APThis week’s round of negotiations in the NFL lockout were expected to feature no owners or players — just their representatives, namely NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA* Executive Director DeMaurice Smith and both sides’ lawyers.
But now the owners and players have decided to meet face to face after all.
Albert Breer of NFL Network reports that owners and players are arriving in Minneapolis to re-join the talks on Thursday, following three days of meetings between their legal teams. Thursday’s meetings will feature a select group of owners and a select group of players, as well as Goodell, Smith and the lawyers.
At the moment the sides are scheduled to wrap up their meeting on Thursday and not get together on Friday, but they’re leaving their schedules open for Friday in case they think they should keep it going at the end of the day Thursday.
We’d have to assume that this is a good sign. After the lawyers have traded proposals this week, it doesn’t seem likely that the lawyers would call in their clients if they didn’t think a face-to-face meeting was going to be productive.
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I thought they agreed to four days?
They invited Carl Eller to a meeting in New York, but he declined. So the NFL and the NFLPA put all of their office equipment in movie set trailers and are headed to Minnesota.
When they convene in Minnesota, everyone will shake hands. Except Carl Eller. He will shake their souls.
this is great news maybe to for them to read over the paper work
Happy 4th if this comes together.
Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down. Up then Down.
Welcome to the life of a hardcore NFL fan this off season.
Just keep it going and get it done. If we don’t have a deal by next week I’m going to get nervous.
As long as both sides are bargaining in good faith, let’s lift the dam lockout and get going. If everyone REALLY wanted football we would have it.
Let’s get some production out of this Thursday meeting and sign some docs.
We NEED to get free agency started sooner rather then later so guys have a chance to play and make a living and fans can have football.
MAKE IT HAPPEN!!
narutofan10 says: Jun 29, 2011 6:09 PM
this is great news maybe to for them to read over the paper work
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Nice sentence Yoda.
they are only meeting to confirm that Brett Favre has thrown another interception!!
Anyone up for finding out where the negotiations are being held and encircling the premises so they can’t leave before a deal is done and the lockout is lifted???
Too bad that would be illegal . . .
@footballfanatic3431, well, then we’re due for an up:) Have faith my friends. Nothing worth having is obtained without going through suffering. That’s the way of this world.
Anyone else immediately think of Reservoir Dogs when they saw that picture?
They are meeting to discuss throwing out all of last year and not counting it. Thus the Packers “Super Bowl” never happened. Word out of Wisconsin is that counselors and psychiatrists are hard to come by right now.
True … how many pick 6′s has Brett thrown before they got they right shot of his pass in the Wrangler commercial? Cut-cut-cut ! … Brett can you please hit the guy in the gray longsleeves running the post!… and your fly is undone…. take 12… action!
Dsmith will see his shadow and the players will have 6 more weeks of vacation. Kill me.
Free agency will begin late next week. This is nearly done and everyone wants to be there for the photos.
@ staff2cj That was the funniest thing I heard all day!
packattack1967 says: Jun 29, 2011 6:19 PM
narutofan10 says: Jun 29, 2011 6:09 PM
this is great news maybe to for them to read over the paper work
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Nice sentence Yoda.
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that is exactly what i was going for thanks for realizing LOL
Hopefully this will be the first thing ever won in Minnesota.
Great News. Let’s hope it leads to a new CBA deal sooner rather than later.
Amazing progress after the judges said, “Don’t make us come over there!”.
Something smells funny in all of this.
Everything being portrayed as optimism, love and talking.
I hope I am wrong, but I sense a clusterfudge coming out of left field for all you saps who think a deal is close at hand.
If a deal was so close, why wouldn’t either side at least be saying, “we are close to a deal”?
If the answer to that is, “we don’t want to wreck something good that is happening…”, then a deal isn’t close and they are both playing a game of chicken. Neither side is willing to admit that a deal is close. If a deal were this close I would think that one side would want to get that message out.
Just think we are all being set up to be jilted at the alter.
God I hope this thing gets resolved by next week. What a summer this would be….. You don’t realize how much you appreciate something like the NFL offseason activities until you don’t have them.
PriscoCBSPete Prisco
So De Smith telling players a deal isn’t close. I don’t buy it. He’s just acting like a tough guy.—————————————————————-
No one get their hopes up, tomorrow there will probably be horrible news
The more they meet the better. But in the absence of any definitive news, trying to figure out what is a good sign and why is getting a bit tiresome. It reminds me of the old days of the Soviet Union where “analysts” in the west tried to figure out what was happening within the Politburo based on who was standing next to whom in photos taken at parades. For those few old enough to recall such things.
These guys travel more than the Grateful Dead.
damn my house is gonna be full! ha
Left standing on the street in Gulfport without even their luggage, the owners want Roger to find out WHO THE HELL misread and put Mississippi on their tickets.
montsta says:
Jun 29, 2011 6:45 PM
Anyone else immediately think of Reservoir Dogs when they saw that picture?
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“You gonna bark all day little doggie, or are you gonna dot the “i”s and cross the “t”s?
If a bunch of millionaires and billionaires cant realize they are turning one hell of a profit during an economic recession, Then that’s it for me. I’ll just stick to college football. At least they can still hit with their helmets.
The owners were left standing in the street wondering what to do next after calling all the hotels and motels in the Twin City area, and even the YMCA.
The message was always the same, “This is Carl Eller’s town, if you want food or accommodation you have to work it out with him first.”.
philwauke says:
Jun 29, 2011 7:15 PM
Hopefully this will be the first thing ever won in Minnesota.
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Although inaccurate and a cheap shot, that was really funny.