Let’s start with the not so good possibility. Some people have said that the meeting could have been for the lawyers to encourage their clients to stand up to the owners and not roll over in negotiations. If this is the case, then the lockout is far from over. I have made it clear that I think the two sides need to keep the lawyers out of this as much as possible because I don’t believe the attorneys have the best interest of their clients in mind. If the lawyers get in the heads of the players, we might be in for an even longer summer.

Now, moving on to the more preferable option: The players wanted to hammer out some post-lockout issues because they know a deal is imminent. Once an agreement is reached, there will still be plenty of issues for both sides to resolve amongst themselves, and one school of thought is that the players wanted to get the wheels in motion on some of their issues early. If this is the case, then this thing could be over sooner rather than later. I really hope this is the case, especially with the mostly positive news we have heard in regards to the lockout over the last week or so. I still believe we will all be able to sit down and watch the Rams and Bears kick off the preseason in the Hall of Fame game, but time is running out, so this needs to happen soon.

I think the best news to come out of this is that the attorneys for both sides were not present. Obviously, lawyers are necessary in litigation like this, but it’s pretty obvious that these people don’t have the best interest of the league in mind. The attorneys are only concerned with their billable hours and their side winning, so they don’t care how long this thing drags out. In fact, they would prefer if this thing would continue on as long as possible, because that’s just more money in their pockets. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that we are hearing good news about talks and there are no lawyers present. The best way to get this thing settled is for the two sides to sit down, face-to-face, and hammer out a deal. No outside influences, no pressure from people who aren’t immediately involved. Just the players and owners getting the thing done. It sounds like they are on their way, so at least it’s a start.