The "stalemated" labor negotiations between MLB owners and
the MLBPA will resume next week, according to MLBPA General
Counsel Gene Orza and management attorney Chuck O'Connor.
According to Orza, the talks will include consideration of a
recently proposed plan by which "money derived from a tax paid by
the players based on their salaries would be added to the owners'
revenue-sharing fund."  That plan was discussed during a
September 24 meeting between MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr and
Orioles owner Peter Angelos.  Under the plan discussed by the
two, additional money would be contributed to a central fund by
the union, possibly from the union's licensing fund.  There would
be no salary cap, salary arbitration would be eliminated, and
players would be given earlier free agency (Mark Maske,
WASHINGTON POST, 10/5).
     CENTER OF ATTENTION:  In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck notes that
the union's interest in Angelos' plan puts Angelos in a "very
uncomfortable position, and one that he strongly refused to
comment upon yesterday.  He already was at odds with many of the
other owners.  He does not want to give the appearance that he is
in league with the union" (Baltimore SUN, 10/5).  Thomas Boswell
writes that owners upset at Angelos for meeting with Fehr "may
not be so mad when they hear what Angelos accomplished.  The
union is close to approving an Angelos notion that would be the
players' first significant concession in this labor war. ... The
owners could use the cash to help bribe poor teams into changing
their votes on the strike" (WASHINGTON POST, 10/5).
     FREEZE:  The owners have asked players to delay the start of
free-agent filing until November 30 and for an immediate 45-day
freeze on signings.  Under the current system, free agent filing
begins the day after the World Series or October 15 (Mult.,
10/5).  The union probably will  reject the proposal, "figuring a
freeze would be far too great an advantage strategically for the
clubs with no real advantage to the players" (Murray Chass, N.Y.
TIMES, 10/5).       MITCHELL:  Retiring Sen. Majority Leader
George Mitchell said he will soon be ready to meet with MLB
owners looking for a new commissioner  (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/5).

     TOP TICKET:  The latest TEAM MARKETING REPORT shows hockey
to have the hjghest average ticket price ($33.66), compared to
$31.05 for the NFL, $27.12 for the NBA and $10.45 for MLB.  TEAM
MARKETING REPORT's Alan Friedman:  "One reason [NHL] teams can
charge so much is that they have a very loyal and intense
following.  The NHL is in a better situation than the other
sports to absorb an interruption like this because it doesn't
rely on the casual fan" (KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE BUSINESS NEWS,
10/5).
     NHL LOSSES CHALLENGED:  NHLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler
challenged the figures in the Uniform Report of Operations that
put league losses at around $32M for '92-93.  Kessler said the
figures "did not include franchise fees, adjustments for recent
huge increased values of franchises, adjustments for owners'
salaries and private expenses and adjustments for creative
financing by teams that also own the team, arena or the station
or network that televises the team's games" (Len Hochberg,
WASHINGTON POST, 10/5).
     WHO'S LOSING?  If the $32M figure for '92-93 "is to be
believed," the Whalers accounted for 1/4 of the loss.  Also, the
Whalers lost $14M in '93-94 and are projected to lose $8-10M this
year (Viv Bernstein, HARTFORD COURANT, 10/5).  Winnipeg Jets
Owner Barry Shekarow:  "We will lose less money by not playing
than playing" (Damien Cox, TORONTO STAR, 10/5).  In New York, Joe
LaPointe calls on the owners to make public more detailed
financial data than they have.  LaPointe's column runs next to a
chart profiling the owners and their franchises' values (N.Y.
TIMES, 10/5).
     SAVE THE SMALL MARKETS:  Larry Brooks writes the NHL's
general proposal "makes sense" and that it's "vital for the
league's unique character that as many teams as possible survive
in Canada even if that means the average player salary reaches
just $775,000 and not $900,000 in the next three years" (N.Y.
POST, 10/5).  Jim Proudfoot writes that the NHL could forego
$200-300M in lost expansion fees if troubled franchises move to
new cities (TORONTO STAR, 10/5).

