In the AFC:

• 1. New England Patriots (13-3) – First Round Bye
• 2. Baltimore Ravens (12-4) – First Round Bye

Wildcard Round

Saturday, Jan. 7

No. 6 Cincinnati (9-7) at No. 3 Houston (10-6), 4:30 ET (NBC)

Sunday, Jan. 8

No. 5 Pittsburgh (12-4) at No. 4 Denver (8-8), 4:30 ET (CBS)

Divisional Round

Saturday, Jan. 14

Denver at No. 1 New England (13-3), 8 ET (CBS)

Sunday, Jan, 15

Houston at No. 2 Baltimore (12-4), 1 ET (CBS)

In the NFC:

• 1. Green Bay Packers (15-1) – First Round Bye
• 2. San Francisco 49ers (13-3) – First Round Bye

Wildcard Round

Saturday, Jan. 7

No. 6 Detroit (10-6) at No. 3 New Orleans (13-3), 8 ET (NBC)

Sunday, Jan. 8

5. Atlanta (10-6) at No. 4 N.Y. Giants (9-7), 1 ET (FOX)

DIVISIONAL ROUND

Saturday, Jan. 14

New Orleans at No. 2 San Francisco (13-3), 4:30 ET (FOX)

Sunday, Jan. 15

NY Giants at No. 1 Green Bay (15-1), 4:30 ET (FOX)

AFC & NFC Conference Championships

Sunday, Jan. 22

NFC – Giants at 49ers, 6:30, FOX

AFC – Ravens at Patriots, 3:00, CBS

Super Bowl XLVI:

Sunday, February 5th

AFC vs NFC

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, (NBC, 6:30 ET)

Note: Schedule will be updated as needed

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

The 2012 NFL Pro Bowl rosters came out on Tuesday night and the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers led all teams with eight players chosen. The Patriots have the most starters out of all teams with seven.

The 2012 NFL Pro Bowl will be held on Sunday, January 29, 2012 at the Aloha Bowl in Honolulu, HI. Since the game is being played a week before Super Bowl XLVI, any members of the two teams playing in the Super Bowl will not participate in the game.

For a full look at the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl rosters, hit the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

AFC		NFC
Offense		Offense
Position	Player(s)	Position	Player(s)
QB	* Tom Brady, New England	QB	* Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
	Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh		Drew Brees, New Orleans
	Philip Rivers, San Diego		Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants
RB	* Ray Rice, Baltimore	RB	* LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia
	Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville		Matt Forte, Chicago
	Arian Foster, Houston		Frank Gore, San Francisco
FB	* Vonta Leach, Baltimore	FB	* John Kuhn, Green Bay
WR	* Wes Welker, New England	WR	* Calvin Johnson, Detroit
	* Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh		* Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
	A.J. Green, Cincinnati		Steve Smith, Carolina
	Brandon Marshall, Miami		Greg Jennings, Green Bay
TE	* Rob Gronkowski, New England	TE	* Jimmy Graham, New Orleans
	Antonio Gates, San Diego		Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta
T	* Joe Thomas, Cleveland	T	* Jason Peters, Philadelphia
	* Jake Long, Miami		* Joe Staley, San Francisco
	D’Brickashaw Ferguson, N.Y. Jets		Jermon Bushrod, New Orleans
G	* Logan Mankins, New England	G	* Jahri Evans, New Orleans
	* Brian Waters, New England		* Carl Nicks, New Orleans
	Marshal Yanda, Baltimore		Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay
C	* Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh	C	* Ryan Kalil, Carolina
	Nick Mangold, N.Y. Jets		Scott Wells, Green Bay
Defense		Defense
Position	Player(s)	Position	Player(s)
DE	* Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis	DE	* Jared Allen, Minnesota
	* Andre Carter, New England		* Jason Babin, Philadelphia
	Elvis Dumervil, Denver		Jason Pierre-Paul, N.Y. Giants
DT	* Haloti Ngata, Baltimore	DT	* Justin Smith, San Francisco
	* Vince Wilfork, New England		* Jay Ratliff, Dallas
	Richard Seymour, Oakland		B.J. Raji, Green Bay
OLB	* Terrell Suggs, Baltimore	OLB	* DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
	* Von Miller, Denver		* Clay Matthews, Green Bay
	Tamba Hali, Kansas City		Lance Briggs, Chicago
MLB	* Ray Lewis, Baltimore	MLB	* Patrick Willis, San Francisco
	Derrick Johnson, Kansas City		Brian Urlacher, Chicago
CB	* Darrelle Revis, N.Y. Jets	CB	* Charles Woodson, Green Bay
	* Champ Bailey, Denver		* Carlos Rogers, San Francisco
	Johnathan Joseph, Houston		Charles Tillman, Chicago
FS	* Ed Reed, Baltimore	FS	* Earl Thomas, Seattle
	Eric Weddle, San Diego		Dashon Goldson, San Francisco
SS	* Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh	SS	* Adrian Wilson, Arizona
Special teams		Special teams
Position	Player(s)	Position	Player(s)
P	Shane Lechler, Oakland	P	Andy Lee, San Francisco
PK	Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland	PK	David Akers, San Francisco
KR	Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh	KR	Patrick Peterson, Arizona
ST	Matthew Slater, New England	ST	Corey Graham, Chicago

