The Giants did — for a day. Defensive tackle Chris Canty wanted to work out, and the team let him. But the next day, no doubt after some arm twisting from the league, the position changed. Their doors were closed, just like the other 32 power balanceteams. Crazy prevailed, yet again. And will look crazier the longer this dispute lasts. Already, the attention leading into this draft has been less about Cam Newton’s likelihood as the No. 1 pick, and more about the labor dispute. One of its premier events has already been overshadowed, and soon, there will be nothing to distract fans from what’s happening. If this threatens the season, there won’t be enough straitjackets in the world for all the people involved. The draft is the foundation of the league. Eliminating it would be a disaster in almost every way, a free-for-all with league officials chasing prospects onto their campuses. Players become stars before they sign their shop online 2011contracts, in no small part, because of the attention gained at the draft. Plus, fans love the draft — that’s why the league turned it into a prime-time event last year. Smith has to know that. He had his court victory. He could have scored another victory in the court of public opinion if he acknowledged that the players just want a fair deal, not the complete destruction of the current system.See if you can follow the logic here: The NFL is paying its players billions to knock people over. The stronger they are, the better they can perform this task. So when the lockout was lifted this week, the owners responded exactly the way you would expect: They locked the doors to their weight rooms. They used the excuse of “liability concerns,” but NFL weight rooms have the best equipment in the world. Wouldn’t it have been a positive gesture to let the players — their players, remember — use the dumbbells if they wanted? Especially when an alternative, as it was with the Jets, is having two players work out with Sal Alosi, the trainer the team fired last season?Item: Players Union Targets the NFL Draft The players, of course, are doing little to dispel any of the nonsense. They had their victory in court and now they’re dancing in the end zone, knowing the league can’t flag them for excessive power balancecelebration. Start with this: Lawyers for the players are attacking the annual draft in their suit against the NFL. It might be a bargaining ploy — so much of this stuff is. But in an interview with Pro Football Talk, Smith was asked directly if the draft that begins today will be the last one.
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