Lockout - 2011

[jonzr]

More info.  This link is from the PG+ premium site, but it opened for me once.  Interesting stuff http://bit.ly/kKA20o

[jonzr]

Good article by Simmons from early March.  Nothing really new but an interesting parable version.  And kinda funny considering that he recently started his own site, http://grantland.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/110304

[jonzr]

The lead negotiating teams for the NFL and NFL Players Association have gathered Tuesday at an undisclosed location in the Washington, D.C., area in an effort to end the 91-day lockout. It's the third consecutive week the sides have met for "secret" talks.

Both sides remain guardedly optimistic. Sources characterized the owners and players as being in a "deal-making mode" and hope to make significant progress over the next two or three days, ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen reported.

Of course that's Chris Mortensen which to me means take it with a grain of salt.

[jonzr]

Sources told NFL Network's Albert Breer on Tuesday that both the NFL and NFL Players Association are evaluating and strongly considering concessions on all fronts, and that has led to a belief that a deal could be done in two to four weeks.

That's from NFL.com and only quotes the enigmatic Mr. Sources ...

But maybe they are getting closer to getting a new deal done.

[Finnegans Wake]

I don't care if De Smith and Rog Ho-Dell are jerking each off under the table and texting each other pics of their junk, none of this rumor-mongering means shit to me until the deal is done.  I can't be bothered to follow every new non-development, even if it is from Mort! Mort! Mort!

Matt Jones won't be among the top 10 players selected in the April 23-24 draft, but I will venture to say that he'll play in more Pro Bowls than almost any of those guys.

And I will laugh, knowing I told you so.

Still laughing, asshat?  2005 draft top 10 was a suck job for the ages, and you STILL lost, Mort.

[jonzr]

Hmmm, an interesting angle I hadn't heard before.  This lockout is really an owner vs. owner revenue-sharing fight.

That is, according to Ray Ratto at CBS Sportsline.

The owners like each other far less than they like the players, and trust each other not at all. It's why all the reports of an imminent settlement always sound more like begging than fact-finding.

...

The lockout has been covered mostly as your standard management-labor fight because it is easier to get readers/viewers/listeners to pick sides based on their own preconceived notions of unions vs. owners.

[aj_law]

Hmmm, an interesting angle I hadn't heard before.  This lockout is really an owner vs. owner revenue-sharing fight.

That is, according to Ray Ratto at CBS Sportsline.

The owners like each other far less than they like the players, and trust each other not at all. It's why all the reports of an imminent settlement always sound more like begging than fact-finding.

...

The lockout has been covered mostly as your standard management-labor fight because it is easier to get readers/viewers/listeners to pick sides based on their own preconceived notions of unions vs. owners.

Ratto is being a little hyperbolic, tho.

The lockout has been covered mostly as your standard management-labor fight because it is easier to get readers/viewers/listeners to pick sides based on their own preconceived notions of unions vs. owners.

But it isn't that at all, and really never has been. This is owners against owners, which makes for lousy TV, lousy reading, lousy debates, lousy everything.

He can spin it however he wants, but it's definitely an owner vs. player standoff.  The ownership "haves" vs. the "have nots" really isn't anything new.  It just rarely gets the pub.

I mean, when you've got guys like Jerry Jones and Snyder who are ponying up their own brazillians to build their stadiums and then have to share a portion of their revenues with teams that get public funding for stadiums and/or are running close to the red, you're going to have some discord.  Standard.  Plain and simple.  Those guys are douches, but they do get the short end of the stick in that respect.

Players got a great, great deal last time they were at the table.  Ever ask yourself why we've heard over and over that "the players are willing to just maintain the status quo" on a deal that's 5 years old?  Owners took it dry and want a do over.  The "haves" aren't going to want to keep sharing their revenues at the same clip if they're gonna cave some to the players.

[jonzr]

The End is Nigh?

You know, provided the league wraps up it's issues in time to have a regular season, I'm thinking an annual lockout might not be a bad thing.  Frankly, I haven't missed all the daily non-news updates, the micro coverage that the NFL gets 365.  It's been nice.

Hell, even if they don't wrap it up anytime soon, I'm not holding my breath.  Take your time boys, you haven't been missed.

[jonzr]

Deal by July 21?

A new collective bargaining agreement could be in place and ratified during the July 21 league meetings, ESPN reported Monday morning. This comes on the heels of another report Sunday that the two sides are "in really good shape" and that they're down to "one main issue … the rookie wage scale."

[pensodyssey]

I'll believe it when I see it.  There's always time for Jones or Snyder to go nuclear.