Well, the 8th Circuit Supreme Bum-Outs have yet to bother ruling on rather or not they will grant the NFL a permanent stay on the ruling lifting the 2011 NFL Lockout. In the meantime the temporary stay they have ordered seems more and more permanent. Just keep waiting though fellow faithful and taken for granted NFL fan—there may be a decision on the stay announced tomorrow. ...Or they may not be.

As for lockout news from today Roger Goodell decided to do some more of that talking thing. He sat down for a conversation with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk Live. The very same Mike Florio that we discussed the other day as relating the rumors that the NFL was prepared to completely shut down should the lockout be lifted before an agreement was reached. Jump over if you need some added anger and frustration in your life....

Naturally, Florio asked Goodell about the accuracy of this rumor. Goodell:

Mike, the only thing I’m going to say in regards to any of these rumors—there’s all kinds of reports—is that we’re considering a variety of different alternatives based on the court decisions.  We’ll have to do that, and we’re prepared to do that, and we’re going through that process.

And there you have it. This was a golden opportunity for Goodell to gain a few PR points with the fans and defuse these rumors. Instead he decided to leave this option on the table. Either as a negotiating ploy, or as a very real tactic. And the fact that he is willing to leave it on the table at all is evidence to me that he and the owners are actually prepared to do this. With each piece of news it becomes more and more apparent that these guys are letting this get personal, and they are more focused on "winning" this negotiation than they are about the health of the game.