Quoted Text

NFL, Union Agree to Federal Mediation in Labor Dispute.By Dan Graziano
Senior NFL Writer | Follow on Twitter: @DanGrazianoAOL
Text SizeAAAPrint this page|EmailShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DiggShare on LifestreamWell, the NFL and the NFL Players' Association have finally managed to agree on something in their ongoing labor dispute. They've agreed to let the federal government into the discussions.

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service announced Thursday that the two sides in the NFL's collective bargaining negotiations have agreed to submit to federal mediation under the purview of FMCS Director George H. Cohen beginning Friday in Washington, D.C. This doesn't mean the dispute is any closer to being settled, but it does mean the sides are talking again in the hopes of getting a new CBA deal done before the current one expires March 3.

"I have had separate, informal discussions with the key representatives of the National Football League and the Players Association," Cohen said in a statement released by the agency. "At the invitation of the FMCS, and with the agreement of both parties, the ongoing negotiations will now be conducted under my auspices in Washington, D.C., commencing Friday, February 18. Due the to extreme sensitivity of these negotiations and consistent with the FMCS's long-standing practice, the Agency will refrain from any public comment concerning the future schedule and/or the status of these negotiations until further notice."

That certainly indicates that there could be more than one session with Cohen present, but it's not required. Owners walked away from the bargaining table last week upset about a union proposal, and either side could do so again at any time. The federal mediation is not arbitration, is not binding and each side participates voluntarily. One person connected with the talks described it Thursday as "negotiations with adult supervision."

Given the way the talks have progressed so far, that may not be a bad thing. But it doesn't ensure that the current divide between owners and players on proposed revenue split, 18-game schedule or rookie wage scale can be breached any time soon.

"The NFLPA has always focused on reaching a fair Collective Bargaining Agreement through negotiations," the NFLPA said in a prepared statement. "We hope that this renewed effort, through mediation, will help the players and owners reach a successful deal."

This is the first time the NFL has ever agreed to federal mediation in such a dispute. That could indicate that the league and owners are feeling pressure as a result of some recent PR hits they've taken over the Super Bowl seat fiasco, their walking out of last week's session and the reports that Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson insulted Peyton Manning at a meeting between the two sides just before the Super Bowl. But it could also be part of the owners' ongoing attempt to persuade the public that they're serious about getting a deal done when the other side suspects they're not.

The NFLPA has said many times that it believes the owners intend to lock out the players following the expiration of the current deal and has accused the owners' side of not wanting to negotiate seriously. Earlier this week, the NFL accused the players of the same thing, filing an unfair labor practices charge with the National Labor Relations Board. The union is also awaiting word on its appeal of a special master's ruling that allows the league access to approximately $4 billion in TV revenues that are guaranteed to pay off even if games are canceled in 2011. That ruling is expected to come before the expiration of the current CBA on March 3.

As FanHouse reported Wednesday night, the union is already making contingency plans to deal directly with league sponsors as a method of supplementing players' income during a lockout.

Quoted Text

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The NFL and the players' union took their fight over $4 billion in TV and wireless revenue before a federal judge in Minnesota on Thursday, a potentially critical issue just one week before their current labor pact expires.

U.S. District Court judge David Doty in Minneapolis, who has jurisdiction over NFL labor matters since a 1993 settlement that paved the way for unrestricted free agency, unsealed some details in the case.

He did not immediately rule on the NFL Players' Association appeal of a special master's decision earlier this month that lets the league keep $4 billion in broadcast rights fees. The union contends that money was carved out as a financial cushion -- leverage -- if NFL owners impose a lockout and the 2011 season is lost. The NFLPA argues that money should be escrowed.

Doty said he didn't want to put his "thumb on the scale of the collective bargaining" process, as NFL attorney Gregg Levy contended union lawyers are asking. Levy said "it would be repugnant to federal labor law" for Doty to intervene in this issue.

NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler countered that it's the league's "thumb on the scale" in the labor talks, saying the billions in leverage was part of a long-devised lockout plan.

"We'd like the thumb removed," Kessler said.

