MLB COO Paul Beeston was interviewed by MSG's Jim Kaat
     and Ken Singleton during a rain delay at last night's
     Yankees-Angels opener.  Beeston, on MLB's plans for an
     international competition: "We want to get to either a World
     Cup or get in an Olympics or get some type of a competition. 
     I think the players want it.  I think the international
     baseball people want it.  I think we want it, and the game
     has such an international component to it right now, I think
     it's going to be very exciting."   Beeston, on whether MLB
     would shut down its season for the Olympics: "I don't think
     it can. ... We can't start too much earlier than we do now,
     and we can't go too much later."  Beeston, on MLB's
     commissioner search: "At the very end of the day, what we're
     going to find is a group that will come together that will
     take it forward but you still have to have that one person.
     ... We're not in that bad shape right now."  Beeston, when
     asked why Selig doesn't just take the commissioner's job:
     "Maybe that's what will happen" (MSG Network, 4/1).

          NFL: SI's Peter King writes, "Eyebrows were raised on
     NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue's five-year, $25-million
     contract extension, through 2005."  He notes that Tagliabue
     will make less than NBA Commissioner David Stern; $5M a year
     is "exactly one-fifth of one percent" of the new annual TV
     contract; and it's "not like the NFL has stock options or
     some other executive perk to hand Tagliabue."  But King
     says, "Five million per seems eminently fair" (SI, 4/6).
          WNBA: The WNBA has increased player salaries, as those
     who played in its inaugural season will see a 25% increase. 
     The salary for first-year players will be determined "by
     when they are picked in the draft."  The first three draft
     picks will earn a base salary of $50,000, up from $37,000
     last year.  Salaries will then scale down by draft position
     to $19,000 for a player picked in the fourth round and
     $15,000 to those picked after that (USA TODAY, 4/2).
          

          Opening-day MLB club payrolls, based on this season's
     salaries and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses for players
     on the 25-man rosters and the DL, are listed by Murray Chass
     of the N.Y. TIMES.  These numbers differ from figures cited
     in the 3/27 issue of THE DAILY from the Players Relations
     Committee, which includes the salaries of all players on the
     40-man roster, bonuses and benefits.   The following numbers
     include information on a team's 25-man roster (N.Y. TIMES,
     4/2).  USA TODAY also lists each team's payroll and complete
     individual player salaries (USA TODAY, 4/2): 

     

  
 
    
TEAM
    
 
      
PAYROLL
    
    

    
 
      
TEAM
    
    
 
      
PAYROLL
    
  
  
 
    
ORIOLES
    
 
      
$70,408,134 
        
    
    
GIANTS
    
 
      
$40,320,833 
        
    
  
  
 
    
YANKEES
    
 
      
$63,159,901 
        
    
    
ANGELS
    
 
      
$38,537,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
BRAVES
    
 
      
$59,536,000 
        
    
    
WHITE SOX
    
 
      
$36,840,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
INDIANS
    
 
      
$58,433,500 
        
    
    
PHILLIES
    
 
      
$34,370,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
RANGERS
    
 
      
$54,704,595 
        
    
    
MARLINS
    
 
      
$33,434,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
CARDINALS
    
 
      
$52,572,500 
        
    
    
ROYALS
    
 
      
$32,962,500 
        
    
  
  
 
    
MARINERS
    
 
      
$52,132,291 
        
    
    
BREWERS
    
 
      
$32,072,584 
        
    
  
  
 
    
RED 
      SOX
    
 
      
$51,647,000 
        
    
    
DIAMONDBACKS
    
 
      
$30,266,500 
        
    
  
  
 
    
METS
    
 
      
$49,859,667 
        
    
    
TWINS
    
 
      
$26,537,500 
        
    
  
  
 
    
CUBS
    
 
      
$49,383,000 
        
    
    
DEVIL RAYS
    
 
      
$25,112,500 
        
    
  
  
 
    
BLUE 
      JAYS
    
 
      
$48,416,000 
        
    
    
TIGERS
    
 
      
$22,725,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
DODGERS
    
 
      
$47,470,000 
        
    
    
REDS
    
 
      
$21,995,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
ROCKIES
    
 
      
$47,433,334 
        
    
    
ATHLETICS
    
 
      
$20,008,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
PADRES
    
 
      
$45,368,000 
        
    
    
PIRATES
    
 
      
$13,752,000 
        
    
  
  
 
    
ASTROS
    
 
      
$40,629,000 
        
    
    
EXPOS
    
 
      
$9,202,000 
        
    
  

        
        Print | Tags: Anaheim Angels, Anaheim Sports, Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Leagues and Governing Bodies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, News Corp./Fox, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Time Warner, Toronto Blue Jays, Walt Disney, YankeeNets
    

          NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter is profiled by USA TODAY's
     Roscoe Nance as part of the "In Focus" section on the NBA's
     labor negotiations.  Hunter: "I know how to brawl.  I don't
     relish a fight.  I don't want to fight if I don't have to. 
     If we can reach some agreement that we think is fair and we
     don't have to take a step back on, a fight can be avoided. 
     But we're prepared to fight" (USA TODAY, 4/2).  Nance also
     details the looming issues in the labor talks and calls the
     Larry Bird exception (where teams can re-sign their own
     players by going over the salary cap) the "key issue." 
     Altering the Bird exception is the "most likely method for
     owners to gain the fiscal relief they're seeking (USA TODAY,
     4/2).  Bird said the exception has "sort of ruined the
     league, hasn't it?"  But he adds, "That's one thing that if
     I was a player, I wouldn't give up" (USA TODAY, 4/2).