Federal Mediator Can't End NBA Lockout, No More Meetings Planned

ESPN call meeting the "worst day"

So much for that George Cohen guy who was supposed to come in like Samuel L. Jackson as The Negotiator and end the NBA Lockout. Both sides stepped away from the table last night and announced that they have no immediate meetings planned.

"We've always felt there was still a place where they would just not go and they would lock us out as long as it would take in order to get us beyond that place. There was never really a willingness to negotiate beyond certain points," union president Derek Fisher of the Lakers said. "There was just a line drawn, and regardless of what's going on, how many times we meet, 'we're not going past that.'"

In the press conference following the last meeting Fisher and union executive director Billy Hunter insisted that the NBA team owners, namely Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert (the guy that called LeBron a traitor), offered the players a "take it or leave it." They chose to leave it.

"We're not prepared to let them impose a system on us that eliminates guarantees, reduces contract lengths, diminishes all our increases," said Hunter. "We're saying no way. We fought too long and made too many sacrifices to get where we are."

As of now, only the first two weeks of the NBA season have been officially canceled, pushing the earliest possible start date to November 14. That's 100 games, $170 million in players salaries down the tube already. With no more meetings planned, NBA fans worst fears could be coming true.

However, the players themselves are keeping busy. Stars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and others are planning a multi-continent exhibition tour where they will play games all over the world during the two canceled weeks.