You may have heard the news by now. Here's the news story from the league's Web site.

This is the topic that will be explored further in the days, weeks, months and years -- yes years -- until this situation is resolved. In the meantime, here are a few quick answers.

Q: Is this something you should worry about as an NFL fan.

A: Yes, absolutely, if you're a fan who enjoys worrying about a work stoppage that may begin three years from now. But, by all means if you'd like to worry about sabre rattling between billionaire owners and millionaire players for the next few years, feel free to hypothesize about the ramifications of an inability to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement before 2010.

Q: Will there be an agreement soon?

A: Not according to players association president Gene Upshaw. He conceded that it will likely take deadline pressure to prompt an agreement and that a realistic deadline is March 2010. And even then, deadlines can be moved, which is what happened in 2006 when the current extension was reached.