PatsRI

-----NFL Players Association chief counsel Richard Berthelsen had an interesting way of describing the progress in negotiations with the NFL Management Council over an extension of the collective bargaining agreement.

''It's like a relationship between a man and a woman," Berthelsen said. ''It's always either heading toward marriage or heading away from marriage. Right now, I'd say we're heading toward marriage. Slowly."

League and team executives with knowledge of the situation believe commissioner Paul Tagliabue desperately hopes to have the framework of an extension in place by the annual owners meetings in March because at 65, he is seriously considering calling it a career but doesn't feel his legacy will be intact until he has ensured another stretch of labor peace.

To end his time as commissioner of the most successful professional sports organization in America with the spectre of 2007 being an uncapped, chaotic year is not to Tagliabue's liking.

In a sense, he made his valedictory speech this week in Sports Illustrated, which ran a lengthy article on his life and times. But until a new contract with the union can be hammered out, he isn't going anywhere, which may be why the union has begun to see things as a walk down the aisle rather than a walk on the wild side.------

http://www.boston.com/sports/footbal..._coach/?page=3

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Willie55

Borges is clueless. If he wrote that, the opposite must be true. We are actually in the middle of a domestic disturbance and somebody is about to be arrested (to use their analogy).

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PatsRI

Ah but in the sports world all that means is the judge suspends trial until the season's over???

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fgssand

Actually he is only clueless when dealing with all things patriots. he should go back to covering the Raiders where he belongs - in Oakland. I hate the globe for giving Borges football assignments- Reiss should have the #1 job, plain and simple.

Captain Cliche

I find his writing style to be smug and condescending....

MoLewisrocks

While the spectre of an uncapped NFL may appear on the surface to be enticing to players and even a handful of owners like Snyder, there are all sorts of other ramifications to not having a deal in place this year. Another draft and FA approaches with only 4 years allowed for amortization of signing bonuses. And I read somewhere a while back that there are some future implications regarding free agency language (like players can't achieve it as quickly in the absence of a new CBA). They'll get it done because nobody is stupid enough to kill or even seriously wound this incredible cash cow they've engineered.

This is like the couple in counseling who will stay together for the kids (but mostly because neither of them can afford to maintain the lifestyle they've become accustomed to if they divorce).

BelichickFan

Mort was just on ESPN and seemed very optimistic that an agreement will be reached soon.