid-week... general counsel Richard Berthelsen said in an e-mail...

"In addition to depriving the players of the time needed to consider forming a union and making needed changes to the old agreement, this proposed procedure would in my view also violate federal labor laws..."

FOSG Mark Berman caught up with Houston Texans co-player rep Eric Winston
((HT: MyFoxHouston))

NFL Owners Ratify New CBA: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

But Chiefs boss Clark Hunt is happy it's done- even if it's really not...

DEVELOPING: Rich Vs. Rich, Stardate 9731.6- The End Is Near...

((HT: NobiasnobullSports))

Our intrepid reporter, New Dawg, is down at the airport hotel not sponsoring our coverage in Atlanta...

Here's the latest nuggets he's uncovered as we inch closer to the end of approaching Armageddon...

First, CNBC's Darren Rovell...


And Indy Colts owner Jim Irsay- who Newby was walking with...


And The Per-fessor...


Atlanta Falcons color guy and former NFL'er Dave Archer...


And former head coach and now front officer Mike Holmgren of your Cleveland Browns


Is it just the HQ, or when the interviews leave the air conditioning, does New Dawg's lenses get all fogged up...???

Your NFL Lockout Update: Really, they are going to finish (Rich vs. Rich)--Day 9,107

NFL Owners Mtg in Atlanta

((ht: nfl.com))

It should be over. As we said on Monday, it isn't an "if" just a "when". And that when should be today (Thursday). Though it isn't a guarantee.

Said NFLPA (not a union) president Kevin Mawae on Wednesday, "We want to go back to work, but we will not agree to a deal unless it's the best deal for the players." He also said they weren't tied to having the deal done by Thursday.


The Thursday timeline is a somewhat media created time we believe because there is an owners meeting in Atlanta that fit the timeline. It also is pretty much a "Drop Dead" time for things to get started without a significant delay in exhibition games and/or training camps.


NFL Executive VP Jeff Pash says the league is prepared to do their part and the plan is for both sides to hold their votes on Thursday. 


We also know that several friends of the OSG have been put on notice to be prepared for work. We have several friends who do a variety of jobs associated with both covering and working for NFL teams.


You can also read a "Where things are" story from NFL.com RIGHT HERE


So there you have it. Yes, we know we said Monday this would be done on Thursday, and we stick by that.

Pretty much every Sports Journalist with a travel budget is in Atlanta right now because that will be where the "Let's Play" announcement will finally, ultimately come from. So stay tuned, keep an ear on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. ((sorry, went Kasey Kasem for a second))

Really that's all we've got. The NFL Hall of Fame game will kick off the exhibition season on August 7th, we still think that game will be played. And then your NFL season will be upon you and there will be much rejoicing by the masses.

Interpret this as you will:

Report: Vincent Jackson and Logan Mankins want big settlement payout--Update (So do Manning and Brees)

Vincent Jackson

((ht: yahoosports))

--see bottom of story for update--

Really? At least two of the plantiffs in the Brady vs. NFL Lawsuit want settlement money? And they....they want $10 million? Seriously?

That's what Yahoo Sports reporter Jason Cole is reporting today.

As the NFL Lockout nears its end, there are still some remaining issues out there. One of the biggest is tying up the lawsuits associated with it.

Vincent Jackson and Logan Mankins apparently want to be paid and be unrestricted free agents when the dust settles. The reason their agents say, they were both designated "Franchise Players" in February, before the lockout started. And yes, they are part of the group of players on the Brady lawsuit.

Read the full Yahoo story RIGHT HERE

This is an interesting story to follow. The consensus is that both will get paid. The big reason being the potential change in the collective bargaining agreement. If you remember, last year they played without one. And it had an impact on those guys. The new agreement changes that.

Really, the part that is hard to digest is the $10 million part of it. While we don't begrudge guys for taking that kind of money if it is offered to them, they'd be crazy not to, we still maintain there is nobody alive doing a job in life today worth $10 million a year.

UPDATE--3:15p.m.---Per PFT, it appears that Mr. Drew Brees and Mr. Payton Manning want to cut a deal for themselves too, potentially holding up the labor agreement/settlement and making the other players...not so happy.

