NFL Lockout Thread

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed May 11, 2011 3:06 am

Give Tim Keown of ESPN.com credit for calling it like he sees it towards the NFL's latest decisions:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commenta ... id=6520270

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed May 11, 2011 3:21 am

The heck with it, I'm on a roll.

And now the Dolphins are trying to save a few bucks during this lockout by cutting the salaries of their employees. This has to be good for morale, huh?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... -salaries/

Mike Florio also reports that Adweek did a poll that shows that one in five fans will be less likely to watch the NFL if the lockout goes into the season, but of course we all know we'll return like sheep once this is settled. Still, it's an interesting take:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... ys-season/

Roger · Post by **Roger** » Wed May 11, 2011 6:14 am

And Florio interviewed Roger Goodell today. Floria asked Goodell point blank about the shutdown rumors that have circulated. Goodell refused to deny that a complete shutdown of the NFL was one of the many options that the NFL is considering. It would have been very easy for him to simply say "we would never shut down all of our business operations." From a ff players point of view, this is scary.

I am not a union person by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no clue what the NFL is trying to do. At least during the baseball strike, MLB went to some lengths to show how much money some clubs were losing. These folks won't open their books and I suspect I know why. But why would the Bob Kraft's and Jerry Jones' go to these extremes simply because they are not making ENOUGH profit.??? Don't get this.

On the other hand, I can somewhat understand why the Union took this dispute to Court. They knew they would get their ***** kicked in a protracted work stoppage. Their only 2 choices were: (1) cave in and accept the league's best demand, or (2) take it to court with the possiblity that a Court could end the lockout before training camps are scheduled to open.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed May 11, 2011 7:56 am

Originally posted by Trust In Bill:
And Florio interviewed Roger Goodell today. Floria asked Goodell point blank about the shutdown rumors that have circulated. Goodell refused to deny that a complete shutdown of the NFL was one of the many options that the NFL is considering. It would have been very easy for him to simply say "we would never shut down all of our business operations." From a ff players point of view, this is scary.

I am not a union person by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no clue what the NFL is trying to do. At least during the baseball strike, MLB went to some lengths to show how much money some clubs were losing. These folks won't open their books and I suspect I know why. But why would the Bob Kraft's and Jerry Jones' go to these extremes simply because they are not making ENOUGH profit.??? Don't get this.

On the other hand, I can somewhat understand why the Union took this dispute to Court. They knew they would get their ***** kicked in a protracted work stoppage. Their only 2 choices were: (1) cave in and accept the league's best demand, or (2) take it to court with the possiblity that a Court could end the lockout before training camps are scheduled to open. Goodell's quotes recently are more lawyer-speak that fan-speak. I can't even understand what he's saying in some of his responses. He's so worried to say anything that could help move this forward that he just sounds like another owner bashing the players. But you are right Bill, his response on the possible work stoppage is discouraging to say the least:

“Mike, the only thing I’m going to say in regards to any of these rumors, there’s all kinds of reports, is that we’re considering a variety of different alternatives based on the court decisions. We’ll have to do that, and we are prepared to do that, and we are going through that process,” Goodell said.

He should be saying that Mike, we are going to get this deal done one way or another and next week's mediation is the first step to us working around the clock and getting this done through negotiations. There is enough wiggle room on both sides to get this done and get this done before the courts weigh in. Again, this isn't about a contentious subject like giving the players free agency, this is about a revenue share that just shouldn't be that hard to figure out. Geez.

Diesel · Post by **Diesel** » Wed May 11, 2011 8:22 am

Whether we are on the side of Unions, or not, in normal every day life, it is impossible for me to understand how both parties let it get to this point. This isn't about a cost of living raise, and this isn't about owners failing to make profits because of the recession. This is about pure Greed. Made public for us all to see. Something should have been done so the fan was NOT affected in any way, even if their dispute went into training camp, and yes, even if it went into the season.

