Eighth Circuit Court Keeps NFL Lockout Going, Predictably

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

The NFL and the NFLPA walk into a bar. A fan also walks into a bar. The NFL and NFLPA then proceed to whale on the fan for months on end, leaving him bruised, battered and thoroughly without dignity. Isn't that hilarious?

It appears both sides think so, because with the  Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Monday—ably covered by my colleague BigBlueShoe over at Stampede Blue—the lockout will remain on until at least June. Of course, the owners and players could avert that outcome by agreeing on a new collective bargaining agreement, but that outcome is about as likely as me becoming a cosmonaut.

There are no good guys here, ladies and gentlemen. There are degrees of stupid crap, and I still believe the owners have shoveled themselves deeper into a giant pile of ill elephant manure than the players. But there just isn't anyone to root for. All you can hope is that somehow, against all odds, the two sides actually hammer out an agreement that leads to football-related activities before the start of the season.

I try to be an optimist when it comes to these kinds of situations, because i want to believe that somewhere underneath those suits, in those briefcases and behind those courtroom doors, there's a damn being given for fans, for the livelihood of players who have yet to land a big contract and for the love of the game of football. But in the face of a tidal wave of indifference and greed, I find that my optimism is all but eroded.

The best case scenario is that mediation produces something in the next few weeks. The longer this stays in the court, the longer we have no football. Frankly, that sucks.

Comment away, my friends.