The NFL Lockout is On, it's Off, and Back On Again

A federal appeals court on Friday granted a temporary stay of an April 25 lower court order that had ruled that National Football League owners could not lock out their players.

The 2-1 ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis allows NFL owners to again suspend football operations, as they seek to revise the current system and negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement with the league's players.

"We are back to a lockout," said 8th Circuit court clerk Michael Gans, who confirmed the court's ruling.  The lockout is back on, but to what degree?

Friday's announcement, which became public during the second round of the NFL Draft -- the last element covered under the previous agreement between the two sides.

Appeals court judges Duane Benton and Steven Colloton voted for the temporary stay, writing that they wanted to "give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion for a stay pending appeal."

The lone dissenting judge, Kermit Bye, said that the temporary stay shouldn't be granted -- arguing unsuccessfully that such an order should apply only to an "emergency situation."

If games don't start on time late this summer, it would be the first NFL work stoppage since 1987.

No word on how long this lockout may stick.

The Growth of the NFL Combine

At 8 o'clock Saturday morning, NFL Network will begin live coverage of the league's scouting combine in Indianapolis.  Millions will be watching looking for their football fix.

Scheduled to work out for scouts on Saturday are kickers, offensive linemen and tight ends.

Up Sunday morning, will be quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers.

On Monday, it will be defensive linemen and linebackers followed Tuesday by defensive backs.

The workouts consist of recent college players running, jumping, lifting weights and catching footballs for the pleasure of NFL teams that may or may not decide to draft them and bestow upon them gobs of signing-bonus money.

All of the workouts each day are expected to last into mid-afternoon. All will be conducted under the watchful eyes of NFL coaches, scouts, personnel gurus and ... you, if you choose.

Like the April draft, it's yet another NFL event that has turned into a giant television production. The NFL believes the combine has such enough TV potential it has locked out ESPN and other broadcasters.

Any year now, we can expect the quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers to be divvied up and the entire proceedings to be shifted to prime time.

Covering the combine started in 2004, less than six months after NFL Network's launch. Most of what got on the air was video-taped packages. The following year, NFL Network offered 13 live hours. This time around, plans are for 30 live hours and then lots of analysis.

It's stunning, but it just keeps growing to meet demand," said Eric Weinberger, NFL Network's executive producer. "Viewers have spoken to us and they want more."

In 2010, a record 5.2 million viewers watched a piece or all of the combine. As NFL Network adds subscribers, the number of viewers is expected to grow. Note, too, that more than 700 media credentials were issued this year. That's also a record.


Week 16: Fantasy Football Buy, Sell, or Hold

It's the playoffs and hopefully you are in the final four or championship game of your league.

This buy, sell, or hold is going to be quick and to the point this week because if you don't know your team and players by now, how did your team advance this far?

This weeks headlines include the Colts getting back on track, Atlanta and New England keep winning, and what about that Eagles/Giants finish.

Here's this week's buy, sell, or hold.

Buy:

Michael Vick, QB Eagles. With the numbers Vick is putting up, there is no question about starting him. Right now his forcing his "refuse to lose" attitude on his team.

Josh Freeman, QB Tampa. Freeman has had a breakout season. Only six interceptions and a game against Seattle upcoming. He's a good start option.

Donald Brown, RB Colts. Brown had a good Sunday. He got in the end zone with 129 yards rushing. He also caught a pass. Peyton has confidence in Brown, so expect him to catch some more passes.

Sell:

Tim Tebow, QB Broncos. Getting his first start, Tebow threw for 138 yards and a touchdown, he also ran for 78 and another score. I'm not sold on Tebow, and I would hold off on starting him unless you don't have anyone else.

Marcel Reese, RB Raiders. Reece ran for nine yards on three carries and added 79 yards and a touchdown on two catches. He is an unpredictable player, so don't count on him every week. Plus, he plays for the Raiders.

David Nelson, WR Bills. He has three straight games with a score and fantasy owners are taking notice. He plays the Patriots this week, so don't expect much.

Terrell Owens, WR Bengals. Owens tore up his knee and has decided to go under the knife. If you had Owens this season you got good production from him. Look for another option now.