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The team is preparing for its nationally televised game Saturday in Detroit against the Lions.  The Patriots played the Lions last year on Thanksgiving Day and after a close first half turned it into a huge blow out winning 45-24 at Ford Field.

Tom Brady was 21 of 27 for 349 yards and 4 TD passes.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran for 59 yards and 2 TD’s, Deion Branch had 113 yards receiving and 2 TD catches and Wes Welker had 90 yards receiving and 2 TD catches.  While rookie CB Devin McCourty had 2 interceptions in the win.

I hope we get to see Lions QB Matt Stafford during the game, he missed most of last season with a shoulder injury and didn’t play in the game against New England. Stafford was the #1 overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Georgia.  He became the first rookie QB to start the season for the Lions since Greg Landry in 1968.

The Lions after taking Ndamukong Suh out of Nebraska in the first round in 2010, took Nick Fairley out of Auburn in the first round in 2011.  They should team up for years to come to form the base of a very good defensive line in Detroit.

Suh had a great rookie year winning NFL AP Defensive Rookie of the Year as he registered 66 tackles, 10 sacks, forced 1 fumble and had 1 interception in his first season.  He also made the Pro Bowl and was selected as a first team All-Pro.

The Lions are hoping Fairley is nearly as productive in his first season as Suh was.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

With the game nationally televised on CBS, Patriots fans within the broadcast domain of the Patriots Preseason Television will not be tortured this week by Don Criqui and Randy Cross.  Criqui, was once considered among the finest play by play men in the business, is not quite up to speed on things as they happen any longer.

I thought we would see the top CBS announcing team this week but we’re getting the 2^nd team of Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf and Leslie Visser for the game.

On Sunday the Patriots signed TE Garrett Mills.  Mills was originally a 4^th round pick by the club in 2006 out of Tulsa and he spent his rookie year mostly on IR.  In 2007 they tried to sneak him through waivers to put him on the practice squad but Minnesota claimed him.  In retaliation the Patriots claimed a Vikings player, LB David Herron off the waiver wire. Now he has returned to add more depth at tight end, a position that may only get three roster spots, now has five players but he is practice squad eligible.  He has also has spent time with Philadelphia and Cincinnati.

In return the team announced that OL Zach Roth and LB Bret Lockett were released.  It was reported just a few days ago that Lockett tore his groin and abdomen on Thursday. The Boston Herald’s Rap Sheet blog is reporting that he would have to clear waivers to be placed on IR but there’s no explanation as to why that is.

Roth had gotten hurt and was carted off in his first practice with the team but he returned a few days later. Roth was just unlikely to make the team.

New England head coach Bill Belichick was on WEEI’s Patriots Monday take a listen to the conversation with the Big Show.

Patriots quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Tom Brady also was on Patriots Monday with Dennis & Callahan on WEEI Monday morning.

If you don’t want to listen to the entire radio interview here’s some links to a few of the things Brady talked about.

Brady talks Belichick, Ochocinco and paparazzi.

Brady likes the look of the aggressive defense.

The Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin wrote a wonderful piece about Albert Haynesworth’s history and the people who support him.

Now that Haynesworth has pleaded no contest to a simple assault charge, it’s up to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to decide if there will be any type of further punishment by the league for Haynesworth’s actions.

The Globe’s Shalise Manza Young tell us that when Kyle Love was at Mississippi State they called him “Mini-V” as in Mini Vince Wilfork.

Jerod Mayo is going to be running wild, wreaking havoc on opponents.

