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Vick optimistic as owners, players make progress toward new CBA

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick likes the way the NFL labor negotiations are going. "Sound like we gonna be back to work so soon!!!," he tweeted yesterday.

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick likes the way the NFL labor negotiations are going.

"Sound like we gonna be back to work so soon!!!," he tweeted yesterday.

He has reason to be optimistic.

The NFL told club executives yesterday they could be schooled in the ins and outs of the new labor contract as early as Thursday, and the players' association summoned its leadership for a potential vote - the strongest signs yet the lockout might be nearing an end.

Lawyers for both sides met 8 hours yesterday in New York, including 3 with a court-appointed mediator, to try to close a deal to resolve the sport's first work stoppage since 1987. Talks were scheduled to continue today.

"Making progress," said NFL Players Association outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler, who also represents locked-out NBA players.

Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA head DeMaurice Smith spoke to each other on the telephone yesterday and planned to stay in regular contact.

Sources told ESPN the two sides are amenable to a global settlement, which would mean all litigation, including the Brady vs. NFL antitrust lawsuit, the retired players' lawsuit and all other legal issues, would be dropped if the players ratify a new collective bargaining agreement, which is expected to cover the next 10 seasons.

Owners are set to hold a special meeting in Atlanta on Thursday, when they could ratify a new agreement - if there is one. Executives from all 32 teams then would be briefed there Thursday and Friday on how the terms would affect league business, two sources familiar with the plan told the Associated Press.

The sources said the clubs were told yesterday that topics would include the 2011 NFL calendar, rookie salary system and guidelines for player transactions.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because the process is supposed to remain confidential.

Any tentative agreement also must be approved by the players, of course, including star quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees and the other plaintiffs in a federal antitrust suit against the league.

Members of the NFLPA executive committee and representatives of every team were heading to Washington by tomorrow, in preparation for possible decisions on re-establishing a union and signing off on a tentative pact with owners.

Atallah said the players would be gathering "with the hope they have something to look at, and with the hope we can move forward on this."

Owners locked out players on March 12, when the old collective bargaining agreement expired, leaving the country's most popular professional sports league in limbo. The sides are trying to forge a settlement in time to keep the preseason completely intact. The exhibition opener is supposed to be the Hall of Fame game between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears on Aug. 7.

The regular-season opener is scheduled for Sept. 8, when the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers are to host the New Orleans Saints.

Noteworthy

* Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones has pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in Cincinnati.

Court officials say attorney Edward Perry filed the written plea for Jones in Hamilton County Municipal Court. The misdemeanor charges stem from Jones' July 10 arrest in Cincinnati. Jones was not in court.

Court documents accuse the 27-year-old Jones of being disorderly and shouting profanities at a downtown bar and trying to pull away as officers arrested him.

Perry declined to comment. Jones denied the allegations to WCPO-TV after leaving jail.

The charges add to a list of off-the-field troubles for Jones. They include at least six arrests and a dozen instances involving police intervention.