TORONTO – Take a step back from the rage triggered by commissioner Rob Manfred essentially threatening to cancel the 2020 season, and breathe for a minute.
That collective pulse of anger was pretty intense, and suddenly it feels a lot like it did back in 1994, when the ongoing threat of a salary cap forced players into a mid-August strike that eventually led to the cancellation of the World Series.
Those were dark days. That darkness is back in a depressing way, remarkably in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, not solely because of it.
Just brutal.
Still, let’s stay rational and dispassionate, since emotion is the enemy of good decision-making, gospel among the game’s executives these days. Going on about how “these (expletives) are gonna burn it down,” as one text message I got read, can blind you from what really matters.
And what really matters from Manfred’s comments to interviewer Mike Greenberg during ESPN’s ‘The Return of Sports’ special Monday, isn’t that he’s “not confident” there’ll be a 2020 season, and that “I think there’s real risk, and as long as there’s no dialogue that real risk is going to continue.” (Even though, inconceivably, that walked back his draft day boast that, “I can tell you unequivocally we are going to play Major League Baseball this year.”)
No, the crucial stuff is in here, and it explains exactly where we’re at right now: “I have been hopeful that once we got to common ground on the idea that we were going to pay the players full pro-rated salary, that we would get some co-operation in terms of proceeding under the agreement that we negotiated with the MLBPA on March 26. Unfortunately, over the weekend while Tony Clark was declaring his desire to get back to work, the union’s top lawyer was out there telling reporters, players and eventually getting back to owners that as soon as we issued a schedule, as they requested, they intended to file a grievance claiming they were entitled to an additional billion dollars. Obviously that sort of bad faith tactic makes it extremely difficult to move forward in these circumstances.”
For clarity, we’ll run that through the lawyerese-to-English dictionary: The union’s threats to file a grievance are preventing us from setting the schedule.
Or, more precisely from Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times:
Source: In a letter today, MLB told the MLBPA there would be no 2020 season unless the players waived any legal claims against the league.
So, to review, owners are now willing to pay players their pro-rated 2020 salaries under terms of the deal the sides reached in March as part of a season length they determine, but are demanding a promise from the players that they won’t litigate a claim that MLB is violating an obligation to stage as full a campaign as possible.
And given that they’re worried enough to demand such an assurance, clearly the owners believe the players have a case with enough merit to pose a substantial risk.
Simple, right?
If your head isn’t spinning, then ponder this — the parties are basically at the same spot they were before the weekend when, unable to reach agreement on how many games the season should be, the union threw up its hands and said to MLB, impose your season, we’ll be there.
This, then, is just a way to force the union back into negotiations, which is an excessively generous way to describe what’s taken place thus far. Only now, there’s even more acrimony and mistrust in the process, the opposite of what you need to stage a season amid the highly contagious coronavirus back on the rise in multiple spots across the United States.
To some extent, things are in the players’ hands right now, and let’s give union head Tony Clark credit for cleverly fending off the initial attacks from ownership and stewarding the players into a position with some control, as Cincinnati Reds ace Trevor Bauer laid out so well.
So, Rob, explain to us how you can be 100% sure that there’s going to be baseball but not confident there will be baseball at the same time? hmmm. What changed between those statements Players told you to set the season, but it’s too early to set the season right now,
Now, though, isn’t the time for Clark to overplay his hand and test whether owners are willing to follow through on Manfred’s veiled threat to cancel the season.
There’s been a middle ground in the 70ish-game range all along and it’s time for the bridge-builders on both sides to find each other and pull everyone back from the precipice.
Players have every right to be, as Clark put it in a statement, “disgusted,” and point out that “this latest threat is just one more indication that Major League Baseball has been negotiating in bad faith since the beginning.”
“This has always been about extracting additional pay cuts from players,” he added, “and this is just another day and another bad faith tactic in their ongoing campaign.”
In that way, all this has been illuminating for the union, revealing how much power the hawks among MLB owners currently wield. That information will come in handy when the current CBA expires after the 2021 season, as will the indoctrination of an entire generation of players never before pushed to the brink.
The cost will be far too high, though, if the season is lost. Both sides will already pay dearly for wasting the goodwill a smooth return into a barren sports landscape would have offered, and the legions of new fans that could have created.
At this point, having squandered the chance to generate millions down the road, they need to stop fighting over relative pennies in the present.
“It’s just a disaster for our game, absolutely, no question about it,” Manfred said of the damage caused by the public dispute. “It shouldn’t be happening and it’s important that we find a way to get past it and get the game back on the field for the benefit of our fans.”
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