The Herald’s Karen Guregian wonders if being named in the University of Miami scandal will affect Vince Wilfork.

Guregian noted on Sunday that she saw LB Dane Fletcher at Gillette Stadium and his right hand (thumb) that he injured Thursday night was in a cast.

Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald has video of newly signed S James Ihedigbo.

Rapoport gives us a look at the pager that NFL referees will use to confirm each and every touchdown this season.  It’s via a NBC screen shot.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss says when it comes to the defensive line, for the Pats, the richer the better.

Reiss tells us that NBC honored Myra Kraft, the late wife of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, during its Sunday Night Football telecast this weekend.

Yahoo’s Michael Silver writes about Robert Kraft having had an emotional summer.

Devin McCourty will line up once again against Lion’s WR Calvin Johnson.  The last time out McCourty had a pair of picks including one while covering the big Detroit receiver.

WR Taylor Price and rookie CB Ras-I Dowling were back at the full pads practice on Monday after some injuries.  Also back were WR Julian Edelman, WR Brandon Tate, DL Shaun Ellis and S James Sanders.

Vince Wilfork doesn’t want to be a distraction when it comes to the scandal at “The U”.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

With the 2011 NFL Season upon us, I decided to take a look at the teams and make some pre-season predictions.  The records you see below were actually compiled by me going through the week-by-week schedule and issuing a team a win or a loss.

Then I assigned the playoff teams and picked the winners for the Wild Card games, Division games, Conference Championship games and finally Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday February 5, 2012.

Before we get into the teams I have a few awards to predict.

NFL Coach of the Year

Mike Munchak, Tennessee Titans

NFL MVP

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

NFL Defensive Player of the Year

Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

Nick Fairley, Detroit Lions

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Here are my predictions for the 2011 NFL Season:

AFC	W-L	Home	Road	Div	AFC	NFC
East
New England	12-4	7-1	5-3	5-1	9-3	3-1
New York	11-5	7-1	4-4	5-1	7-5	2-2
Buffalo	3-13	2-6	1-7	2-4	2-10	1-3
Miami	3-13	1-7	2-6	0-6	1-11	2-2
North
Pittsburgh	12-4	6-2	6-2	5-1	8-4	4-0
Baltimore	12-4	7-1	5-3	4-2	8-4	4-0
Cleveland	5-11	2-6	3-5	2-4	5-7	0-4
Cincinnati	4-12	2-6	2-6	1-5	2-10	2-2
South
Indianapolis	11-5	7-1	4-4	4-2	9-3	2-2
Tennessee	11-5	7-1	4-4	4-2	9-3	2-2
Houston	7-9	4-4	3-5	3-3	6-6	1-3
Jacksonville	5-11	5-3	0-8	1-5	4-8	1-3
West
San Diego	11-5	8-0	3-5	5-1	8-4	3-1
Kansas City	8-8	5-3	3-5	3-3	6-6	2-2
Denver	8-8	5-3	3-5	2-4	5-7	3-1
Oakland	7-9	5-3	2-6	2-4	6-6	1-3

AFC Playoff Seeds

1- New England – East Champs

2- Pittsburgh – North Champs

3- San Diego – West Champs

4- Indianapolis – South Champs

5- Baltimore – Wild Card

6- Tennessee – Wild Card

AFC Wild Card Weekend

Tennessee at San Diego – Chargers win

Baltimore at Indianapolis – Ravens Win

Byes: New England and Pittsburgh

AFC Division Weekend

Baltimore at New England – Patriots win

San Diego at Pittsburgh – Chargers win

AFC Conference Championship

San Diego at New England – Patriots win

NFC	W-L	Home	Road	Div	NFC	AFC
East
Philadelphia	12-4	6-2	6-2	5-1	9-3	3-1
Dallas	7-9	4-4	3-5	6-6	6-6	1-3
New York	6-10	5-3	1-7	3-3	4-8	2-2
Washington	3-13	2-6	1-7	1-5	3-9	0-4
North
Green Bay	11-5	6-2	5-3	3-3	8-4	3-1
Chicago	8-8	6-2	2-6	4-2	7-5	1-3
Minnesota	7-9	3-5	4-4	4-2	6-6	1-3
Detroit	6-10	4-4	2-6	1-5	4-8	2-2
South
Atlanta	13-3	6-2	7-1	4-2	9-3	4-0
New Orleans	11-5	7-1	4-4	3-3	8-4	3-1
Tampa Bay	8-8	6-2	2-6	2-4	7-5	1-3
Carolina	5-11	4-4	1-7	3-3	3-9	2-2
West
Arizona	9-7	5-3	4-4	3-3	7-5	2-2
St. Louis	8-8	4-4	4-4	4-2	6-6	2-2
Seattle	7-9	5-3	2-6	3-3	6-6	1-3
San Francisco	4-12	2-6	2-6	2-4	3-9	1-3

