Big Contingents of Players, Owners for NFL Talks

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By HOWARD FENDRICH

NEW YORK (AP) - With time running short to keep the NFL's preseason intact, owners and players got into another long round of labor talks Thursday, trying to break the impasse that has kept the league shut down for four months.

Each group turned out in force for the latest negotiations at a Manhattan law firm, and for the second straight day discussions stretched into the evening.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and eight of the 10 members of the owners' labor committee were present, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and John Mara of the New York Giants. Two new participants Thursday were Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy and San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos.

NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith and a half-dozen current or former players also were there, including Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, Baltimore Ravens defensive back Domonique Foxworth, and Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Umenyiora is one of 10 player plaintiffs in a federal antitrust lawsuit against the league.

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