Here's a Tweet from Vikings Punter Chris Kluwe--"Sign, and once again greed is the operative byword. Congrats Bress, Manning,Mankins and Jackson for being 'that guy'. #Douchebags". AWESOME!!

Your NFL Lockout Update: It ends here (Rich vs. Rich)--Day 8,846

DeMaurice Smith/File

And we nearly have reached the end. Yes, it is true, an end to your NFL Lockout is fast approaching. No, it isn't here yet, be we and most everyone else fully expect it to be done by the end of the week.

Let's update the comings and goings at stately Wayne Manor:

The NFLPA (not a union) will be holding meetings in Washington D.C Monday morning ahead of more face to face meetings with legal teams and the owners themselves. The lawyers for both sides (who are making a fortune off this), met most of the weekend to peruse and agree to the language the parties have agreed to (??). And our pals, the Jolly Roger (Goodell) and DeMaurice Smith spent their Saturday hanging out together too.

According to reports, the agreement, for the most part is complete with only a few allegedly minor details to hammer out.

Among those: The use of a Franchise tag, settlement of the Brady anti-trust suit, Workman's comp issues and the TV. damages case.

Roger Goodell/File

They will all get together on Tuesday for "Group Mediation" with Judge Arthur Boylan and at that point is where the belief is they'll agree to agree. From there, the hope is the players will vote on the agreement Wednesday, the Owners on Thursday in Atlanta and the doors begin to open Friday.

Supposedly, internal free agents will get to negotiate with their current teams Friday, and a week from today, (Monday the 25th), we have Free Agency and camps opening later in the week.

According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, major progress was made when owners conceded that there won't be any more 2-a-day practices and limiting OTA's  or Organized Team Activities, something that had been created over the past 6 or 7 years, which essentially were mini-camps under a different name.

What does this mean? It means were almost done. It's amazing to here what some of the idiotic arguments were about, but for the players sake, we're glad to here they got some concessions on some of them. The OTA thing was crazy, most players hated them, but had to come.

The interesting thing is going to be how teams install systems in a short period of time. Training camps will start almost immediately and we'll be playing exhibition football within a couple of weeks. Because if you look at the calendar, the NFL season is only about 45 days away.

So rejoice NFL fan, your stupid legal issues are all but resolved. Hope you put some money away over the summer, because while your ticket prices won't go up this year, they most certainly will next....

Here's your accompanying video, to be played while you read this story:

Your NFL Lockout Update: Any day now....Really (Rich vs. Rich)--Day 8,115

Roger Goodell/File

((ht: nfl.com))

Is the end finally near? It would appear, at least on the surface that yes, it is. And before you say it; we did mention this way back at the beginning of the week and what we said then, hasn't changed.

According to the major Sports Networks, who have the resources to stake out the continuing and ongoing NFL Labor negotiations, most all the stumbling blocks have finally been cleared and if you believe what your read, there may be a tentative agreement today for the owners and players to ratify by the next owners meeting on July 21st in Atlanta.

You can read the full story from Albert Breer and Jason LaCanfora of NFL.com  RIGHT HERE

Well. We've been pretty vocal in our moral anger at this issue from the get-go. And yeah, we're glad that it is finally nearing an end. Though we've been around this enough to know not to believe anything until it actually happens.

We are fully cognizant that both sides can and have used the ever eager, NFL media to try and convince the public that they are right and all is well. We know that it isn't always the truth.

However, we also are very sure that both side recognize they need to get this done fast or they both stand to lose. As much as they've whined, they've done it during the summer, when they wouldn't be playing anyway. Getting a deal done now will have some, but not major impact on the upcoming season and financially won't impact either side. We say that because while both the owners and players like to say they are on the side of the fans, really they are only on the side of lining there own pockets.



Not playing football this season would have a big impact on that. And if nothing else, Roger Goodell and DeMaurice Smith are pointedly aware of this.

Your NFL Lockout Update: They've put a date on it: (Rich vs. Rich)--Day 6,642

Roger Goodell and owners/file

((ht: espn.com))

According to our friends at the 4-letter, we are a mere 10-days away from a ratified labor agreement which would trigger the beginning of this years NFL season.

Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter are both reporting that the deal is near completion and quote an owner as saying "No reason to believe it won't get done".

Yes, there are a few details to work out like the ridiculously stupid rookie wage scale and a compromise over free agency, but those are not considered major stumbling blocks.

((ed.note--original version of espn story basically said it would happen July 21st, they updated in much more nebulous terms in case it doesn't--sounds like a little CYA there))

If you don't believe us, read the ESPN.com report RIGHT HERE

We'll spare you the details invloving the Billions of dollars they are trying to hash things out about because quite frankly, it makes us revisit our thoughts about how absurd this has been in the first place.

Rather, we'll just say "Relax, NFL Fan", you'll get your football this season. Yes, it may slightly delay the start of training camp and may change where teams hold their camps, but they'll have 'em.

Your season ticket investment hasn't gone to waste. Really, it hasn't. You'll get your $100 per ticket upper level seats and have games to actually watch.

Obviously, we'll keep an eye out and let you know once they decide to settle this once and for all.

Enjoy your accompanying cheesy music video from the Big 80's:

BREAKING: Court says NFL Lockout is legal

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued at least part of a ruling in regards the ongoing battle between the NFL and the NFLPA (not a union).

The short version is this: The 3 judges voted 2-1 to say the lockout was legal. While not totally unexpected, the timing was a bit of a surprise.

No, we don't know what, if anything this actually means, particularly in light of the ongoing negotiations for a settlement, which seem to be fairly close.

We'll try and let you know more about this along with some perspective as the day progresses and we digest the rather lengthy bit of legal-ese foisted upon us.

A Fan makes a request to the NFL about the Lockout: Can you HEAR ME?

((ed note: This story is from: Kevin Gerke, friend of the OSG and long-time Atlanta based Sports Producer. Gerk has come up with a list of items that he and many other fans would like to see incorporated into the NFL Labor negotiations. We'll see if anyone's listening))


INTRODUCTION--I got a preview to what my life would be like without the NFL earlier this year...and it wasn't pretty.


I owe it all to something we all can relate to--the weather.


Not having power at my house for six hours, I had to spend time actually trying to talk to my wife, who by the way doesn't follow sports at all. (insert-small drumroll)



For example, she went to bed during the last two minutes of the Cardinals/Steelers Super Bowl after saying "I've seen all the commercials, I'm going to bed".

This has the makings of a long fall and/or winter. As a subscriber to the NFL Football package a player in multiple Fantasy Football leagues, my fall season of joy is in jeopardy. Because I am such a "Die-Hard" fan and am fully aware both the Owners and Players are still attempting to negotiate an agreement, I feel qualified to put forth what I would consider 5-simple proposals to add to any negotiated agreement.

Yes, I said Jeopardy--Trebek?:



I'm pretty sure none of these recommendations are currently on the table:

FIRST: Have an official bar (NFL Sponsored), in every city with a team. And, tie it in with a SmartPhone app. There are apps for everything, so why not this?


The twist here is to have a "Fan Cam" looking at the bar while games are in play and cut back-and-forth between them. What Giants fan wouldn't enjoy seeing the Jets players losing on the field to the Bills and watching Jets fans freaking out at their favorite watering hole. Bartender--another round of drinks!





SECOND: No more protracted TV Rights issues that keep games off TV or at least the satellite. We the fans say "Tell the suits, if you blackout the NFL Network, we come to your office...and you won't like...when we come to your office"  ((ed. note--They are all in N.Y.C, you may want to rethink that strategy)) The choices for this--Philadelphia Eagles fans or Oakland Raiders fans.


THIRD: This applies to the aforementioned NFL Network. Make your broadcasts--better. We think that will happen thanks to this years announce crew of Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock, but your track record isn't so good. Bryant Gumbel doing play-by-play? Joe Theismann? What's up with that?





FOURTH: Eliminate the "Eyewash" during the season. What's that you ask? That is a reference was a phrase I heard a Secret Service agent use for an event a politician went to just to be seen. 


