Just in case you didn't read about it yesterday, I figured I could ruin your morning with some of the, how you say, "crappiest" news this offseason. Of course, we're talking about the NFL lockout, the proverbial low blow offered up by both the NFL and the NFLPA. Yesterday, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the lockout will remain in effect for the time being. They've scheduled a full hearing on the matter for June 3rd, which now becomes the next "false hope date."
The link above does a better job of explaining things than I can, mostly because I've kept mostly to the sidelines in regard to the labor dispute ... not because such things are above my head, but I do not need anymore than a modicum of understanding the proceedings to know that it pisses me off. Unfortunately, Fooch's absence means I had to write about this, and I'm really unable to disguise my bitterness. There's no top-level reporting or anything like that, just me shaking my head while I write.
Still, the two sides remain in negotiations and will continue in that vein this morning as well. It also seems as though the owners have introduced a new proposal that hasn't been immediately rejected 100% in principle by the players, which is a good start no matter how you look at it. So long as the two sides are talking and not crying like children to the media (that's us), then I'm not going to threaten my own plunge from the ledge.
Regarding the line of thought that says this move makes a deal more likely ... that really is open to interpretation. It's all well and good to want to believe that the move will have the players on their heels, but it's also not something that we can say for certain. Does this bring us closer? I really don't know ... there's still the ruling regarding the $4 billion in broadcast revenue to consider, as well. Now, the league may be confident that an appeal to the 8th Circuit regarding that will go in their favor as well, but it's not as though the players are without bargaining options.
To steal a line that is not his, but one he uses frequently, from Plank over at Fear The Fin: God Save Us All.