It’s really annoying and stupefying to me that during a time when the country’s economy is teetering somewhere between stagnant and borderline recovery that the billionaire owners of NFL franchises and the NFL Players Association, which represents many, many millionaire players, can’t come together on a deal that makes sense for both sides.

For more than a year now the rhetoric going back and forth has led me to believe that neither side is all that interested in meeting in the middle to get a deal done.

I don’t really have a side in this fight. There’s plenty of damn money to go around. Figure out how to slice the pie and make sure there is a season in 2011. That’s the only thing I care about.

I found it more than a little ridiculous that the NFLPA took the time to get into a snit with three fans over the twitter handle @NFLLockout. The union attempted to negotiate with the three fans, who, according to Darren Rovell’s story here attached, had used the account to post updates on labor negotiations and occasionally tweak people involved with the league who make ridiculous statements, such as when Anquan Boldin allegedly said players aren’t really as rich as they seem because they have to pay taxes.

That brilliant one-liner, again uttered during a time when the country’s unemployment rate is as high as it’s been in years, reminded me a lot of the old Patrick Ewing line from the NBA lockout a few years back about how yes, players make a lot of money but they spend a lot too.  Thank you, Mr. Einstein.

Anyway, when negotiations broke down, the NFLPA allegedly just went to twitter officials and told them they wanted the handle. AND TWITTER FRIGGIN’ GAVE IT TO THE UNION?!?!?!?!?!?

This story is ridiculous in so many ways. But the saddest thing to me is that it seems the NFLPA is more interested in having a twitter account where they can spread more anti-league blather … and without a doubt over the next several months we’ll hear the league doing plenty of the same thing.

All the while losing time that could be spent coming to a labor agreement instead. I know, I know. Labor negotiations always go down to the last minute, blah, blah. That doesn’t have to be an iron-clad rule. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like the union or the league see it that way.

I’m disappointed I didn’t know about the three fans and their twitter page earlier. I’m now a follower of both the NFLPA’s bully site and the the site the fans were given as a replacement. I’m disappointed that the Twitter folks folded like a cheap suit to placate the NFLPA bullies in this case. And I remain disgusted by the lack of any real progress toward a solution to the real problem, which is not who owns a damn twitter handle, but is instead ensuring that there is football in September 2011.

NFLPA: Epic, epic fail in this case.