This is a fairly normal Tuesday thing for NFL Players (school visits and the like), but I'm sorry, these guys are in a high-pressurized setting six days a week and need a break. ((ed note: We don't necessarily agree with this. Most of the guys like doing this and the school kids like it even more))


This rule would only apply during the season. Traditions such as the Green Bay Packers Bike Brigade should always be preserved.

FIFTH: This is minor and somewhat personal, but it is imperative. Talk Radio, TV News and Internet reporters need to call out P.R guys who try taking on the persona of a player. I grant you the job is difficult, but they need to realize they don't own the team, didn't make a pass, tackle, interception or touchdown.  ((ed. note--This happens frequently, though not with all teams))

Perhaps the P.R folks could learn this by spending a week studying with Georgia Sports Information Director and Senior Associate Athletic Director Claude Felton. He is in the College Football Hall of Fame for a reason.

IN SUMMARY: Again, I hope they settle the lockout soon, because if there is no season I will not have any excuse as to why I cannot go out for a run with my wife. Maybe I could spend all the unused NFL money on a portable generator. At least I still would have a shot at not having to talk to her for six straight hours.

((OSG Note--We are grateful to Kevin for the contribution and are happy to publish columns or stories from any and everyone. The opinions expressed here are his, though we did copy edit, added a couple of our own thoughts and add the video to the story. Fear not dude, it appears an agreement may be days away...though nothing is etched in stone))

((Final note--sorry for the font changes, blogger on the Mac doesn't particularly like copy and pasting))

Field of Dreams 2, the Sequel (Funny or Die Delivers)

((ht: funnyordie.com))

There's a reason we love the website Funny or Die. They've spoofed almost everything that should be spoofed and now they tackle the NFL.

In this skit, they do a sequel to the Movie "Field of Dreams" featuring a ton of NFL players talking about what to do during the lockout.

And yes, it's funny. Really funny.

Field of Dreams 2: NFL Lockout with Taylor Lautner from Taylor Lautner

Your NFL Lockout Update: Almost there (Rich vs. Rich)--Day 5,912

NFLPA Head DeMaurice Smith/File

((ht: breer/nfl.com))

It may soon be over. We could be back to a world with only one Pro Sports league is in the midst of a lockout.

We think.

The NFL, its owners and players are inching ever so much closer to a collective bargaining deal that will reinstate the most popular of all U.S Pro Sports leagues.

It's officially been 112 days now, though it seems like roughly 5,912, since we last had a Pro Football game and there wasn't a lockout involved and as we get closer to the normal opening of training camp and a season, it appears there's movement.

Both the Owners and NFLPA (not a union), realize if they don't do something soon, the oh-so-important revenues they are chomping at the bit to split, will start getting smaller. And they don't want that.

Albert Breer from NFL.com tells us more RIGHT HERE

They will do this, we think, soon. They have to. Still, there are a good amount of details that need to be finalized before it happens and it almost all collapsed last week.

But it didn't.

Neither side in this argument is stupid. They finally realize that if they don't do this soon, they hurt themselves more than they will hurt us. The only financial stake we have in this is buying tickets and concessions, which just so happens to be one of the bigger ways they get money. Of course, the fact they won't get any T.V money dwarfs our needs, but we had to get that out there.

And just for those curious, no, the suit filed by the NFL Alumni, won't affect any of this. While we get the point and agree that the NFLPA (not a union) and the owners should do more for former players and shouldn't be sacrificing their piece of the pie so the active players can get a few more bucks, the suit is essentially meaningless.

You can read about their "Class-action" complaint in the New York Times RIGHT HERE

Don't worry. Judge Nelson isn't going to add the retired players to the negotiating table. Not now.

Either way, kind of keep an ear open in the next 10-days because we believe there will be a tentative agreement by then. We think both sides have bridged enough of the gap to make this happen. They've met so frequently the past couple of weeks, that could be the only reason why.

So stay tuned.

Your NFL Lockout Update: Shopping Thursday Pkg. (Rich vs. Rich--Day 6,112)

NFL Commish Roger Goodell

((ht: Sports Business Journal))

If anyone thinks that an agreement in the NFL Lockout isn't near, this should cool their jets. The Sports Business Journal is reporting Monday morning the league has been heavily shopping an early season 8-game Thursday night game package.

