NFL Capsules: Appeals court backs lockout, tosses judge's ruling

NEW YORK (AP) — The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday threw out a judge's order lifting the NFL lockout, handing the league a victory as players and owners spent another day negotiating.

THIBODAUX, La. (AP) — The power and accuracy with which Peyton Manning’s passes bowl over bad guys in a recent "Football Cops" TV spoof was nowhere to be seen at the Manning family’s annual football camp.

After not making any throws during Friday morning’s instructional sessions, the Indianapolis Colts quarterback stressed that he is taking a "very cautious" approach to his comeback from offseason neck surgery because of the NFL lockout.

"That’s one thing these owners didn’t take into account. You’ve got a guy rehabbing and you can’t use your training room and can’t use your trainer," Manning said. "When you find a good trainer and a good rehab guy that you like, it’s a pretty special bond. These guys kind of know your body. So the fact that I haven’t had access to my guys and I’ve been somewhat on my own, I’ve been extra cautious and extra slow and making sure we don’t have any setbacks."

Manning’s father, former Saints quarterback Archie Manning, mentioned that Peyton has been throwing at some of the offseason workouts he has organized with Colts teammates in recent months. However, Peyton Manning declined to get into specifics about his condition, stressing only that he has been "very, very limited as to what I’ve been able to do and what I’ve allowed myself to do."

Manning said he usually puts himself through three rehabilitation sessions per day and even got one in Friday morning before camp started.

Lockout or not, this has been another busy offseason for the Mannings, who got together on the campus of Nicholls State for the 16th year of the Manning Passing Academy. On March 21, Giants quarterback Eli Manning became a father for the first time when his wife, Abby, had their first child, a daughter named Ava. Only 10 days later, Peyton and his wife, Ashley, had twins — a daughter, Mosley, and son, Marshall.

Peyton Manning has avoided speaking publicly about his new experience as a father or the twins, and reiterated at the camp that he views those matters as private.

When asked if the lockout had a good side in terms of the time he got to spend with his infant children, Peyton said, "The lockout hasn’t been good for anybody, I don’t think. The only winners in the lockout have been the lawyers."

Archie Manning beamed when he spoke about seeing his and wife Olivia’s number of grandchildren grow from the three they had from eldest son, Cooper, to six this year.

"We doubled our grandchildren, so Olivia and I are very excited," Archie Manning said. "Cooper’s three we see every day. ... I’m back going to little league games and everything. But for Eli and Peyton both to have their first children — Peyton had two at a time — it’s always exciting. I love grandchildren. It’s underrated."

In May, Peyton and Eli also filmed a TV spot for DirecTV in Brooklyn, a dark comedy about a tandem of police officers who fight criminals with holstered footballs. It was released last month and as of this week had been viewed more than 792,000 times on the website YouTube.

Both brothers have organized workouts with teammates in an effort to stay as sharp as possible until football resumes.

Peyton has kept sessions with Colts teammates private, while Eli has allowed media to observe some of his sessions with Giants receivers, as well as walk-throughs with larger numbers of teammates.

"The guys I called came and worked out and we had some good throwing sessions," Eli said. "We had a week of some full-team (work). ... It was really kind of more for the young guys ... so when we hit training camp we don’t have to start from square one."

Although negotiations between owners and players appear to be progressing, it remains unclear whether training camps will open as scheduled in late July.

Peyton Manning, who is one of the players on a class-action antitrust lawsuit intended to end the work stoppage, said he has tired of following the daily negotiations.

"I followed it early and it just got so exhausting because every day was the day it was supposed to end, and that was like three months ago," he said. "I’ve gotten to the point now where I’ve just told (Colts center and players’ representative) Jeff Saturday to call me when I can go back to the facility ... I have no information or insight as to when it’s going to end.

"I don’t think it’s going to be this week, but hopefully it will be real, real soon."

When the lockout does end, Peyton Manning and the Colts will likely get back to contract talks. His contract expired after last season, and the Colts put the exclusive franchise tag on him — a move that prevents him from negotiating with other teams. If he signs the one-year deal, he would make $23 million next season. Both sides appear more interested in reaching an agreement on a longer-term extension, but Manning does not appear interested in discussing the matter much.

"I really haven’t had a whole lot of thought on that," he said. "They’ll be a time and a place to address that once the lockout ends, among other questions."

Team Capsules

Giants won’t train in Albany

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Albany, N.Y., is the latest loser in the NFL’s four-month-old labor lockout. The New York Giants became the third NFL team to cancel their out-of-town training camp when they informed officials at the University at Albany and Mayor Gerald Jennings on Friday morning that they would not be returning this year because of the uncertainty surrounding the league’s labor problems.

If the players and owners reach a new collective bargaining agreement, the Giants will train at their headquarters in East Rutherford.

"In light of current circumstances, it simply became impractical for us to hold camp away from home," John Mara, the Giants co-owner and chief executive said. "The University at Albany and the Capital Region has been a great summer home for us for 15 years, and we have every intention of returning there in 2012."

The Baltimore Ravens canceled their camp at Winchester, Md. and the Jets called off their training camp at SUNY-Cortland in central New York roughly two weeks ago. Both teams also plan to have training camps at their home facilities if there is a season.

While the owners and players are negotiating, the Giants felt there was not enough time to transport equipment, weights, medical supplies and to organize the transportation of players even if an agreement was reached.

The team also said that coach Tom Coughlin and his staff also felt after missing an offseason with the players, their time will be more efficiently spent at the team’s home base.

The Giants’ 15-year stay at Albany is their longest at one training camp site in the 87-year history of the franchise. Before moving to Albany, they spent eight summers at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, N.J.

"While I was disappointed when John Mara called me this morning, I fully understand the Giants’ decision," said University at Albany President George M. Philip.

