Veteran goalkeeper signs an unexpected one-year extension
The locker room exhales; the front office plans.
Outside the room, the response has been faster, messier, and considerably more interesting.
Observers describe a mood of cautious optimism, the kind that travels in private conversations long before it appears in any press release.
A small group of practitioners has been arguing for this approach for years. They are doing their best not to look smug.
Skeptics point to the long history of premature declarations. Their caution is earned, and worth keeping close at hand.
Expect the next chapter to be quieter than this one, and more consequential. The loud part is usually the prologue.
Still, the conversation has changed. The questions in the room are different from the questions in the room six months ago.