And they want it to start soon.

The deal would only run for the 1st half of the season. The NFL Network has a deal in place to do Thursday games for the 2nd half of the year.

The new package could be worth up to $700 million a year...something the "Allegedly" cash strapped owners and league say they desperately need. The SBJ says Turner Sports and Comcast are the leaders in the clubhouse for the deal.

Read the entire story from the Sports Business Journal RIGHT HERE

We knew that this deal was in play during negotiations with the players, so it isn't a shocker. For fans, we suspect, it would be an exciting thought. It would give them another night of football on TV early in the fall. We know the players..and coaches aren't incredibly enamored with Thursday games, though they do like when they are over and it is 10 days before the next game.

Trust us when we say this will happen. And yes, it is a pre-cursor to a labor deal getting done. They wouldn't be talking about this unless both the players and the owners thought that football would be played...and played soon. So make room on your DVR's folks, you may have one more thing you'll have to record.

For those into such things, here's the NFL Networks Thursday Night theme:

Steve Breaston Is A Poet...

And we didn't know it...

Until Jeff Chadiha let us know about it...
((HT: ESPN))


Apparently, it's nothing new for Breaston as he wrote at the University of Michigan...
But the HQ will admit that it's refreshing to see an athlete jam on his fellow athletes for things that they may be taking for granted...

Here's the poem in its entirety...
((HT: S15Phantom))

Your NFL Strike/Lockout Update: Getting closer (Rich vs. Rich, Day 4,932)

((ht:chris mortensen/espn-nationalfootballpost))

NOTE-We'd add a photo, but Blogger doesn't seem to want to let us today

They are getting there. We think it will be wrapped up sooner rather than later, so fret not, ye fan of spending inordinate amounts of money on tickets, you will still get your chance.

ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen reported on Tuesday a somewhat detailed list of what the NFL Owners and players were close to agreeing on. Mort said the Jolly Roger (commish Goodell) presented it Tuesday at a meeting in Chicago.

And it is complicated, though quite a bit different from where this stupid negotiation started.

The short version:

The Owners are proposing a 52/48 percent revenue split with the players. Not the 50/50 the players wanted, but close. And it is a lot closer than what they originally wanted.

The cash minimum is almost at 100%. Essentially, this would eliminate or lessen the chances of deferred payments on contracts. At least I think that is what it means. The Owners haven't been willing to do this...until now. The players wanted it, they wanted there money when they play, not later.

Franchise tags would stay, unrestricted free agency would come after 4-years rather than 6.

There will be a rookie pay scale. Details haven't been ironed out, but you won't see 1st round picks getting inordinate amounts of money before they ever play. JaMarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf are prime examples of why this is needed.

No 18-game season, for now. The players hate this, the owners want it because it means more stadium revenue for them. We don't think this is necessary, but what we think doesn't matter.

Read a good, detailed summary of this from Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post RIGHT HERE

Okay, so what does this mean?

It means, like we said earlier, the deal is almost done. We fully expect within the next couple weeks to see an agreement. We said from day 1, this would be done by the time training camp rolled around at the end of July and it looks like we were right.

There's too much at stake for both sides here for this to have dragged on. Though both were stubborn and at time childish through the negotiations, they had to forge an agreement. They've been warned if they don't, the courts would make a decision for them and neither side would like it.

Yes, it is incredibly frustrating to see that neither the players nor the owners understand they still have the potential for killing the goose that lays their "Golden Egg". Had this dragged on, what little support either side had from the fans, would have been gone had games gone away. And while both sides can act at times like 6-year olds, they both, when push comes to shove are truly business people and they understand that this all revolves around one thing: MONEY.

With that in mind and the inability due to a blogger malfunction to post photos, we'll try this video:

Your NFL Strike/Lockout Update: Finally...progress (Rich vs. Rich--Day 5,312)

Roger Goodell

The end may actually be near. Yes, its true or at least it is highly rumored. The NFL Lockout/Strike/Arguing/Mental Block or whatever you want to call it might actually be over soon.

