"NFL owners will convene a meeting Tuesday that is the first of its kind: Called specifically to address a lockout that's now in its fourth month.

Previous summits in New Orleans and Indianapolis were labor heavy, to be sure, but were in concert with the normal league schedule. So this one -- in addition to the monthly meetings set from now until the dispute with the players is resolved -- is indeed different and reflective of the calendar.

And the hope is that as the owners break new ground in Chicago this week, they'll blaze a much more important path, paving the way to a new labor agreement sometime in the coming weeks.

The owners and players are coming off three sets of talks that were, according to those close to the discussions, by far the most substantive since the owners opted out of the now-expired 2006 collective bargaining agreement in 2008. According to sources from both parties, concessions are being evaluated and strongly considered on all fronts."