Written by Andy | 03 June 2011

Matt McGee/FlickrBoth sides of the NFL lockout—the owners and the Players' Association—got together in Chicago this week for a number of covert labor discussions that were purposely kept a secret from ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

"Negotiations have limped along, mostly because of Adam Schefter's habit of interrupting our meetings every five minutes to ask how things are going," said Patriots owner Robert Kraft, adding that Schefter noisily reporting from inside the conference room was equally disruptive. "We repeatedly asked him to leave, but he never got the hint."

Media members in attendance at the "secret" meetings included hundreds of writers from newspapers, blogs, and reporters for local and cable television channels, including Bravo and The Cartoon Network.

"As long as they weren't Adam Schefter, we were OK with them being there," said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The NFL was able to distract Schefter by having Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff give him a "tip" that he heard the Buccaneers were holding forbidden workouts at their team facility, diverting the ESPN analyst to Tampa Bay.

"I'm always giving him information on happenings in the league," said Dimitroff, winking as he put his hands up to utilize air quotes while emphasizing the word 'information', "so he totally bought it."

The next step for the league, once the two sides agree on a new collective bargaining agreement, is to keep the conclusion of the lockout hidden from Shannon Sharpe, Matt Millen, and the Buffalo Bills.

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