It looks like there is still a lot of "red-tape" to cut through before a deal can be ironed out...
TAGS RIDES THE FENCE
It's Tuesday, which means that it's time for a bunch of rich white dudes (and one rich white chick) to convene in Dallas to determine whether they can work out their differences in the interests of continued labor peace.
But the 59.5 percent question continues to be whether the Commish actually is endorsing the union's latest proposal, or whether he's merely delivering it.
Mark Maske of The Washington Post (who does tremendous work -- and that's a lot coming from us because we pretty much hate everybody) tries to get to the bottom of this key issue.
"Everyone wants to know if he's going to endorse it," NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw stold Maske. "My main issue is that he presents it. He doesn't get a vote. The owners have the votes. [But] if he didn't support it, you wouldn't think he'd be presenting it."
In contrast, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told Maske that Tagliabue would merely be presenting the union's offer without a recommendation.
The deeper issue, as we've previously explained, is whether Tags has any remaining juice with his employers. If he makes a recommendation and if at least 24 of them don't agree with it, he suddenly becomes football's version of Fay Vincent. But if Tagliabue is merely the postal worker who drops off the envelope to the owners, he won't look bad if at least nine of them stamp the thing "return to sender."
Here is the link, since I cannot post the entire article:
http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm