2011-03-11T23:31:01Z The latest breaking news from across the National Football League from Mark Maske, Cindy Boren and Emil Steiner. tag:views.washingtonpost.com,2011:/theleague/nflnewsfeed/50 Copyright (c) 2011, WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive 2011-03-11T23:31:01Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-11:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/post.html

By Mark Maske The NFL's labor talks collapsed Friday, leaving the league, players and fans bracing for the first shutdown of professional football in 24 years and a confrontation that could play out in court for months to come. The players filed to dissolve their union, according to officials on both sides of the dispute, a move that ended negotiations with the NFL and team owners over a new labor pact whose central issue is...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-11T21:49:25Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-11:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/nfl_talks_turn_serious.html

By Mark Maske Updated: 4:45 p.m. DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the players' union, said the players gave owners a 5 p.m. deadline to turn over 10 years worth of audited financial records. As he left the talks, Smith said he was heading back to the union's nearby office to await the union's response. Smith said "significant differences remain" between the two sides. It appeared late Friday afternoon that NFL labor talks were on the...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-10T19:55:13Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-10:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/mark_maske_the_twice-delayed_bargaining.html

Mark Maske The twice-delayed bargaining deadline in the NFL's labor negotiations looms again Friday amid heightened concern that talks between the league and the players' union are on the verge of falling apart and a labor confrontation could again be at hand. The talks, supervised by federal mediator George H. Cohen, resumed Thursday with the league and union still at odds on key financial issues. Comments attributed Wednesday to DeMaurice Smith, the union's executive director,...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-09T22:13:40Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-09:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/nfl_talks_stalling_on_economic_issues.html

Mark Maske Ongoing differences between the NFL and the players union on core economic issues have slowed negotiations and made a settlement by Friday's bargaining deadline appear increasingly out of reach, sources throughout the sport said Wednesday. Only a major change in the dynamics of the talks in coming days could make a settlement this week a significant possibility, the sources said. A third postponement of the deadline remains possible, said the sources, who spoke...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-08T19:55:29Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-08:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/mark_maske_the_nfl_players.html

Mark Maske The NFL Players Association is pressing the league's owners to provide more financial data this week as part of contract negotiations, according to sources on both sides of the dispute. The union regards the financial disclosures as crucial to reaching an agreement before Friday's new bargaining deadline, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deliberations are at a sensitive stage. It is not clear whether the league is...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-07T22:06:36Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-07:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/the_nfls_labor_negotiations_resume.html

Mark Maske The NFL's labor negotiations resumed Monday with the league and the players' union still close to $800 million per year apart on the central economic issue of how to divide the sport's revenue, according to sources familiar with the deliberations. If there is to be a settlement this week, it probably would have to involve a tradeoff between the two sides on the revenue split under a salary cap system and another key...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-04T21:50:38Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-04:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/nfl_negotiators_close_to_another_extension_of_talks.html

By Mark Maske Negotiators for the NFL and its players' union approved a second postponement of their bargaining deadline for a new labor deal Friday, agreeing to talk for seven more days. The extension increases hopes for an eventual settlement after some progress was made in negotiations Thursday. Talks were expected to resume Monday. Sources said the postponement became official when it was ratified by the union's ruling executive committee. Union officials previously agreed to...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-03T19:17:04Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-03:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/nfl_players_talk_about_stopping_the_clock.html

By Mark Maske Negotiators for the NFL and the players' union are discussing the possibility of postponing Thursday night's deadline for a new labor deal, sources said. The league's collective bargaining agreement runs until 11:59 p.m. Representatives of both sides are meeting with mediator George H. Cohen at the downtown Washington offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Players are poised to decertify their union Thursday if there is no postponement, which would be...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-02T23:39:13Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-02:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/nfl_players_will_seek_to_block_lockout_in_court_sources_say.html

NFL players are poised to decertify their union Thursday and immediately seek an injunction in court that would block a potential lockout of the players beginning Friday by the league's franchise owners, sources familiar with the preparations said Wednesday. Both sides were making plans Wednesday for a labor confrontation that would begin Thursday barring last-minute developments in their negotiations that neither side expected, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Leonard Bernstein 2011-03-01T21:55:09Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-03-01:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/03/nfl_labor_talks_set_to_resume.html

By Mark Maske var target = new Date(2011, 2, 3, 24, 0, 0);                 var targetEpoch = target.getTime();                                 function timedCount()                 {                                 var rightNow  = new Date();                                 var rightNowEpoch  = rightNow.getTime();                                                                 var days = Math.floor(((targetEpoch - rightNowEpoch) / (60*60*24)) / 1000);                                 var hours = Math.floor(((targetEpoch - rightNowEpoch) / (60*60)) / 1000);                                 var minutes = Math.floor(((targetEpoch - rightNowEpoch) / (60)) / 1000);                                 var seconds = Math.floor((targetEpoch -...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Mark Maske 2011-02-26T20:29:21Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-02-26:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/02/owners_bargaining_committee_met_friday.html

By Mark Maske INDIANAPOLIS--Owners on the NFL's bargaining committee met Friday in the Indianapolis area with league negotiators to discuss the ongoing labor talks with the players' union. The meeting took place at the Indianapolis Colts' offices. No owners participated in the recent bargaining sessions with the union in D.C. that were under the supervision of federal mediator George H. Cohen. Negotiators for the league and union met with Cohen at the offices of...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Mark Maske 2011-02-25T21:58:44Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-02-25:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/02/demaurice_smith_addresses_agents_at_nfl_scouting_combine.html

By Mark Maske INDIANAPOLIS--DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, met with agents here Friday, with the sport perhaps on the verge of its first work stoppage in more than two decades. Smith addressed hundreds of agents during the union's annual seminar for agents at the NFL scouting combine. After Smith spoke, some of the sport's most prominent agents said they and their clients are supportive of the union's leadership. "Great leader,...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Mark Maske 2011-02-24T21:50:56Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-02-24:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/02/nfl_might_impose_further_restrictions_on_hits_to_the_head.html

By Mark Maske INDIANAPOLIS--The NFL's rule-making competition committee is studying the possibility of proposing further prohibitions on hits to the head, a committee member said Thursday. "I think our main focus has been on player safety issues and how we can cut back on contact to the head," New York Giants co-owner John Mara said. "We just spent a few hours talking to the players about that.... We're trying to cut down on these hits...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Mark Maske 2011-02-25T00:02:51Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-02-24:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/02/mediator_says_very_strong_differences_remain_in_nfl_labor_dispute.html

By Mark Maske UPDATED (6:58 p.m.)... INDIANAPOLIS--The federal mediator overseeing the NFL's labor talks said Thursday that "some progress" has been made in the negotiations between the league and the players' union but "very strong differences remain" on the core issues of the dispute. The talks before the mediator are to resume Tuesday, said George H. Cohen, the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. "At bottom, some progress was made, but very strong...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Mark Maske 2011-02-23T19:35:46Z tag:washingtonpost.com,2011-02-23:/theleague/nflnewsfeed2011/02/uncertainty_abounds_as_nfl_union_continue_bargaining.html

By Mark Maske Negotiators for the NFL and the players' union are close to fulfilling their commitment for a week of bargaining under the supervision of a federal mediator, with no public indication whether the talks have progressed to the point at which a settlement might be within reach. The two sides met for a sixth straight day Wednesday at the downtown D.C. offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. The agency's director, George...Please click on the title to continue reading this entry.

Mark Maske