Mar 7, 9:03 PM EST
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trying to work their way to a new labor deal, Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith resumed negotiations for four hours Monday.
With both sides adhering to mediator George Cohen's admonition that they not discuss the talks publicly, it wasn't clear how much - if any - progress was made in the shorter-than-usual session. The only sure thing: The sides planned to meet again Tuesday.
The current collective bargaining agreement originally was set to expire last week, but two extensions have now pushed the cutoff to the end of Friday. After months of infrequent formal negotiations and plenty of acrimony, the sides have spent 12 days at the Federal Mediation Conciliation Service, but they still remain apart on key economic issues.
What will happen the rest of this week is still anyone's guess. If a deal isn't reached, the sides could agree to yet another extension and negotiate beyond Friday. Or talks could break off, leading to, possibly, a lockout by owners or antitrust lawsuits by players.
