Players and Owners Meet, No Real News

The players and owners aren't saying much after their meeting on Wednesday, and maybe that's a good thing.

NBA lockout: Players, owners meet in Manhattan - NBA - Yahoo! Sports

Neither side offered any specifics or would say if progress was made, but said they plan many more meetings in hopes of having basketball begin without interruption. "I don’t see any benefit to characterizing our positions," Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said, a thought repeated frequently by both sides. "I will say we are not apart in terms of an agreed urgency on getting a deal done and we’re not apart on the need to avoid missing games and we’re not apart on the agreed impact that will have, not just on our teams and our players, but the communities in which they operate in as well."

I'm not going to be providing breathless updates on each rumor emanating from the negotiating sessions, but I thought it was notable that they got together and started talking - even if it sounds like they are just saying the same things they've been saying for months and even years.

Also see:

NBA owners, players make progress in latest labor meeting - Sam Amick - SI.com

That's why -- assuming these promises are kept -- this qualifies as a productive day on the labor front. Even if, as has been reported, there was no actual progress when it came to the issues, there was immediate talk afterward that more meetings have already been scheduled.