Clock Is Ticking On NFL Lockout Decision

It was April 6 that Judge Susan Nelson heard from both the NFL and NFLPA before saying she would make a decision in a “couple weeks”.

Well, here we sit on April 20 exactly a “couple weeks” later.

There hasn’t been an indication that any sort of announcement or decision is coming from the courts. Likely, we won’t have much of a heads up if/when she decides something anyway.

Since Nelson’s “couple weeks” remarks, she has forced the NFL and NFLPA into mediation and the two sides are entering day four of mediated talks in Minneapolis. Though there’s not a lot of optimism that a deal will be reached via mediation, count me as one of the folks that are happy that the two sides are simply sitting at the same table.

We should be able to tell if there’s any sort of progress between the two sides. If Nelson comes out and makes a decision (which will undoubtedly be appealed by the other side) then we can assume that the two sides hadn’t made much progress. If she continues to delay her decision, then perhaps that means she feels the two sides are making genuine progress.

The 2011 NFL schedule was released on Tuesday night which provided a much needed escape from the daily lockout grind for the fans. Let’s hope that momentum continues into mediation.