As the usual start of the NFL training camp and preseason creep closer, it seems less and less likely a compromise will be reached between owners and players without eating into part of the preseason. While there is hope on the horizon with college football, the NFL preseason usually made the start of college football a much easier wait for fans.



With NFL owners and players meeting in Boston this week, it's possible a resolution could be on its way soon. Then again, maybe not.



Who says millionaires and billionaires can't get along? This list of the most frustrating professional sports work stoppages in the last 30 years:









7. 2011 NFL lockout

* The 2011 NFL lockout has resulted in the loss of no games .. . yet. But as the season gets closer and the lockout possibly bites into training camp and possibly the preseason or even regular season, look for this work stoppage to shoot up the charts. The dispute arises from NFL owners' decision in 2008 not to continue with the CBA following the 2010 season. The previous CBA gave players 57 percent of the league's $9 billion in revenue, after the owners took $1 billion for growth and development of the league.



The work stoppage began on March 11 when the NFL Players Association de-certified and a group of 10 players filed an antitrust suit against the NFL. In response to the de-certification of the union, the owners officially locked out the players.

This is the second time a labor dispute could jeopardize the NFL preseason and the first since 1974. The lockout is already the longest in NFL history.

6. 1994-95 NHL lockout

* The 1994-95 NHL lockout came after playing the entire 1993-94 season without a collective bargaining agreement. The lockout caused the 1994-95 season to be shortened to 48 games.

The 104-day lockout stretched from October 1, 1994 to January 11, 1995 with 468 games lost, including the All-Star Game. Much like the 2004-05 NHL lockout, the big issue was the implementation of a salary cap.

The NHL owners were strongly in favor of the cap in order to subsidize the small-market teams. However, the players opposed that plan and sought revenue sharing as an option to help the smaller market teams. The end result was the introduction of a salary cap for rookies.

5. 1987 NFL strike

* The NFL makes its first of 3 appearances with the 1987 NFL strike lasted for a month in September-October of 1987, though only resulted in canceling one week of the season. Anticipating the strike, owners placed a number of replacements on standby for $1,000 a game. Replacement teams were mostly made up of players cut during training camp and a few veterans who crossed picket lines.

The end result of the strike was the introduction of free agency for the players while the owners received a salary cap. The Washington Redskins once again took advantage of the work stoppage as they had done in the 1982 playoffs, beating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. Replacement player Sean Payton, a quarterback for the Chicago's "Spare Bears" eventually worked his way to coaching in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints, winning Super Bowl XLIV as a head coach.

4. 1982 NFL strike

* The 1982 NFL players' strike which saw the regular season reduced from 16 games to 9 games. The players' strike began on September 21, 1982 and lasted 57 days until November 16, 1982. During this time, no NFL games were played. The essential cause of the strike was a dispute over the percentage of gross revenues that the league gave to its players. The NFL Players' Association wanted the percentage increased to 55 percent.

Due to the shorter season, the NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff, which ignored division standings (though each division had to send at least one team to the playoffs).

Eight teams from each conference were seeded 1-8, culminating in the Washington Redskins win over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII.

3. 1998-99 NBA lockout

* The 1998-99 NBA lockout forced the league to shorten the season to 50 games. The dispute started when owners sought to change the CBA to cap individual player's salaries. In exchange, the players' wanted raises for those who earned the league's minimum salary. The owners locked out the players in July 1998 after the two sides failed to reach an agreement.

The lockout continued to January 1999, threatening to cancel the entire season. However, an agreement was quickly reached and ratified by both sides, ending the lockout after 204 days. NBA television ratings and ticket sales saw significant reductions compared to previous seasons and remained below pre-lockout levels in the seasons that followed.

The drop in the NBA's popularity was also exacerbated by Michael Jordan's second retirement in January of 1999.

2. 1994 MLB strike

* The low moment in the 1994-95 MLB strike was the cancellation of the World Series for the first time since 1904. The players strike began in August 1994 and no agreement was reached until April of 1995 at the start of the next season.

The strike ended when a federal judge issued an injunction against the owners, which was upheld by an appeals court. Play started for a slightly abbreviated 144-game schedule on April 25, 1995.

Fans' backlash from the strike continued for some time. In New York, fans showed up to a 1995 N.Y. Mets game with the word "Greed" printed on the front of their t-shirts. The men leaped on the field at Shea Stadium and proceeded to toss $150 in $1 bills at the players.

Major League Baseball was the first professional sport to lose its entire postseason due to a labor dispute, though that distinction was eclipsed by the NHL's loss of an entire season in 2004-05.

1. 2004-05 NHL lockout

* The 2004-05 NHL lockout was the first time in the history of North American professional sports that a league's entire season was canceled because of a work stoppage and the first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded since the end of World War I in 1919.

The lockout lasted 310 days starting in September 2004, the day after the CBA between NHL owners and players that resolved the 1994-95 NHL lockout expired.

The 2 sides finally reached an agreement in July 2005.