Players win court ruling as deadline looms

WASHINGTON - The NFL players union won a key court ruling concerning television contract money on Tuesday as it and the owners stage crisis talks this week to try and avert a work stoppage.

The union and the owners met for six hours on Tuesday but, with the current collective bargaining agreement set to expire in a couple of days, time is running out for both sides.

In a ruling on Tuesday, US District Court judge David Doty in Minneapolis sided with the union by overruling a February 1 decision to reject the NFLPA's request that $4 billion in 2011 payments from networks to the league be placed in escrow if there is a lockout.