pains Page 3 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
NFLPA Boss Says Union Won't Accept An 18-Game Season
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said last night that his members aren't interested in, and won't negotiate about, expanding the regular NFL season by two games a year. Here's what he told SI.com:...
NFL Owners Want More Money — From Each Other
In the past weeks and months, we've heard from numerous players about the pending lockout. They've all been on message, like good union members ought to be. But we've heard very little from the owners, who have been content to let the Commissioner and the lawyers give the public statements. This mig...
The NFLPA's Nuclear Option Keeps Hopes For Football Alive
Tucked neatly inside today's Monday Morning QB is Jim Trotter's report on the tense moments leading up to Thursday's original lockout deadline, and one player who — complete with throat-slashing gesture — jumped the gun on decertification. But what's most fascinating, as a seven-day extension ticks ...
NFL Requests Deadline Extension For Labor Negotiations
SI's Jim Trotter reports that the League has requested a deadline extension of "a week or two" past Friday's midnight deadline and is now awaiting a response from the Players Association. [SI.com]...
The Real Villains Of The NFL Lockout: A Gentle Reminder
The current collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players union ends at 11:59 p.m. this evening. And whether or not there's an official lockout, or the union decertifies, or whatever other bargaining tactic is deployed, the business of football effectively ends tonight regardless....
Lingerie Football League May Exploit Lockout To Seduce The Lord's Day
Should the start of the NFL's 2011-12 season be delayed, officials with the Lingerie Football League announced that they may very well fill that gap....
Without Good Faith: Explaining The Critical Ruling Against The NFL
In briefest terms, a federal judge's ruling found that the NFL's curious broadcast contracts for the 2011 season amount to a "war chest" the league improperly obtained specifically for a lockout. But what does this mean for fans, players and owners, and what happens next? Let's try to make a very co...
The Smart Way To Expand The NFL Season: 18 Weeks, Not 18 Games
This is Regressing, a numbers-minded column by our clever friends at the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective. Today: Why a second bye week makes sense....
What We Talk About When We Talk About The Carmelo Anthony Trade
As the clamor surrounding the Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams trades mercifully subsides, it would be easy to lend credence, as some basketball observers have done, to a silly and shopworn conclusion: that the inmates are running the asylum. Last week, Dick Vitale used almost those exact words to...
One Thing I Think I Think: Peter King Is The Latest In A Long Line Of Management Stooges
First there was that epic profile of Roger Goodell, which was 6,000 words of Peter King trying to stuff some brains and character into an empty suit. Then there was this item the other day. I know it's CBA season, and I can only imagine how difficult and disorienting it must be for football writers ...
Ryan Clark Straight Up Torches The NFL's Negotiating
"If they told you, whatever your salary is we're going to give it to you even if you don't come to work. What's your incentive to come to work? And essentially that's what the owners have." Some really good stuff in this interview. [SportsRadioInterviews]...
Everything You Need To Know About The Upcoming NFL Labor War
The NFL season is over! No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO! Oh, fuck you, God! You've got some nerve allowing late winter, spring, and summer to get in the way like that! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU!...
The NFLPA Can Make A "Let Us Play" Ad, But The Networks Don't Have To Let It Play
The NFLPA released an ad for its "Let Us Play" campaign, and CBS won't run it during Saturday's Texas-America All-Star game. Could this be what the NFLPA, which is better at internetting than most teenagers, had in mind to begin with?...
NFLPA's Labor Strategy Involves Liberal Use Of Twitter Hashtags
Today, all current and former NFL players received an email from NFLPA President Kevin Mawae, planning a day of solidarity on social networking sites tomorrow. @drMLKjr would be proud....
Today In Dumb Anti-NFLPA Spin
Florio has a pretty good rundown of the NFL's coming labor apocalypse, but there's one point he makes that I really hope doesn't catch on, even though you can be sure it will....
A Former Player Responds To Roger Goodell's Open Letter
What a buzzkill. On the eve of the playoffs, just when fans' excitement in the sport is cresting, Roger Goodell tripped on his shoestrings again, puked all over his keyboard, and then hit "send."...
Don't Worry: In The Event Of An NFL Lockout, Bob Costas Will Still Get Paid
Here's a letter from Mary Cavallaro of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. In it, she assures the NFL broadcasters among her membership that they'll still get paid their current salary even if there are no NFL games to broadcast....
NFL Wants To Take Hard-Earned Money From All Those Players Who Shoot Themselves In Bars Or Something
NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash has some serious problems with the current collective bargaining agreement, foremost being that all those football players shooting themselves in bars get to keep their signing bonuses. Outrage!...
Canceled Training Camps Are Early Warnings Of NFL Labor Strife
Jacksonville and Detroit became the third and fourth teams to cancel OTAs after players complained about the workouts. Have today's players turned into delicate little doilies, or is it the hand of the union at work in advance of contentious CBA negotiations?...
Boner Stabone Is Missing At The Olympics
If you find yourself in and around Vancouver for tonight's epic US/Canada matchup, do be on the lookout for Mike Seaver's best bud. His friends and family are very worried....