I'll have plenty of other content on the site today, but let's face it, the only thing that matters today is what happens in Washington DC where the NFL and the NFLPA are engaged in last minute talks with the federal mediator to work out some kind of labor agreement and save the 2011 season.
If you're looking for answers, there are none. Even reading tea leaves at this point is a exercise in futility. Basically, there are three things that can happen today.
- Both sides can reach a deal...shortly thereafter they'll announce Santa exists and will be presenting each and every NFL fan with an apology.
- The current league year can be extended. If you're an optimist, this is what you'll want to look for today as it means the mediation has been productive and both sides feel as though they can work out a deal with a new deadline.
- LOCKOUT...
Another move to watch for today is the whether or not the NFLPA decides to decertify, dissolving the players union keeps the fight in Judge Doty's court and turns it into an anti-trust case, i.e. the players suing the league arguing that the lockout is illegal. It's the NFLPA's biggest card left to play. The union has to decertify before the deadline; otherwise, they can't decertify for six months and lose Doty's oversight in the case.
Daniel Kaplan from the Sports Business Journal tweeted this moments ago:
Talk is nfl will put out a press release this afternoon. Expect it will be anncment of a lockout. Nflpa sure to run to doty's court
There's no way to know what's going to happen at this point. Stay tuned. In the meantime, you've got to read these two articles from far more intelligent sources on the matter than I.
Doug Farrar, who talked CBA on the last edition of Turf Show Radio, has a digestible last minute look at where things stand and where they could be headed over at Yahoo.
Lester Munson at ESPN takes a look at the last minute dealings as well.