The collective bargaining agreement expires next Thursday. Lawyers for both sides, citing a gag order, declined to comment on the negotiations as well as how the case could affect the talks.

The union contends the NFL failed to secure "maximum" revenue, as it is required to do, in both 2009 and 2010 when it re-negotiated broadcast contracts with Fox, NBC, ESPN, CBS and DirecTV that included revised "work stoppage" plans. The NFLPA said the work stoppage clauses in particular were struck to guarantee income for the NFL, giving it unfair leverage in the labor talks.

"Leverage, leverage, leverage. They said it to themselves over and over again. And why? To inflict economic harm on the players," said Tom Heiden, another attorney for the NFLPA.

The league contends seeking more revenue for 2009-10 deals would have been unsuccessful and angered the broadcast partners in a "depressed advertising market." Levy said the league believes it followed sound business principles that brought in "hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenues."

That argument was backed by the special master, Stephen Burbank.

In his decision, released for the first time Thursday, he said he couldn't believe the NFL had a duty to the union to "throw budgets and business plans in the wastebasket" even as he acknowledged the sharp disagreement between the two sides over how much the NFL can pursue its own business interests while following requirements of the labor pact.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell testified that the work stoppage fees "could be used to meet" NFL debt obligations and cover operating costs, the decision said.

The decision also confirmed that Burbank had awarded the NFLPA $6.9 million to settle a dispute over revenue from an "extra" game granted by the NFL to NBC last season. The Oct. 31 game, between the Saints and Steelers, drew better ratings on a Sunday night than a competing World Series game between Texas and San Francisco.

Quoted Text

What Are CAFRs?
By Walter J. Burien, Jr.
CAFR1.com
10-23-6


It has been reported that trillions of collective dollars not shown in government Budget reports are shown through Government CAFR reports and they are virtually never openly-discussed by the syndicated NEWS media, both the Democratic and Republican Party members, the House, Senate, and organized public education. With, and being that the CAFR is "the" accounting document for every local government, and with it being effectively "BLACKED OUT" for open mention over the last 60 years, that this fact of intentional omission of coverage is the biggest conspiracy that has ever taken effect in the United States.  
  
First, what is a CAFR? A CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) is government's complete accounting of "Net Worth". The CAFR was established as local government's complete accounting record starting in 1946 through the efforts of a private group located out of Chicago, IL by the name of Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) http://gfoa.org and became mandatory by Federal requirement on all local governments in 1978 to complete if they did not all ready do so.  
  
What has been presented to the public over that 60 year time period were Budget Reports. A Budget report is strictly planned expenditures for the year from a grouping of specific government service agencies. A budget may also note some statistical, statutory, and demographic data for reference. Most Government budget reports show where "tax" revenue will be used. The CAFR on the other hand is not a projection of one year's expenditures from a select grouping of agencies, but a complete cumulative record of assets, investments, and gross income from all agencies and all sources benefiting that local government body.
  
A CAFR is similar to the Annual Financial Report (AFR) that publicly traded corporations are required to produce each year and give to every share-holder as a requirement of Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) law. In many cases, a CAFR may show two to three times more income over what is shown in the corresponding Budget Report.  
  
Relevant to taxpayer interests, the CAFR "is" the report that would be the report for review over a limit showing as seen in the corresponding Budget report. The CAFR could be considered the Bible of asset accounting for any local government body.  
  
So, is the CAFR being "BLACKED OUT" from mention by the syndicated news media and both the Democratic and Republican Party members, and the House or the Senate, and even organized education?  
  
A Google search for CAFR produces over 750,000 hits but a Google "NEWS" search for CAFR as of 10/21/06 only produces seven (7) obscure hits of simple mention.
  
A corresponding  "NEWS" search in the archives of the New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and Wall Street Journal, which go back in their data banks, several decades showed in combination less than seven hits for CAFR. Here with this disparity the answer for "is there a Black-Out from the Syndicated NEWS" agencies? The answer would have to be a clear yes.  
  
Have the school districts from across the USA that educate their students on Budgets, who also produce a CAFR each year made simple and basic mention of the CAFR at any point for education of their students on this basic subject?  No, they have not. Here does a Blackout exist? Apparently, yes is the answer.  
  
