We Will Return...We Promise!

It's been some time since Robert or I have posted anything to PCR. And for that we both apologize. It's not in good practice for a blogger to let a site become...well...stagnant.

This lockout between the NFL and what I like to call the 'Not' Players' Union, has really been a major downer for bloggers like us, and many others, too. Even the national media has become boorish, rehashing stories that in my opinion, have very little, if any, merit toward the actual future of the NFL, whether it's free agent players, or supplemental draft talk.

Now I'm not here to bash the media, because it does what it has to do to, more-or-less, 'keep butts in the seats,' and listeners or viewers tuned in.

However,unlike the national media, we consider ourselves more like specialists. We specialize in offering our own ideas and opinions to the goings-on of the NFL and the sport as a whole. So with that said, we just wanted to update our readers of our whereabouts, and to assure you that we will be back as soon as this nasty lockout ends, or as soon as something worth giving an opinion about presents itself. Until then, we'll be with the rest of you...Waiting for progress to be made.

Also, in case you're wondering what relevance the picture has to anything, well, it doesn't. It's mainly here to offer you a chuckle in these slow times brought to us by the No Fun League and the 'Not' Players' Union.

NFL Fans Being Used as a Pawn in Players Union Scheme

Okay fans, the NFL Players Union wants to let us know that we haven't done enough. Fans coming to games -- some local and some from halfway across the earth -- simply isn't showing enough support. Dropping anywhere from hundreds, to thousands of dollars, to even hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in some cases (albeit rare), simply is not enough! I for one agree with them. We haven't done enough. We need to do more. And it may require something as drastic as turning our backs on the monster we have helped to create.

The Mess Continues - NFL Labor Talks Cancelled Today

Many of you have probably already seen this news, but it would be remiss of PCR not to chime in on the current NFL labor update.

Ken Belson's article from the New York Times is one of many sources reporting that the scheduled labor-negotiation meeting today was cancelled.

Why Football Matters (And Other Thoughts)

As has been discussed previously in this space, PCR writer Robert Gilbert recently released the e-book "Going Beyond: Vision, the NFL, and the 2010 Carolina Panthers." 

David Masciotra, author of "Working on a Dream: The Progressive Political Vision of Bruce Springsteen," provided the introduction for Gilbert's book, and recently released the introduction on his blog for ChicagoNow.

After the jump is an excerpt from his introduction, with a link to the full text.

Need a new book for your NOOKcolor/NOOK?

"Going Beyond: Vision, the NFL, and the 2010 Carolina Panthers," PCR writer Robert G. Gilbert's new e-book, is now available from Barnes & Noble in addition to Amazon.