lennykravitz2004 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Several influential NFL owners meet secretly near ChicagoCommissioner also on hand, presumably to talk about labor impasse By Brad Biggs, Tribune Reporter 8:14 p.m. CDT, June 1, 2011 A week after NFL owners wrapped up their annual spring meeting in Indianapolis, a small group of them gathered in a western suburb of Chicago. Patriots owner Robert Kraft was spotted Wednesday afternoon boarding his private jet at DuPage Airport, a little less than 24 hours after arriving, according to sources. Also present during a full-day stakeout was the jet belonging to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, an unmistakable Gulfstream model with a star on each side of the tail. The kicker? Sources said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also arrived in West Chicago via private jet Tuesday, and Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was believed to be present, the sources said. The NFL office was unable to provide any details. Airport officials cited a confidentiality policy in declining to reveal information. Where the men most involved in the owners' end of strategy convened is unknown but surely the NFL's protracted labor situation was the reason for their gathering. Was a secret meeting conducted with NFLPA officials? Kraft was not available for questions as the SUV he was in delivered him to the stairwell of his aircraft. The U.S. 8th Circuit Court in St. Louis will have a hearing Friday involving the lockout. Reports last week were owners are confident they will prevail. The lockout is grinding toward a third month and Goodell acknowledged to reporters last week that "it's clearly had an impact on our fans already." For some reason, these men chose a small airport they almost got in and out of without being spotted for a meeting in the suburbs. This much is certain, they were not playing 18 holes at adjoining Prairie Landing Golf Club, the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed course owned and operated by the DuPage Airport Authority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delfamdelfam Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 atleast there doing something, any new is good news at this point. Not really sure what they would be talking about though, they've already proposed a deal to the NFLPA, the players are the ones that should be meeting so they can get a counter proposal together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 For good reason . . . . Prairie Landing is a freakin dog track . . . Damn . . that is less than 10 miles from my house!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Where does the presiding judge live? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Over/under on how many posts it takes 'til the Bronco Billy vs. detlef pee-pee match begins? I say 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Over . . . . Bronco Billy needs his sleep so he can get up early and pee in the cheerios of NFL players Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Over/under on how many posts it takes 'til the Bronco Billy vs. detlef pee-pee match begins? I say 8. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsfan Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 does padding count? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennykravitz2004 Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 does padding count? Only Maxi padding counts... Sources: Secret labor talks in ChicagoBy Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter ESPN NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith, along with owners and players association officials met Wednesday in Chicago to try to bridge some of their significant differences, according to multiple league sources. The two sides worked into the night, though it is hard to ascertain exactly how long the NFL and NFLPA spent meeting. But clearly, one day before the hearing in St. Louis in front of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the two sides are making an effort to determine whether they can work out a settlement that eventually leads to football and a collective bargaining agreement. One source said any potential deal still was a ways away, however, the hope would be that the two sides could get something done sooner rather than later, potentially even later this month. With the two sides needing to be in St. Louis on Friday, Chicago made sense as a logical meeting place. NFL owners, including Dallas' Jerry Jones, New England's Robert Kraft and Carolina's Jerry Richardson, each were in Chicago along with Goodell. The meetings were so secretive that, as of Wednesday night there, there were other NFL owners that didn't know what was taking place. The NFLPA was equally secretive, declining to respond to inquiries about the meeting and its leaders' whereabouts. The two sides have been at a stalemate throughout the spring since the NFLPA decertified and the NFL locked out the players. The court mediated session in the Brady vs. NFL antitrust case is scheduled to resume next Tuesday in Minneapolis before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Over . . . . Bronco Billy needs his sleep so he can get up early and pee in the cheerios of NFL players Good one! Oh, that's so funny! You ever consider a career as a professional comic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMD Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Have to think this is very good or very bad with no middle ground. Either they are trying to punch through something sooner than later or they are setting the groundworks for a late start to the season. I still have to think this is a good thing. They had the heavy hitters for owners there and they would not need them if they were just talking mechanics of a late start season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 With all this intended secrecy, does anyone get the feeling that DS could end up selling the players out for his own gains? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 With all this intended secrecy, does anyone get the feeling that DS could end up selling the players out for his own gains? Ummmm...isn't he already? It's no secret the douchebag wants to run for office and is using this high profile fight as a stepping stone to do so. He sold them out along time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 The U.S. District court in Minnesota has canceled mediation sessions scheduled for next week to begin "confidential settlement talks" with the NFL and the NFLPA.U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan is pushing for a settlement now, taking advantage of the uncertainty and lack of leverage on both sides before the Eighth Circuit issues a ruling on the lockout. The players have been pushing for serious talks with the "power-broker" owners as opposes to attorneys, and this is a step in the right direction. As NFL Network's Albert Breer points out, terms of the next CBA were included in the settlement reached back in 1993. