Thursday, June 9, 2011

Discredited: Paper Reports NFL Lockout "Over"

The North Andover, Massachusetts newspaper, the Eagle-Tribune, has reported that the NFL "lockout is over". The article states that "according to an NFL source, owners and players have tentatively reached an agreement to end the lockout".

Not so fast.

This report has been widely discredited. Pats owner Bob Kraft has said that the parties have “a lot of hard work” ahead of them.

George Atallah, who works for the NFLPA, today tweeted, "There's a report that the lockout is over. Umm...no".

The article also says that the parties met in Manhattan, when in fact they met in Long Island. The article also provides that some "coaches and players have been contacted about returning to work probably early next week and as soon as this weekend'. If players and coaches were indeed contacted, this story would have broken quicker than my confidence at a speed dating event.

So it looks like a false alarm. The lockout continues.

I still see settlement in principle no later than the end of July, followed by a full NFL season filled with Brett Favre rumours of a comeback and stories of Clinton Portis battling injury (wherever he may sign). 

Given that there are clear areas of compromise, this case has a profile for settlement.

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