NFL releases preseason schedule (AP)

NEW YORK (AP)—The NFL is preparing for preseason games even though the
owners and players remain at odds over a new contract.

The league released its preseason schedule Tuesday as lawyers for locked-out
players were meeting with a judge in Minneapolis prior to court-ordered
mediation with the league later this week.

The first preseason game will match the Chicago Bears against the St. Louis
Rams in the Pro Football Hall of Fame game at Canton, Ohio on Aug. 7.

The preseason schedule, of course, is contingent on the players and NFL
owners reaching a new collective bargaining agreement, replacing the one that
expired March 11 after talks with a federal mediator in Washington broke off.

Because teams will need at least two weeks of training camp to get ready,
that means the NFL would need to have its labor stalemate solved about July 25
at the very latest, even if starters are only going to play for a series or two
in the exhibition opener.

With the NFL entering its second month of its shutdown, the only business
going on is the April 28-30 draft.

The preseason schedule includes 65 games through Sept. 2.

The league’s slate of 11 nationally televised preseason games features the
entire 2010 playoff field, including the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers
visiting Indianapolis on Aug. 26 at Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the 2012 Super
Bowl.

The nationally televised games are the only ones with specific dates
determined. On Aug. 18, the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers will host
Philadelphia on Fox.

The preseason schedule wraps up Sept. 1-2 with the regular season’s first
full slate of regular season games set for Sept. 11. The regular season schedule
has yet to be released.

In Minneapolis, attorneys and Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller sat down
with U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan on Tuesday. The NFL’s attorneys are
scheduled to meet with Boylan on Wednesday before mediation begins on Thursday.

The mediation was ordered by U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson, who
is still considering a request from the players to lift the lockout imposed by
owners after the players dissolved their union, clearing the way for the court
fight.