NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will spend the weekend preparing for the next set of negotiations, energized by this week's secret talks that he believes show both sides are committed to ending the labor dispute. The owners and players spent Friday in a St. Louis courtroom arguing over the legality of the lockout, while Goodell visited with troops at a U.S. Army base in North Carolina with Panthers coach Ron Rivera. "The importance is to have the principals talk," Goodell said. "That's what we were interested in doing, have the owners and players talk to one another. That was accomplished this week. ... That's a positive sign for us."