BASEBALL'S WARRING PARTIES CIRCLE THE NEGOTIATING TABLE

     Acting MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said negotiations for a
new CBA are expected to resume after the MLBPA meetings, which
begin today in FL.  According to USA TODAY's Antonen & Bodley,
"Talks could resume next week when the union responds to
management negotiator Randy Levine's proposal presented more than
10 days ago."  The union is expected to prepare its response
after a staff meeting on Monday (USA TODAY, 11/28).  In Chicago,
Jerome Holtzman examines the likelihood of another work stoppage
-- either a strike or a lockout -- and writes, "Trust this.
Neither will happen."  Holtzman sees the owners as "content to
ride the horse they came in on.  They won't settle until the
Players Association agrees to major concessions."  Meanwhile, on
the union side, with the mean salary having fallen 50% last year
from $450,000 to $225,000, MLBPA Exec Dir Don Fehr is "trying to
keep the troops together" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/27).