Now, it's not over yet and there are no guarantees, but. There are reports of progress in the negotiations, pretty much for the 1st time since they started.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA (not a union), chief DeMaurice Smith have been meeting on a regular basis the past couple of weeks and side sessions with owners and players appear to have shown signs of success.

Read more from the Washington Post RIGHT HERE

DeMaurice Smith

For those of you contemplating season tickets, you can probably breathe a little easier. If what this report, and others say is true, it will only be a couple of weeks before it gets settled. And if that's the case, it will play out like we predicted it will initially. Camp would start on time, you'd get your oh, so exciting pre-season games and the season would proceed as scheduled.

Quite honestly, we believe the main reason this is finally happening is because things ended up in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals which basically told both sides "Figure this out" "If we have to make a decision, neither of you may like it".

So, stay tuned, the next couple of weeks should be fun and yes, you, you NFL crazies, can start making plans to spend roughly one weeks pay to go see your favorite team this season.

An 8 Game NFL Season ahead?

Roger Goodell and Owners/File

((ht: nationalfootballauthority.com))

If this is an indicator, we're in for a really interesting summer and early fall. The Sports Business Journal and other outlets are reporting the NFL is preparing for a season that could be as short as 8 games.

You can find there story (subscription only) RIGHT HERE

The report goes on to add that in such a scenario, the season would start in late November (possibly Thanksgiving) and it would push the playoffs back one week. The plan supposedly builds in a 5-week free agency period, training camp and an exhibition game.

Read the National Football Authority story RIGHT HERE

What do you think about this? Us, we are somewhat skeptical. We don't necessarily believe much that comes from league offices these days, because it is mostly PR Spin when it comes to the lockout.

It would be an intriguing option and one that would make some sense for several reasons: We don't believe the lockout is going to end soon. It could end by August, but it could drag on. We believe the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday gave both sides a stern warning about not-settling when they said "Neither of you may like our ruling".

As always, stay tuned, we'll keep you updated on all things lockout. There is usually something silly going on related to it, it's just a question as to whether it is actual news or not.

Because the NFL and NFLPA are incredibly needy and are fighting for your love and the number 8 is the theme of this story, we give you the most relevant video we can find:

Your NFL Strike/Lockout Update: Meetings and decisions (Rich vs. Rich--Day 4,112)

Roger Goodell/File

We can't say that "D-Day" is here, but it has been a somewhat busy week in the land of NFL negotiations and we'll have the added bonus of a legal ruling from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals today (Friday).

1st things first. Yes, the league and the NFLPA (not a union) have been meeting the past 2 days in Chicago. The hope: getting negotiations jumpstarted. The outcome: Unkown. Both sides were decidedly non-committal with their answers saying that "The fact they were meeting is good".

Several of the principals took part in those meetings. For the NFL: The Jolly Roger along with owners Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft, Jerry Richardson, John Mara and Art Rooney. For the NFLPA: DeMaurice Smith, Kevin Mawae, Mike Vrabel, Jeff Saturday, Tony Richardson and Dominique Foxworth.

And while they didn't go into detail about what was discussed, enough came out of it that Judge/Mediator Arthur Boylan has postponed next weeks scheduled mediation sessions.

Now as for today (Friday):

We are supposed to find out the decision on the owners appeal of Judge Susan Nelson's decision to lift the lockout back in late April. The 8th Circuit granted the owners a stay on that decision which is why we've had no mini-camps or anything like that.

The expectation is that the owners are going to win their appeal and the lockout will continue. Why? We don't really know. We aren't labor-law experts and quite honestly, we don't understand the reason why there is a lockout/strike going on anyway. We know it has something to do with the owners and the players both wanting a bigger "piece of the pie" along with a few other minor details.

Don't get your hopes up yet for your NFL Football, though it's coming. We think this is going to drag on a bit longer, but both sides are starting to realize the longer this goes on, the more likely they are to piss people off. Though we've been a bit disappointed in the lack of concern on the fans part.

The decision comes at approximately 11:00 a.m eastern time and we will update you as soon as we are able to.

Here's another group who wanted a "Piece of the Pie":