Well, we're entering the July 4th holiday weekend and the NFL Lockout remains in place. The players and owners have been meeting two to three days a week each of the last few weeks in attempts to reach some kind of deal. The last couple days has seen some setbacks with some folks claiming things are not moving as fast as the media has made it sound.
Now as we get going on this holiday Friday, the two sides seem to have stepped up the sense of urgency surrounding the talks even further. After optimism reached a fevered pitch late last week and early this week, we've settled into a bit of a rough patch as the two sides continue negotiations. There are concerns over the revenue split once again but the two sides are not giving up hope. Thursday night saw the owners and players negotiating well into the night and not breaking up until well after midnight eastern time.
In labor negotiations, I'd argue that is actually a good sign. It shows that the two sides can actually negotiate with some level of respect for each other. More importantly, they have enough concern that they are starting to put in the serious time to make something happen. It will be interesting to see how the next few days go and whether the two sides continue negotiating into the holiday weekend.
The sides have approximately 10-14 days to make something happen if they want to get in free agency and a normal training camp and preseason. Time is running short and if they don't overcome these recent "setbacks" a timely preseason will be in danger. It's hard to tell exactly what is the truth at this point in regards to these supposed setbacks, but as long as there isn't a deal signed, sealed and delivered, there will remain plenty of work to be done.