31 (The Oakland Raiders abstained) owners voted to OK the deal yesterday, but last night the players chose not to vote on the new CBA. The players are expected to vote today. But as I saw on SportsCenter this morning, paraphrasing Takeo Spikes, "The players will vote when they feel the deal is fair." The players are pushing hard for an opt-out clause, which was not included in the owners proposal. Combine that with DeMaurice Smith attending the funeral of Myra Kraft today, the players most likely won't vote today.
If this deal is agreed upon, free agency would start on July 27th.
Honestly, I wish every word I just typed was speculation on training camps. I'm hoping by the end of the weekend this lockout can be lifted.
The owners gave up a lot (of revenue) to salvage this season. The players need to stop screwing around, recertify, and sign the CBA. Without a union and a CBA, the non-stars would be playing for peanut butter & jelly sandwiches like the old days. You'd also have a few rich dominant teams that the other teams couldn't compete against. The owners have spread the wealth; it's time for the players to pick up their checks, mumble, "Thank you," and get back to work.
We are excited to let you know that the NFL has reached a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that allows the entire NFL season to be played this year.
The NFL is the most popular sport in America. Our games are intense, unifying and meaningful to fans in the stadium and to those watching at home. We are thrilled to have a labor deal in place that will provide fans with a decade of certainty and that will allow us to focus all our energies where they ought to be — on the playing field. The upcoming 2011 season will surely be exciting, and football work will begin shortly. Our coaches will begin meeting with players, and the Club will welcome back talented veterans along with exciting rookies from the April NFL Draft, like top picks A.J. Green(notes) and Andy Dalton(notes). Whether all of that will take place in Cincinnati or Georgetown, Kentucky, will be decided shortly once we receive the NFL's operating schedule.
Two years ago, our football team swept the AFC North—one of the toughest divisions in football—and many key components of that team remain, including defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer and a defense that ranked in the top half of the NFL for three straight seasons. The area of the team that will change the most will be the offense with a new direction under offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and new faces at quarterback and wide receiver. The mix of veterans and rookies should return our offense to the top level we need, and we are excited by the challenge.
This year—like others before it—we will focus our energies on returning to the Super Bowl again. That's what we want and that's what our fans want, and our franchise has been blessed with great support from fans for decades. Last season we reached a record-setting 57th straight sellout—a string we hope to restart soon—and our games have been the most-watched television program in the local market for the last applicable 96 ratings weeks. This is great football country, and incredibly: 95% of the Cincinnati population watched an NFL game during the 2009 season (third highest ranking among NFL markets).
We are very grateful to our fans, we thank you for your patience during the labor stoppage, and now we look forward to a great season together. Who Dey!
stomperrob wrote:The Raiders had to abstain as Al Davis was in the washroom - apparently they had to pump some more formaldehyde in him to keep him looking lifelike.
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by Venom » Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:27 pm 
