GOP TAKEOVER OF CONGRESS MAY STRIKE OUT ANTITRUST EXEMPTION

     The Republican takeover of Congress figures to have an
effect on the congressional dispute over whether to repeal
baseball's antitrust exemption.  Many GOP legislators have gone
on the record and said they would support any attempts to take
away the exemption.  Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) will become chair of
the Senate Judiciary Committee and is likely to be more
sympathetic to any future moves on the players' behalf than the
outgoing chair, Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE).  And on the House side,
Rep. Jim Bunning (R-KY) -- a former ballplayer -- is expected to
use his new clout to be an even stronger advocate for the players
than when his party was in the minority.  A senior staffer at the
Senate Judiciary Committee predicts that the GOP takeover favors
the players: "If they see that the strike is still going on or
the owners are threatening a lockout from spring training, I
think Congress will very much say that ... this is ridiculous"
(Larry Tye, BOSTON GLOBE, 11/10).