Hold:

Rex Grossman, QB Redskins. Rex Grossman burned the Cowboy's D for 322 yards passing and 4 TDs. Will he put up numbers like that ever again? I'm skeptical.

20 Inches of Snow, And it's Not Winter Yet

A powerful snowstorm socked the upper Midwest on Saturday with as much as 20 inches of snow, forcing authorities to close state roads across five states as heavy winds made for treacherous driving conditions.

The storm started Friday in the Rocky Mountains and swept overnight into northern Nebraska and Iowa. By Saturday morning, the blizzard hit eastern South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota.

Winter storm advisories were posted Saturday for parts of northern Illinois, warning of blizzard conditions and winds of up to 50 mph overnight in the Quad Cities area.

With near whiteout conditions in many areas, Minnesota transportation officials closed westbound Interstate 90 from Albert Lea to the South Dakota border, pulled plows off roads in the southern part of the state and told drivers to stay home.

Between 8 and 18 inches of snow were expected in Minnesota, with the heaviest snowfall stretching from near Hutchinson and Mankato to the Twin Cities. Heavy snow also was falling in northern Iowa, where up to 10 inches were expected, and eastern South Dakota, where 5 to 8 inches were forecast.

The New York Giants are still trying to get to Minnesota for their game with the Vikings. The Giants-Vikings game was moved to Monday night because Minnesota had at least 15 inches of snow and wind gusting over 30 mph and the New York team was waiting it out in Kansas City. With close to a foot-and-a-half of blowing snow accumulating in the Twin Cities area throughout the day Saturday, the Giants’ charter flight was diverted to Kansas City instead. After hanging out in the terminal for a bit, the team then settled in to spend the night there, with an initial plan in place to fly to Minnesota on Sunday morning and make it to the stadium in time for regularly scheduled 1 p.m. EST kickoff. But the NFL made the announcement later Saturday night that the game was being moved.

Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon said on Twitter the team "monitored weather all week" and moved up the departure time by 3 1/2 hours Saturday. That didn’t prove to be enough of a head start to make it to Minneapolis before the airport shut down all runways.

Week 13: Fantasy Football Buy, Sell, or Hold

It's time to look ahead to NFL week 13 after week 12 is now in the books. Let's call week 12 "Separation Sunday". We had some teams separate themselves from the pack with big wins. The Falcons, Bears, Chiefs, and Giants took big steps forward.

Week 12 also featured Bears quarterback Jay Cutler throwing 4 TD passes and the Colts' Peyton Manning throwing an unbelievable 4 interceptions.

If your team is fighting to make the playoffs, good luck and here's this week's buy, sell, or hold.

Buy

Sam Bradford, QB Rams - Bradford continues to put up numbers and that should continue in week 13 as he goes against Arizona and their 27th ranked pass defense.

Kevin Boss, TE Giants - Boss had a great game in week 12 with 74 yards and a touchdown. Boss is a reliable pass catcher and is hard to bring down when running. Look for Eli Manning to keep looking for Boss.

Toby Gerhart, RB Vikings - With Adrian Peterson going in for an MRI today, Gerhart will be a good pickup and a potential starter. More on Peterson should be known as the week goes on.

Matt Cassel, QB Chiefs - Cassel is back playing the Broncos who he lit up in week 10. The Cassel to Bowe combo is lethal. Start Cassel.

Sell

Bruce Gradkowski, QB Raiders - Gradkowski injured his shoulder against Miami and is expected to miss next week. Jason Campbell will be back starting. Adjust your lineup accordingly.

The Packers Running Game - The lack of a running game cast the Packers the game at Atlanta.

Seahawks Defense - They have been awful, and don't expect that to change this week against Kansas City.

Frank Gore, RB 49ers - A bad leg injury suffered on Monday night ends his season and probably the 49ers playoff hopes.

Hold

Peyton Manning, QB Colts - Peyton Manning a hold? After the 4 interception performance against San Diego he's on the watch list. It's not all his fault, his usually reliable receivers dropped a slew of passes and the Colts are dealing with injuries at just about every position. Take a wait and see approach with Manning heading down the stretch.