Have elected officials or politicians in or running for office who talk continuously about Budgets openly made mention of the greater report of their local city, county, or State the CAFR, linked them at their web sites, or linked for mention in their news letters over the last 60 years?  Virtually not a peep if at all any mention. Here does a Blackout exist? Apparently, yes is the answer.  
  
Are local Government CAFRs sent to all members of the House, Senate, Editors of Local News Papers, News Networks, and Educational department heads? Yes, they have been. The printing of the CAFR is a budgetary item requiring records to be kept as to each sending. The before mentioned representatives have been sent the primary local government CAFR reports relevant to their locale now for over 30 years. Here does a Blackout exist? Apparently, yes is the answer.  
  
Upon overall review of the question: Does a Blackout, and in fact a conspiracy exist towards bringing the CAFR into the light for public scrutiny. Based on the clear record over the last 30 years of abstention from use or mention to the public, the answer here also appears to be a clear yes.  
  
From the over 84,000 CAFR reports produced by local Government each year in combination with Federal Government's own investment holdings, shows a conservative value of sixty trillion dollars held by Local and Federal Government as of 1999. An example of the holdings shown from just one Government CAFR (NY STATE 2005 RETIREMENT FUND CAFR)  [http://www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/aboutus/annrep05/assetlist091405.pdf ] shows 133 billion dollars of investments held (Microsoft 44 million shares thereof).  
  
Motive for conspiracy to Blackout the CAFR from the public's realm of comprehension? The substantial money, Investments, and Power obtained there from of those on the inside track could be the most probable answer.  
  
To Review some CAFRs go to:  http://cafr1.com/STATES/    

Quoted from Cel

Think you are on a roll to see how many posts you get up here in one day.  Didn't you already post this a couple times?

Quoted Text

TelevisionFor more details on this topic, see NFL on television.
The television rights to the NFL are the most lucrative and expensive sports broadcasting commodity in the United States.

Annually, the Super Bowl often ranks as the most watched show of the year. Four of Nielsen Media Research's top ten programs are Super Bowls.[17] Networks have purchased a share of the broadcasting rights to the NFL as a means of raising the entire network's profile.[18] The Super Bowl is so popular annually that many companies debut elaborate commercials during the game.

Under the current television contracts, which began during the 2006 season, regular season games are broadcast on five networks: CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. Regionally shown games are broadcast on Sundays on CBS and Fox, carrying the AFC and NFC teams respectively (the traveling team deciding the broadcast station in the event of inter-Conference games, presumably so that each network can show games from all the stadiums[citation needed]). These games generally air at 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:05 p.m. or 4:15 p.m. ET. (Due to differences between Eastern and local time, games played in the Pacific and Mountain time zones are never played in the 1:00pm ET time slot.) Nationally televised games include Sunday night games (shown on NBC), Monday night games (shown on ESPN), the Thursday night NFL Kickoff Game (shown on NBC), the annual Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day games (CBS and Fox), and beginning in 2006, all Thursday and Saturday games on the NFL Network, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Football League.[19][20]

Additionally, satellite broadcast company DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket, a subscription based package, that allows most Sunday daytime regional games to be watched.[21][22] This package is exclusive to DirecTV in the USA; for subscribers to Dish Network Verizon FiOS and Comcast, the NFL instead offers "RedZone," a less expensive single channel that launched in 2009 and airs "the touchdowns and most important moments during all the Sunday afternoon games."[23] In Canada, NFL Sunday Ticket is available on a per-provider distribution deal on both cable and satellite.

The NFL also produces programming for various networks, mainly highlight shows like Inside the NFL for Showtime and other historical games through its renowned NFL Films division that generally air on ESPN and NFL Network. Other NFL-produced programs include Hard Knocks, an HBO series detailing training camp for certain teams; plus the animated children's show RushZone: Guardians of the Core airing on Viacom's Nicktoons channel.[24]

[edit] RadioEach NFL team has its own radio network and employs its announcers. Nationally, the NFL is heard on the Westwood One Radio Network, Sports USA Radio Network, the Dial Global-Compass Media Sports Network and in Spanish on Univision Radio. Westwood One carries Sunday and Monday Night Football, all Thursday games, two Sunday afternoon contests each week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, and all post-season games, including the Pro Bowl. Sports USA Radio and Dial Global-Compass each broadcast two Sunday afternoon games every Sunday during the regular season, by agreement with individual teams.[19] Univision carries Monday Night games, select games from the New York metro area, and all playoff games.