     NHL owners offered a new proposal to the NHLPA yesterday,
"even as they toughened their negotiating stance by telling
injured players they won't be paid during the work stoppage."
NHLPA Exec Dir Bob Goodenow and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
agreed not to comment publicly on the new offer (Ron Rapoport,
AP/Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 10/5).  ESPN's Bob Ley: "Effectively at
this point, a press blackout" (SportsCenter," ESPN, 10/4).  The
"brevity" at the post-meeting news conferences "could be viewed
as a positive sign, if not for any bargaining progress then at
least for the relationship between the two lead negotiators" (Len
Hochberg, WASHINGTON POST, 10/5).  Goodenow "tipped his hand.  He
doesn't like this NHL offer any more than he likes any others"
(Al Strachan, TORONTO SUN, 10/5).  Canadiens President Ronald
Corey cited the length of time spent on the new proposal and said
the players "showed flexibility" (Murray Chass, N.Y. TIMES,
10/5).  But Former NHLPA Pres. Doug Wilson, a member of the union
negotiating team, "hinted that elements of the plan still would
be viewed as a salary cap by players":  "It would be fair to say
the proposal sticks to their philosophy" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS,
10/5).
     FEW SPECIFICS: The NHL's previous proposal contained a
luxury tax on payrolls that exceed an average up to a maximum of
125%, a percentage the NHLPA rejects.  "Neither side was saying
anything about the specifics of the new NHL offer, either on or
off the record.  But one of the NHL people involved in the
meeting confirmed the 125% figure" (Al Strachan, TORONTO SUN,
10/5).  One NHL "insider":  "[The players] were told by two big-
market teams that 'We will never share our gate receipts.'"  The
NHLPA has proposed a 5.5% tax on all gate receipts and salaries
as a way of revenue sharing (Mark Everson, N.Y. POST, 10/5).
     "BIG DAY":  Today's "is almost certainly the crucial
negotiating session to salvage any hope of an 84-game season this
year" (Mark Everson, N.Y. POST, 10/5).  ESPN's Al Morganti:
"Wednesday will be a big day" ("SportsCenter," 10/4).  Al
Strachan notes that Bettman said play could start on October 15
if the talks were progressing well.  "The end is certainly not in
sight" (TORONTO SUN, 10/5).  "The sides may be far, far apart on
the issues, but they're talking.  So given Bettman's rather broad
choice of words, might there not be hope?" (Stephen Harris,
BOSTON HERALD, 10/5).
     "GOOD COP, BAD COP":  In Washington, Dave Fay writes the
decision not to pay injured players "baffled observers.  Instead
of a move to bring the two sides closer; the policy change seemed
designed to open the gulf even wider" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/5).
ESPN's Keith Olbermann: "The NHL has now played good cop and bad
cop" ("SportsCenter," 10/4).       READING TEA-LEAVES:  Devils
Owner John McMullen, a "leading hawk" who joined the talks with
three other team reps yesterday, later cited hockey's "tremendous
upside" and said that he was confident of a compromise.  Al
Strachan notes, "That means the owners realize that if they do
make some concessions to the players, they think they'll be able
to recoup them" (TORONTO SUN, 10/5).  McMullen "sounded quite
upbeat" (Tony Gallagher, Vancouver PROVINCE, 10/5).
     NEW FACES AT THE TABLE:  Bruins President/GM Harry Sinden,
"hockey's premier hard-line negotiator," was a "surprise
addition" to the NHL's negotiating team.  The "new look" was a
response to statements by NHLPA President Mike Gartner last week,
asking why owners and Governors had not been included.  But
according to management, Goodenow had declined the offer.
Bettman:  "I had said previously that we had always told the
players that we would be happy to bring owners in at any time;
all they had to do was request it.  This was not requested, but I
figured, 'What the heck.'"  Yesterday's league reps were Bettman,
NHL VP of Hockey Operations Brian Burke, NHL VP & General Counsel
Jeff Pash, McMullen, Sinden, Corey and Penguins Owner Howard
Baldwin (Kevin Paul Dupont, BOSTON GLOBE, 10/5).  Bob McKenzie
asks, "With Sinden and McMullen there, the only question worth
asking is:  Couldn't Rush Limbaugh make it? ... The new-and-
improved Team Bettman lineup is there as a public relations
function."  Bettman "looks a lot more fortified with hard-liners
McMullen and Sinden on one side, peace-loving Baldwin on the
other and Corey there to supply the French sound bytes" (TORONTO
STAR, 10/5).

     In an "exclusive" report this morning, Filip Bondy of the
N.Y. DAILY NEWS reports that "NBA owners are expected to take a
secret vote today at their Board of Governors meeting in New York
which could authorize the lockout of NBA players before their
first paychecks on Nov. 15."  The league "would not confirm there
would be any sort of vote on collective bargaining at today's
session..., but the official agenda calls for a 'discussion' of"
the collective bargaining agreement.  NBA Commissioner David
Stern "has already slapped a gag order on owners," and will
impose a $1M fine for any leaks.  Bondy:  "Such an action, once
unthinkable in the user-friendly NBA, is an indication of how
times, and attitudes, have changed" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/5).
     NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION:  On last night's "SportsCenter," Jackie
MacMullan said a number of unnamed owners that she has spoken
with "believe a lockout has become a reality."  MacMullan: "If a
lockout is a reality, then Charles Grantham, the Executive
Director of the Players Association, may be forced to consider
decertifying the union and then take the NBA to court over the
antitrust laws, much in the way Gene Upshaw did in the NFL"
(ESPN, 10/4).
     LOOKING AHEAD:  Publicly, both the league and union are
cautiously optimistic.  Grantham:  "I fully expect our talks to
be adversarial, because they're being pulled by the environment
of pro sports today.  But we've always been different in the NBA.
Over the course of three contracts, there's been no work
stoppage" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 10/5).  NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ
Granik said the owners are "unified":  "We want to make a deal,
and all of our efforts are in that direction" (David DuPree, USA
TODAY, 10/5).
     LOOKING NORTH:  Separately today, the Board of Governors is
expected to decide which divisions the Raptors and Grizzlies will
play in during '95-96.  According to this morning's TORONTO SUN,
"it has become increasingly clear" the Raptors will recommend
board that they play in the Central, while the Grizzlies "will
almost certainly" go to the Midwest.  Raptors VP Tom Mayenknect:
"Given the balanced schedule, it does not take anything away from
fans to be in one or another.  We were originally leaning to the
Atlantic, but in recent week's we've come to see as many
advantages in the (Central).  Whichever way it falls, we'll be
happy campers" (Craig Daniels, TORONTO SUN, 10/5).
     GROWLS FROM THE WEST:  In this morning's Toronto GLOBE &
MAIL, Neil Campbell, writing from Vancouver, criticizes the NBA
for imposing a season-ticket mandate on the Raptors and
Grizzlies.  Campbell:  "To ask any expansion team to sell 15,000
season-tickets virtually a year in advance of their first game --
 and almost certainly four or five years before said team will be
any good -- is the height of arrogance" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL,
10/5).