SMITH PREPARING FOR “WAR”

Barely 12 hours after becoming the new Executive Director of the NFL Players Association, DeMaurice Smith is preparing for what could be the biggest fight of his tenure, even if he spends 30 years on the job. Said Smith in a conference call with reporters, according to David Elfin of the Washington Times: “There isn’t a day where I don’t hope for peace, but at the same time there isn’t a day where we don’t prepare for war.” Smith also implicitly confirmed that notion that, if there’s a work stoppage in 2011, it wouldn’t come in the form of a strike. Instead, it would be the result of a decision by the owners to lock the players out. He gave that indication in connection with an effort to begin swaying public opinion in the players’ favor, by focusing on the folks who would be immediately harmed by the absence of NFL football. “There are people in America who rely on those game-day checks -- the people who park the cars, who work in concessions, the people who support this game in each and every way,” Smith said. “I dont want a lockout for our men and for those people who need those eight paychecks every year.”