The Lock Out Is Over

Well who knows. But they have been reporting that it's over all weekend.

This was just a big waste of time to me to be honest. I don't really even care about what happened or what was accomplished. It doesn't seem like anything that I care about. Logan Mankins will not be a free agent, and the franchise tag still exists.

The thing I'm most excited about is the free agent frenzy that is going to happen. Where is Nnamdi Asomghua, Santonio Holmes, Ray Edwards, Carson Palmer, and Braylon Edwards go.

Much like the Patriots, the Steelers also never sign guys that I get excited about so I can throw Nnamdi out the window.

Whatever, the lock out is "over", and training camp begins Thursday. From an outside perspective it seems as if the owners won.

NBA Locked Out

Well we all new this was going to happen, and it sucks, but much like the NFL, I don't want to talk about it. I don't care or want to know what the squabble is over, I just want them to play.

If the NBA loses a season due to a lockout, it would be the dumbest thing the owners could do. The NBA s at the top of the world since the Jordan days and the last NBA finals ratings blew the roof off every other finals. You have such superstar power in the NBA it would be a shame to miss a whole season.

However, as a Celtics fan, it wouldn't be such a bad thing if the season was cut in half. The Celtics last year ran out of gas after cruising in the regular season again so if the season was cut to 50 games they would be fresh during the playoffs. Also it would be kind of cool to see a regular season mean something too.

Great, Another Lockout...

"The owners submitted a new proposal recently to the NBA players union and the players are reportedly unhappy with it, according to ESPN.com. The new proposal is a 10-year year deal that evidently isn't much different than the original one made a more than a year ago.

"Unfortunately, the proposal is very similar to the proposal the league submitted over a year ago," union president Derek Fisher told ESPN.com. "This last proposal doesn't look close to what we were expecting."

A lot of hope had been building as of late with the NFL's lockout being overruled by a judge and because of the incredible push the NBA has made over the season that a lockout would be avoided. And while it still very well can be, evidently the players are looking for something better than what they got (CBS Sports)."

Ugh, I hate this shit, but once again I find myself somewhat agree with the players. Although I don't agree with the players getting 57% of the league revenue, I don't believe Stern at all when he says the NBA is projecting a $300 million dollar loss this year. To me there are more good teams then ever, the first round of the playoffs had the highest rating of any playoffs, and the world in general seems to have a lot of interest. Maybe I am wrong, and I obviously know very little about their financials, but that number seems way off to me.

I just hope there isn't another lockout, because this has been probably the best year of basketball that I have seen. Not from a Boston standpoint, but just with how many good teams there are, how much young talent if coming through, and how many rivalries seem to be created by the day. It would be a shame to ruin the progress they have made, because I used to hate the NBA.

Big Step Forward To End NFL Lockout

"The NFL told its 32 teams Thursday that, pending a ruling on its request that a "temporary stay" of the lower court's ruling lifting the lockout be granted, it should open their facilities to players at 8 a.m. ET on Friday.

Players will be allowed to meet with coaches and teams may distribute playbooks to players and begin OTA and minicamp practices, subject to rules from the last collective bargaining agreement. The NFL said on Friday it would advise its teams on rules for player transactions including the start of the "league year" when those moves can begin to take place (ESPN)."

This is huge, and a big sign that the NFL owners are going to start caving. Every ruling has gone against them, and now it just seems like a matter of time before some kind of deal is struck. From all of this I am 100% certain there will be football in 2011, and will go as far as to say it will be a full season. Thank god, and it will make the draft a lot more enjoyable tonight.

An NFL Draft With No Players?

"The NFL players are finding an interesting ally in their fight against the owners: college players. Two agents confirmed to CBSSports.com that the former union has asked top prospects not to attend the April draft. One agent who represents a potential top 25 pick said in an interview that it's possible few, if any, of the top picks will go to the draft.