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpwallace49 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Good one! Oh, that's so funny! You ever consider a career as a professional comic? And it was post #10 . . . glad I took the over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Ummmm...isn't he already? It's no secret the douchebag wants to run for office and is using this high profile fight as a stepping stone to do so. He sold them out along time ago. Meaning negotiating a deal beneficial to the owners without the players consent in order to gain the owners [$$]favor[/$$] if/when he does run for office. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Meaning negotiating a deal beneficial to the owners without the players consent in order to gain the owners [$$]favor[/$$] if/when he does run for office. I don't believe he is in a position to do that. Is he? Serious question there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 And it was post #10 . . . glad I took the over. I'll admit that it is nice to see you finally get something right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peepinmofo Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 What position is DS supposedly consoidering running for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Meaning negotiating a deal beneficial to the owners without the players consent in order to gain the owners [$$]favor[/$$] if/when he does run for office. I'm pretty sure the best that the players could even hope for is that the percentage split stays the same. Doesn't really sound like hugh political capital to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 I'm pretty sure the best that the players could even hope for is that the percentage split stays the same. Doesn't really sound like hugh political capital to me. If you were to run for office then who would you rather have backing you, NFL players or NFL owners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 What position is DS supposedly consoidering running for? Since being elected as head of the NFLPA in March of 2009, Smith has made over 400 trips to Capitol Hill vying for political support. Immediately upon his election, Smith "presented a plan to address the labor dispute by garnering support on Capitol Hill, reinvigorating alliances with unions, and developing a litigation strategy." From the very beginning of his time at the NFLPA, Smith sought to politicize the labor dispute, rather than bargain with the owners. He quickly asked Congress to investigate the NFL's tax-exempt status and its limited antitrust exemption. In February 2010, over a year before the league's collective bargaining agreement was due to expire, he said the likelihood of a work stoppage was 14 on a scale of one to 10. Over the next year he made frequent trips to Capitol Hill. He also considered decertifying the NFLPA as a labor union, which would instantly put the NFL in violation of antitrust laws. That was a full year BEFORE the desertification. This guy, who dooped the players into believing Upshaw was a evil monster that made concessions against there favor (which he did, but they gained revenue) and to follow him, the Pied Piper of the NFLPA. What a sham. To answer your question directly, I do not know of any specific office he has publicly professed to being interested in. But count on it. This is nto the last we will hear of Mr.Smith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearBroncos Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Since being elected as head of the NFLPA in March of 2009, Smith has made over 400 trips to Capitol Hill vying for political support. Immediately upon his election, Smith "presented a plan to address the labor dispute by garnering support on Capitol Hill, reinvigorating alliances with unions, and developing a litigation strategy." From the very beginning of his time at the NFLPA, Smith sought to politicize the labor dispute, rather than bargain with the owners. He quickly asked Congress to investigate the NFL's tax-exempt status and its limited antitrust exemption. In February 2010, over a year before the league's collective bargaining agreement was due to expire, he said the likelihood of a work stoppage was 14 on a scale of one to 10. Over the next year he made frequent trips to Capitol Hill. He also considered decertifying the NFLPA as a labor union, which would instantly put the NFL in violation of antitrust laws. That was a full year BEFORE the desertification. This guy, who dooped the players into believing Upshaw was a evil monster that made concessions against there favor (which he did, but they gained revenue) and to follow him, the Pied Piper of the NFLPA. What a sham. To answer your question directly, I do not know of any specific office he has publicly professed to being interested in. But count on it. This is nto the last we will hear of Mr.Smith. Holy crap, if that has any validity, then this guy is the WRONG guy to be negotiating with the NFL owners. Let’s bash a whole in this hornets’ nest and then ask them to make honey for me???? What an idiot if this is true! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazinib1 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) Holy crap, if that has any validity, then this guy is the WRONG guy to be negotiating with the NFL owners. Let’s bash a whole in this hornets’ nest and then ask them to make honey for me???? What an idiot if this is true! I'm sorry, I should have linked my source as my post was a quick rundown of this article The Washington Examiner is not Pro Football Focus if you know what I mean. Edited June 3, 2011 by tazinib1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Holy crap, if that has any validity, then this guy is the WRONG guy to be negotiating with the NFL owners. Let’s bash a whole in this hornets’ nest and then ask them to make honey for me???? What an idiot if this is true! Especially since hornets don't make honey... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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