Lockout Thread

[Rome]

[Eagaholic]

Good article by Don Banks. Pretty much nails as far as I'm concerned.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/don_banks/03/11/nfl.labor.front.ap/

Transparency has been the big topic of the week in these negotiations, so here's some for you, in news flash form: What the league and its players are both trying to protect is as much of the NFL's $9.3 billion of revenue as possible. Nothing more. Nothing less. We all like money, so on some level we can relate to that. But we also like our football, and that's the part both sides seem more than willing to play with, even at the risk of doing harm to the game and to those people who watch it and make it so wildly popular.
And no matter what they say, or how much they spin, both sides are willing to take that risk and possibly inflict that damage because of the obscene amount of money that's at stake. They do so even while talking ever so respectfully about the NFL and the fans who have exalted it to such a special and cherished place in our society.

Ah...what damage?  What is Banks talking about?  A work stoppage will somehow damage the game itself?  The fans will be hurt?  Are you f'n joking?

The rich people who make all the money off these games will be fine, and so will the fans.  No one is going to actually suffer without this particular version of entertainment.  Some stadium workers and the like will suffer, of course, but the little guys are always the ones to get farged, that's nothing new.

Far as I can tell, all that will happen is some games won't be played and when they sort shtein out, they'll play games again, and the fans will continue to pay whatever the NFL charges.

It could hurt the financial bottom line quite a bit if they somehow are stupid enough to let the lockout go well into or through the season. Especially if the players prevail in court cases. The NFL would lose billions and the effect of a meteorically rising profit margin is unknown.

The general point of the article though that I completely agree with is that owners and payers are both to blame. You can argue it might be one side a little more than the other but I for one am not getting sucked into an idiotic good guys v bad guys blame game. They are all to blame, but not nearly as much as we fans who continue to just take it and go back for more.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Really, I don't care who's right, but the Eagles better be able to trade Kolbsy for a 2011 1st rounder and there better be a full 16 game season with the actual players next year.

[Eagaholic]

just like i dont think the skins are smarter than anyone else because they found a way to sign monster free agents even when they are way over the cap and everyone in the world said they wouldnt be able to sign anyone

That was only because they were lucky the league increased the cap much more than had been expected previously with the new CBA. Even so, they still had to cut at least 3 or 4 starters to get under the cap which set the team back talent wise so they really didn't "get away with it." They mortgaged sucking in the future to be able to suck in the present.

they done been doing it since 1997

If you mean they've been sucking since 1997, it was a lot longer before then. If you mean they have been getting away with huge spending, it was around 2003 they tried to keep themselves atop the NFL spending charts. in the few years before then they below the league average is salary spending.

[Diomedes]

It could hurt the financial bottom line quite a bit if they somehow are stupid enough to let the lockout go well into or through the season. Especially if the players prevail in court cases. The NFL would lose billions and the effect of a meteorically rising profit margin is unknown.

The general point of the article though that I completely agree with is that owners and payers are both to blame. You can argue it might be one side a little more than the other but I for one am not getting sucked into an idiotic good guys v bad guys blame game. They are all to blame, but not nearly as much as we fans who continue to just take it and go back for more.

a.) Hurting the NFL's finances is not hurting the game. 
b.) I like the  idiotic blame game.  for the record, I think the owners are thieving bastiches who risk little or nothing and don't earn even a fraction of their income wereas the players risk their lives, sacrifice quality of life in later years (if they don't all actually shorten their lives), and bust their asses to do it.  In case y'all haven't noticed, I think we should eat the rich with bullets.
c.) I like the idea of the fans as the true villains...so after we cut all the whining billionaires throats, we can drown anyone who owns season tickets in their blood

also, I would like to see Banner choke to death on a rapecock

[Eagaholic]

It could hurt the financial bottom line quite a bit if they somehow are stupid enough to let the lockout go well into or through the season. Especially if the players prevail in court cases. The NFL would lose billions and the effect of a meteorically rising profit margin is unknown.

