Goodell considers recent labor talks to be 'a positive sign'

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will spend the weekend preparing for the next set of labor negotiations, energized by this week's secret talks that he believes show both parties are committed to ending their dispute.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (right) shares a laugh with troops Friday while visiting Fort Bragg in North Carolina. (National Football League)

While the owners and players spent Friday in a St. Louis courtroom arguing over the legality of the league-imposed lockout, Goodell visited with troops at Fort Bragg, a U.S. Army base in North Carolina, with Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera.

At the end of a long day that included trying on -- but not using -- a parachute, Goodell took questions from soldiers before telling reporters there's some reason for optimism following the clandestine talks in suburban Chicago.

"The importance is to have the principles talk," Goodell said. "That's what we were interested in doing, have the owners and players talk to one another. That was accomplished this week. ... That's a positive sign for us."

Goodell was far from specific -- he wouldn't say when the next round of talks would be held or if the owners will prepare another offer -- but he acknowledged both parties showed a willingness to work toward a deal.

Goodell wouldn't say how the league and its players will compromise on the stumbling blocks in the negotiations, mostly notably how to divvy up $9 billion in annual revenue.

"I would just tell you that both sides are committed to continuing the dialogue," Goodell said. "In negotiations, you're making different suggestions, recommendations and proposals from time to time. I think both sides will do that in a responsible fashion."

Goodell agreed that having the lawyers absent and the players and owners directly meet -- Rivera acknowledged that Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was there -- helped get the talks rolling.

"I still believe principle to principle is the best way to really get the kind of dialogue you need so people understand the different perspectives," Goodell said.

Feldman breaks down Friday's events Lawyers representing the league and its players met before a three-judge panel in St. Louis, but what transpired and what does it mean? NFL Network legal analyst Gabe Feldman cuts through the legalese to answer that and other questions. More...

But time is running out. Already, free agency has been delayed, minicamps canceled and optional workouts put on hold. Training camps are scheduled to open next month.

Goodell wasn't spared from the fans' frustrations at Fort Bragg. One soldier accused the owners of being the players' "No. 1 distraction" and asked Goodell, "Where's the passion, the love of game?"

"I understand the frustration and criticism because people want football," Goodell said. "You hear that everywhere you go. I heard that all day today. That's what we're in the business of doing. You have to make sure you're taking the right steps, though, to protect the game for a long-term basis."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

View the original article here

Packers' Barnett considers impact of injury on life after football

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Nick Barnett's right wrist was injured and his conscience was torn.

The veteran linebacker believes the Green Bay Packers are going to the playoffs and wanted to be a part of it. Despite the injury, he probably could have come back this season. And he almost did.

"I'm getting to the end of my career," Barnett said Thursday. "I don't know how many years I've got left -- four, five maybe, years. You want to take advantage of every single game or being around here as much as you can. So definitely, it's hard to deal with."

But doctors told Barnett that if he took another hit on his wrist, there was a risk he might end up having a hard time using his right hand well after his career was over. So Barnett reluctantly had the surgery, and the Packers announced last week that he would miss the rest of the season.

Amid increasing awareness of how difficult life can be for retired football players with chronic health problems, Barnett put his long-term future ahead of his short-term goals.

"It was hard as heck," Barnett said. "There's two families you think about. You don't want to leave this family (the team) out to dry because you need to get something fixed. But at the same time, I've got to raise boys. I don't want to leave them. I would like to throw baseballs to them and do normal stuff."

Barnett admitted that if he was at a different point in his career, his decision almost certainly would have been different. Barnett said that if he was a 20-year-old college player, he would have had a hard time sitting out the season.

"You might risk it because you might not get drafted," Barnett said.

Even as an eighth-year NFL veteran and cornerstone of the Packers' defense, his decision might have been different if he had hurt his left wrist instead.

"If it would have been my left hand, to be honest with you, I would have played," Barnett said. "But being that I'm right-handed, for the rest of my life it's going to be kind of hard to not use your right hand the way that you need to use it. But unfortunately stuff happens."

Barnett was injured during the Packers' Oct. 3 victory over the Detroit Lions, had it taped up in a splint and returned to the game. He was inactive for the Oct. 10 loss at Washington as he held out hope he could come back and play.

"I was on the verge of just playing with it," Barnett said. "But as I talked to the doctors and went through everything and just kind of evaluated just everything in general, how I was going to be affected in my future after I played football, the best decision was to fix it."

Barnett said he is scheduled to have pins removed from his wrist in four weeks, then have a cast removed four weeks later. He should be cleared to begin rehabilitation exercises after that, although he'll still have a screw in his wrist for several more weeks.

He expects to be fully healthy for next season.

"Oh, I'll be perfect. I'll be perfect for training camp, hopefully for minicamp and all the good stuff that I haven't been for the past two seasons," said Barnett, who had a season-ending injury to his right anterior cruciate ligament in 2008, returned to start every game in 2009, then had to have another procedure on his knee before this season.

Barnett said the upside of having the wrist surgery is getting his knee fully healthy.

"I'll be fine, I'll be destroying," Barnett said. "You can bet your money next year that I will be a beast. I guarantee you that. Put it in the bank."

And with all the other serious injuries the Packers have sustained this season, Barnett expects the team to be highly motivated next season -- although he's still confident of a playoff berth in 2010.

"I think they're going to go to the playoffs (this year), I still think that's going to happen," Barnett said. "But after every year you see injuries, the next year, you see a pretty successful and (hungry) team. That's what I look forward to, a lot of key guys and a lot of key young players hurt, come back starving because they want to be out on the field and they want to make something happen. I look forward to seeing that."

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press

View the original article here