With an NFL lockout looming Thursday at midnight, when the current CBA between the players and owners expires, some vague hints of good news have begun to leak out of talks. A tweeter from SI.com reports that today's meetings went "better than expected", but given how little was expected in the first place that could mean anything. 

Of course, earlier this week the NFL's general counsel said that better-than-expected talks might lead to an extension of the deadline, averting the first NFL lockout since 1968 and giving the two sides—neither of which stands to gain much from a delayed season, which could be disastrous—more time to negotiate. 

Given the distance between the two sides, there's little else for football fans to expect. It would be a shame to see the season opener in doubt when St. Louis Rams fans finally have reason to look forward to it; a 2008 or 2009 lockout would have been considerably more appealing, in hindsight.