We ignored the link the first time a reader sent it. But when it came the fifth time, we decided it made sense to address it, even if it meant to dispute it.
The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Massachusetts reports that the lockout is “almost over.”
Actually, the headline says it’s “almost over.” The body of the article, written by Bill Burt, says that the lockout is indeed over.
Burt claims that the NFL and owners reached an agreement in principle today. But there are three major flaws in the report.
First, Burt claims that "[s]ome coaches and players have been contacted about returning to work probably early next week and as soon as this weekend.” Apart from the fact that coaches have continued to work throughout the lockout, if “coaches and players” had been contacted, word of the lifted lockout and new CBA would have spread like wildfire, and a lot more people than a reporter for a small paper in Massachusetts would be reporting it.
Second, Burt writes that "[t]he two sides were meeting secretly in Manhattan the last three days.” Technically, they were meeting in Long Island. More significantly, the meetings ended on Wednesday, in only their second day.
Third, Patriots owner Bob Kraft said earlier today that “a lot of hard work” still remained before a deal could be reached.
So while we hope the lockout eventually will be over, there’s no reason to believe that it’s ending in the immediate future.