Written by Chris Hutchison

---

How's that for a football headline?  Inspiring, huh?

The judges in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 Monday to make the temporary stay of the lockout injunction permanent, thus keeping the players out of work until at least the June 3rd hearing.  This likely will lead to a reversal of the injunction ruling by the Minnesota court, meaning that the players will remain locked out indefinitely until a new CBA can be reached.

Depending on how belligerent the Players feel (or, more accurately, how belligerent their fearless leader DeMo Smith feels), this could either lead to more earnest mediation discussions or to a whole mess of athletic 20-something year old men pouting and trading in their Mercedes for a Hyundai.  Likely, however, a lockout - prolonged or no - will at least mean that we won't have to worry about the abolition of the draft and the salary cap, since those things will certainly be part of any collective bargaining that is finally agreed upon.  So, unless you were keen on killing the draft and the salary cap and making everyone a Free Agent, this was a win (in the long run) for the fans.

Basically, the main litigation is essentially a done deal, the only question is how quickly the 2 sides can mend their ouchy feewings and sit down and reach the agreement that everyone in the universe knows they're gonna reach eventually anyway.

Kids these days...