NFC Playoff Seeds

1- Atlanta – South Champs

2- Philadelphia – East Champs

3- Green Bay – North Champs

4- Arizona – West Champs

5- New Orleans – Wild Card

6- Tampa Bay – Wild Card

NFC Wildcard Weekend

Tampa Bay at Green Bay – Packers win

New Orleans at Arizona – Saints win

Byes: Atlanta and Philadelphia

NFC Division Weekend

New Orleans at Atlanta – Falcons win

Green Bay at Philadelphia – Eagles win

NFC Conference Championship

Philadelphia at Atlanta – Falcons win

Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis IN

Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots

Super Bowl XLVI Champions

New England Patriots

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The New England Patriots today cut recently acquired DE Marcus Stroud.  Stroud who was signed as a free agent was let go because he is not progressing enough from his shoulder injury to partake in Patriots training camp.

Also on the roster front the team signed two of it’s 2011 draft picks bringing the total number of draft picks signed to four, with five remaining.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed but it is believed that 3^rd round pick RB Stevan Ridley and 7^th round pick CB Malcolm Williams were signed to four-year contracts.  At this time we do not know what signing bonuses the pair got.

Also one other player note reports are that the team and OL Matt Light are working on a new contract.  Light, a free agent, has spent his entire career with the Patriots after the team drafted him the second round (48^th overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft out of Purdue.  He is one of three remaining players to have played for all three new England Super Bowl winning teams.

UPDATE: It’s now being reported that Stroud hasn’t been released and may be placed on the PUP list.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

The NFL has set all the dates and dates and times for the preseason schedule and with that here is the schedule for the New England Patriots.

• Thurs. Aug. 11 Jacksonville 7:30 p.m.
• Thurs. Aug. 18 at Tampa Bay 7:30 p.m.
• Sat. Aug. 27 at Detroit 8 p.m.
• Thurs. Sept. 1 New York Giants 5:30 p.m.

All three Thursday games will be shown in New England ONLY on the Patriots Preseason Television Network. Check your local TV listings for a station near you.

There is NO DirecTV package assignment for any preseason games.

The Saturday evening game in Detroit will be shown nationally on CBS.

All four games will carried on the Patriots Radio Network.  You can also check SiriusXM for channel assignments.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has announced the cancellation of the annual NFL Hall of Fame Game scheduled for Sunday, August 7^th in Canton, Ohio between the St. Louis Rams and the Chicago Bears.

The Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will go on as scheduled on Saturday, August 6^th.

Goodell said the game was cancelled despite today’s vote of owners to ratify the new NFL CBA because there was no time for the team’s to prepare and play the game, “time is just too short.” Said Goodell.

This will cause the Hall of Fame a significant loss in revenue that ticket sales to the game put into the yearly operating budget of the Hall.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

NFL owners have voted tonight 31-0 to accept the proposed CBA.  The Oakland Raiders abstained from voting. The proposed CBA is a 10 year deal between the owners and the NFL Players that is contingent upon all of the union matters, including re-certification, being resolved by Wednesday July 27.  The deal contains no opt out clause for either side.

Among those union issues that need to be rectified is the re-certification of the union by a majority vote of the leagues 1900 players.  All the legal actions need to be dropped and the plaintiffs need to be made whole.  A vote on the Brady mediation that includes acceptance of the old CBA as part of the new agreement.  Any changes proposed to that old CBA need to be negotiated and agreed to by Saturday July 30.  And if there’s is no agreement of the newly negotiated portions the old CBA will terms on benefits, discipline, safety, etc shall be in effect for the full 10-year term of the new agreement.

The NFL Players are discussing the new CBA and expected to vote on it tonight.  If it is accepted by the player’s teams will be allowed to open facilities for voluntary workouts starting on Saturday morning.

