5 day forecast
NFL Notebook: Owners will gather on final day of CBA
Share with others:
NFL owners will meet March 3, the final day of the current collective bargaining agreement.
It is possible the owners will call for a lockout of the players if negotiations with the union are not progressing sufficiently.
All 32 owners are expected to be at the meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that follows two days of committee meetings that were previously scheduled.
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith repeatedly has said he expects a lockout. Talks broke down last week in Washington.
The owners opted out of the CBA in 2008.
Also, the NFL filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union with the National Labor Relations Board.
The league's filing says the union "consistently has failed to confer in good faith" during negotiations for a new contract and the union's "conduct amounts to surface bargaining and an anticipatory refusal to bargain."
Union spokesman George Atallah said the NFL's "claim has absolutely no merit."
The NLRB is a federal agency that enforces the nation's labor laws and referees labor-management disputes.
The NFL's filing with the NLRB says that the union wants to "run out the clock" and, essentially, avoid reaching a new CBA so it can decertify and file an antitrust lawsuit.
Players already have voted, team by team, to authorize decertifying their union if a new CBA isn't reached by the deadline.
Coach John Harbaugh signed a three-year extension that will keep him under contract through 2014. Harbaugh took the Ravens to the playoffs in each of his three seasons after replacing Brian Billick in January 2008. Baltimore is 32-16 in the regular season under Harbaugh and 4-3 in the playoffs.
Ray Rhodes joined new coach Pat Shurmur's staff as a defensive assistant. Rhodes, a former head coach with the Eagles and Packers, spent the past three seasons with the Texans.
Oakland added a Hall of Famer to their coaching staff, hiring Rod Woodson as an assistant to coach the team's cornerbacks. Woodson, who spent the bulk of his playing career with the Steelers, was one of the most accomplished defensive backs to play the game and was named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team. He played the final two of his 17 seasons with the Raiders, helping the team win the 2002 AFC championship.
Former Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski was hired to coach Atlanta's quarterbacks. The Falcons picked Bratkowski to replace Bill Musgrave, who became offensive coordinator for the Vikings.
Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had surgery on his torn Achilles tendon, an injury that happened in an offseason workout in Atlanta. Thomas' recovery will take at least six months and, depending on the severity of the injury, he could miss all of next season.
The agent for defensive end Albert Haynesworth said there's no truth to a complaint that Haynesworth lineman sexually abused a waitress. A television station reported that according to a police report, a waitress said Haynesworth touched her breast while paying his bill early Sunday at a downtown Washington hotel.
Also, returner Brandon Banks is still hospitalized two days after he and a friend were stabbed outside an upscale downtown nightclub. Banks' friend was critically injured and had surgery.
Bill Hughan was hired as New York's strength and conditioning coach, replacing Sal Alosi. Alosi resigned in January, less than two months after he was caught on the sideline tripping a Miami player during a punt return and was suspended by the team.
First Published February 15, 2011 12:00 am
