It occurs to me that we (and by we, I mean I) have been wasting our time picking sides in the CBA dispute. It's interesting to speculate on which side deserves the better deal, and which side winning would be better for football, but we (the fans) never had much influence, if any, in this whole mess.
As you may know, I've been a big owner supporter, although; there was a brief couple of weeks where I supported the players right before D. Smith said the NFL was suing not to play its game. Anyway, I also now realize that no one will care whose side had more support once a new CBA is signed. The fact of the matter is that all CBA pressure will evaporate the instant the thing gets signed.
Nobody really knows why the tone of these negotiations has so suddenly changed. I suspect the court dates being pushed to August had a huge bearing on the tone, but their are other opinions too. Nate Dunlevy is a Colts blogger, and he's been supportive of the players to an extent. He seems to believe that the owners finally decided the players wouldn't budge, and then they, the owners, decided to get down to business. Here's the link to his piece. Either way, get it signed so we can have football again.