Times wires
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS — Carl Eller emerged from a seven-hour mediation session between the NFL and its locked-out players and let out a big sigh.
"Tough day," he said.
When a Hall of Fame defensive end and one of the most feared players of his generation gives that kind of evaluation, it's safe to say that the negotiations between the owners and the players aren't getting any easier.
The sides resumed court-ordered talks Tuesday after a three-day break, with no sign that an agreement is any closer. The lockout is in its second month and a federal judge is expected to decide soon on the players' request to halt the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joined NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Falcons president Rich McKay, Packers CEO Mark Murphy and owners Pat Bowlen of Denver and Jerry Richardson of Carolina on the NFL side on Tuesday.
Named plaintiffs Ben Leber, Mike Vrabel and Eller represented the group of current, former and future players who are asking for the injunction on the lockout and have filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league.
All declined comment at the end of the long day. The sides will meet again this morning in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan.
The talks are the latest step in the contentious fight over a new collective bargaining agreement.
Meanwhile, representatives of the NFLPA were invited to American University's Washington College of Law to answer questions from students about the lockout and the players' court proceedings, in part to explain the players' side of the story.
RB INGRAM '100 PERCENT': Former Alabama running back Mark Ingram says his left knee is "100 percent" healthy. The 2009 Heisman winner said he doesn't know where the reports are coming from that NFL teams are concerned about his surgically repaired knee. He had arthroscopic surgery Aug. 31, but missed only the Crimson Tide's first two games.
BENGALS: Quarterback Jordan Palmer is gathering offensive players for offseason workouts in California, assuming his older brother's role as the team leader. Starter Carson Palmer has threatened to retire if he's not traded.