NFL Lockout Thread

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Tue May 03, 2011 10:07 am

The appeals court in St. Louis announced today that it will hear the NFL's appeal of Judge Nelson's ruling to lift the lockout on June 3 in St. Louis.

The court did not decide whether to grant the league's request to have a stay imposed on Judge Nelson's ruling. That decision is expected to come at some point this week, perhaps tomorrow.

What does all this mean? Well, if the appeals court grants the stay, then the lockout will remain in effect for at least another month. If the stay is denied, the league year will begin, meaning business as usual. The NFL will then attempt to appeal the decision on June 3.

According to the NFL Network, a final ruling could occur sometime in mid-June. So we're still several weeks away at least from finding out conclusively if the season will start on time.

Yay.

[ June 14, 2011, 10:55 AM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed May 04, 2011 3:16 am

Can someone please tell me how you can say this has been expedited when the hearing is ONE MONTH AWAY?!!

This is crazy. This is giving the owners exactly what they wanted: More time to put pressure on the players' union to crack.

Does it really make sense for the NFL and their lawyers to spend the next month arguing for an extension of this temporary stay when even getting a deal done in June is affecting the upcoming season? Shouldn't both sides be working day and night to get a labor deal done instead??

Commissioner Goodell can spin this like a used car salesman all he wants, but the NFL does not look very serious about getting a fair deal done immediately. The owners have shown from the beginning that this is about getting control of the finances back in their favor, not about saving the upcoming season or continuing the momentum of past seasons. If they have to sacrifice one season or parts of it to regain some of that 60% share the players are now getting they will do it. They are less concerned about the fans and this upcoming season than they are about getting the revenue split closer to 50-50.

This was not a ruling that helped anyone but the owners. No matter what the court rules on June 3rd, the stay has become more than temporary. Nothing gets done in the next month except paying expensive lawyers. And even if the NFL gets slapped again, time has been wasted. I'm getting fed up with this whole fight between billionaires and millionaires and it shows the greed of our nation. Let's hope a miracle happens in the next month because all of us need a deal before July 1st to get rookies involved, free agents signed, training camps rolling. Will it happen? I'd say unlikely.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed May 04, 2011 3:24 am

Somehow this doesn't seem expedited to me:

Under the appeals schedule set up Tuesday, the league's opening brief is due May 9 and the players must file their response brief by May 20. The NFL's reply to the response is due May 26. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis set a June 3 hearing, with 30 minutes of oral argument for each side, before Judges Duane Benton, Kermit Bye and Steven Colloton.

This is the most compelling point of yesterday's news:

In denying the NFL's request for a stay, Judge Susan Richard Nelson wrote last week that the league "offered little, if any, evidence to directly rebut" evidence from the players they're being irreparably damaged by the lockout, the key requirement for a decision to lift it.

Nelson also wrote that, without a motion for an expedited appeal, the NFL's argument assuming the 8th Circuit will rule before the 2011 season begins "seems unlikely."

Can we all admit that the 2011 season is in jeopardy now? And can anyone tell me how the owners will be "irreparably harmed" by the lockout ending? With the lockout on, they just held three days of drafts in New York City and certainly made millions of dollars off it. The league would have done just fine running 2011 on last year's terms while negotiating in the background with the players association for a new labor deal. Irreparably harmed? The lockout is irreparably harming everyone in their path. End it now and you'll see billions of dollars flowing back in to both the players and owners.

This has really upset me. Is anyone else upset by all of this? What can we do? C'mon, let's do something.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Wed May 04, 2011 3:53 am

Chris Mortensen just Tweeted that he believes both sides now expect the stay to be granted.

Yay.

[ May 04, 2011, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Wed May 04, 2011 4:47 am

More reports coming in that a stay is expected to be granted, including one from Chad Ochocinco. So it must be true.

Somehow the league has found a way to turn a pathetic joke of a situation into an even greater pathetic joke.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed May 04, 2011 4:59 am

Originally posted by Tom Kessenich:
More reports coming in that a stay is expected to be granted, including one from Chad Ochocinco. So it must be true.

Somehow the league has found a way to turn a pathetic joke of a situation into an even greater pathetic joke. So both sides are going to spend the next month and millions of dollars fighting a permanent stay to keep the lockout intact? And then we're going to wait another 4-6 weeks to see if the judges grant the stay that we're all expecting to be granted? So by mid-July we get the decision and both sides then get serious about negotiating a new labor agreement?? WOW.

