From the Columbus Dispatch comes a note on the MLS CBA negotiations (middle of the story). It strikes (no pun intended) a very sour tone, and indicates that the players were none too happy with the financial date they received from the league.

It sounds bad. It's certainly not heartening for fans and observers who understand how crucial the next CBA, and a smooth negotiating process, truly is.

But let's not panic.

As Zach and I discussed on the last MFUSA Soccer Show, the league holds most, if not all, of the leverage in these negotiations. To use a poker term, MLS is clearly slow-playing the union; holding back on giving up financial data is just another ploy in the back-and-forth. It could mean something interesting, however, something which might actually be a good sign-is MLS doing better than any of us even thought?

Why else would they hold back on providing the union with data unless that data indicates something the league doesn't really want the players to know? If the MLS bottom line was mediocre or poor, I would expect the league to hand over that information willingly, perhaps even enthusiastically. Convincing the players to swallow another bitter pill would be much easier if Garber & Co. can show that there really isn't that much money to go around.

There's also a mention of the phrase "work stoppage", something none of us want to hear. No matter the rhetoric, a work stoppage is still an extremely remote possibility, as both sides know the league couldn't survive it.

Essentially, I'm tossing this little note from the Dispatch out of the window; until we hear something more substantial, it's impossible to know exactly how things are going.