NFL owners, players have one last gasp to close the labor gap

With the clock ticking toward Thursday night's expiration of pro football's bedrock labor deal, the league, its 1,900 players, coaches and staffers and the legion of fans who have supported the nation's most popular sport are at the crossroads.

"Business and frustration, they just go hand in hand," Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said Wednesday, after NFL owners met for three hours at a hotel in suburban Washington, D.C.

Irsay strolled down a hallway, headed to get his bags and leave town, as the bulk of owners declared their intentions to depart.

"I don't have a gut feeling," he said. "I've seen these things before. I just know that with a phone call, things can change at any time."

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