The Falcoholic: Bumming you out with lockout news since last week.
The latest brouhaha in league circles deals with the NFL Players Association—and I use that term loosely since they've technically dissolved at this point—warning rookies to stay away from the NFL Draft. According to one source that ESPN heard from, this effort is moving full speed ahead.
I'm generally sympathetic to the players, but I don't understand the rationale behind this. Teams are still going to draft these rookies. All you're doing is depriving them of a chance to hear their name called and awkwardly stumble up to the stage to get their hats, which would completely terrify me but seems to be some kind of honor for them.
Ultimately, I understand the goal is to embarrass the league by not having the top players show up, and for them to show solidarity with their soon-to-be brothers in the once-and-future NFLPA. I just don't think it's a tactic worth pursuing, as it has the potential to look bad at a time when the players clearly have the upper hand in the public perception.
This whole situation rankles more by the day. Both sides are lobbing verbal grenades about the other one not coming to the table ready to make a deal, which is especially laughable coming from the NFL given that they were a Judge David Doty decision away from sitting on $4 billion in television revenues and a certain lockout for leverage against the players. To top it all off, Adam Schefter is hearing that if you're holding your breath to see the two sides get back together before the April 6 court date, you're going to die blue in the face.
I'll be glad when/if this is over in 2011. Weigh in, if you would.