SOURCE: NFL lock-out almost over

[YourPalChrisMal]

http://www.eagletribune.com/latestne...ockout-is-over

SOURCE: NFL lock-out almost over

Bill Burt [email protected] The Eagle Tribune Thu Jun 09, 2011, 08:51 PM EDT


A deal to end the National Football League's lockout is almost complete, according to an NFL source.

According to the source, owners and players were close to an agreement today to end the lockout, which entered its 86th day today.

Some coaches and players have been contacted about returning to work probably early next week and possibly as soon as this weekend.

The two sides were meeting secretly in Manhattan the last three days. Included in those meetings were Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Commissioner Roger Goodell, Judge Arthur Boylan and NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith.

The group reportedly met last week in Chicago.

This means that the season is expected to begin, as scheduled on Thursday, Sept. 8, when the New Orleans Saints play at Green Bay.

[Green With Envy]

nothing on ESPN about this

[Eagle60]

And here I thought these meetings were double secret.

[YourPalChrisMal]

And here I thought these meetings were double secret.

They were going to make them double *overtime* secret, but they didn't realize there was even overtime in the NFL.

[flyered]

if the talks go into overtime, can they end in a tie or do the owners or players have to win?

[YourPalChrisMal]

if the talks go into overtime, can they end in a tie or do the owners or players have to win?

If this goes on too long, I'd say no one wins, and the fans definitely lose.

[Eagle60]

If this goes on too long, I'd say no one wins, and the fans definitely lose.

No doubt Chris. Missing mini camps is one thing, but training camp is huge. There will be real problems if it doesn't get settled this month.

[IMK]

No doubt Chris. Missing mini camps is one thing, but training camp is huge. There will be real problems if it doesn't get settled this month.

Agreed, this month is the last chance to do this and have everything go back to more or less normal.

[YourPalChrisMal]

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2...t-in-two-weeks

Kaplan: NFL Could Reach An Agreement In Two Weeks

Over the past week and a half we've seen a marked increase in the amount of optimism stemming from the face to face talks currently being held by the players and owners. This afternoon, Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal is reporting that optimism is so high, a deal could be done as early as two weeks.

Told optimism is so high in NFL, players talks over labor deal that expectation is for a framework agreement in about two weeks
less than a minute ago via Twitter for Android Favorite Retweet Reply
daniel kaplan
dkaplanSBJ

Should an agreement be done in two weeks, the NFL season would be largely unaffected, at least as far as the schedule goes. Training camp and preseason would go on as scheduled and obviously the season would start on time. Combine all that with free agency and we could be forgetting about this whole lockout business very quickly.

Fingers crossed.

[sfphillyfan]

So... about this source...

[Eagle60]

Mort chimes in:

Sometimes he knows more about the administrative stuff:

Mortensen: Owners, players in "deal-making mode"
Jun 14
6/14/2011 11:04:01 AM | More


ESPN's Chris Mortensen reports via Twitter that the NFL owners and players are meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in the Washington D.C. area and are in a "deal-making mode."

The negotiations are expected to last through Wednesday, and are taking place on Maryland's Eastern Shore. This is the third set of such meetings. The first took place in Chicago in late May, the second in New York. The owners will also meet again in Chicago next week

[Leonard Tose]

This is exactly what I thought would happen after the courts gave us a legal stalemate. I'm hopeful.

[Eagle60]

A little more from Redzone


NFL source: Labor negotiations 80-85 percent complete
Jun
14 6/14/2011 4:31:57 PM | More


According to Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, one source with intimate knowledge of the discussions tells me negotiations are 80-85 percent complete. They've made such fast progress, I'm told, it's catching many of the principals by surprise. Some are now canceling vacations, believing an agreement will be reached within a matter of days.

Basically, it seems, we continue to move solidly into that threshold of a season will be played, not if one will be played. Again, barring the knucklehead factor.

"It's going to be very difficult for this to get screwed up," the source said.

No one will go into specifics about what concessions are being made. What is being said is that both owners and players are making major ones and that has greased the CBA skids.

"I think all the players want to do is get back on the field," Minnesota Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe told me. "I think owners have a vested interest in getting this done as

[Eagle60]

More News

From the Redzone



Source: NFL talks 'almost blew up' Tuesday
Jun
15
6/15/2011 10:13:36 AM | More


Adam Schefter of ESPN reports one person close to the talks between the NFL and NFLPA went so far as to say, "This almost blew up yesterday."

How close it did is a matter of opinion. But what is factual is that the moment came shortly after lawyers from both sides were brought back into the process. As tensions rose and anger grew, two sources said NFL Players Association leader DeMaurice Smith instructed his lawyers to "stand down."

With the lawyers removed from the direct negotiations, the process was said to get back on track and to a good spot. The incident is an example of just how tenuous these talks can be and how quickly they can be derailed.

But it also is the ultimate proof that Smith and his players, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners have taken the process out of the hands of the attorneys and demanded that they control it as the two sides try to hammer out a collective bargaining agreement.

During these negotiations this winter, many around the league worried that the lawyers were controlling the process. But Tuesday's events are the strongest evidence to date that they are not.

[Blitz]

Damn lawyers!