MoLewisrocks

Good overview by Florio. I don't always agree with his slants, but in this piece he has pointed out the folly on both sides as well as underscored the fact that if the players prevail it may be a case for all of us of be careful what you wished for. Because it could change the game into something most fans will abhorr, MLB...only worse. That is why I disagree with his conclusion that the players prevailing on April 6th would be good for the fans. Winning even that battle risks they win the war, which he agrees would be bad for everyone except the top 5% of talent and their agents. So losing that battle (for the injunction) risks they lose faith in De and Kessler and cave and come back to the table as a union willing to agree to pick up where they left off negotiating a new CBA as opposed to waiting for settlement talks where the lawyers will continue to hold sway.

Ten things to know, right now, about the labor situation | ProFootballTalk

Rob0729

I agree with his take that both sides are wrong in this, but I think he is still too harsh on the NFL Alumni. He still talks about the Alumni as a "Trojan Horse" trying to undermine the NFLPA, but that is just the NFLPA's assertion but may not be the truth. Just because the Alumni gets money from the league doesn't mean they don't have the best interest in getting the best deal for the players (or in their case the former players). George Martin was at one point the head of the NFLPA.

Personally, even if the NFL Alumni are as the NFLPA suspects a Trojan Horse, DeMaurice Smith is playing this wrong by being confrontational with and dismissive of George Martin. Smith would be better off doing a dog and pony show for Martin and making him feel like part of the process rather than treating him like the enemy. Smith will lose the PR battle on this one.

Sean Pa Patriot

great points mo, nothing in this mess is happening till april 6th... if the leauge wins they hold the cards and its going to probably push this thing all summer long... i do want this thing to end but not at the extent of hurting the sport

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We going to take it one game at a time

PatsWickedPissah

If the NFL morphs into anything whatsoever resembling the farce that is MLB which I abandoned ages ago with no regrets whatsoever, then the NFL is history for me. Plenty else to do in life.

That said such a development is a worst case and I hope and believe it will not come to that.

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Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as "bad luck." RAH

Patjew

I cannot believe that all of these selfish idiots let it come to this. How To **** Up A Sure Thing 101.

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Rob0729

The thing is Florio claims to be unbiased when he clearly is on the player's side. Here is an article proving it:

League attacks source of potential player lockout revenue | ProFootballTalk

So the players are trying to have it both ways where they decertify the union to block the lockout, but still want to be a union when it comes to negotiating marketing deals to generate revenue. Florio spins it as the owners are just trying to block the players from lockout revenue rather than trying to expose the NFLPA for trying to have their cake and eat too by being a union when it benefits them, but officially not be a union to block the lockout.

Gwedd

Yup.... I have really enjoyed the minor league teams, and about the only time I watch MLB is when the Sox are playing the Yankees.

I do hope that sanity prevails because EVERYONE stands to lose in this situation, players, owners, fans and advertisers, not to mention the folks who work at the stadiums, and in ancillary jobs like vendors, etc.

MoLewisrocks

I agree that Florio wants to be on the players side. That is what makes his take so compelling. Even he admits that while the owners may be jackholes the player's may be such doofasses they let their new svengali screw up the pooch for all of us. Including 3/4ths of their peers...along with their predecessors and the fans. I think the NFLPA's problems stem from an institutional disposition to serve 2 masters, the rank and file but also the elite talent and their agents (so maybe you even call that 3 masters). Those agents, Condon in particular, have always had too much influence in the process as they also became superagents. He was Upshaw's agent including when Gene was the head of the NFLPA...

townes

I guess the owners shouldn't have forced the player's hand.

MoLewisrocks

First off they didn't and looking back to the last CBA perhaps the players (or actually it was Gene with Kessler gnawing on his ear) shouldn't have forced the owners hand.