As of Wednesday, labor talks had been picking up furiously in recent days and reportedly with success. Neither the NFL nor the players is supposed to discuss details of the negotiations, but the Atlanta Journal Constitution extracted at least some information from Falcons’ offensive tackle Tyson Clabo regarding what has transpired in New York.
“I can tell you that when they come out and say that everybody is working really hard, they really are working really hard,” said Clabo, one of Atlanta’s player representatives along with linebacker Coy Wire. “When I was sitting at home and would hear that everybody is working really hard, I’d say, ‘they can’t be working too hard because nothing is getting done.’ That is not true. Everyone is working really hard to get a deal done.”
Clabo spent two days in New York last week to take part in the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. He added that was not sure if an agreement would be reached in time for the players union to re-certify and ultimately bring an end to the lockout on Thursday at the NFL’s special league meeting in Atlanta. Further updates on labor progress were not available at press time.
NEWS AND NOTES …
Former Falcons’ cornerback Deion Sanders, who will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 6, celebrated with a Red & Black Gala last Saturday night in downtown Atlanta. Sanders did multiple interviews during the red carpet event and even gave a speech to fans who had gathered across the street. Former Falcons Ray Buchanan, Brian Jordan and Kevin Mathis were among those on the guest list.
Michael Vick, once the face of the Atlanta franchise, took to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and preached his anti-dogfighting campaign to Congress. Vick is calling for a bill that would penalize not only the financing of dogfights, but would also make it illegal to attend fights or allow minors to attend.
Now that the lockout appears to be a thing of the past, we can focus on what is really important—Madden. EA Sports released rookie ratings for the 2012 video game this week and Julio Jones’ has a 78 overall rating while Jacquizz Rodgers comes in at 69.
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