Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney joins NFL, players' union talks

[mesaSteeler]

Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney joins NFL, players' union talks
By Cindy Boren
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ear...owner_art.html

Pittsburgh Steelers president and co-owner Art Rooney is expected to join NFL representatives as meetings with the NFL Players Association continue today at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services in Washington.

Talks are to begin at around 9:30 a.m., as both sides face the latest deadline of 11:59 p.m. Friday. Rooney's father, Dan, is the ambassador to Ireland and, as the team's chairman emeritus, was outspoken about the need to get a deal done in January. "We should not let a disruption of next season happen because of a lockout, a strike, whatever," Dan Rooney told Judy Battista of the New York Times. "It's in everybody's best interest to get a deal. The players want to play."

"The negotiators," he said then, "should get it together."

Dan Rooney also opposes an 18-game season and said in January: "I would rather not have the money."

Are Dan Rooney's sentiments shared by his son? Will the presence of a Rooney in the room bring progress between the sides, who have been unable to reach agreement? At this point, having a Rooney in the room couldn't possibly hurt.

(Well this is good news. Art was the one who settled this last time. - mesa)