The university does not profit financially from Giants summer camp. However, it measures the value of hosting the team by enhanced public awareness and publicity.

Jennings also understood the rationale behind the decision.

"We have had a great relationship with the Giants organization for 15 years, and my office and our city look forward to this season and to welcoming the Giants back next summer," Jennings said.

The Giants home facility — the Timex Performance Center — is a state-of-the-art complex which opened in 2009. It has three grass fields, a turf field outdoors and a full-sized indoor field.

The only problem having camp there will be housing the players since there are no dormitories. The NFL lockout has been in place since March 11.

Ohio appeals court OKs staph suit against Browns

CLEVELAND (AP) — An Ohio appeals court has ruled in favor of former Cleveland Browns center LeCharles Bentley, saying the team can’t force NFL arbitration to halt a lawsuit on the career-ending staph infection he says he contracted at the team’s training facility.

The Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals in Cleveland on Thursday upheld a Cuyahoga County judge’s ruling, saying the issue is not related to the collective bargaining agreement and can be handled in county court.

Bentley’s attorney has said he nearly died from the infection he contracted while rehabbing from a knee injury at the team’s suburban Berea facility. The team is accused of persuading Bentley to rehab at the training site and failing to tell him about unsanitary conditions and other players who had contracted staph.

The team had argued that state and federal laws support arbitration over litigation.

Bentley never played a game for the Browns after signing a six-year, $36 million contract as a free agent. He tore his left patellar tendon in training camp in 2006, and his career never recovered after the infection.

In 2007, Bentley told The Associated Press that he had undergone four operations since getting hurt, the final two to clean out the staph infection, which ate away at his tendon.

The Browns had at least six players stricken with some sort of staph infection in recent years, including former receiver Joe Jurevicius, who settled a similar lawsuit with the team last year.

When the Jurevicius lawsuit was settled, a team attorney said the Browns’ sanitation and hygiene practices were at the highest state-of-the-art level in the league.

Browns players Brian Russell, Ben Taylor, Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards also battled staph.

Related Story

Wade could see NBA stars heading overseas

NEW LENOX, Ill. (AP) — Dwyane Wade could see himself and other NBA stars eyeing an overseas contract if the lockout drags on, just like New Jersey’s Deron Williams.

Williams was discussing a deal with Turkish team Besiktas, and Wade would consider playing in Europe at some point if the NBA situation is not settled.

"We’ve known that the lockout was a possibility for the last couple of years," he said. "It’s not just something that came overnight. (Williams) didn’t wake up and say, ‘All right, go play in Turkey.’ Obviously, this is something that he felt that if a lockout was to last a long time, ‘I would consider playing.’ It’s because of the game. He wants to play the game, wants to play it at a high level, and if we can’t play in the NBA, he’s going to take that opportunity to try to play somewhere else. Hopefully, we don’t get to that point, but if we do, I’m sure a lot of guys will possibly explore it."

And Wade made it clear: He could be in that group.

""If there’s an opportunity there, I’d consider it," he said.

The Miami Heat guard spoke Friday at a suburban Chicago high school where he and Bears star Devin Hester were running basketball and football camps the past two days.

Like Wade, Hester is locked out, and with practices scheduled to begin July 23, the clock is ticking. The Bears would report to training camp in Bourbonnais, Ill., a week earlier than most because they’re playing St. Louis in the Hall of Fame game Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio.

"If we play Friday and the lockout ends Tuesday, it’s going to take a day and half for us to get to the dorm room and settle in," Hester said. "That’s an extra day and a half. If we get at least a week and a half to prepare, I think that (would be enough time)."

The Hall of Fame game is actually scheduled for a Sunday, but either way, his point was clear — the Bears need time to prepare.

For now, everything remains up in the air.

An appeals court on Friday threw out a judge’s order lifting the NFL lockout, giving the owners a victory. Meanwhile, commissioner Roger Goodell and players’ union chief DeMaurice Smith were meeting for a second straight day at a Manhattan law firm.

With the lockout wiping out organized team activities, Hester and the offensive skill players have been working out three times a week with quarterback Jay Cutler acting as the de-facto coach. He said that "helped a lot" as the Bears try to build on last year’s run to the NFC title game, but the offense remains a huge question mark entering the second season with Mike Martz as coordinator.

There are issues on the line and at wide receiver, and time with the coaches certainly wouldn’t hurt. Whether they’ll get that soon remains to be seen.

For all the signs that a deal could be close, Hester has his doubts.

"You’re hearing two sides to the story," he said. "You don’t know the truth. You’ve got your team advisers telling you that the lockout, whatever they’re saying, is negative. And then you hear the TV saying that they just met, it seems like something’s getting done. You’re head’s just spinning. You don’t know what to do. I try not to get involved. I’m going to get ready so when the time comes and I get the phone call, I’m ready."

As for the NBA, there’s little optimism. Both sides appear to be digging in for a long fight, a major setback for a league that says it’s bleeding money despite all the excitement brought on by last summer’s free-agent craze and a thrilling run on the court that ended with the Dallas Mavericks beating Wade and the Heat for the championship.

This time last year, Wade was staying in Miami and forming a superstar trio with LeBron James and Chris Bosh after being courted by his hometown Bulls. The Heat struggled at times during the season, but turned it on in the playoffs, beating Derrick Rose and top-seeded Chicago in the Eastern Conference finals before falling to Dallas.

"We fell short of our goal," Wade said. "But that’s not going to define our lives. We have more basketball to play."

Question is: When? And if the lockout drags on, at what point does Wade start looking overseas?

"I don’t know," he said. "Our season just ended. I’ve got awhile before I start thinking about that. I’ll leave it up to the powers that be, the people behind the scenes, to worry about that."

-- Andrew Seligman