Sides closer to NFL labor deal

NEW YORK (AP) - Don't break out the tailgate gear just yet. An end to the NFL lockout might not be imminent.

It does appears much closer than at any point in the last three months, though.

Recent progress in labor talks between the league and players has sparked a new sense of optimism, and team owners have been told to be ready to extend their one-day meetings in Chicago next week.

The two sides made progress in labor negotiations held Tuesday at an undisclosed location in Maryland. Those talks will go through at least Wednesday and quite possibly to the end of the week.

A person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press that finalizing an agreement by next week's owners' meetings is unlikely. But a framework for a new collective bargaining deal could be presented in Chicago, with further tweaking extending the work stoppage until the end of the month.

A new CBA could be in place before the July 4th weekend, the person added, speaking on condition of anonymity because details of the meeting are not being made public.

Another person familiar with the talks told the AP that the owners and players are "headed in the right direction" and that lawyers "are back in the room" after being excluded from sessions the past two weeks.

Still, it would be premature to predict that lockout is about to end, the people familiar with the talks told the AP. Yet the atmosphere of negotiations has been more positive than it was previously, creating "a sense of movement," they said.

That movement toward an agreement might be in both sides' best interest after a federal appeals court judge warned the owners and players they might not like the upcoming decisions in legal actions sparked by the lockout. Indeed, the court could delay any rulings if a new CBA appears to be near.

On hand at the meetings were NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell; NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith; several owners, including the Giants' John Mara and the Cowboys' Jerry Jones; and a large group of players that includes NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, Jeff Saturday, Mike Vrabel, Tony Richardson and Domonique Foxworth.

Although no deadlines have been set for the opening of training camps, the 32 teams soon must decide whether to delay them, particularly those clubs that stage a portion of camp out of town. Settling before July 4 almost certainly would provide for full training camps at previously planned locations.

First would come a free agency period, including the signing of undrafted rookies, and probably minicamps, which already have been canceled by the lockout that began March 12.

The lockout also has cost the league and some teams advertising and sponsorship money, and some players have not collected workout bonuses. At least seven teams have instituted paycuts or furloughs of employees who are not players.

---

AP Sports Writers Richard Rosenblatt in New York and John Wawrow in Buffalo contributed to this story.