Lockout

Flyers founder Ed Snider usually sleeps until 8 a.m. on the weekend, but for whatever reason, he woke up at 5 a.m. in his suburban Philadelphia home on Sunday, checked his cellphone, and learned the NHL's 113-day labor dispute had ended. For Snider, it was the perfect way to celebrate his 80th birthday. "This ranks right at the top, as far as birthday gifts," he said in a telephone interview. "What a great birthday!" When Snider read that the lockout was over, he immediately sent an e-mail to Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner.

Unless both sides bypass a chance to salvage a 48-game NHL season - and nearly $2 billion in revenue - the almost-four-month lockout will finally end later this week. The lockout has had countless negatives, but for the Flyers, there is a positive: Andrej Meszaros, one of their best defensemen, is almost ready to start playing. And this: Veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who had back surgery in the summer, seems close to 100 percent. Thanks, lockout. In addition, the work stoppage has helped Andreas Lilja, a depth defenseman who will battle for a third-pairing spot, recover from hip surgery.

After a long, overnight negotiating session lasting nearly 16 hours - or roughly the time it takes the Eagles and Chip Kelly to go from calamari to cheesecake - the National Hockey League and its players emerged from a New York hotel room early Sunday morning with a new collective bargaining agreement. There are three ways to look at this news, which was delivered in the wee hours by commissioner Gary Bettman and union boss Donald Fehr to a small contingent of unwashed reporters, five guys listening on radio in Canada, and exactly no one else.

Flyers forward Max Talbot returned from Europe and, for the first time since the lockout started 111 days ago, was practicing Friday at the team's facility in Voorhees. "I'm almost excited to see you guys," Talbot cracked to reporters after skating for an hour with some of his teammates. Talbot's return isn't necessarily because he thinks the work stoppage is almost over. "I bought a house right before I left for Finland and had a couple things to do in town," said Talbot, who purchased a Philadelphia townhouse.

With the labor dispute holding the season hostage, the NHL has thus far lost an estimated $1.6 billion, which is about double the amount lost by its players. Despite the losses, the lockout continues. It reached its 110th day Thursday, and negotiations - which had been so fruitful in the last week - took a turn for the worse in New York City. The NHL Players' Association, seeking more leverage in the talks, started a two-day player vote to file a disclaimer of interest. The vote is expected to overwhelmingly give the NHLPA's executive board the power to file the disclaimer, which would disband the union and allow it to file a lawsuit that claims the lockout is illegal.

NEW YORK - The NHL and the union are back at the bargaining table and seem determined to work toward a deal to save the hockey season. A full day of talks was held Tuesday, 1 day after negotiations resumed following nearly 3 weeks apart. On Monday, the players' association presented a counterproposal to an offer made by the league late last week. The NHL spent Monday night reviewing the document, then got together again with the union Tuesday. Small groups from each side met and conferred by conference calls all afternoon about provisions of a potential collective bargaining agreement.

THE NHL players' association delivered its latest counteroffer to the league Wednesday as the two sides try to resolve the lockout. That makes four offers between the sides since the NHL restarted the negotiation process last Thursday with a new contract proposal. What has become a major point of contention is how a player's pension will be funded. A small group meeting on the pension issue was held Wednesday morning before the players' association presented its latest offer to the league during a 1-hour afternoon meeting.

The NHL's players union made a counteroffer to the league during a meeting Monday in New York City, but there was no end to the labor dispute that has produced a 108-day lockout. The NHL said that it was reviewing the players' proposal and that the sides were expected to meet again Tuesday, which was supposed to be the day the Winter Classic was played at Michigan Stadium. The lockout has caused the cancellation of all games through Jan. 14. Donald Fehr, executive director of the players' union, refused to speculate on whether the sides were closer to an agreement than they were before Monday's meeting.

NEW YORK - The NHL and the players' association are ready to get back to the bargaining table. There were no formal negotiations Sunday, but all signs pointed to talks on Monday in an effort to end the lockout and save the season. "There will be no further face-to-face meetings today," the union said in a statement Sunday. "The plan is for the sides to meet tomorrow. " Those would be the first negotiations since the sides met with a federal mediator Dec. 13. The league and the union had informational discussions - by conference call and in meetings - with staff members that lasted much of Saturday and concluded Sunday.

As expected, the NHL Players' Association voted overwhelmingly in favor of asking its executive board to file a "disclaimer of interest," a move that would enable it to disband the union and to file an antitrust lawsuit that claims the league's lockout is illegal. The players' executive board has until Jan. 2 to file the claim. Maybe it will be filed. Or maybe the vote, which ended Friday with players approving by 706-22, was just an attempt to back the NHL into a negotiating corner.