Lockout

Operators of the Monticello nuclear power plant are investigating what caused a transformer to lock out, prompting the plant to automatically shut down. Xcel Energy Inc. says the plant shut down safely Friday afternoon. The company says the shutdown was not expected to last long. Xcel says the transformer lockout briefly interrupted non-safety-related power from the grid to part of the site. The company says all plant safety systems functioned as designed, and there is no danger to the public or plant workers.

GRAVE SITUATION: Spain's prime minister warned Wednesday that the country faced the chance of being locked out of international markets as investors worried about the future of the euro and the 17-country eurozone. THE DETAILS: Mariano Rajoy told Spanish lawmakers there was "a serious risk that (investors) will not lend us money or they will do so at an astronomical rate. " He said investors question whether the Spain can push through its deficit-reduction plan. THE BACKGROUND: Rajoy's reforms covering the labor and financial sector have so far failed to calm investor nerves...

Just over two weeks ago, bars and restaurants around TD Garden were reaping the economic rewards of the Bruins championship season, but their late spring bonus could be wiped out this fall by the National Basketball Association lockout, which could result in Celtics games being canceled. NBA owners imposed a lockout early yesterday after they and the league’s players union failed to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement, bringing the league to a halt. It’s unclear if or when the dispute will be resolved, but a lockout during the 1998-99 NBA season caused 32 of 82 regular-season games to be...

Spain's prime minister warned Wednesday that the country faced the danger of being locked out of international markets as investors continued to fret about the future of the euro and Greece's place in the 17-country eurozone. "Right now there is a serious risk that (investors) will not lend us money or they will do so at an astronomical rate," Mariano Rajoy told Spanish lawmakers. Investors are getting increasingly concerned about the survival of the single currency and whether the Spanish government can push through its deficit-reduction plan at a time of recession and mass...

INDIANAPOLIS — If the lockout continues to drag on and cuts significantly into training camp, the National Football League could expand rosters in an effort to help rookies keep their spots and to offset injuries. Speaking at the conclusion of the spring owners meetings yesterday, commissioner Roger Goodell did not dismiss the suggestion, which has been made by some head coaches. “I think I’ve heard from the same coaches,’’ Goodell said. “They want to coach and they want to win. They want to get in and work with their players.

MINNEAPOLIS — With its players again barred from work, the NFL told a federal appeals court yesterday the fight over whether the lockout is legal won’t get in the way of the 2011 season. The rest of the labor fight? That’s anyone’s guess. The league filed an 18-page brief with the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis, arguing that the lockout should remain in effect permanently while appeals play out. The appeals court put US District Judge Susan Richard Nelson’s order lifting the 45-day lockout on hold temporarily last week.

By Greg A. Bedard, Globe staff With NFL owners and players getting closer to a new labor agreement, an important court ruling has come down. The question now is will it derail the negotiations? The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals today vacated the ruling of a Minnesota district court that granted a preliminary injunction blocking the owner's lockout. We're still reading through the decision. But on first glance while it certainly gives owners an advantage because it allows them to continue the lockout, neither side will be thrilled with the decision.

The time a basketball fan spends watching NBA TV these days depends largely upon his or her taste for nostalgia. For the old-schoolers who fondly remember what the sport was like before narcissistic superstars conspired to form so-called dream teams, the network currently offers a lineup of enjoyable retro programming. Highlights with a Boston spin this week have included replays of Game 7 of the 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals featuring the legendary shootout between Larry Bird and the Hawks' Dominique Wilkins, half-hour documentaries on Bob Cousy and Red Auerbach,...

Owners authorized a lockout of the league’s 450 players if a new labor accord isn’t in place when the existing collective bargaining agreement expires tomorrow at midnight, Bloomberg reported last night. The 30 owners made the decision during almost five hours of meetings at a Dallas hotel yesterday, NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said. The owners’ 11-member labor-relations committee can enact the lockout when the labor accord with the Players Association ends.

