It’s fitting, we suppose, that the nation emerges from the three-day Memorial Day weekend with a proverbial splash of cold water regarding the lingering lockout.
As Adam Schefter of ESPN points out on his Twitter page, only 100 days remain until the Saints and Packers are scheduled to square off at Lambeau Field on Thursday, September 8 to launch the 2011 season.
In three days, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit will hear arguments regarding the question of whether the lockout should be lifted. If it is, it will then become likely if not certain that the 2011 season will be played. If, as currently expected, the lockout remains in place, the season will start on time only if the two sides work out a new labor deal.
Regardless of whether a given observer is pro-player, pro-owner, or pro-they-all-should-go-to-hell, we all should agree that both sides need to commit to meaningful, continuous negotiations, if the Eighth Circuit allows the lockout to remain in place. And the process should commence with the players responding to the offer(s) made by the NFL on March 11 and May 16.