Lockout

O h, no, am I here all alone? Actually, the world didn't end when the NBA locked its players out. The NBA didn't even end, even if it felt as if it were about to as darkness moved across the land. I have nothing against doomsday scenarios ... but if that's all that's out there, something had better be coming to an end, or it's just the media chasing its tail again. With months of this idiocy left, let's see how close we can come to some actual perspective: Who's pushing this, owners or players?

Former Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth, who played an important role in the negotiations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the end of the NFL lockout last year, was elected as the president of the NFL Players Association during the union's Board of Player Representatives meeting today. Foxworth, a former standout at Western Tech and Maryland, had his contract terminated by the Ravens on March 5. He played in just two games for the Ravens the past two seasons after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a non-contact drill on the first day of training camp in 2010.

Ever wonder how your favorite Ravens might cope with a possible lockout? Do you picture them ditching their iPhones because the service plan is suddenly too pricey? Or trading in their Escalades for the better gas mileage of a Honda Civic? Or switching from expensive liquor and champagne to Bud Light to save a few bucks? No, neither do I. Which is why you should go online and check out the NFL Players Association's 64-page lockout handbook, which is chock full of helpful tips on how players who make an average salary of $800,000 can survive a work stoppage.

Terrell Suggs had the most productive season of his career in 2011. The Ravens outside linebacker made 70 tackles, racked up a career-high 14 sacks and set a single-season franchise record with seven forced fumbles. Suggs was awarded for his effort by being named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year at season's end. So to what does Suggs chalk up his success in 2011? The NFL lockout. “Last year, to be totally honest with you, I had the time of my life during the lockout and wasn't in a hurry to get back to work.

Storm clouds are hovering over the NFL, with players and owners negotiating to prevent a labor lockout. But for the Ravens' cheerleading squad -- a perpetual ray of light at M&T Bank Stadium even on rainy, sleety and snowy Sundays -- the high-flying, big-smiling show must go on. Despite the uncertainty, the ever-chipper cheerleading squad kicked off its 2011 season with the first rounds of their annual tryouts this weekend at the Merritt Downtown...

The NFL lockout is finally over. The players have voted to accept the agreement reached by NFL owners and the NFLPA executive committee. Players can report to team facilities Tuesday, and free agency begins Tuesday as well. Some NFL training camps will open Wednesday. Great news, obviously. Now who feels like dancing?

The NFL draft is typically one of the most anticipated events on the league schedule. Interest has skyrocketed over the years, so much that the NFL decided to capitalize on it a year ago by moving the first round of the draft to prime-time. But with a lockout putting the league in limbo, it seems that fans are significantly less enthusiastic about the draft this year. We have seen a dip in our online traffic for football coverage this spring, and we're not the only ones. Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote about fan apathy a couple of weeks ago , and Peter King mentioned it in this week's "Monday Morning Quarterback" column . The lockout was lifted by a judge yesterday , but it might be a temporary move.

Frustration is understandable as the NFL lockout stretches into the weekend. On Thursday, there was premature speculation that the lockout had ended. The owners agreed on their proposal and sent it over to the players for approval. But ESPN is reporting that the NFL Players Association will not vote on the proposal until Monday , shredding the post-lockout schedule the owners released Thursday. My take on all this in the form of a late 1990s catch phrase: Don't hate the players, hate the game.

Terrell Suggs had the most productive season of his career in 2011. The Ravens outside linebacker made 70 tackles, racked up a career-high 14 sacks and set a single-season franchise record with seven forced fumbles. Suggs was awarded for his effort by being named the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year at season's end. So to what does Suggs chalk up his success in 2011? The NFL lockout. “Last year, to be totally honest with you, I had the time of my life during the lockout and wasn't in a hurry to get back to work.

Today could be the day that the lockout clouds clear and NFL sunshine beams down on Baltimore and the rest of this football-crazed nation. The players and owners have reportedly agreed to a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement, and the players will vote to approve the deal -- and end the lockout -- at 11 a.m. If there is ever a day that our employers should allow us to crack open a celebratory cold one, it is today. By the time we finished chugging the can, NFL teams would already be scrambling to prepare for what is expected to be a crazy, hectic week.