In March, NFL owners locked out their players. On Friday, NBA owners followed suit. It’s believed that only once before two of the United States’ major sports leagues have been shuttered at the same time. A look at what’s at stake in the labor disputes, and how they are similar and different: –– Q: What’s with the NFL and the NBA being stuck in labor lockout at the same time? Are the two situations connected? A: It’s partly a coincidence that the two leagues’ collective bargaining agreements expired within months of each other.

The Phoenix Coyotes roused a dormant fan base with an energetic season-ending burst that carried into the playoffs. Lunch-pail likable and brilliantly resilient, they have made hockey cool in the desert again and given the NHL playoffs a distinctive new vibe by reaching the second round for the first time in a quarter century. And they're not alone. After years of the same handful of teams competing for the Cup, Lord Stanley's sterling mug has some new pursuers. Red Wings, Canucks, Blackhawks, Bruins — they're all gone.

If you're an "Escape From New York" fan, you might have wondered about those rumors about a possible remake. Gerard Butler as Snake Plissken? Hmm. And how would they frame it, exactly, now that the Times Square of the 1981 "Escape" has morphed from hell into Disneyland? Well, wonder no more. Producer Luc Besson's action factory has beaten everyone to it, stylishly. They're just calling the thing "Lockout," and setting it in outer space. It's 2079, and Guy Pearce stars as Snake . . .

If a futuristic space prison with 500 of the world's most violent and dangerous criminals cryogenically frozen was to somehow undergo an inmate revolt, who would emerge as the unquestioned leader of such an intergalactic gang of gruesome murders? Why the Scots, of course. At least that's according to the sci-fi circa 2079 action flick "Lockout," directed by a pair of Irish filmmakers: James Mather and Stephen St. Leger. They co-wrote it with producer Luc Besson, the prodigious if seldom proficient French action filmmaker.

A year ago at this time, NFL fans were focused on courts rather than fields as the lockout was in full swing following a hearing in a Minnesota federal court. Everyone can agree: Thank goodness that's long over. But the question that continues to loom - and likely will for some time - is, did the game even need the lockout, which was triggered when the NFL Players Association walked out of federal mediation March 11, 2011? Because the way things are going, the players look like they didn't gain anything.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Injuries and subpar basketball have plagued the NBA during this lockout-shortened season, and while commissioner David Stern is here celebrating the All-Star Game, he also realizes matters could have been different. The league and the Players Association did not agree to a labor deal until Thanksgiving weekend, forcing a 66-game season to be squeezed into four months, with some teams playing three straight nights. Such a rigorous schedule and abbreviated training camp have led to injuries, while some clubs have rested...

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping wrapped up his four-day U.S. visit in Southern California style — in a box seat at the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Phoenix Suns on Friday night. Expected to become president of the world's most populous nation next year, Xi began the final day of his U.S. visit at a downtown trade conference hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and then accompanied Vice President Joe Biden to a suburban school in South Gate that specializes in Asian studies.

It's been so long that only five Bruins recall missing the 2004-05 season, a testament to the team's youth and how quickly the professional sports planet revolves. And the labor issues for hockey then and the NBA now are strikingly similar. The primary issues were and are a hard salary cap, luxury taxes, and rollbacks on salaries, with the owners claiming that nearly half the league was in debt. The National Hockey League Players Association refused to agree with the owners' assertion that the league was dying financially and blamed teams for being mismanaged.

With the NFL and NBA at contractual impasses with their players, we wondered what life would be like if the PGA Tour was in a similar situation. Keep in mind, dear reader, that the folks here at On Golf headquarters are fully aware that PGA Tour players don’t have a union and thus never could be locked out, so this is purely hypothetical. Please play along. July 7, 2012 - Players were scrambling to earn last-minute spots into next week’s British Open at Royal Lytham and St. Annes, desperate for tournament action as the PGA Tour lockout enters its second...

The Madison Square Garden Co. said Wednesday that the shortened NBA season drove its second-quarter profit down nearly 22 percent The lockout delayed the start of the regular basketball season by about two months. As a result, the New York Knicks only played a combined six preseason and regular season games during the quarter, compared with 40 in the same period last year, cutting into its revenue. Madison Square Garden, which owns several sports franchises, sports networks and entertainment venues, reported that it earned $25.6 million, or 33 cents per share, for the quarter that...