Woot?
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...esume-limited-football-operations-on-friday/1
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...esume-limited-football-operations-on-friday/1
By Sean Leahy, USA TODAY
The NFL is re-opening for business.
The league, after two major losses in court this week, announced Thursday it would allow teams to resume football operations as of 8 a.m. ET Friday.
But free agency will not open until the league determines a date for the start of the new league year. And all resumption of football activities is subject to change if the NFL gains a favorable ruling from the Eighth District Court of Appeals.
Also, with the scheduled NFL draft set to open at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, the league still will not permit the trading of players -- only trades of picks are allowed -- until the league year begins. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told ProFootballTalk Live said the league wants to create an "orderly transition" into the new league year and didn't believe allowing players trades going into the draft would be appropriate.
The decision to re-open came after U.S. District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson on Wednesday rejected the NFL's request to stay her invalidation of the lockout two days earlier. The NFL has since appealed both the ruling and the stay rejection to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Aiello said that if the court grants the NFL's request for a stay, the decision to resume football operations would change.
On Friday, players can again report to team facilities, work out and have contact with coaches and trainers. Teams can also begin distributing playbooks and scheduling offseason workouts....