Meeting could bring end to lockout: Lawyers for the NFL and for the players are meeting for two days to sort out paperwork that could speed the process in reaching a new labor contract. A person with knowledge of the talks has told The Associated Press that “The owners will not open the doors without a signed document in place.” That makes the discussions today and Wednesday “important to get done.” The person spoke on condition of anonymity because a judge has directed that details of the court-ordered mediated negotiations not be disclosed. The 1993 collective bargaining agreement was slowed by the volume of paperwork. On Thursday, Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA chief DeMaurice Smith will resume meetings, with owners and players present.
Tiger stays off the trail: Those “minor” injuries to his left leg will keep Tiger Woods from playing in a second straight major, next week’s British Open. In an announcement on his website today that came as no surprise, Woods said he will miss the British Open because his injuries have not fully healed. “Unfortunately, I’ve been advised that I should not play in the British Open,” Woods says. “As I stated at the AT&T National, I am only going to come back when I’m 100% ready. I do not want to risk further injury. That’s different for me, but I’m being smarter this time. I’m very disappointed and want to express my regrets to the British Open fans.” It will be the second time in the last four years that Woods has missed two majors in one season. He did not play the British Open and U.S. PGA Championship in 2008 while recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. These injuries are not as easy to describe. Woods said in May that he suffered “minor injuries” to knee ligaments and his Achilles tendon while hitting from an awkward stance in the pine straw on the 17th hole in the third round at the Masters. He skipped the Wells Fargo Championship, and withdrew after nine holes from The Players Championship a week later because of injury.
Found guilty of lying to investigators: Casey Anthony was found not guilty today of killing her 2-year-old daughter in a case that captivated the nation as it played out on national television from the moment the toddler was reported missing three years ago. Anthony wept as the judge read the verdict, which jurors reached after less than 11 hours of deliberation over two days. She was charged with first-degree murder, which could have brought the death penalty if she had been convicted. Instead, she was convicted of four counts of lying to investigators looking into the June 2008 disappearance of her daughter Caylee. The toddler’s body was found in the woods six months later, and a medical examiner was never able to determine how she died. Anthony will be sentenced by the judge on Thursday and could receive up to a year in jail for each lying count.
No Maginnis this week
John Maginnis is on vacation. His column will return July 12.
