Source:
APBy HOWARD FENDRICH
WASHINGTON (AP) - The New York Giants' John Mara joined the NFL group negotiating with the players' union Tuesday, the first team owner to participate since a federal mediator began overseeing the talks.
Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, chairman of the league's competition committee, and Washington Redskins general manager Bruce Allen also were among those joining NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell when mediation resumed Tuesday at 1 p.m., 59 hours before the current collective bargaining agreement was due to expire. Most participants hadn't left as of 6:30 p.m.
"I don't think you could have a greater sense of urgency," Jeff Pash, the league's lead labor negotiator, said on his way into the meeting. "We all know what the calendar is, and we all know what's at stake for everybody. And that's why we're here. We're going to be here as long as it takes and work as hard as we can work to get something done."
There was no telling, of course, whether the sides would fare any better Tuesday than they did during more than 40 hours of meetings spread across seven consecutive days of mediation that wrapped up last week. When that round ended Thursday, mediator George Cohen said the league and the NFL Players Association still had "very strong differences" on the "all-important core issues."
Read more:
http://sports.excite.com/news/03012011/v4244.html
FULL story at link.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