The NFL also has a contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, which provides news, analysis, commentary and game coverage for all games, as well as comprehensive coverage of the draft and off-season on its own channel, Sirius NFL Radio.[25]

Internet radio broadcasts of all NFL games are managed through FieldPass, a subscription service. Radio stations are, by rule, prohibited from streaming the games for free from their Web sites; however, there are numerous stations that break this rule. All 32 teams, plus Westwood One and Univision, currently broadcast through FieldPass as of 2009; Dial Global-Compass and Sports USA do not.

[edit] Internet/new mediaIn October 2006 the NFL announced the league would fully operate NFL.com, including the development of the technology, infrastructure and editorial content. Launching its first major redesign since 1999 in August 2007, the site had been previously produced and hosted since 2001 by CBS SportsLine. It is estimated that the contract cost CBS $120 million over a five year period. Prior to CBS, ESPN.com produced and hosted the NFL site.[26]

Brian Rolapp, senior vice president of NFL digital media and media strategy: “In a rapidly changing digital landscape, bringing NFL.com in-house provides us greater control of our valuable content and enables us to strategically build the site as a media asset. Fans can look forward to an even more entertaining, interactive and informative site built upon the expertise of the NFL and its other in-house media outlets such as NFL Network and NFL Films.”

Univision Online, Inc., the interactive subsidiary of Univision Communications Inc., and the NFL announced in January 2008 that they will jointly manage and operate NFLatino.com powered by Univision.com, the official U.S. Spanish-language website of the NFL. NFLatino.com is the only Spanish-language website in the United States to feature NFL video game highlights. In addition, the website includes live radio broadcasts, up-to-date stats, Hispanic player diaries, Fantasy Football and an insider’s view of all 32 teams.[27]

Announced in March 2009, NFL.com received its first-ever Sports Emmy nominations, which earned recognition for its NFL.com LIVE coverage of NFL Network’s Thursday and Saturday Night Football (Outstanding new approaches, coverage) and its Anatomy of a Play, a short-form 360-degree analysis of key plays of the week (Outstanding new approaches, general interest).[28]

Beginning September 2008, the NFL announced that it would simulcast all NBC Sunday Night Football games on NFL.com, located at nfl.com/snf. In 2007, they had provided an Emmy-nominated "complementary live broadcast" which included a partial simulcast of the NFL Network's Run to the Playoffs eight game package along with expanded NFL Network analysis.

The NFL offers a pay service allows fans to watch all NFL regular season, playoff, and Super Bowl games online. However, viewers within the United States cannot watch these games live. Instead, the service is updated Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It offers full DVR functionality with the ability to watch up to four previously recorded games at once.

The NFL offers a pay service for NFL fans outside United States to watch all regular season and playoff games, except for the Super Bowl, live online. This service is not available for fans within the United States or México.[29]

[edit] Player contracts and compensationThe National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has historically served as the labor union for NFL players. Among its duties is negotiating collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with league owners, which governs the negotiation of individual player contracts for all of the league's players. The NFLPA was established in 1956, and has decertified at least twice in its history during labor disputes: the 1987 strike and the 2011 lockout.

The most recent CBA was in place since 1993, and was amended in 1998 and again in 2006. But in 2008, the owners exercised their right to opt out of the agreement two years early.[30][31] This has eventually led to a lockout in 2011, the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987, which is longer than Major League Baseball (1994 and beginning of 1995 seasons), the NBA (1998-99 season) or the NHL (2004-05 season canceled).

