Tag: 2011 NFL lockout (Page 16 of 16)

NFL not ready to make decision about OT change

The NFL has decided to table the discussion on whether or not to change the overtime format for regular season games next year. Instead, commissioner Roger Goodell said on Tuesday that he would like to get more feedback from the players before the league makes a significant change like that.

From ESPN.com:

Owners voted in March to change the sudden-death rule for the playoffs. If the team that loses the coin flip immediately gives up a field goal, that team will get a chance to score either to tie or win.

Goodell said owners also discussed upcoming labor negotiations with the players. The current contract expires at the end of the 2010 season.

I’m all for making adjustments to rules in effort to try and better the game (although it’s debatable whether or not changing the current OT format qualifies as “bettering the game”), but the league should prioritize its agendas.

As of this moment, the league is heading for a lockout in 2011. Instead of trying to figure out whether or not to change the overtime rules for the regular season, it would be nice if the league concentrated all of its efforts on signing a new collective bargaining agreement with the player’s union. I get that the league is going to discuss other matters of interest during this time, but all I continue to read about is how there is still “plenty of time” for the two sides to come together. Yet, the fact remains that a lockout is looming.

The NFL should always be about the fans. If there were a lockout next year, then it would destroy the fans. Forget the damn overtime rules and come together on a new deal already.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

NFL already preparing for a 2011 lockout

A report by the San Francisco Chronicle states that the NFL is already preparing for the possibility of a 2011 lockout, which includes buying a 25 percent stake in the United Football League.

These are anxious times for those looking to latch on to the NFL. It’s also an interesting time for the teams, as they look ahead to the possibility of a lock out in 2011. Fringe players might become starters if there’s a long labor dispute. The NFL went with replacement players in 1987 during the last protracted labor stalemate.

The league might already be making preparations and rumors are they are going to buy a 25 percent stake in the United Football League. The UFL, which now has five teams and plays six games in the fall, could become a feeder league along the line of NFL Europe. However, if there’s a long lockout, UFL players could possibly become NFL players overnight.

I wonder what the backlash would be from fans if the league did enter a lockout next season. Ticket prices are already ridiculous and if there were no fantasy football, NFL Sunday Ticket, or gambling (well, there will always be gambling on football but it wouldn’t be what it is now if the league used replacement players), there would be outrage across the nation. The NFL is the most popular league in America, but considering how much owners and players already make, fans aren’t going to show them any sympathy in a down economy.

It took steroids years before MLB recovered from its strike in 1994. Seeing as how football is a more popular game, I doubt it would take people very long to get over a lockout, but let’s hope we never have to find out either.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

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