Judy Battista looks at the moments, the people and the decisions that got the NFL safely to the finish line of a treacherous season filled with pandemic-induced fear, anguish and hope.

The risk-reward acquisitions of Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth signal that Bill Belichick and the Patriots are ready to make a run at a championship.

The NFL and players wrapped two days of talks in Maryland, and plan to meet again in the next week.

The positive nature of the most recent negotiations has the NFL and its players hoping for a deal within a month.

The NFL and players plan to return to the bargaining table next week and both parties have been maintaining communication in between the face-to-face meetings, another sign of the seriousness of these talks.

The NFL and players Wednesday concluded two days of what were described as "very serious talks," according to sources, in an attempt to build off last week's secret negotiations in suburban Chicago, and work toward a resolution to end the three-month-old lockout. The exact location of this set of talks remains unknown, though they are believed to have taken place in a Long Island, N.Y., hotel.

The parties finished a three-day labor summit Thursday, leaving 'Boys owner Jerry Jones to say, "We're trying."

Let's talk about it: NFL, players resume mediation

NFL owners and their locked-out players have resumed court-ordered mediation. Commissioner Roger Goodell, executive vice president Jeff Pash and team owners Mike Brown, John Mara, Jerry Richardson and Art Rooney II arrived at the federal courthouse in Minneapolis on Monday morning along with legal counsel.

The NFL filed its 61-page opening brief to the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, asserting that U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson's granting of an injunction to lift the two-month-old lockout was unreasonable.

Judge denies NFL request to freeze lockout ruling

A federal judge adjourned talks between the NFL and players for nearly a month as the lockout hit its 40th day.

The third day of court-ordered mediation for the NFL and players before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan saw sides largely spending time separately, according to sources, but "some progress" was made.

The NFL and players are scheduled to resume court-ordered mediation Tuesday at 10 a.m. CT in the downtown chambers of U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan, but a NFL Players Association spokesman said executive director DeMaurice Smith won't attend because of a family medical emergency.