IF WE DON'T GET A "YEA" VOTE FROM PLAYERS ON FRIDAY.....WELL I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT
So the owners voted to approve the new CBA. The players were scheduled to have a vote by the executive committee & all 32 player reps about 8PM Eastern time. Eight o'clock passed & no vote was taken. In fact as the evening wore on, it became quite evident many of the players were very unhappy with some last-minute finagling they claim the league shoved into the proposed CBA. Was the league guilty of trying to jam something into the agreement at the last possible moment? Did the players go into a stall, trying to get some last minute concessions?
The other sticking point was ownership requiring the NFLPA to re-certify before they would lift the lockout. The league thought this could be accomplished in a 24-36 hour window electronically, but the union claimed the only way it could be finished properly was to have hard-copy ballots marked & signed by each of the 1,900 or so players. This could take up to two weeks according to several player reps. Did they go into a stall? The requirement of the union re-certification seems like a legal point that should have zero wiggle room. If they lifted the lockout & the union wasn't certified, any individual player could sue the NFL for anti-trust violations & throw monkey wrench the size of a city bus into the start of the 2011 NFL season. The original decision to de-certify was the plan so they could file the 10 lawsuits against the league. The NFL is trying to diffuse these current suits, it's a lead pipe certainty they don't want to leave the players any room to do it again.
It also appears outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler, the man who wants to be the football version of Marvin Miller regardless of cost, has been insisting on compensation for Logan Mankins & Vincent Jackson. In the case of Mankins, Kessler has apparently done this completely on his own. Both Mankins & his agent said they had never asked for any extra compensation or to have Mankins' franchise tag lifted. Vincent Jackson could be a completely different story. He's represented by Neil Schwartz & Jonathan Feinson, two of the toughest negotiators in all of football. It's totally believable this pair in concert with Kessler is in fact demanding the reported $10 million settlement cash. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio said on the air this afternoon "we keep hearing from from a number of owners here that this deal is being held up by Jeffrey Kessler & Vincent Jackson's representatives." But just because a few of the owners say it's so, doesn't make it that way. The NBA had better pay attention, Kessler is also involved in settling their lockout.
Ownership voted 31-0 with the Raiders' abstaining. Oakland is concerned about the Los Angeles market, Al Davis continues to believe he owns it as well. Commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking after the vote was taken, said the Hall of Fame Game, scheduled for August 7th, has officially been cancelled. Now they're really looking down the barrel of more cancellations, games crossed off the preseason schedule that will really hurt both sides financially. I have all the particulars of the new CBA, but since it hasn't been ratified, what's the point? I'll relay the all the details to you as soon as it's signed, who knows what changes could still be jammed thru tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, unless the players vote "yea" to ratify the proposed CBA on Friday......well I don't want to think about it. I think we might have to go into full blown "sweat mode." But always remember, both sides know deep in their hearts it's the fans' game & they respect the fans & love the fans, but more than anything.....they want your cash.
Is it this kind of cash?
Or this kind of Cash?
Sorry I had to get that off my chest. Let's move on to something more constructive shall we?
In a very surprising move, the New York Jets said today veteran offensive coordinator Tom Moore was joining their staff. Moore & Peyton Manning were joined at the hip in Indianapolis for the last 13-years. Moore left saying he wanted to retire tho there was a lot of speculation he & coach Jim Caldwell didn't always see eye-to-eye. Brian Schottenheimer is the Jets' O-coordinator, where will Moore fit in? The plan is for Moore to review game films from his South Carolina home & then submit his thoughts on the past week as well as recommendations for the following week's gameplan. The Jets beat Indy last season in the playoffs, I wonder how Manning will take this move?
Also from the Colts comes a great jab at Jerry Jones delivered by Indy owner Jim Irsay. When it appeared the CBA was close to being finalized, the league gave the Colts permission to start the ball rolling for Super Bowl XLVI in February. When asked if they were prepared, Irsay's response was "We got all our snowplows ready & our seats counted." Both digs at Jones & Dallas' really awful Super Bowl experience last February when they couldn't get the roads plowed out to & around the stadium, then the P. R. disaster of the 1,250 ticket holders without seats. I'm not a fan of Irsay, but I enjoyed his poke at Jones.
A wise man once said "timing is everything." In this instance, I'd agree wholeheartedly. The Ohio High School Football Coaches Association is planning a salute to deposed Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. It will be somewhat of a quiet salute, but a salute nonetheless. The coaches will wear a red sweater vest on the sidelines during their opening game. The group wanted to honor their relationship with Tressel, a man they trusted. The same guy folks at Youngstown State & Ohio State trusted? The guy that left both programs in shambles? You know, maybe this is a little too soon to be honoring Tressel, most high schools will kick off their season before the Ohio State Buckeyes take the field for their opener. Maybe next year would have been better timing, just not right now.
