2011 NFL Lockout: Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Entering the 110th day of the NFL lockout, a once hopeless situation seems to have light at the end of the tunnel. Recent chatter has indicated that meetings, which will include NFL players, commissioner Roger Goodell, several owners and the executive director of the NFLPA, DeMaurice Smith, are being held all week, according to ESPN.

Finding a solution to end the lockout in the next few weeks is crucial to keeping the standard preseason workout and free agency periods intact.

There are some very valuable players on the free agent market this year. Not giving the teams the right amount of time to assess the players, or get a feel for how they will fit with their clubs, would mar what is a game-changing list of players this offseason.

NFL training camps are slated to start in less than a month, and getting the lockout ended before then is a must. Giving all the players—especially rookies and those returning from injury—the adequate training time will benefit the league as a whole, giving the fans the high-quality football they have come to expect from the NFL.

I feel, with a lockout looming over the NBA and the talks that that lockout will be much longer and nastier, the NFL's owners and players have a chance to show the world that they are the number one sport, and are willing to get things in time in order to have a non-interrupted season.

With reports surfacing that the NFL could be up and running by July 15th, the NFL will seemingly stop a devastating blow to its fan base and show that they do care about the fans—well, maybe a little bit.

So it appears that disaster will be adverted by the NFL, and the fans of the game should now forgive and forget and get ready for some football—on time and uninterrupted, just the way they like it.