New York Giants Notes: Pack a Lunch Edition

Folks, the battle between players and owners in the NFL is about to become a legal fight with no timetable. After basically sitting around twiddling thumbs all day Thursday, the two sides are scheduled to meet again Friday morning with a self-imposed Friday night deadline looming for the current collective bargaining agreement. But while details of the past week's negotiations have only leaked out, the NFL's chief negotiator Jeff Pash and the union boss DeMaurice Smith traded verbal jabs last night, and it appears that the players are planning to de-certify the union today, intending to instead file a class action lawsuit against the owners. Ugly is upon us, and it will likely be a sad day for NFL fans, who may as well pack a lunch or two, or 300. Here are some more tidbits about the labor negotiations or lack thereof......

DeMaurice Smith says update on NFL labor will come Friday at 2 p.m., union may be ready to decertify
DeMaurice Smith, the executive director of the NFLPA, promised the players Thursday on Twitter that he will have an update for them at 2 p.m. Friday, and all indications are the union will decertify, setting off a long legal battle with NFL owners, who then are expected to lock out the players.

D'Alessandro: In NFL labor war, owners want us to ignore the dangers players endure | NJ.com
Most reputable studies now indicate the average life span of an NFL player is 53 to 59, depending on which position he plays. That’s roughly two decades shorter than the life expectancy of the average American male.

Wow, that sure puts things in perspective, as do things like the suicide of former Giant Dave Duerson recently. How do you guys feel about the fact that there may ne no 2011 season? Could it wind up being the most empty Fall any of us have ever endured?

If Tiki Barber succeeded on NBC's 'Today' show he likely wouldn't be looking to make NFL comeback
See, if Tiki Barber had made it in TV, made it so big NBC would have added years and dollars when his three-year, $6 million contract expired in 2009, there would be no need to put the pads back on and be reduced to a one-word punch line.

Well, duh. Here are more takes on Tiki, with this one being a hilarious quiz intended for professional athletes.

Ed mentioned this in Thursday's notebook, but when I saw the words "Tom Quinn" and "leaving" in the same sentence, I got a little more excited than I should have. I had visions of a ticker tape parade like this one.