The NFL lockout is approaching the 130 day mark and it seems like indeed there is an end in sight to this whole tawdry mess. However, as the players made clear Thursday night- it's not over yet.

So let's play make believe and say this thing just ended tonight. In the end, everyone gained and lost in terms of what they were looking for from this deal. However one person lost more than the others: Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Before the soap opera that became the 2011 NFL Offseason, Goodell's image was already somewhat controversial. Mainly due to the seemingly wayward manner players were fined for what he deemed illegal hits, Goodell was beginning to be seen as someone who was usurping power rather than judiciously exerting it.

However even if you disagreed with his decisions regarding player fines, you couldn't misunderstand his intentions: preserving the integrity of the game by doing everything in his power to keep his sport from descending into a violent free-for-all. The problem with that is, of course, that we like the violent free-for-all and still don't feel good about a defensive player getting fined for hitting a quarterback who just happened to release the ball before they could slow down.

Even with this, Goodell was considered a better than average steward of his game. Enter the expiring CBA. NFL players and owners were unable to come to a common ground in May and after one extension had already passed, the players decertified fundamentally ending talks as we know it, the infamous Tom Brady lawsuit was filed, and blah blah blah the start of the 2011 season was in jeopardy.

Some might look at the issues and say this mess was unavoidable, as the two sides were very far apart on a number of issues in March. I have a hard time believing that and hold Goodell culpable for the one action that I believe could have at least kept the sides negotiating: providing the teams' financial statements that would have justified their need for an additional $1 billion from their business partners. Instead, decertification leads to courtroom shenanigans, which led to appeals, and blah blah blah.

Goodell and the owners were exposed for an illegal reworking of television contracts. The lockout was first lifted and then reinstated.

And now comes Thursday night where players were commenting all over Twitter that the owners had placed last minute items into the CBA they ratified that were never agreed on. If that's true, my point gets magnified to the "n"th degree.

I said before that Goodell is the steward of the game. His leadership was needed more than ever to try to persuade his owners- read "employers"- to do what is necessary and show their business partners- the players- proper respect and justify their claims.

His failure to do so has exposed the commissioner's position for what it really is: a puppet for the owners. The veil of impartiality is gone and the office is reduced to a figurehead.

Oh, and the Hall of Fame Game is canceled. Stop the bleeding, Roger.

Quick.