Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Diplomatic Solution Evading NFL, Players


By Mike Lopresti, Gannett

News from the labor front. And this isn't even Wisconsin. The game of chicken continues in the NFL between the owners and the players, with the countdown to a possible lockout in its final three days. Anyone got any bright ideas?

Maybe we could use famous treaties as inspiration for a cease-fire in the bickering-for-billions. There was the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War. Fitting, since these combatants have been at it that long. In the 1980s, the NFL endured two strikes, replacement players and star quarterbacks on the picket line. The more things change, the more they … never mind.


The Treaty of Tordesillas allowed Spain and Portugal to divide the world's riches. That ought to ring a bell for the players and owners.