Goodell says time for 'serious' bargaining
NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday it's time to end the "rhetoric" and urged players to engage in "serious negotiations" on a new labor deal.
In an opinion piece appearing on the league's labor news Web site, Goodell said there has "been enough rhetoric, litigation and other efforts beyond the negotiating table" as team owners and the NFL Players Association seek to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement.
Instead, he said, "it is time for serious negotiations," adding, "the hard work to secure the next NFL season must now accelerate in earnest."
The current NFL labor contract expires March 3, and players say they expect to be locked out of team camps after that.
Goodell's call for "serious" negotiations comes one day after owners filed a complaint against the NFLPA, claiming to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board players aren't negotiating in good faith.
NFL owners plan to meet March 3 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in a last-ditch attempt to reach an agreement, the New York Daily News reported.
Manning, Vick get 'franchise' tags
NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Philadelphia Eagles signal-caller Michael Vick received "franchise tags" from their teams Tuesday.
The designation says they are entitled to the average pay of the Top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL or 120 percent of their previous year's salaries, whichever is higher.
But it also means the players are unable to leave their teams as free agents in the upcoming year.
Colts owner Jim Irsay revealed on his Twitter account that he had slapped Manning with the franchise tag, writing, "We have placed the franchise tag on Peyton while we continue to negotiate a long-term deal."
Manning is likely to earn the biggest contract ever awarded to an NFL player when a new deal is signed with the Colts but under the franchise tag will earn a reported $23 million next season.
Vick, meanwhile, wrote on his Twitter feed he was happy to accept the Eagles' franchise tag, writing, "Proud to be an Eagle. 2011 will be a huge success!"
La Russa: Union pressuring Pujols on deal
JUPITER, Fla., Feb. 15 (UPI) -- St. Louis Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa Tuesday blasted the players union, alleging it is pressuring slugger Albert Pujols to hold out for a bigger contract.
La Russa, speaking to reporters at the Cardinals' spring training home of Jupiter, Fla., said the Major League Baseball Players Association is using Pujols to "set the bar" higher on salary levels throughout the game, thus putting baseball's best hitter under pressure to hold out for more money.
"I know what he's going through with the union, and to some extent his representatives, because the representatives are getting beat up by the union," La Russa told MLB.com.
"'Set the bar, set the bar,' and that's (expletive), really and truly. You've got to deal with it. It's not the way it should be."
The Cardinals have said Wednesday is the deadline for getting a contract extension deal done with the two-time defending National League home run champion, after which Pujols will concentrate solely on baseball.
Michael Weiner, executive director of the MLBPA, disputed La Russa's claims.
"It's never been the union's policy to pressure players, and certainly it's never been the union's policy to pressure players because they have to set the bar for other players," he told the Web site.
Trump interested in buying New York Mets
NEW YORK, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. real estate developer and television celebrity Donald Trump says he's interested in buying a majority stake of the financially troubled New York Mets.
Current principal owner Fred Wilpon has said he's looking for investors in the team after being sued in December by the trustee for the victims of Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernard Madoff, who claims Wilpon, his family and co-Mets owner Saul Katz made more than $300 million from Madoff's activities.
Wilpon and Katz claim they were among the victims of Madoff's multibillion-dollar investment scam.
While Wilpon has said he's looking for minority stakeholders, Trump told Tuesday's New York Times he's only interested in buying the team outright if the current owners are willing to sell a majority share.
Trump, a native of the New York City borough of Queens, told the newspaper he arranged to meet Wilpon about two weeks ago but the meeting has yet to happen.
The Mets had no immediate comment to the Times on Trump's comments.
