July 22nd update

Are you ready for some football??

• As previously reported on Sportico the NFL has been locking out their players for much of the past 4 months. Now, after a few weeks of rumors it looks like the lockout could be over by the end of the week. The Owners have voted for an agreement 31-0 (with one owner abstaining from the vote). The deal is now in the players hands to vote on.
• The Players Union, in a negotiating ploy, decertified in March (basically breaking up their union). Now in order to agree to a collective bargaining agreement, the union must recertify and vote in favor of the deal. The head of the technically defunct union has said that there is no agreement yet. Other players in leadership positions have stated that they think this vote is just a PR move on the part of the owners to force the players hand and that the players still feel that the deal is tilted in the owners' favors.
• Sportico will not delve into the details of the agreement at this point but it's definitely looking like the sides are at least moving forwards and even though the players are less optimistic, the lockout may end sometime in the next few days. The annual Hall-of-Fame game, the first preseason game that signifies the start of the NFL season, has already been cancelled. While this will only effect two teams, the longer it takes to get the season started the more likely we are to be missing football, and no matter whose side you may be on (players or owners) we can all agree this is a bad thing.

Tiger fires longtime caddy

• Tiger Woods, in the midst of the longest slump of his career (we're talking about his golf results people!) fired longtime caddy Steve Williams. The move instantly created controversy as Williams was thought of by many to be Woods closest friend and confidant and the one person who stood by him through the turbulent past 18 months.
• Williams additionally acted as a bouncer of sorts, providing the rough edge and speaking his mind when Tiger (who actually has a yacht named Privacy) was too unwilling to do so for fear that it might tarnish his reputation which was always squeaky clean. Some of speculated that Tiger doesn't need to insulate himself from this sort of behavior any more since his reputation is shot, however it's also quite possible that Tiger simply thought a new perspective could help him turn his struggling golf game around.
• Williams seemed stunned, as the move was a bit abrupt. He fired back saying: "After 13 years of loyal service needless to say this came as a shock. Given the circumstances of the past 18 months working through Tiger’s scandal, a new coach and with it a major swing change and Tiger battling through injuries I am very disappointed to end our very successful partnership at this time."