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.

When I see people who are in the know like Freeman and King sounding so optimistic, it really makes me think that things are starting to turn around. The meetings last week were reportedly positive, and if a deal is reached by July we should have no problems getting the season going without issue. I know I have been skeptical, so the fact that I’m starting to come around should be at least some indication that things are getting better. Again, I caution everyone to not to get too overly excited here, but you should certainly feel better about negotiations. Things are better

Now, on to the NFL’s “secret” meetings. The owners and NFLPA concluded their three-day meetings on Thursday, and apparently their is at least a little progress. With the court date scheduled for Friday, it’s good to see the two sides getting together, even if it wasn’t as secret as they might have thought. Nobody is doing much talking about specifics from the meeting, but the two sides getting together is at least a start. We are starting to get close to the breaking point, and I’m starting to get the feeling that a solution is finally getting closer. I was pretty skeptical there for awhile, but I really think we won’t miss any football this season. These next few weeks are of vital importance, so it will be worth keeping an eye on the situation.

Nobody wants this thing to continue to drag on, so here’s hoping a resolution is on the horizon. Friday is a big day, but just one of many we will have in the coming weeks. At least we are on the right path.