Personally I thought that was a bad stunt to pull. Given the opportunity to gain some of the spotlight in the winter months, there is no way the NLL would have risked cancelling the season. It would have been the end of the line yet again for professional lacrosse which seems to be at it's most stable point in the 17 years of existence.
I won't go so far as to say it was staged, but I do think the league and the players association executive wanted to make the most of their disucussions. Althought the players I talked to wanted a few things to change (strangely money wasn't the issue), they were well aware of the detrimental impact that a lokout would have on their league. Unlike hockey, the ownership is in complete control and players have few options if they want to play and get paid.
I think this agreement is good for the sport, but I don't think the collective bargaining shennanigans were necessary.
