Football fans have been waiting weeks for positive news to come out of the NFL labor dispute for weeks and finally, we may have a little.

The NFL Network’s Albert Breer is reporting that the CBA discussions between the owners and players are “serious,” even though the two sides will not talk over the weekend. Apparently progress is being made under mediator Judge Arthur Boylan and a new Collective Bargaining Agreement may be struck before or just after this month’s draft.

Of course, fans have gotten their hopes up before only to see them dashed. Back when the previous CBA was still in place, the two sides agreed to an extension and some thought that meant the owners and players were serious about agreeing on a new deal. But it wasn’t meant to be and a week later, the lockout began.

At this point, all we can do is hope that progress is actually being made. Nobody outside of the players and owners themselves truly know what’s going on behind closed doors, so maybe a deal will be struck within the next two weeks. Considering the issues at hand, I find it hard to believe that the two sides are any closer now than they were a month ago, and it’s rather disappointing that the players and owners won’t continue talks over the weekend. But at least they’re in mediation and talking. It’s certainly better than the alternative (i.e. leaving everything in the hands of the court system).

Judge Susan Nelson has ordered mediation between the players and owners to begin in Minneapolis on Thursday according to Judy Battista of the New York Times. Judge Arthur Boylan will apparently be the mediator.

The owners wanted mediation to resume under George Cohen, while the players wanted it to take place in federal court. Thus, Judge Nelson’s decision to have mediation begin under Judge Boylan is yet another victory for the players in the current CBA battle.

As Rotoworld.com points out, Peter King predicted on PFT Live on Monday morning that no Collective Bargaining Agreement will be reached soon. King expects a lockout injunction, which means there will be a football season next year but without a CBA (meaning 2011 will be an uncapped year, just as it was in 2010).

At this point, I would have to agree with King’s assessment of the situation in that there won’t be a CBA deal reached soon. The owners appear to be stalling so that the lockout goes into August or September where they can apply the most pressure financially. I’m sure the owners are thinking that if they can get into August or September, the players may start to press or turn against each other when they’re not collecting game checks every week. It’s not a bad strategy on their part, although fans will continue to suffer the longer the lockout goes on.

Hopefully this forced mediation will help, but it appears that we still have a long ways to go before the two sides come to an agreement.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter via Twitter, Judge Susan Nelson told owners and players that she will impose “forced” mediation” early this week.

From Rotoworld.com:

The NFL desperately wants mediation of a collective bargaining agreement under George Cohen while the NFLPA prefers mediation of their antitrust lawsuit under Nelson’s supervision. Nelson has hinted that she will side with the players, though there is a chance that she will defer to Cohen’s several-week head start on negotiations. Sources on both sides tell CBSSports.com’s Mike Freeman that this round of mediation “might lead to a deal.” Let’s hope so.

Let’s. The best way for these two sides to come to an agreement that works for everybody is if they talk. Leaving it up to the court system is a bad idea because I would have to imagine that one side would walk away a clear winner and the other a clear loser. Granted, there needs to be compromise on both sides but leaving the lines of communication open would seemingly make the most sense.

During a recent radio broadcast, Ravens’ receiver Derrick Mason said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should stop worrying about blood tests and HGH and start worrying about getting a CBA deal done.

Oh, and Mason also called Goodell a joke.

Goodell said Monday that the new labor agreement will include rigorous testing for human growth hormone, with the possibility of a blood test as well.

Referencing Goodell’s comments, Mason said “He needs to stop crying about blood tests and HGH. He needs to try to get a deal done, that’s what he needs to do.

“To me, he’s a joke, because every time I look, he’s talking about performance enhancements instead of talking about trying to figure out a way to make sure football is played in August.”

Fair enough, although in Goodell’s defense if he wants to ensure that there will be HGH testing in the next CBA, this is the time to do it. It’s not like he can spend all of his time working on a new CBA deal and then turn around and say, “Ah crap, you know what I forgot? HGH testing. I swear, I’d forget my head if it weren’t bolted onto my neck!”

I think calling Goodell “a joke” was an irrational comment by Mason. Does he think that Goodell doesn’t want to get a deal done? Does he think that Goodell likes being perceived as one of the villains in this CBA mess? Does he think that Goodell isn’t focused or determined to ensure there’s a season next year? Does he think that Goodell wants to go down as a commissioner who couldn’t figure out a way for the owners and players to share billions of dollars?

Come on, we’re all fired up about the lockout but let’s relax and think rationally here. Goodell wants a deal done just as bad as anyone so things can go back to normal. Comments like “he’s a joke” are unconstructive.

A couple of weeks ago a buddy and I were talking about the NFL lockout and then we immediately shifted the conversation to our upcoming fantasy baseball drafts.

For whatever reason it didn’t hit me until then (probably because I’m not that smart) but I realized just how much Major League Baseball stands to gain if the players and owners continue to ruin the NFL.

It hasn’t even been a week, but already several MLB teams have set local TV ratings records. According to SportsBuinessDaily.com, the Orioles’ 4-0 start has translated to booming ratings for MASN. The network posted a 12.2 rating and 135,000 HHs in the Baltimore market for Monday’s home opener against the Tigers. For sake of comparison, the team averaged a 3.4 rating in Baltimore last season.

The site also mentions that last Friday’s game between the Astros and Phillies set an opening-day rating record and Sunday’s matchup broke the record for a regular-season telecast. The Rangers, Blue Jays, FOX and ESPN all did very well over the weekend, too.

Granted, it was opening weekend and the cold weather certainly encouraged people to stay indoors and flip on the tube. I’d like to see what the numbers look like in a couple of weeks when fans realize that there are still 140-plus games left to be played this season. Will the interest still be high in Baltimore if the Orioles go on a six-game losing streak? Will ESPN start to lose viewers when they begin showing only the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies and Mets on a weekly basis like they have over the past couple of years? (Furthermore, how long before people start to pass on the ESPN Sunday Night broadcast because they can’t stand Bobby Valentine and Orel Hershier, both of whom are atrocious in the booth.)

That said, without daily NFL free agent news, I wouldn’t be shocked if people had a renewed sense of focus on baseball. The CBA mess has sucked most of the fun out of the NFL draft this year, so maybe fans (who are no doubt tired of the constant negative commentary surrounding the lockout) will stick with baseball long after the excitement from opening weekend fades away.

Either way, Bud Selig and Co. have to love the early TV numbers and probably wouldn’t mind seeing the lockout go well into August or September. Not having to compete with the NFL (even its offseason) has to be a plus for Selig’s league.