ROSEMONT, Ill. – Realignment was painless. Negotiations pick up Thursday for a collective bargaining extension through the 2006 season. The Raiders lost a key lawsuit against the NFL that eliminates the claim the Raiders own the Los Angeles market.

Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, heading off for a vacation in Italy, finished what he called the league's best owners meeting in two decades. He also had his chance to sum up his feelings about the Al Davis lawsuit.

	Al Davis could be forced to pay the NFL's legal fees for losing his lawsuit against the league.

"The whole lawsuit was uncalled for in the first place," Tagliabue said. "For Al Davis to file a lawsuit in circumstances where he was treated more generously and more effectively than any other team in the history of the league was uncalled for. The verdict is what we expected."

Tagliabue said that some owners asked to review the bylaws to determine if the league can take action against Davis. According to the bylaws, any owner who sues the league and loses is responsible to pay the legal fees of the league. That was a bylaw change made during the 1990s.

If owners wish to do more, they can consult the executive committee of the league and determine if they wish to take action against Davis.

"Our bylaws are clear that our owners, as the executive committee of the league, can evaluate the conduct and actions," said Tagliabue, who is given the power to suspend an owner. "At this point, I think people are focused on the 2001 season and realignment."

Thus, sanctioning Davis is considered "premature," according to Tagliabue.

"People are going to be looking at the question down the road," he said. "It was a real insult to the owners, who put together a financial package in 1995. For an owner to turn around and sue the other owners, I think, is outrageous."

Even though the Raiders apparently don't have claim to the Los Angeles market, that revelation doesn't necessarily help Southern California get a franchise in the near future.

	“	Getting a team in L.A. is a difficult problem for the league because we have 32 teams and don't have any current intentions for now of expanding. Hopefully, this will contribute to the improvement of the Raiders' operations in Oakland. Don't think it has much bearing on Los Angeles. ”
		— Paul Tagliabue, NFL commissioner

"Unfortunately, I don't think it helps on that point because such a marginal case should never have been filed in the first place," Tagliabue said. "Getting a team in L.A. is a difficult problem for the league because we have 32 teams and don't have any current intentions for now of expanding. Hopefully, this will contribute to the improvement of the Raiders' operations in Oakland. Don't think it has much bearing on Los Angeles."

In other business, Tagliabue said the NFL will wait a couple of seasons before determining whether to add more than the current number of playoff teams. The realignment for 2002 creates conferences with four division winners and two wild cards. A dozen playoff teams are enough for now.

"We expanded the playoffs in the early 1990s in anticipation of expansion," Tagliabue said. "We expanded the playoffs before we expanded the size of the league in anticipation we would be expanding the size of the league to 30."

Proposals are being exchanged to make adjustments in the tie-breaker scenarios for the 2002 season. One possibility is having wild cards with better records being seeded higher in the second rounds than division winners.

Since March, owners and players have met a half dozen times to pound out a labor agreement extension past 2004. A session is scheduled Thursday and there is some outside hope that an agreement could be made in the next two weeks.

Both sides want to adjust the minimum salary structure, which has a $268,000 difference between rookies and veterans and is costing veterans jobs. One possibility is making more of the minimum around $300,000, so there is little discrepancy. For roster continuity, both sides are exploring incentive pools for veterans that wouldn't count against the cap.

John Clayton is the senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.