The general point of the article though that I completely agree with is that owners and payers are both to blame. You can argue it might be one side a little more than the other but I for one am not getting sucked into an idiotic good guys v bad guys blame game. They are all to blame, but not nearly as much as we fans who continue to just take it and go back for more.

a.) Hurting the NFL's finances is not hurting the game.  
b.) I like the  idiotic blame game.  for the record, I think the owners are thieving bastiches who risk little or nothing and don't earn even a fraction of their income wereas the players risk their lives, sacrifice quality of life in later years (if they don't all actually shorten their lives), and bust their asses to do it.  In case y'all haven't noticed, I think we should eat the rich with bullets.
c.) I like the idea of the fans as the true villains...so after we cut all the whining billionaires throats, we can drown anyone who owns season tickets in their blood

The players also can make millions, have fame and get the red carpet treatment, get all the bitches and have a choice to go into another profession of choice if they don't want the risks of playing football.

As far as rounding up all the owners and season ticket holders and drowning them in their own blood, I would like to sell tickets to this event and would be willing to give 40% of the gate receipts to the families as long as I own sole  broadcasting and concession rights.

[Diomedes]

a practice squad guy gets no bitches, and the league would be nothing without fresh meat from guys like that...so I don't buy the players-are-all-rich-rock-stars-with-options argument.

Regarding your proposal for Richie Rich and their Enablers Bloodbath, we can do business provided you grant me a no-bid contract to build the guillotines, racks, and other implements of entertainment, and of course, dig the (shallow) graves.

[Eagaholic]

Done. Btw, what do we do with the lawyers in all this? As always, they seem to be getting away unscathed.

[Diomedes]

I say we let them be if we know what's good for us, but I'm just the ship's carpenter, Captain, so I'll go along with your orders.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Peter King:

I think I don't want to hear either side say another word about how much they care about the fans. Meaningless prattle. The owners care about the fans turning in their season-ticket money. The players care about the fans not thinking they're greedy carpetbaggers. The fans don't want to hear anything other than, "We've got a new labor deal.''

Amen.

[Sgt PSN]

NLFPA "orders" college players not to attend next month's draft

The NFL Players Association is putting into place a plan that would prevent each top college prospect from attending next month's draft in New York, according to multiple league sources. The NFLPA already has contacted 17 top prospects that ordinarily would have received an invitation to attend the draft and informed them not to go.

I get that these kids will eventually be part of the union, so maybe it's in their best interest to toe the line right now.  But at the same time, this seems to be a very childish thing for the NFLPA to do.  You only get drafted once and every college player dreams of hearing his name called, walking across the stage and holding up his team's jersey.  If anything, the NFL should probably just cancel the draft until everything is worked out.  Teams can't sign their draft picks until a new cba is agreed on, can they?

[Feva]

They can't even talk to their draft picks.

Pretty much everything after, "Congratulations on being an Eagle..." is illegal.

[Sgt PSN]

All the more reason to just postpone the draft until this ish is settled.  And really, these kids entering the draft are the ones getting hosed because they've got no paycheck coming in and unlike NFL players and owners, have no money to fall back on.  And the "union" is putting them in a tough situation here by telling them not to attend the draft.  What do they do?  Attend the draft and risk pissing off a union that will one day represent them and their best interests?  Or stay home and possibily piss off the guy who is going to sign your paychecks? 

[ice grillin you]

probably less than one percent of drafted players attend the draft...how is this even remotely an issue

and how are drafted players getting screwed more than anyone else...they wone be getting paychecks the day before the draft and they wont be getting paychecks the day after the draft....nothing changes for them

[Sgt PSN]

Pretty sure that they get paid when they sign their contracts.  Granted, that sometimes takes several months of negotiating with the top picks in the draft, but your later round guys and udfa's usually sign fairly quick to get their $40k bonus.