The other sticking point was ownership requiring the NFLPA to re-certify before they would lift the lockout. The league thought this could be accomplished in a 24-36 hour window electronically, but the union claimed the only way it could be finished properly was to have hard-copy ballots marked & signed by each of the 1,900 or so players. This could take up to two weeks according to several player reps. Did they go into a stall? The requirement of the union re-certification seems like a legal point that should have zero wiggle room. If they lifted the lockout & the union wasn't certified, any individual player could sue the NFL for anti-trust violations & throw monkey wrench the size of a city bus into the start of the 2011 NFL season. The original decision to de-certify was the plan so they could file the 10 lawsuits against the league. The NFL is trying to diffuse these current suits, it's a lead pipe certainty they don't want to leave the players any room to do it again.
It also appears outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler, the man who wants to be the football version of Marvin Miller regardless of cost, has been insisting on compensation for Logan Mankins & Vincent Jackson. In the case of Mankins, Kessler has apparently done this completely on his own. Both Mankins & his agent said they had never asked for any extra compensation or to have Mankins' franchise tag lifted. Vincent Jackson could be a completely different story. He's represented by Neil Schwartz & Jonathan Feinson, two of the toughest negotiators in all of football. It's totally believable this pair in concert with Kessler is in fact demanding the reported $10 million settlement cash. ESPN's Sal Paolantonio said on the air this afternoon "we keep hearing from from a number of owners here that this deal is being held up by Jeffrey Kessler & Vincent Jackson's representatives." But just because a few of the owners say it's so, doesn't make it that way. The NBA had better pay attention, Kessler is also involved in settling their lockout.
Ownership voted 31-0 with the Raiders' abstaining. Oakland is concerned about the Los Angeles market, Al Davis continues to believe he owns it as well. Commissioner Roger Goodell, speaking after the vote was taken, said the Hall of Fame Game, scheduled for August 7th, has officially been cancelled. Now they're really looking down the barrel of more cancellations, games crossed off the preseason schedule that will really hurt both sides financially. I have all the particulars of the new CBA, but since it hasn't been ratified, what's the point? I'll relay the all the details to you as soon as it's signed, who knows what changes could still be jammed thru tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, unless the players vote "yea" to ratify the proposed CBA on Friday......well I don't want to think about it. I think we might have to go into full blown "sweat mode." But always remember, both sides know deep in their hearts it's the fans' game & they respect the fans & love the fans, but more than anything.....they want your cash.
Is it this kind of cash?
Or this kind of Cash?
Sorry I had to get that off my chest. Let's move on to something more constructive shall we?
In a very surprising move, the New York Jets said today veteran offensive coordinator Tom Moore was joining their staff. Moore & Peyton Manning were joined at the hip in Indianapolis for the last 13-years. Moore left saying he wanted to retire tho there was a lot of speculation he & coach Jim Caldwell didn't always see eye-to-eye. Brian Schottenheimer is the Jets' O-coordinator, where will Moore fit in? The plan is for Moore to review game films from his South Carolina home & then submit his thoughts on the past week as well as recommendations for the following week's gameplan. The Jets beat Indy last season in the playoffs, I wonder how Manning will take this move?
Also from the Colts comes a great jab at Jerry Jones delivered by Indy owner Jim Irsay. When it appeared the CBA was close to being finalized, the league gave the Colts permission to start the ball rolling for Super Bowl XLVI in February. When asked if they were prepared, Irsay's response was "We got all our snowplows ready & our seats counted." Both digs at Jones & Dallas' really awful Super Bowl experience last February when they couldn't get the roads plowed out to & around the stadium, then the P. R. disaster of the 1,250 ticket holders without seats. I'm not a fan of Irsay, but I enjoyed his poke at Jones.
A wise man once said "timing is everything." In this instance, I'd agree wholeheartedly. The Ohio High School Football Coaches Association is planning a salute to deposed Ohio State coach Jim Tressel. It will be somewhat of a quiet salute, but a salute nonetheless. The coaches will wear a red sweater vest on the sidelines during their opening game. The group wanted to honor their relationship with Tressel, a man they trusted. The same guy folks at Youngstown State & Ohio State trusted? The guy that left both programs in shambles? You know, maybe this is a little too soon to be honoring Tressel, most high schools will kick off their season before the Ohio State Buckeyes take the field for their opener. Maybe next year would have been better timing, just not right now.
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