U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson says formal mediation between the NFL and the players will begin Thursday before Chief Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan. She still is considering whether to grant the players' request to lift the lockout that's been in place for a month. The players got their wish, with the talks held in the federal courts in Minnesota rather than the collective bargaining setting where the two sides unsuccessfully met last month. The sides tried mediation before, negotiating for 16 days in Washington with Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service director George Cohen. Those talks broke off on March 11, and the old collective bargaining agreement expired.