According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports he is hearing the player conference call is not going well and that there will be NO Player vote tonight on this agreement.  According cbssports.com, an email between NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith and the players indicated the players still had serious concerns over the ownership proposal.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network has traded messages with a couple of the player reps during the conference call he said; “They feel they have nothing to vote on, so there will be no vote.”

Currently the problem is that the NFL has not apparently provided the players with a complete CBA document for them to look at and vote on.

The players have until Tuesday to vote on any new agreement in order to keep with the proposed NFL Calendar.

Follow Steve on Twitter @djstevem

In what may have been one of the fastest first rounds of the NFL Draft I have ever seen, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell walked out to boos to open it up and came out to boos with nearly every pick announcement in the first round.

The 2011 Draft marked the 11^th time in the last 14 years that a quarterback was taken 1^st overall.  The streak started in 1998 with some guy named Peyton Manning.  It also was just the third time overall that three quarterbacks were taken in the Top 10 and the first time since 1999 when three QB’s (Tim Couch, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith) went 1-2-3.

The SEC lead the draft in first round picks with ten selections as Alabama had the most with four.  Other schools with multiple picks were Auburn, Missouri, Wisconsin, Colorado and Baylor all having two in the first round.  Auburn also became just the 4^th school to have three #1 overall picks in the draft as Cam Newton joined Bo Jackson (1986) and Aundray Bruce (1988) as the War Eagle Number 1’s.

After the SEC the Big 12 had eight picks, Big 10 had six, ACC with three, PAC 10 had three, the Big East and MAC each had one.

There were two big trades in the first round involving Cleveland as they traded #6 overall to Atlanta for #27 (1^st round), #59 (2^nd round), #124 (4^th round) and a 1^st round and a 4^th round in 2012.  The Falcons then selected WR Julio Jones out of Alabama. Later the Browns also traded with Kansas City taking the Chiefs pick at 21 to grab DT Phil Taylor from Baylor.  The Chiefs also added a 3rd round pick in the deal.

Washington traded the 10^th overall pick to Jacksonville for the 16^th overall and the 49^th pick (2^nd round).  The Jags used #10 to grab QB Blaine Gabbert from Missouri.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

As for the Patriots they stayed at #17 and just when we thought they would take Cameron Jordan a DE from Cal they went with Nate Solder an OT from Colorado.  Solder is listed as 6’8”, 319 and would make an imposing linemate with Sebastian Volmer. Solder originally recruited as a tight end was moved to OT and was a three years starter for the Buffaloes.  He is expected to need some work with line coach Dante Scarnecchia to get up to speed but is considered a strong pick.

When it came time for the Patriots to pick at #28 they traded the pick to New Orleans who then took Mark Ingram a running back from Alabama and the 2009 Heisman Trophy winner.  In return the Patriots got #56 (2^nd round) and the Saints first round pick in 2012.  Bill Belichick loves spinning those picks into more picks and he has done it again.  So now the Patriots have three picks in the second round and two in the third round on Friday night and double Number 1 picks in 2012.  With Ingram going 28^th as the first running back in the draft it’s the latest that’s happened since 1963 when the first back was taken 24^th.

But the story of the night has to be Baylor OG Danny Watkins going to Philadelphia he is a 26 yr. old rookie who has played hockey, rugby and has been a firefighter in Canada.  He is a real lunch pail type guy and the Eagle fans will love him.

While the strangest move of the night though belongs to Baltimore while on the clock the Ravens let the ten minutes run out on pick 26 so they got bumped allowing Kansas City to officially move from 27 to 26 and then Baltimore picked 27 after the Chiefs.  And with the 26^th pick the Chiefs kept the Big East from being shut out of the first round and took Pitt WR Jonathan Baldwin.

Here is the complete first round:

