You can hear it in the distance, speaking to you through the gentle breeze that cools your bones during the middle of another stale humid summer in Cincinnati. It's the increasing tempo of positive momentum for labor peace between the owners and players. Cautious optimism believes a deal could be finished by July 15; a targeted date that allows the NFL to have their annual Hall of Fame game. It's also a safe date that allows most teams to conduct their training camp schedule as per usual; as if there was no lockout.
And Georgetown? They're planning things as if the Bengals are coming to the campus like any other year.
Stacy Varney, the training camp's director, said Tuesday her staff continues to work on the fields, conference center and townhomes in anticipation of the club's 15th camp at the Georgetown, Ky., campus and the ninth under the direction of head coach Marvin Lewis.
"If they end up not coming, then they'll be ready for our students," Varney said. "But at this point we're working on the Bengals until we hear something else."
Varney said the drop-dead date for the school to have an answer is mid-July with some flexibility built in before classes start Aug. 29. She said the Bengals would have to be off campus by Aug. 22 in order to get it ready for the school year. Usually Lewis breaks camp about two weeks before school starts, but as Varney well knows this isn't a normal year.