With the NFL Lockout finally over, and undrafted free agents being snatched up now, you’d think that everyone could finally settle down and simply get back to business. It’s been a rough 12 weeks for us fans, so we’re just content to see the rosters start to shape up and get back to some speculation as we sort out our fantasy football draft sheets. But the NFLPA isn’t done just yet. As the players finalize the re-certification of their union, some of them put together the above video to thank the fans for sticking with the NFL throughout this mess. And I think I speak for the average football fan when I say – whatever, dude. Just play some damn football already.

Looking back at the lockout, I don’t think most fans had any clue what was going on, so of course we took sides based on player Tweets and whatever propaganda we were fed from both camps throughout. But after last week’s nonsense, with the owners saying the deal was done and the players denying it and crying that it was all a ploy to tip the perception scales in their favor, I don’t really give a turtle’s poop about thanks or apologies anymore. You want us fans to be happy? Get back on the field and remind us that you love the game, so we can remember that we love the game, too.

Quit acting like a pissed off girlfriend who seemingly ended an argument but just keeps bringing up old news. We don’t care anymore. We don’t care if the owners were checking out another girl’s ass. We don’t care if the players were leaving their underwear on the bathroom floor. We just want to watch football, cheer our favorite players, and complain about our teams like none of it ever happened.

Give us that, and we’ll thank you.

Read the rest of this entry »

"What CBA can I taaaaake?"

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster is ready for some football. How ready? Last night he wrote his own collective bargaining agreement and signed it. Who cares if his CBA is only one page long and its entire text is a series of wavy lines? Oh look, the NFL “Owners” signed it, too. I guess it’s legit.

Very funny, Mr. Foster. I already feel less guilty about that ARIAN NATION tee-shirt I bought last week.

Foster’s sentiments echo that of most of the fans: Let’s just get this damn thing done and play some football. The Tennessee alum is especially eager, since he’s entering the walk year of a contract that will pay him a paltry $480K this fall. And that’s after leading the NFL last year with 1616 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns, and yes, he played all 16 games in 2010. I checked. That’s a stat line that would make Molly Ringwald moist. And it’s about time; what is she, like, 50?

For a good hour last night, it really seemed like the NFL Lockout was coming to an end. The owners voted to “ratify the proposal settling the players’ antitrust litigation” and we all thought, “Hooray! Now our teams can start making bad decisions again!” Well it turns out that was wrong. Apparently it was really wrong.

According to Pro Football Talk, “someone” sent an email to the NFLPA* about the owners’ vote, prompting DeMaurice Smith to send the following email to the player representatives:

“As you know the Owners have ratified their proposal to settle our differences,” the e-mail states. “It is my understanding they are forwarding it to us. As you may have heard, they apparently approved a supplemental revenue sharing proposal. Obviously, we have not been a part of those discussions. As you know from yesterday, issues that need to be collectively bargained remain open other issues such as workers compensation, economic issues and end of deal terms remain unresolved. There is no agreement between the NFL and the Players at this time. I look forward to our call tonight.”

The owners have now given the players a Tuesday deadline to respond to this deal, but this was basically the general player response last night…

Read the rest of this entry »

In response to allegations that he was 1/4 of the “douchebags” (Chris Kluwe’s words, not mine) holding up the settlement of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Vincent Jackson took to his Twitter account to tell his fans and followers that he’s innocent, and that he just wants to get out there and play. That should be a good thing, right?

Funny story – Jackson is still asking for $10 million. So is Logan Mankins. At least, that’s according to CBS Sports’ Mike Freeman, who thinks that Jackson is quite the fibber.

Logan Mankins and Vincent Jackson are still asking for cash compensation and that is one of the holdups over the finalizing of the CBA agreement, a source with knowledge of the situation told me.

Mankins and Jackson are still asking for $10 million each and this is slowing the process, the source explained. Jackson has denied he is seeking compensation.

The lawsuit against the NFL cannot be settled until all the plaintiffs agree and as of late Wednesday night, the source said, Mankins and Jackson were still seeking payment. The NFL, thus far, refuses to agree.

Freeman also thinks that this will be a non-story by some point today, as he expects Jackson and Mankins to come to their senses and drop their requests. But what if they don’t? What if Jackson and Mankins are so steadfast in their refusal to play unless they receive $10 million for their pain and suffering from all that time they spent holding out last season? My idea is that a bunch of the rookies and lower pay players put $20 million in two sacks and bring them to Jackson and Mankins. And then they can just beat the crap out of them.

Yesterday, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was seemingly the first NFL player to respond to allegations that Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson and Logan Mankins were seeking special treatment (a la Reggie White in 1993) through their antitrust lawsuit with 6 other players. Manning and Brees reportedly wanted to be exempt from the franchise tag for the rest of their careers while Jackson and Mankins wanted to either be outright free agents or receive $10 million each for their troubles of last season. And as you can see from the Drew Brees Tweet above, it may not be true.

Boston Globe reporter Greg Bedard also Tweeted a few hours prior to Brees that the four “douchebags”, as Kluwe so wonderfully put it, had backed off of their special demands. But as Pro Football Talk pointed out last night, the reason for the special treatment claims is a whole lot simpler than we should have even thought.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heading into the weekend, there was a good feeling in the sports world that the NFL Lockout was so close to lifting and that we wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Expectations were so high that the World Wide Leader was reporting that teams could have been negotiating with and signing undrafted free agents and their own free agents as early as yesterday, while others even believed that the lockout could be completely over by the end of this week, thus sparking the greatest, most bombastic free agency period in professional sports history. Turns out that was all a big bunch of poop. You can thank Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson and Logan Mankins for that.

For starters, Jackson and Mankins, who both sat out for most of last season due to failed contract negotiations, have their own specific demands:

Yahoo! Sports has learned through multiple sources that the agents for wide receiver Vincent Jackson(notes) and guard Logan Mankins(notes) have requested that their players either become unrestricted free agents when the lockout is over or that they receive $10 million each as part of the settlement. (Yahoo!)

Manning and Brees, though, want to make sure that they can never be given the franchise tag. Manning just received the Colts’ tag in February before the lockout began and Brees would most likely receive the Saints’ tag after this season when he becomes a free agent.

Read the rest of this entry »