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kaisy
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Mar 21 2013, 08:35 AM
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Talks to end the NFL lockout will resume with the court-appointed mediator in New York on Monday and could continue through Thursday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on Sunday on condition of anonymity, because the discussions are supposed to remain confidential. The mediator, U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, originally had ordered representatives of the leagues owners and players to meet with him Tuesday in Minneapolis. Now Boylan is expected to arrive in New York on Monday to oversee talks aimed at ending the NFLs first work stoppage since 1987. The owners have a special meeting set for Thursday in Atlanta, where they potentially could ratify a new deal -- if one is reached by then. Any agreement also must be voted on by groups of players, including the named plaintiffs in a federal antitrust suit against the league, and the NFL Players Associations 32 team representatives. More than four months into the lockout, owners and players have made significant progress on the framework of an agreement. But re-establishing the union and figuring out what it will take for nine NFL players -- including star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees -- to settle that antitrust suit are among key issues blocking a deal to end the lockout, people familiar with the negotiations told the AP on condition of anonymity. The unresolved matters also include how the TV networks case, in which the players accused the owners of setting up "lockout insurance," will be settled. Among the parts mostly squared away following significant progress last week: -- how the more than US$9 billion in annual league revenues will be divided; -- a rookie salary system; -- free agency rules; -- a cap of about $120 million for player salaries in 2011, with about another $20 million in benefits. The lockout began March 12, when negotiations broke down and the old collective bargaining agreement expired. The NFLPA announced it was dissolving itself and would no longer be a union that could bargain for all players under labour law, instead saying it was now a trade association. That allowed players to take their chances against the NFL in federal court under antitrust law. There is a possibility that the sides will be able to put together a tentative agreement in principle in time to keep the preseason completely intact. The exhibition opener is scheduled to be the Hall of Fame game between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears on Aug. 7, and as of Sunday, no preseason games had been cancelled. Members of the legal and financial teams for the two groups met in New York on Saturday, while NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith spoke with each other. The larger negotiating teams that gathered for more than 30 hours of intensive face-to-face talks spread across Wednesday through Friday -- including owners and current or former players -- did not meet Saturday. Among the parts of the deal that people familiar with the negotiations told the AP are largely in place: -- The players portion of the leagues full annual revenues will be on a sliding scale with a floor of 46.5 per cent and a ceiling of 48.5 per cent. There no longer will be the old formula, under which owners got a cut off the top for various operating expenses before revenues were divided. The new percentages represent a decrease for players, because they were winding up with a higher percentage under the old contract, which is among the main reasons spurring owners to opt out of that deal. According to NFLPA figures, the players got 52.7 per cent of all league revenues in 2006, 51.8 per cent in 2007, 51 per cent in 2008, and 50.6 per cent in 2009. There was no salary cap in 2010. As far back as 2000, meanwhile, the players take was 56.5 per cent of all revenue. The players are still hoping, though, to get a commitment from owners that each team will spend a minimum amount of the cap. -- Most players will be able to become unrestricted free agents after four years in the league, and the owners hope for being able to get a right of first refusal on three players per team in 2011 was dropped. -- First-round draft picks will sign four-year deals, with a club option for the fifth year. The new rookie salary system will help curtail first-year players soaring salaries, with much of that money going to veterans. Wholesale Jerseys China . -- Rory McIlroy has gone from being a rookie in the Ryder Cup to a marked man at Medinah. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . No. 1 goaltender Corey Crawford let in two soft goals in overtime that cost them in playoff games, and didnt post a shutout this season in 57 appearances. His goals-against average of 2.72 ranked 32nd in the NHL, and more than a goal a game worse than the league leader, St. http://www.usnfljerseyswholesale.com/ .P. Arencibia is going to be suiting up for another team this spring -- Team U. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . - Golden State rookie Harrison Barnes provided the signature moment of the game when he threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk over Minnesota centre Nikola Pekovic in the second quarter. Wholesale Jerseys .Y. -- Unbeaten in their division, Sam Bradford and St.There were no changes in the top four in this weeks TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings, leaving the San Jose Sharks ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. The Montreal Canadiens crept into the Top Five, benefitting from two lineup additions: left winger Max Paciorettys return from an appendectomy and the signing of defenceman P.K. Subban. Anaheim climbed from 15 to nine, thanks to continued strong play from their supporting cast; same goes for the Islanders, who moved from 18 to 12. Phoenixs 2-0-2 record last week was enough to vault from 22 to 13. A bad run of injuries dropped the Colorado Avalanche from 14 to 20, while the Dallas Stars have struggled to generate offence and that, combined with an injury to leftt winger Ray Whitney, contributed to the Stars falling from 12 to 24.dddddddddddd The biggest drop of the week belonged to the Winnipeg Jets, who lost three games, by an 18-9 margin, and lost defenceman Dustin Byfuglien to injury. That resulted in a fall from nine to 26. Such is the volatility of the early-season rankings but, even so, thats a fairly dramatic move. Other Canadian teams: Ottawa sans Spezza dipped from five to eight; Edmonton up from 11 to 10; Vancouver up from 16 to 15; Toronto climbed from 23 to 18 and one-win Calgary slipped from 26 to 28. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '
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