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5-21-11 is over. There was no rapture. We can all relax. That is, we all can relax except for the NFL players and the league itself. They still have a work stoppage. The NFL lockout continues and is on hold until June because no mediation is scheduled until after hearings for the appeal in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and those hearings do not happen until June 3.
However, there is at least one owner that has expressed the need for urgency. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay expressed the need to get something done in the way of a new labor deal before July 4.
Here is the full quote:
"There's a window where we can get something done, but we really need to get something done by the Fourth of July or thereabouts so we can get in and have training camp and preseason and get ready that way.
"There has to be some real urgency to get this thing resolved and really have a full season with a training camp and preseason games. It would be very unfortunate if we get a deal done Oct. 1 that we could have gotten done on July 10. The losses are great if we start missing preseason games and early (regular-season) games.''
I tend to agree. If the two sides don't get something done by the beginning of July, it will leave little time to prepare for the season. After a new CBA, there would have to be a time of free agency, then time for training camp and then on to the preseason and regular season. Being locked out past that point means that there will be changes made to schedules.
Whether this gets done is a completely different story. There is some evidence that things could be moving in the right direction, but I have been disappointed before in this process of negotiating.
For me, June 3 can't come quickly enough. Let's get this deal done.