"There is momentum building on this," said the agent. "If my client is asked, he won't attend (CBS Sports)."

I know we said we wouldn't talk about lockout, and to be honest it fucking pains me to write about this, because things change day-to-day and I honestly don't give a fuck as long as there is football in the fall. But since there is shit to write about here is my two cents on this.


BULLSHIT. I don't buy it. First off, this is fucked up by the NFLPA. How are you going to take this moment away from these kids? You're already going to screw them when the new CBA comes out, because there is almost definitely going to be a "rookie wage scale". There has to be, it's out of control, but now you are going to take this experience away from them.

I know they are saying there will have the same experience down the street, as the NFLPA does their own version of the draft, but it's going to suck and be nothing like the real thing. I mean, I don't even know if they can use the jersey or hats from the NFL, because I think that might be owned by the owners.

Yet, this is crazy either way, because if there is no new CBA you could have NFL player picketing out side of the NFL Draft. If that wasn't bad enough, they can't even use old footage for the broadcast. There will be nothing.

All I can say is that I think the players are right, and that the owners caused most of these problems, but taking this away from these incoming rookies is just wrong. Handle your business in court, but let the draft be, in good faith from both sides that the deal will get done.

No Lockout For NFL?

A couple months back all reports indicated that it was almost guaranteed there would be some kind of lockout for the 2011 NFL season. The tune seems to have changed a bit...

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Tuesday it's a realistic goal to reach a new CBA before the end of the season. At the conclusion of the league's fall meetings, Kraft said "we're moving ahead. I'd like to see this get done before the season ends." Asked if that was a realistic objective, he added "to me it is."

"It's taken a lot of time and energy to build the league into what it is and we want to keep it going," Indianapolis Colts owner Jimmy Irsay said Tuesday. "I don't think it's doomsday, and we're taking it a day at a time. Everybody is engaged, and from my perspective the key thing is to find a solution. That's where both sides are."

ESPN is making a big deal of this, but I haven't read anything concrete on what areas they are getting closer on. Obviously players would want more of a guaranteed contract (especially for veterans), and there needs to be some kind of cap for what players can get coming out of the draft, because right now it's not always a good thing to have the #1 pick in the Draft.

I really do believe there will be some kind of holdout, but hopefully ESPN/Kraft/Irsay are correct that they are getting somewhat closer, or at the very least talking.

Nate Robinson Going To NFL?

"Most are anticipating a lockout in the summer of 2011 as owners and players may not reach an agreement on terms of a new collective-bargaining agreement by July 1 of next year.

And it's got Nate Robinson wondering about trying out a double-dip of football and basketball.

Robinson last played football as a freshman at Washington before committing himself to basketball full-time.

"It all depends on this lockout," Robinson told the Boston Globe. "If we have a lockout, you might see a lot of guys, including myself, try out and see where it takes you, just see if you can do it or not. You never know what can happen (ESPN)."

So many reasons why this won't happen. For one he is tiny, and I doubt he is good enough. Beyond that there is a good chance there will not be an NFL season next year either, so it might not even be an option.

What I could see happen is a lot of NBA players going overseas to play. The NBA seems to be growing year after year (I have nothing to back that up, but it does seem to dominate headlines), so they really need to do anything they can to avoid a lockout. We have seen sports have a hard time bouncing back after a lockout (MLB/NHL), so hopefully that can figure something out.

Brandon Marshall Going To NBA?

Miami Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall says he has a fallback plan if NFL teams lock out players next year... He'll try out for the NBA. Marshall said he would audition for the Miami Heat or Denver Nuggets as a shooting guard.

"Right now I'm rusty," he said after Dolphins' practice Thursday. "Right now I'm no good. If I try out right now they'll be saying, 'What is this guy thinking?' But after some training I'll be fine. I'll be right back where I used to be."

The 6-foot-4 Marshall lettered in basketball three times at Lake Howell High School in Winter Park, Fla (CBS).