This is more insane than killing the golden goose. This is far more insane than what the MLB owners did in 1994. Baseball was NOWHERE CLOSE to being as popular as the NFL is now. I'm sure we'll all return like sheep if they settle at the last minute, but wow, this is amazing.

And remember, the NFL owners have all of our money for the 2011 season already along with the television networks saying they will pay in full with or without games this year (which of course is being contested by the NFLPA). We had to pay for our Packer season tickets last month in full or lose them and I'm sure other franchises do the same thing. Yet there's no guarantee that what we paid for will be around this fall. Crazy, but enjoy our money in the meantime owners. Nice.

I'm starting to get fed up by this and I'm a die-hard fan. End this fiasco and start negotiating seriously today. Incredible.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Wed May 04, 2011 5:02 am

Several reports now coming in on Twitter which say that if a stay is granted all offseason programs for the 2011 season would be eliminated.

I don't see any reason to be concerned about that. After all, it's not like players who miss all of training camp, for example, suffer injuries. I'm sure the game will be just fine without a single offseason program for any team this season.

Route Collectors · Post by **Route Collectors** » Fri May 06, 2011 4:25 am

Originally posted by Greg Ambrosius:
quote:Originally posted by Tom Kessenich:
More reports coming in that a stay is expected to be granted, including one from Chad Ochocinco. So it must be true.

Somehow the league has found a way to turn a pathetic joke of a situation into an even greater pathetic joke. So both sides are going to spend the next month and millions of dollars fighting a permanent stay to keep the lockout intact? And then we're going to wait another 4-6 weeks to see if the judges grant the stay that we're all expecting to be granted? So by mid-July we get the decision and both sides then get serious about negotiating a new labor agreement?? WOW.

This is more insane than killing the golden goose. This is far more insane than what the MLB owners did in 1994. Baseball was NOWHERE CLOSE to being as popular as the NFL is now. I'm sure we'll all return like sheep if they settle at the last minute, but wow, this is amazing.

And remember, the NFL owners have all of our money for the 2011 season already along with the television networks saying they will pay in full with or without games this year (which of course is being contested by the NFLPA). We had to pay for our Packer season tickets last month in full or lose them and I'm sure other franchises do the same thing. Yet there's no guarantee that what we paid for will be around this fall. Crazy, but enjoy our money in the meantime owners. Nice.

I'm starting to get fed up by this and I'm a die-hard fan. End this fiasco and start negotiating seriously today. Incredible. [/QUOTE]I wish all of us fans could unite and boycott the NFL long enough to regain our status as customers as well as fans.

It's too bad so many in the fantasy industry as well as bars/hotels/ eateries etc could suffer such financial loss over an industry we have zero influence on.

This is definitely waaaay out of control. The fans need Jimmie Hoffa! Ok maybe not but we sure need a voice..a platform of some kind.

Is it just me or is Roger Goodell simply a bad fit for football? My impression of him is of a guy who's #1 priority is to put his own personal stamp on the NFL. He seems to be more interested in creating his own legacy In the process he's bulldozing the fans as if we just don't matter. It's really sad.

So what if the guy says he'll work for $1 during a work stoppage. I could work for FREE if I was already well into my 10 million dollar contract. Does this dope think we are all math idiots!

Like all NFL fans I just want the game to go on as normal. Maybe I don't remember all the bad times but right now I'd sure like to see "Tag" put the commish hat back on.

Goodell has been sleeping with the owners since day 1. He makes me sick!

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Fri May 06, 2011 4:43 am

Right now, Goodell's legacy is the commissioner who presided over a league lockout coming while the league was showing unparalleled success.

Oh, did I mention the Super Bowl was the highest-rated television show (not sports show, television show) of all time?

There's your legacy, Roger. Enjoy it.

Erok · Post by **Erok** » Mon May 09, 2011 3:22 pm

What is going to happen to the free agents if they do settle this in summer?

Will there be a free agency period or will it be eliminated for 2011?

In other words what are the options?
I havent been following this at all figuring it would get settled by summer.

Well, June is only a few weeks away now so this is creeping into serious territory now IMO. I thought it wouldve been settled by now.
Also, when is the cut date for 2011? In other words say it is late August and no deal has been done? Then what? modified season? later start to season,etc? cancel the season?