NFL lockout is back on, appeals court rules

A court ruling restored the NFL lockout Friday night, bringing league business to a halt roughly 11 hours after teams had reopened their facilities.

In a 2-1 vote, the St. Louis-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit granted an administrative stay of the injunction that briefly had lifted the lockout.

That means there is no clear date for when trades and free agency might begin and players again are barred from team facilities or talking to their coaches. The decision also results in the Eagles' being unable to trade quarterback Kevin Kolb.

The judges' decision, which was released early in the second round of the NFL draft, puts the lockout back on - at least temporarily. The short-term stay is in place while the judges consider the league's request for a long-term stay, one that would last the length of their appeal of an initial court defeat, and perhaps leave the lockout on into June or later.

That decision may come next week.

The NFL, which had said it would release free-agency and trade rules on Friday, instead waited for the ruling to come out and did not issue those regulations.

The court's decision was the first win for the owners after two court defeats.

If the owners win their request for a long-term stay, the lockout could be in place for several weeks as the judges consider an appeal seeking to overturn the injunction to end the lockout.

The lockout was slapped back into place after players throughout the league reported to team facilities to talk to coaches and work out on the first day of some normal business since the lockout began March 11. About a dozen Eagles reported to the team's NovaCare Complex, and first-round pick Danny Watkins met with coaches.

The final set of filings on the longer stay sought by owners is due Monday.

Judge Kermit E. Bye dissented from the decision to grant the temporary stay.

"The NFL has not persuaded me this is the type of emergency situation which justifies the grant of a temporary stay of the District Court's order pending our decision on a motion for a stay itself," Bye wrote.

Bye is one of three judges considering the NFL's appeal of a decision against them by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson. Nelson issued an injunction to lift the lockout.