If this season is cancelled, I will book the vacation of my dreams. I will take pictures of this vacation, and my vacations every year after that, and send them to Roger Goodell with a thank you note attached saying, "Thank you for showing me what else I could have been doing during the NFL season...Bye Bye, NFL!"

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Wed May 11, 2011 9:04 am

Originally posted by Diesel:
Whether we are on the side of Unions, or not, in normal every day life, it is impossible for me to understand how both parties let it get to this point. This isn't about a cost of living raise, and this isn't about owners failing to make profits because of the recession. This is about pure Greed. Made public for us all to see. Something should have been done so the fan was NOT affected in any way, even if their dispute went into training camp, and yes, even if it went into the season.

If this season is cancelled, I will book the vacation of my dreams. I will take pictures of this vacation, and my vacations every year after that, and send them to Roger Goodell with a thank you note attached saying, "Thank you for showing me what else I could have been doing during the NFL season...Bye Bye, NFL!" Agreed Diesel. I was with a member of the Packers' Board of Directors in October and he said the NFL had completed an analysis that showed how much revenue would be lost if any work stoppage occurred after the Super Bowl. He said there was no way the NFL would let this happen. I told him at the time I hoped he was right, but that it would be tough for the sides to agree.

Now look where we are. They are killing each other and asking the fans to take sides. We don't like either side; we just want our football back. This is PURE GREED, plain and simple. It never should have gotten to this point and everyone knows that. The owners believe we'll never leave the game, but in some cities I don't believe that is going to be true. Not every franchise has sold every ticket in the house and I think you're going to see this affect the bottom line this year.

Let's hope smarter heads prevail and that this doesn't drag into August. Let's hope.

Old School · Post by **Old School** » Wed May 11, 2011 10:43 am

Originally posted by Trust In Bill:
And Florio interviewed Roger Goodell today. Floria asked Goodell point blank about the shutdown rumors that have circulated. Goodell refused to deny that a complete shutdown of the NFL was one of the many options that the NFL is considering. It would have been very easy for him to simply say "we would never shut down all of our business operations." From a ff players point of view, this is scary.

I am not a union person by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no clue what the NFL is trying to do. At least during the baseball strike, MLB went to some lengths to show how much money some clubs were losing. These folks won't open their books and I suspect I know why. But why would the Bob Kraft's and Jerry Jones' go to these extremes simply because they are not making ENOUGH profit.??? Don't get this.

On the other hand, I can somewhat understand why the Union took this dispute to Court. They knew they would get their ***** kicked in a protracted work stoppage. Their only 2 choices were: (1) cave in and accept the league's best demand, or (2) take it to court with the possiblity that a Court could end the lockout before training camps are scheduled to open. Why should owners "open up their books" for employees? Can you all get your employers to do that? The owners are not opening their books because they dont want each other, as owners, to know their finances IMO.

Aside from that, I have very little regard for either side. They have shown they care nothing about the fans anyway

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:55 am

I love it that the NFLPA is seeking $707 million in damages from the TV deal the owners signed with the networks. There's little doubt that the owners set up that deal so that they would have a war chest for this lockout. They certainly weren't negotiating a deal for the most money, not when all of the networks agreed to pay in 2011 even if there wasn't any NFL games to air. Amazing how every network fell in lock, stock and barrel, all for the glorious rights to NFL games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6533458

I especially love Judge Doty's feelings on the current lockout:

Doty began the hearing by chiding both sides for their inability to reach an agreement and achieve labor peace to ensure a 2011 season.

"I'll be honest with you. I didn't think we would have this hearing, and I'm a bit disappointed we are having it," Doty said.

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:18 am

SI's Peter King copied a tweet from Cris Collinsworth: "If the lockout is not lifted, I predict no football until at least November, and maybe a season lost."

YIKES!!!!!

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Fri May 13, 2011 4:27 am

Here's another excellent piece on the latest on the lockout and where we might be headed:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/1505 ... win-appeal