Under that recently expired CBA, players were tiered into three different levels with regards to their rights to negotiate for contracts:

Players who have been drafted (see below), and have not yet played in their first year, may only negotiate with the team that drafted them.[30] If terms cannot be agreed upon, the players' only recourse is to refuse to play ("hold out") until terms can be reached. Players often use the threat of holding out as a means to force the hands of the teams that drafted them. For example, John Elway was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1983 but refused to play for them. He had a fallback option of baseball, as he had played in the New York Yankees organization for two summers while at Stanford. The Colts traded his rights to the Denver Broncos and Elway agreed to play.[32] Bo Jackson sat out an entire year in 1986, choosing to play baseball in the Kansas City Royals organization rather than play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that had drafted him. He reentered the draft the following year, and was drafted and subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Raiders.[33]
Players that have played three full seasons in the league, and whose contract has expired are considered "Restricted Free Agents" (see below). They have limited rights to negotiate with any club.[30]
Players that have played four or more full seasons in the league, and whose contract has expired, are considered "Unrestricted Free Agents"(see below) and have unlimited rights to negotiate with any club. Teams may name a single player in any given year as a "Franchise Player" (see below), which eliminates much of that player's negotiation rights. This is a limited right of the team, however, and affects only a small handful of players each year.[30]
In the 2010 season, the CBA was not extended, thus changing the rules so that players don't become "Unrestricted Free Agents" until they have played at least six full seasons in the league. They will be "Restricted Free Agents" if they have three–five full seasons in the league.

Among the items covered in the CBA are:

The league minimum salary
The salary cap
The annual collegiate draft
Rules regarding "free agency"
Waiver rules
[edit] SalariesA player's salary, as defined by the CBA, includes any "compensation in money, property, investments, loans or anything else of value to which an NFL player may be awarded" excluding such benefits as insurance and pension. A salary can include an annual pay and a one-time "signing bonus" which is paid in full when the player signs his contract. For the purposes of the salary cap (see below), the signing bonus is prorated over the life of the contract rather than to the year in which the signing bonus is paid.[34]

Player contracts are not guaranteed; teams are only required to pay on the contract as long as the player remains a member of the team. If the player is cut, or quits, for any reason, the balance of the contract is voided and the player receives no further compensation.[35]

Among other things, the CBA establishes a minimum salary for its players,[34] which is stepped-up as a player's years of experience increase. Players and their agents may negotiate with clubs for higher salaries, and frequently do.

[edit] Salary capThe salary cap is defined as the maximum amount that a team may spend on player compensation (see above) in a given season, for all of its players combined. Unlike other leagues, for example the NBA (which permits certain exemptions) or Major League Baseball (which has a "soft cap" enforced by "luxury taxes"), the NFL has a "hard cap": an amount no team under any circumstances may exceed. The NFL also has a so-called "hard floor", a minimum payroll that each team is required to pay regardless of the circumstances.

The NFL salary cap is calculated by the current CBA to be 59.5% of the total projected league revenue for the upcoming year. This number, divided by the number of teams, determines an individual team's maximum salary cap. For 2008, this was approximately $116 million per team.[36] For 2009, it increased to $127 million.[37] As a result of the NFL owners opting out of the CBA two years early, in the absence of a new CBA 2010 will have no salary cap or floor.[31]

Teams and players often find creative ways to fit salaries under the salary cap. Early in the salary cap era, "signing bonuses" were used to give players a large chunk of money up front, and thus not count in the salary for the bulk of the contract. This led to a rule whereby all signing bonus are pro-rated equally for each year of the contract. Thus if a player receives a $10 million signing bonus for a five-year contract, $2 million per year would count against the salary cap for the life of the contract, even though the full $10 million was paid up front during the first year of the contract.[34]

Player contracts tend to be "back-loaded". This means that the contract is not divided equally among the time period it covers. Instead, the player earns progressively more and more each year. For instance, a player signing a four-year deal worth $10 million may get paid $1 million the first year, $2 million the second year, $3 million the third year, and $4 million the fourth year. If a team cuts this player after the first year, the final three years do not count against the cap. Any signing bonus, however, ceases to be pro-rated, and the entire balance of the bonus counts against the cap in the upcoming season.[34]

Quoted from GrahamBonnet

Now you see why I gave up on a sport I was raised on. along with Baseball. Sickening.