Fleur-de-Links: July 21, 2011

TWEETS:
dmpressley DeMario Pressley
No way! foreal!?? RT @ILuvMoniPorter: So my fave cartoon...captain planet is being made into a movie! #excited

SAINTS:

Darren Sharper, Roman Harper waiting to see if they'll remain New Orleans Saints | NOLA.com
Both will become free agents when NFL lockout ends

Kristian: Let Fans Eat Cake! Should We Celebrate End Of Lockout? - WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports

New Orleans Saints trivia and tidbits: The Year, And Beginning, That Was 1967
SportsNOLA.com IS New Orleans Sports and beyond. We cover the Saints, Hornets, LSU Tigers, Tulane Green Wave, High School Sports and everything in between.

New Orleans Saints 11.7 Million Under Cap; Tom Benson Hopeful For CBA | Who Dat Dish
New Orleans Saints 11.7 Million Under Cap; Tom Benson Hopeful For CBA

New Orleans Saints reader comment: Free agents might find themselves in precarious situation | NOLA.com
Highlighting comments from our readers

New Orleans Saints: One Fan's View From The Cheap Seats | Who Dat Dish
As a fan of the New Orleans Saints, i have to say, just being able to go to a Saints game is more than enough excitement to keep me pumped up until the next game.

AROUND THE LEAGUE:

Logan Mankins apparenty isn’t happy with Jeff Kessler | ProFootballTalk
In the past few days since Ron Borges of the Boston Herald first speculated (likely with more information than he let on) that Patriots guard Logan Mankins would demand something for signing his name to the Tom Brady class action, we've heard nothing from Mankins or his agent, Frank Bauer.

24 offensive players that could get cut | ProFootballTalk
We gave you 16 defensive players that could be cut earlier Thursday.  We have even more on offense. The new CBA should make it easier for teams to retain veterans, but most of these players simply cost too much. They could (or should) be released. 1.

LABOR PAINS:

NFL owners meeting in Atlanta to discuss tentative deal for ending lockout | NOLA.com
Vote on deal could come later today

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay says he expects NFL teams to vote Thursday on CBA | NOLA.com
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay says he expects NFL teams to vote Thursday on a tentative deal to end the league's labor dispute. He also says there was some discord among owners during more than three hours of discussions about the proposed settlement at a hotel near Atlanta's airport. Irsay says, "The morning gets a little ruined by not getting...

NFL players and owners reviewing deal to lift lockout | wwltv.com New Orleans
The pieces were in place to ratify a new owner-player agreement that would lift the four-month long lockout in the National Football League.

Benson: ''We Are Going To Get A Deal Done Today'' - WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports

Sources: NFL Owners To Vote On CBA This Afternoon - WWL - AM870 | FM105.3 | News | Talk | Sports

Owners’ vote expected by 5:30 | ProFootballTalk
Despite some unforeseen roadblocks, the NFL owners are still expecting to do today what they've been planning to do for weeks: Vote on a new labor deal by the end of their Thursday meeting. ESPN is reporting that the vote is expected to take place some time between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.

Recertification delay is a red herring | ProFootballTalk
I got a little fired up during the first segment of PFT Live while reading Rosenthal's write up of the latest wrinkle in the CBA talks.  But for good reason.  (At least I think it was a good reason.

Reluctance to reconstitute union is another red herring | ProFootballTalk
At the top of the hour on ESPN, Sal Paolantonio reiterated what we've been saying for weeks:  "We keep hearing from a lot of owners here that . . . Jeffrey Kessler is holding up this deal.

De Smith addresses recertification issue | ProFootballTalk
In a surprise appearance before the cameras and microphones parked outside NFLPA* headquarters, executive director DeMaurice Smith talked about  the question of whether the trade association will lose its asterisk.

Here’s how a deal can be done, now | ProFootballTalk
This isn't speculation.  This isn't a hypothesis.  This is fact. The NFLPA* is ready to do a deal.  The NFLPA* is ready to commit to reformulating the union.  But the NFLPA* doesn't believe that it can be done without signed union cards.

NFL owners continue to meet as NFLPA chief says there are issues remaining to be resolved | NOLA.com
Players had been expected to vote Wednesday

New Orleans Saints; " Mounting Speed Bumps Could De-Rail New CBA Agreement " | Who Dat Dish
Cautioning not to assume the lockout will be over by the weekend, NFL Players Association president Kevin Mawae said his group is "not tied" to a deadline for getting a deal done in the next 24 hours.