After four long and intense mediation sessions between the NFL and its locked-out players, the judge decided to give both parties an extended break. By the time they reconvene in mid-May, the landscape of their discussions could be completely different. Executive vice president Jeff Pash, the NFL's lead negotiator, said Wednesday that U.S. Judge Magistrate Arthur Boylan told both sides they likely won't convene again until May 16 because he has a few other matters on his judicial calendar. In the interim, U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson is expected to decide well before then on the players' request to immediately lift the now 40-day-old lockout. Also coming: U.S. District Judge David Doty has scheduled a hearing for May 12 on the players' request for damages after he ruled in March that the NFL did not maximize revenues for both sides when it renegotiated $4 billion in TV contracts with the labor dispute looming. Source: Associated Press
:icon_rolleyes: WOW...4 long and intense mediation sessions. Good thing they're getting a month long break. Well deserved for all that hard work.
This. The lack of urgency from both sides before and now after the lockout deadline is worrying to say the list. I know it's easy to fling around predictions, but with how the negotiations have been going the last few months, I can't see any agreement being made at least this side of August.
