NBA owners, union to talk 3rd day in row

After 24 hours presiding over collective bargaining between the NBA and its players union, federal mediator George Cohen emerged as the only public voice for the sides, which will meet for a third straight day Thursday in Manhattan.

"The discussions have been direct and constructive, and as far as we are concerned, we are here to continue to help assist the parties to endeavor to reach an agreement," Cohen said Wednesday night.

The first round of mediation started at 10 a.m. Tuesday and went for 16 consecutive hours, well into early Wednesday morning. The sides then reconvened at 10 a.m. Wednesday and put in another eight hours. The meeting broke around 6:30 p.m. to allow NBA commissioner David Stern to attend a Planning Committee meeting with his owners. That meeting previously was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon but was postponed to allow negotiations with the union to continue.

The league will hold its scheduled Board of Governors meeting Thursday morning in Manhattan before rejoining Cohen and the NBPA in the afternoon to continue negotiations.

This will be the first time since the lockout began on July 1 that the sides will meet for three consecutive days. But has this extra effort, and Cohen's guidance, moved the sides any closer to a deal? Not yet it appears, but it's still relatively early in the mediation process. Remember, Cohen, the Obama-appointed director of the Federal Mediation and Concilation Service, spent 16 days with the NFL and NFLPA in February, before that league's lockout.

A source involved in the talks said Cohen "has made an impact" and dismissed criticism that there was still no deal after spending 24 hours over the last two days by saying, "It's not that we're doing nothing, it's just a wide gap."