Fine way out of line Shandel Richardson Sun Sentinel Someone please tell me Heat owner Micky Arison threw a punch during a game or at least used a slur toward an NBA referee. Five hundred thousand dollars? For words that likely offended no one? At least Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was punished for being a repeat offender when he ripped the officiating in 2002, drawing the same fine. Arison's comments, made on Twitter, simply were a response to an angry fan referring to owners as "greedy" and "pigs.

Nets OK with delay Ira Winderman Sun Sentinel Considering their lame-duck status in New Jersey, the Nets would prefer the NBA calendar simply flip to 2012-13, when they become the Brooklyn Nets. The NBA's ultimate limbo franchise, awaiting not only a new location but a new arena, the Nets still are looking to add one more piece to their core while trying to lock up Deron Williams. In a perfect world, the Nets don't have to bother with another game in front of sparse crowds in Newark.

When owners win K.C. Johnson Chicago Tribune The easy answer is whenever the league wins. That the two sides spent all last week negotiating the split of basketball-related income and then, on the day Commissioner David Stern announced cancellations, huge gaps on all system issues were revealed suggests it will be a while. The owners aren't losing this one. The comments of Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver about all 30 teams needing a chance to win a title means increased revenue sharing and stiffer luxury tax penalties will be in place, even if, technically, a hard salary cap isn't.

The day before he got the phone call that he had been anticipating for months, LaQuan Williams' patience, tried and tested throughout his football-playing life, had just about run out. He was holding a part-time job at a Sherwin-Williams store in Washington, manning the cash register, mixing paint and labeling products. It was the last place that Williams expected to be, but he needed to pay the bills and support his infant daughter, Layla. He was still working out and staying in shape.

Have the Eagles assembled the "Dream Team," or is this another fantasy football roster built to disappoint? That's just one of the pressing questions heading into this NFL season. A few of the others: Did the lockout truly favor those teams with an established coach and quarterback? Or can the teams that really had to cram in this compressed offseason make the grade? Will the Peyton Manning saga be a pain in the neck for the Colts all season? The Seahawks made the 2010 playoffs at 7-9; is the NFC West still the NFC Worst?

LeBron James strolled into Hill Field House on Morgan State's campus Tuesday night wearing a white Nike T-shirt with words "Basketball Never Stops" stenciled on the front. He had a deathly serious look on his face. He handed out a few hugs, traded a series of low-key high-fives with acquaintances, but he didn't appear to be in the mood for conversation. After less than a minute, he drifted toward the floor and began silently shooting jumpers. Kevin Durant had a similar steely-eyed focus when he arrived 20 minutes later.

Ray Lewis made some interesting comments in a recent interview with ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, saying that crime will rise if the NFL season is canceled. Judging by initial reactions on the message boards, I’m guessing some of you would use a different adjective to describe the Ravens linebacker’s comments. “Do this research if we don't have a season -- watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game," Lewis said in the interview, which you can watch here . Lewis was referring to fans, but several of his peers have had brushes with the law during the lockout . "There's too many people that live through us, people live through us," he said.

NFL owners have picked up a significant court victory, and an even bigger one could be on the way. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, by a 2-1 vote Monday, granted the NFL's motion for a stay, allowing the league to keep the player lockout in place at least until June 3. That's when the court will hear the NFL's appeal of U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson's order to restart football operations. The appellate court, in a 24-page opinion, wrote: "In sum, we have serious doubts that the district court had jurisdiction to enjoin the League's lockout, and accordingly conclude that the League has made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits.

With the NBA lockout dampening excitement for the league, various street games have taken center stage in the offseason. A few weeks ago Kevin Durant made headlines when he dropped 66 points in a game at New York's Rucker Park . This week Kobe Bryant hit the game-winning shot in a game in Los Angeles . Baltimore even got in on the fun, as St. Frances hosted a Carmelo Anthony Pro-Am game featuring Durant, Josh Selby and Brandon Jennings....

Shawn Furgis might have been the happiest fan at M&T Bank Stadium Saturday. It would have been hard to prove otherwise. The manager of a Washington Boulevard McDonald's, he squirmed through a tangle of fans to score a Joe Flacco autograph. When he got the quarterback's signature, he held it high and proclaimed, "Baltimore is a great city and the Ravens are ready to play. " Such sentiments seemed to fill the stadium, where fans got a free taste of the football, even if they had to do without traditional practice sessions in Westminster this lockout-shortened preseason.