Marshall seems like he would have the size and jumping ability to play, but I never know how seriously to take these quotes from athletes. Sure he is a freak, and I can see why a team would want him, but I just don't see him beating out guys who have been playing for their entire life. Then again, if you can just sign him for the minimum why not? I mean he should be able to pull down some boards, and he says his strong suit was his outside shot (which I thought was weird). Anyways, it's a slow day, and I hope Marshall tears his ACL during the tryout.

I Think We Should Root For A Lock Out In The NBA

Know what would be great? If there is a lock out next year in the NBA. Why? Because if there is a strike next year things will work out very well for the Celtics. Imagine this (I don't know if any of this is true, but Roy Hibbert's father can dream, right?) Carmelo Anthony doesn't sign the extension becoming a free agent, if there is a strike next year, he won't sign with a team until the 2012 offseason, along with some other big names.

So assuming it will be a full year lock out, we don't need to watch the demise of KG, Ray, Jermaine O'Neal and whoever else has 2 more years remaining. So KG and Ray will ride off into the sunset, and the Celtics will have a butt ton of money to sign a couple of premier free agents.

Along with that, a lot of one and done college players might rethink of coming out the year of a potential lockout, meaning there will be more talent in the NBA Draft talent pool. Meaning a better pick up for the Celtics in the mid first.

So then the Celtics, will reload and be awesome again and get banner 19.

Again, I have no idea if any of this is true and purely based on the craziness in my head.

No Football in 2011

Going into next season there will be no salary cap, but it is 2011 that should scare all football fans. The head of the NFL Players Association painted a very cleak picture about a possible new CBA agreement before a lockout...

"On a scale of 1 to 10," Smith said Thursday, "it's a 14. I keep coming back to an economic model in America that is unparalleled," said Smith, who often repeated phrases for emphasis. "And that makes it incredibly difficult to then come to players and say, on average, each of you needs to take a $340,000 pay cut to save the National Football League. Tough sell. Tough sell."

This is not good news for any football plan. I have a hard time siding with either the owners or the players. On the owners side it is hard in these economic times to give anyone a raise, but on the other side the NFL is the most successful of the 4 major sports, and yet they are not paid like it. The other thing that needs to be resolved is what to do about rookie contracts. It has to change since rookies make more then most 5 year veterans.

I wish I could be optimistic, but both sides seem to have their feet in the ground and I very much doubt there is any chance of avoiding a lockout.

With Smith saying the NFL would receive $5 billion from its network television deals even if no games are played in 2011. He regarded that as proof owners are preparing for a lockout, which is hard to argue against, since they seem to be in good shape no matter what happens. So, why would they even bothering passing a new CBA is they don't get everything they want? I hope I am wrong, but it looks like we won't be seeing much football in 2011.

2011 NFL Lockout?

It is the words no fan ever wants to hear....Lockout, but it seems like it might become a reality...

NFL officials insist they want a new labor deal. The players association is convinced league owners are after something else: A lockout in 2011. NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith told reporters at the Colts' training camp Monday morning that he expects owners to impose a lockout in two years and has begun advising players on how to prepare for it.

"They want to lock us out in 2011, so our drop dead date is when our players say 'What do I do when my family needs health care?'" Smith said while making the latest stop on his league-wide tour. "All of us are sitting back waiting to hear why they walked away from a deal that generated $8 billion (Sportsline)."

Is there any players in any sports that have less leverage the NFL players? They can't take care of their vets with rookies making way more then guys who have been doing it for 10 years. There is very little guaranteed money, and cuts happen regularly, and now they might all be out of a job for awhile if this happens. Usually I side with owners, but the NFL makes so much fucking money, and the players really see very little of it. Yes, I know there are players who make a ton, but an NFL players career doesn't last that long, and they don't even come close to MLB players. I hope there is no lockout, but the players need to go hard in this next negotiation, because there are a lot of things that need to be changed.