Negotiations aimed at ending the NFL lockout have concluded for the week and will hit the pause button for a three day independence weekend. According to ESPN the sides met for just two hours on Friday after Thursday's 15-hour marathon session. And after hitting a bump on Thursday talks seem to be going well.
Proving that transitioning from a lawyer to a judge must be akin to a caterpillar entering its cocoon and emerging as a butterfly the reason that the talks managed to find the tracks again was none other than Judge Arthur Boylan. According to Mike Freeman of CBS Sports Boylan " basically saved the negotiations from obliterating, calmed the players down, and kept the sides together."
The reason the talks needed saving was that the owners were trying to nibble into the 48 percent of the total revenue designated for the players.
So there is not going to be resolution by independence day, as many had predicted, but the hope is very strong that something could be done next week after talks resume on Tuesday.