It has been a few days since the NFL and NFLPA talks broke down, resulting in NFLPA decertification and the NFL locking out the players. My first reaction was "Really"! You have the biggest, most popular sport in the country and 9 billion dollars and it has come down to this. The owners don't trust the players and the players don't trust the owners, which makes it hard to do business. I don't really care who comes out on top, just stop sniping at each other and act like men that control 9 billion dollars!
The biggest issue in all of this is MONEY!! The players got a great deal in the last CBA and really don't see the need to give the owners back any of that money. And since the owners won't open the books the players will play hardball by taking this to court and suing the NFL. The owners won't open books to "employees', and the NFLPA thinks of itself as having a partnership with the NFL and that partnership entitles them to request the "books". Now each side is playing a game of leverage and a game of public opinion.
The owners looked bad when the court recently ruled that they did not negotiate TV contracts from the major networks fairly. As the NFL is required to negotiate deals fairly and they are also required to take the deal that is fair and pays the most as the revenue from those deals is split with the players. So the court ruling made the owners look greedy and underhanded as they were looking out for their own interests. Here is an article on the ruling that's pretty concise http://bit.ly/hiZCbA.
If you are really interested I'm sure you can find the actual ruling.
Now the NFLPA is looking petty and insensitive by asking top prospects in this years NFL draft that are invited to NYC to "boycott" the draft. They have since changed the wording by saying they are encouraging the prospects not to attend and they (the NFLPA) will create a similar experience for them. What absolute BS and the completely wrong move! The Draft is a fan event and dragging the paying fans and the undrafted players is not the move they should be making in the court of public opinion. How can these established players take this once in a life time opportunity from these young guys. This move will have fans turning on these players and who ever is leading them. Lastly I say BS because as part of the lawsuit the players are bringing they are claiming that the draft is illegal. If the draft is illegal then why try to "create a similar" experience.
This whole thing gets me pretty fired up. Would love to hear what you all think about this. Also forward the blog to others who may be interested.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Football in March
So it's March and we may have no football "hotstove" offseason, but I can still talk football right?
Here's the deal, I am by no means an expert, actually I'm still learning, but I'll share my humble opinions on the Pat's, the NFL, and the Boston sports scene. I live here and I love it and people are always interested in it. I encourage you my friends and fans of other teams to get involved. Mike Felger on the sportshub likes to say "fact not opinion" I will say, these are my opinions not necessarily the facts.
Onward to football in March: the NFL and its players may not have a contract as soon as March 4th, this means no offseason info on any of our favorite teams, actually players and coaches and organizations can have no contact. What of the rookies you ask, well they are also left out in the cold after the draft. I think that the owners and players need to stop being disingenuous and get a deal done. Many of your normal sites of sports news are trying to keep us informed and are doing decent job of explaining the major issues so check them out.
The NFL combine just concluded and there are plenty of players that seem like they are going to be the next big thing or the next big bust, but I'm hoping the Pats get the next best thing. I think the Pat's need to go defense (front seven) and Offensive Line. Move up? Maybe, but I think the needs and the players available meet pretty well in the middle so I say the should stay put and not give up the house and car to move into the top 10. I'll have more thoughts on this in a few weeks but chime and let me know what you think.
Here's the deal, I am by no means an expert, actually I'm still learning, but I'll share my humble opinions on the Pat's, the NFL, and the Boston sports scene. I live here and I love it and people are always interested in it. I encourage you my friends and fans of other teams to get involved. Mike Felger on the sportshub likes to say "fact not opinion" I will say, these are my opinions not necessarily the facts.
Onward to football in March: the NFL and its players may not have a contract as soon as March 4th, this means no offseason info on any of our favorite teams, actually players and coaches and organizations can have no contact. What of the rookies you ask, well they are also left out in the cold after the draft. I think that the owners and players need to stop being disingenuous and get a deal done. Many of your normal sites of sports news are trying to keep us informed and are doing decent job of explaining the major issues so check them out.
The NFL combine just concluded and there are plenty of players that seem like they are going to be the next big thing or the next big bust, but I'm hoping the Pats get the next best thing. I think the Pat's need to go defense (front seven) and Offensive Line. Move up? Maybe, but I think the needs and the players available meet pretty well in the middle so I say the should stay put and not give up the house and car to move into the top 10. I'll have more thoughts on this in a few weeks but chime and let me know what you think.
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