While President Clinton has set a 5:00pm EST deadline for a
settlement, no new negotiating meetings were scheduled as of last
night, according to Mark Maske in this morning's WASHINGTON POST.
Clinton has asked Special Mediator William Usery for a
recommendation if an agreement is not reached by the deadline.
Owners and players "remain so far apart they spent much of
yesterday preparing suggestions to present to Usery, not each
other" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/6).  While there was talk of a "late-
night push ... tempers flared and negotiations appeared to break
down" when the players lifted their signing freeze and the owners
countered with a freeze of their own (Peter Schmuck, Baltimore
SUN, 2/6).
     MORNING UPDATE:  At 10:05am EST, CNN's Mark Morgan reported
that Usery will first meet with Clinton about the "finer" points
of his recommendation.  He then will meet with player and owner
reps to "possibly make a few changes" that both sides can agree
on, and then continue talks from there.  Morgan notes that Acting
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig joins the talks this morning.  Morgan
said if Clinton can come up with terms of a recommended
settlement and both sides can agree to continue talks from that
point, then "that is obviously meaningful progress. ... But as
far as a settlement today, that's highly unlikely" (CNN, 2/6).
Labor Secretary Robert Reich appeared on "Good Morning America"
to discuss the basbeall situation.  While he stressed that the
Clinton administration's desire that the two sides settle the
dispute without the need for Congress or President to get
involved (ABC, 2/6).  Orioles Owner Peter Angelos appeared on
"CBS This Morning."  On the possibility of a deal by 5pm: "I
believe it's possible.  Will it happen? I believe there's a 50/50
chance" (CBS, 2/6).
     USERY'S PLAN:  Usery conducted separate meetings with
players and owners, asking them for their "bottom-line positions
on the critical issues."  From that, he will draw up a settlement
and submit it to Clinton (Ross Newhan, L.A. TIMES, 2/6).  ESPN's
Peter Gammons: "There are some definite hammers over the owners.
First of all, if they don't make a deal right now, they're likely
to have to go back to the old system, which they said they would
never live another day under.  I got the distinct impression that
the players were a lot happier with their preliminary meetings
with Reich and Usery than the owners were" ("SportsCenter," 2/5).
In Denver, Tracy Ringolsby writes, "An eventual settlement can be
expected to include a salary tax along the line of what the
owners have been seeking, although at a lesser rate, with
concessions to the players that could include expanded
unrestricted free agency to replace arbitration, involvement of
the union in such matters as selection of a commissioner, and
possibly a waiver of the owners' antitrust exemption in regard to
labor matters" (ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, 2/6).  In New York, Murray
Chass reports that the players "have gridgingly accepted the idea
of a tax, but they have no desire to see it be so high that it
would inhibit clubs from spending freely on salaries" (N.Y.
TIMES, 2/6).  Mike Lupica:  "I don't think [both sides] want the
president to settle it.  But I think they're afraid of what the
president might do if they don't settle it" ("Sports Reporters,"
ESPN, 2/5).  The largest stumbling block appears to be the
percentage of taxation on payrolls (Jayson Stark, PHILA.
INQUIRER, 2/6).  There is speculation Usery will include a tax of
approx. 25% above a payroll threshold of $37M (WASHINGTON POST,
2/6).
     LIFTING THE BAN:  MLBPA Exec Dir Donald Fehr said
management's signing freeze "represented collusion under terms of
the old agreement," and there are a "multitude of legal avenues
the union can pursue and will, starting with the NLRB."  MLB
General Counsel Chuck O'Connor said management was acting as one:
"This action is taken at a point in time when clubs do act in
concert -- it's called collective bargaining" (Ross Newhan, L.A.
TIMES, 2/6).
     REEBOK TOUR:  Peter Gammons notes the players' barnstorming
deal is close to being done.  "They have 90 percent of their
insurance in place. ... They have four spring training sites in
place, and by the middle of this week hope to have completed
their barnstorming venues across the country and announce a
schedule" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/5).

