At least they're chatting - Ingles

From mediated talks to arguments before an appeals court, the NFL's labor dispute has reached another critical stage.

The league and its players completed three consecutive days of not-so-secret talks Thursday in suburban Chicago . Now they head to court in St. Louis on Friday for a ruling that could prove pivotal in the nearly three-month lockout.

And while three judges from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals consider whether or not to allow the league-mandated lockout to continue, further talks between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, several team owners, NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and some of his charges might be held elsewhere.

Goodell and owners Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots, John Mara of the New York Giants, Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Art Rooney of the Pittsburgh Steelers were among those joined in St. Charles, Ill., by Smith and a group of current and former players, including NFLPA president Kevin Mawae, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, who mediated talks in April and May. The parties issued a joint statement confirming they had met but saying they would honor a court-ordered confidentiality agreement.

Smith and Goodell declined to comment to the Chicago Tribune when seen leaving Hotel Baker on Thursday afternoon. All Jones would say about the meeting is: "We can't make a comment about it at all, but we're trying. We're trying. I think the fact that we're meeting is good."

One player, whom the Tribune didn't identify, said the point of the get-together was for the parties to talk without lawyers present. Mike Vrabel, Tony Richardson and Brian Dawkins also attended.

Boylan then canceled mediation sessions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Minneapolis because "the Court has been engaged in confidential settlement discussions."

A person with knowledge of the talks told The Associated Press that the term "settlement discussions" doesn't necessarily mean an agreement is near. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the judge's confidentiality order, said the cancellation of next week's sessions was simply a way to keep the process as private as possible.

More likely than any continued mediation with Boylan would be similar secret meetings between the league and players, who have been locked out by the owners since March 12. Boylan broke the previous round of mediation last month by requesting that the parties return with proposals, and this week's talks could have been an effort for each to better understand the other's position before putting those together.

In the past, the clandestine approach has been a step toward successful negotiations between the league and NFLPA. Such meetings between former union executive director Gene Upshaw and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue often led to progress on a new collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL was granted a delay in the execution of an injunction against the lockout in late April. Between 20 and 30 players are expected to be in court Friday, according to NFL Network's Albert Breer, although a decision might not come for weeks.

The ruling coming off that hearing is expected to create major leverage points, one way or another, in the negotiations. The players will ask the court to uphold U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson's granting of injunction, while the league will seek a broader ruling that could lead to the dismissal of the Brady et al antitrust case altogether.

Ben Leber, one of 10 plaintiffs in the antitrust case against the league, said the players haven't discussed a specific drop-dead date for reaching an agreement to ensure the on-time start of training camps, which normally would open in about seven weeks. But he said it's necessary to have one in order to reach a deal.

"Both sides have a day, whether they want to make it public or not," Leber told The AP. "The biggest challenge is going to lie with whose day is going to come up first. Once it got to this point, I think it was just a good guess based on most corporate labor disputes that nothing was going to get done until the 11th hour. Now it depends on which 11th hour gets here first."

New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper told The AP that he hasn't heard of specific drop-dead dates being discussed, but he believes by start of August, "something has to be etched in stone," as far a new agreement.

"It looks bleak right now, but I'm thinking that something has to get worked out because too many people will be affected negatively if it does not get worked out," Sharper said.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said last week at the NFL Spring Meeting that he believed some decisions on opening training camps in late July needed to be made by July 4. (source NFL.com)