The NFL Players Association executive board and 32 team reps have voted unanimously to approve the terms of a deal to the end the 41/2-month lockout.I guess I'm supposed to be hyped about this development, since it means I can stop pretending to care about baseball, and Ray Lewis' dire predictions of (non-deficit ceiling related) Armageddon will be averted. Still, I can only get so excited about this, because it only highlights just how pathetic the NBA's ongoing lockout looks by comparison. You knew all along there was no way the NFL wouldn't miss any games. There's too much money to be made.
Owners overwhelmingly approved a proposal last week, but some unresolved issues still needed to be reviewed to satisfy players; the owners do not need to vote again.
The sides worked through the weekend and wrapped up the details Monday morning on a final pact that is for 10 years, without an opt-out clause, a person familiar with the deal told the AP.
Owners decided in 2008 to opt out of the league's old labor contract, which expired this March. That's when the owners locked out the players, creating the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
The NBA, on the other hand, looks like they'll blow half (if not all) of next season in a petty squabble between millionaires and billionaires. Half the players are headed overseas, and plenty of owners will gladly skip the season and the millions of dollars in losses that would accompany it. Lovely.
But hey, football's back. It's better than a Fall full of baseball and hockey.
Question: Did you ever think the NFL lockout would result in missed regular season games? Will the NBA be back before the 2012 general election?
