In what comes as a surprise to absolutely nobody, the National Football League has already released a statement seeking their intention to appeal this afternoon's ruling. That statement, in its entirety, is as follows:
We will promptly seek a stay from Judge Nelson pending an expedited appeal to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. We believe that federal law bars injunctions in labor disputes. We are confident that the Eighth Circuit will agree. But we also believe that this dispute will inevitably end with a collective bargaining agreement, which would be in the best interests of players, clubs and fans. We can reach a fair agreement only if we continue negotiations toward that goal.
It should be interesting to see this. While a stay would allow the lockout to continue, players won't necessarily to be banging down the door to play under last year's rules, which the owners are expected to implement in the event that the lockout is lifted.
In the specific case of the Minnesota Vikings, two people that certainly wouldn't be pleased with playing under last year's rules would be wide receiver Sidney Rice and defensive end Ray Edwards. Why? Because under last year's rules, neither one of them would be eligible for unrestricted free agency. Instead, they would both be restricted free agents, both of whom have already been tendered by the Vikings. We have more specifics on that over at The Daily Norseman for your reading pleasure.