     An Ontario Court of Justice chose the NHL's method of
accounting and saved the league at least $2.4M in pension surplus
payments to former players.  Under the NHL's figures, the former
players, who sued and won control of surpluses from the NHL
Pension Society, will get $33.3M as of June 30, 1993 -- the last
date for which audited financial statements were available.  The
payout will grow with time.  The next step is to determine where
the money will come from.  The NHL claims its teams owe $24.7M to
the pension fund, which would be added to the $8.4M already in
the fund and then reallocated.  The NHLPA will argue that the
$8.4M be left to go toward pensions of current players (Kevin
McGran, CP/Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 2/4).
     REVENUE SHARING:  The NHL has hired Denver-based Bortz & Co.
to determine a formula for compensating small-market clubs.  But
in Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont notes that "some clubs might not be
able to float" even with some form of revenue-sharing.  NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman, on Winnipeg:  "If there's no new
building, and the team is averaging 8,000 or 9,000 a game, we
shouldn't knock ourselves out trying to save them" (BOSTON GLOBE,
2/5).

     On ESPN's "SportsCenter," Jackie MacMullan reported, "Nearly
everyone is expecting a rookie salary cap to be a part of the new
NBA contract with rookies signing either a two-year or a three-
year pact and unrestricted free agency awaiting them at the end
of that deal.  That has a large group of college under classmen
considering coming out a year earlier than planned" (ESPN, 2/3).
     COACHES SENDING A MESSAGE WITH ALL-STAR PICKS?  In San Jose,
Ric Bucher writes that NBA coaches "clearly sent a message" with
this year's all-star selections -- "That coaches are tired of
supremely talented players holding them hostage by demanding
preferential treatment" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 2/5).  In New
York, Shaun Powell recommends having Johnson & Johnson Baby
Shampoo sponsor the "No More Tears Crying Competition" for all
those who believe they were "cheated" out of going to Phoenix
(N.Y. NEWSDAY, 2/5).
     SI JINX?  ESPN's MacMullan reports that NBPA Exec Dir
Charles Grantham plans to lodge an official complaint with SPORTS
ILLUSTRATED, "charging, among other things, that SI is biased
towards hockey and, 'Anytime they can knock basketball, they do'"
(ESPN, 2/3).  In Chicago, Sam Smith writes, "Don't fool yourself
into believing the past was any different.  Great players have
always put up a fuss to get what they wanted."  He cites Julius
Erving, who held out until the Nets traded him, Magic Johnson,
who helped get coach Paul Westhead fired, and Kareem Abdul-
Jabbar, who got traded by the Bucks "because he didn't think
Milwaukee matched his cultural level" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/6).

     In the wake of last week's report the NFL may consider a
change to its playoff format, writes Don Pierson of the CHICAGO
TRIBUNE.  "Why would Fox forfeit a Dallas-San Francisco NFC title
game in order to benefit a possible Dallas-San Francisco Super
Bowl for ABC?  The answer is obvious.  So unless a radical change
in bidding for rights fees occurs, there is no chance of a change
in playoff format."  TV considerations aside, "there appears to
be virtually no conviction among owners or Commissioner Paul
Tagliabue that any change is necessary."  Bengals President Mike
Brown: "I'm for the traditional format."  Giants Owner Wellington
Mara: "I'm happy with the current setup" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/5).
Bills Owner Ralph Wilson: "I've never heard of any such proposal,
and it has no chance.  It will never happen" (Will McDonough,
BOSTON GLOBE, 2/5).

     "It has become increasingly difficult to distinguish the
real championships [in figure skating] from the myriad skatefests
already held this season," writes Mark Starr in the current issue
of NEWSWEEK.  The '95 Nationals, which takes place this week in
Providence, RI, follows the recent U.S. Open, North American Open
Skating Championships, Ice Wars, Challenge of Champions, Gold
Challenge and Rock 'n' Roll Skating Championships.  Once the
"premier event on the skating calendar," the Nationals remain
"the one path to future Olympic glory."  But they are being
"obscured" by a made-for-TV competitions featuring the same
skaters in a  a variety of formats.  Evy Scotvold, coach of Nancy
Kerrigan and Paul Wylie:  "Right now it's somewhere between
wrestling and American Gladiators" (NEWSWEEK, 2/13 issue).