135 days later after the lockout first began, the NFL is thriving once again, amdist a free agency frenzy the likes sports fans have never seen

SCOTT JACOBS

What lockout?

It hasn’t even been a week since the NFL and its players agreed to a new 10 year CBA, ending 132 days of Lockout nauseum.  The NFL is already flexing it’s massive muscle.  In just a matter of a few days the league has done the unthinkable: overcome a 4 month plus battle in courts and the court of public opinion and actually made itself more popular.

I touched on this a few days ago, but the lockout left us craving football news more than ever, and amazingly the NFL returned to business with even more eyeballs than usual.

It’s almost like the NFL planned it this way.  Hey, wouldn’t you, if you could settle an ugly labor battle with a 10 year peace treaty, and then watch your 32 teams run their collective 2 minute offenses on all the available talent out there.  A process that usually lasts months, has been pushed into a week long free for all, and the maddening moves in the league have created a rush unlike any offseason before it.

Then throw in the new cap number, the teams trying to get under it, and the teams willing to roll the dice on big money decisions, and this week has been a spectacular return party for the NFL.  It’s as if this lockout never happened.  I’m so knee deep in my twitter feed keeping up with this circus that it’s hard to fathom the NFL going back to normalcy in 2012.

This free for all has been a jolt that NFL fans needed.  The league immediately turned to sports story #1, #2, and #3, and it takes either a no-hitter or a big losing streak to dismantle it from its spot high above every other league.  

While the NBA watches their stars wined and dined by European and Asian clubs, the NFL is back in the thick of things, and running like a locomotive.  It’s got that new car smell, and the engine is even faster than ever.

Some highlights from a  crazy week:

> Pats trade picks for Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochicinco on the same day
> Cardinals acquire Kevin Kolb for 2nd round pick + Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and then give Kolb $20 million guaranteed.
> Matt Hasselbeck signs with Titans so Jake Locker has a year to learn.
> Donovan McNabb traded to Vikings for two 6th round picks so he can be a stopgap QB while Christian Ponder waits.  Boy what a difference an offseason makes.
> Reggie Bush traded to Dolphins. Playmaker Miami craved, without the consistency or durability.
> Sidney Rice reunites with Tavaris Jackson in Seattle. Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst to stage QB battle.
> John Beck inexplicably going to be starter for Redskins. Dude looked lost in Miami his rookie year and was a backup in Baltimore.
> Steve Breaston signs with Chiefs. Former Card WR reunites with former offensive coordinator, now Chiefs head coach Todd Hayley.

 The NFL has what no league can compete with: that is hype.  No season has more of a buildup than the National Football League and with a shortened offseason, everything is in hyper-drive, which only stands to make this season even more interesting.

Throw in fantasy football, the parity each season brings, and the fact that what’s old is new again, and this 2011 season should be remarkable.

Funny how taking away something can make us want it more.  You’re such a tease NFL.  And we love you for it.

Photo: AP

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