Philadelphia will be the center of the American (and Torontonian) soccer universe tomorrow when its annual draft of amateur players into the league takes place there. In fact, Philly just might be the center of the American soccer universe today, as it certainly seems like something important is happening with the ongoing CBA negotiations.


It takes no unique insight to guess that Philadelphia would be natural place for the Players and Owners to meet; everyone is there anyway, and the CBA expires in a few weeks, so every opportunity should be taken.





But if the sides are meeting this week (possibly today, ahead of the draft), what might result? Is there any reasonable possibility of an agreement today?





If the noise coming from certain players points markedly in the direction of a stand by the Players. Ginge has a reaction to some of the remarks made by Taylor Twellman today, and Twellman's teammate Darius Barnes is tweeting various statements (admittedly without context) that seem to indicate the serious intent of the Union.





The League remains quiet. Garber and Abbott are still only doing the minimum, calling talk of a strike or lockout "premature". The Players appear ready for a lockout, as Twellman told his followers today, and we've seen nothing that says they'll cave. Whether the League is ready to make any concessions isn't clear due to the silence from that camp, there's no reason to believe they are.


So where does that leave us? Just about where we were, but don't be surprised if you see more from the Players in the next few days pending the results of these (probable) meetings.


The only saving grace today? Twellman says, "Don't Panic".