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UpdatedAug 17, 2011 6:25 PM ETOn the day the NFL lockout ended, there was great rejoicing.On ESPN.The owners sent letters to their fanbases, and the playerstweeted about getting a great deal and fans everywhere stood andcheered. Didn't they?No, they did not.The return to football, Customized Steelers Jersey a concept we were asked to embraceMonday night, was a trumped-up advertising campaign that theworldwide leader bought into, or rather created, and thrust uponsports fans across the airwaves.Breathless sportscasters NFL Nnamdi Asomugha Jersey included us in their assessment of theprocess, using Authentic Darren McFadden Jersey the pronoun "we" to celebrate the return of footballto the American conscience.In July.Please.We didn't NFL Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey miss any football. None. Zero. The silliest lockout inthe history of sports labor negotiations ended before practice evenbegan. There was one loser in the entire process.Canton, Ohio.There will soon be another.Charlotte, N.C.The poor Panthers' front office needed toretool Authentic Nnamdi Asomugha Jersey their team in the offseason, but instead they watched ESPNlike everyone else as their owner Jerry Richardson led the moneymen in a consolidated effort to Eagles Michael Vick Authentic Jersey weaken the players' union andretake the controlling share of profits from the annual haul theNFL brings in.While he should've been opening his checkbook for free agentsand extra coaches, he was instead seen walking on New Yorksidewalks, grim-faced, trying to destroy the union and take backthe league the owners foolishly gave away in the last collectivebargaining agreement in 2006.Monday night, he sent a letter to fans and didn't say he wassorry. He did make a promise to open up his checkbook now,though."I have learned timetables can be tricky, but I can promise wewill continue to make a total commitment to building thechampionship team you deserve," he wrote.That means he better hurry Nnamdi Asomugha Jersey Authentic and find somebody who can playfootball this year because right now the Panthers are the worst team in theleague. By far.He needs a veteran quarterback. Cam Newton is not now nor willhe be ready to play anytime soon. Maybe not for years to come.Jimmy Clausen might never be ready. Richardson needs a Nnamdi Asomugha Authentic Jersey coachdevoted to teaching Newton how to play in the NFL. There's notenough time for that now.They're about to lose their Nnamdi Asomugha Jersey Black best running back. They have no ideawhat Steve Smith wants to do. They have a porous defense with noapparent talent waiting in the wings, and they're about to open aseason in which they'll be trying to win in the best division infootball.The lockout was a diversion. Now we can see what's real andwhat's not. What's real is the league will start up this week withno Hall of Fame game. No one cares about that except Canton. Theleague is about to open training camps Personalized Steelers Jersey all over the country. No onecares about that, either. They never have; they never will.The noise about missed football and anguished fans and breakingnews and developments and rumors and all that other stuff we heardfor 136 days on ESPN was just that: noise.We didn't miss anything. Darren McFadden Jersey Black Nobody even knows what OTA means. ESPNshould be ashamed. In the final days of the lockout coverage, itsreporters were interviewing each other.No, Premier Nnamdi Asomugha Jersey this wasn't about football. This was about profits. Itwasn't about the fans. It was about their money.There were no winners other than the lawyers and a few of thecheaper owners who will make even more money now. The losers werethe young players coming into the league and the retired playerswho needed real help.On the field, we won't see much difference. Last year's bestteams will be this year's best teams. And last year's worst teamswill be this year's worst teams. The Panthers will likely go 1-15 againif they can find one team to beat.The reality of the end of the lockout hit Panthers' fans almost immediately,though. Their PSL payment is due.Now.Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin @news-record.comTerms & Eagles Nnamdi Asomugha Authentic Jersey Conditions |Privacy |Copyright |? 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.