PICK	TEAM	PLAYER POS SCHOOL
1	Carolina	Cam Newton QB Auburn
2	Denver	Von Miller OLB Texas A&M
3	Buffalo	Marcell Darius DT Alabama
4	Cincinnati	AJ Green WR Georgia
5	Arizona	Patrick Peterson CB LSU
6	Atlanta via Cleveland	Julio Jones WR Alabama
7	San Francisco	Aldon Smith DE Missouri
8	Tennessee	Jake Locker QB Washington
9	Dallas	Tyron Smith OT USC
10	Jacksonville via Washington	Blaine Gabbert QB Missouri
11	Houston	JJ Watt DE Wisconsin
12	Minnesota	Christian Ponder QB Florida State
13	Detroit	Nick Fairley DT Auburn
14	St. Louis	Robert Quinn DE North Carolina
15	Miami	Mike Pouncey C/G Florida
16	Washington via Jacksonville	Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue
17	New England via Oakland	Nate Solder OT Colorado
18	San Diego	Corey Liuget DT Illinois
19	New York Giants	Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska
20	Tampa Bay	Adrian Clayborn DE Iowa
21	Cleveland via Kansas City	Phil Taylor DT Baylor
22	Indianapolis	Anthony Costanzo OT Boston College
23	Philadelphia	Danny Watkins OG Baylor
24	New Orleans	Cameron Jordan DE Cal
25	Seattle	James Carpenter OT Alabama
26	Kansas City via Cleveland thru Atl	Jonathan Baldwin WR Pittsburgh
27	Baltimore	Jimmy Smith CB Colorado
28	New Orleans via New England	Mark Ingram RB Alabama
29	Chicago	Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin
30	New York Jets	Muhammad Wilkerson DE Temple
31	Pittsburgh	Cameron Heyward DE Ohio State
32	Green Bay	Derek Sherrod OT Mississippi State

Photo credit: Getty Images

As of about 6 p.m. Eastern Time Monday night, the NFL Lockout has been lifted by federal judge Susan Richard Nelson when she ruled in favor of the NFL Players and the NFL Players Trade Association and issued a preliminary injunction. The first NFL work stoppage in 24 years has been in effect since March 10.

NFL owners are expected to appeal the decision before Nelson this morning. If denied, they would then go before the 8th District Court of Appeals in St. Louis MO in an effort to seek a stay and to be able to continue the lockout. The NFL believes that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes.

At this time judge Nelson only ruled on the lockout part of the players complaint and did nothing with the accusations of anti-trust violations and other issues between the parties as stated in Brady, et al v. the NFL.

She stated in her 89-page ruling that the players “have made a strong showing that allowing the league to continue their lockout is presently inflicting, and will continue to inflict, irreparable harm upon them, particularly when weighed against the lack of any real injury that would be imposed on the NFL by issuing the preliminary injunction.”

Lester Munson, a lawyer who is an ESPN consultant, says that judge Nelson’s ruling is written in a manner making it unlikely an Appeals Court would grant a stay and he expects the lockout to die. He goes onto say the opinion was written for appellate judges and he believes it is airtight.

Historically lower court rulings are upheld unless there is a mistake in the application of the law. That’s what the NFL owners will argue but from what Munson is saying it looks unlikely that they have anything to hang their hat on. Appeals judges aren’t allowed to just substitute their opinion on the case when deciding a stay on appeal and heavy deference is usually placed toward the ruling of the original judge in cases like this. But according to a former NLRB chairman there is no court more sympathetic to employers than the 8th District Court. So I wouldn’t be holding my breath quite yet.

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

 

So what does this mean?

Well I really don’t know. There are reports out there that players from teams are planning to report to team facilities tomorrow to work out. Several Pittsburgh Steelers players have said they are showing up en masse.

Other players are wondering how this affects their workout bonuses and will be calling their teams in the morning seeking payment. While others wonder if they can now get the playbooks they weren’t allowed to have prior to the lockout and can they work with coaching staffs and do their off season programs and OTA’s.

Where does this leave free agency? Can players start to sign contracts with new teams as of now? Are teams now free to trade players? Without a labor agreement what does this do to things like franchise tags and free agency status?

Remember the league played without a CBA from 1987 to 1993. That’s from the end of the last work stoppage until the advent of free agency and the salary cap as the NFL has known for the last decade and a half. And it could do so again.

The league would have to come up with some rules for the season. Rules for free agency, rules for franchise tags if they will even exist and they would also play without a salary cap like they did this past season leaving teams to spend as much or as little as they want on player personnel.

Some predict chaos come Tuesday, as no one truly knows what to expect. We are really in uncharted territory here as far as professional sports leagues and work stoppages go. One thing we do know is the NFL will not start a new league calendar year until their appeal on the stay of the lockout has been heard.

As a fan I hate this more than anything and it’s the major reason I haven’t written on the topic until now. At this time I’ve gone from being pessimistic about an on-time start to the 2011 NFL season to being cautiously optimistic. When things are the hands of judges you never really know how things will turn out until they issue their ruling.