With Bud Selig being elected permanent commissioner of
MLB last week, Bob Verdi of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE wrote that
Selig's "foremost task is to fix the relationship between
the industry and the consumers. The wounds are deep."
Verdi: "More than half of the players on Tuesday night's
All-Star rosters wore uniforms representing teams other than
those with which they entered the major leagues. Half of
the division races are over. And baseball's 'new look' is
supposed to cultivate new fan interest, new identity?"
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/12). On ESPN SportsZone, Bob Klapisch
said Selig "will have to evolve from a consensus-seeker to a
visionary, and he'll have to do better than merely working
his cell phone to ask other owners for their opinions and
support" (ESPN SportsZone, 7/12). In Cincinnati, Chris Haft
surveyed industry execs who offered their "tips" for Selig,
which included, "Sell Star Players Better" (ENQUIRER, 7/12).
Also in Cincinnati, Paul Daugherty called for more revenue
sharing and wrote that while MLB "is riding a Mark McGwire
high," it is "still a place of Have and Have Nots"
(ENQUIRER, 7/12). The FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM's T.R.
Sullivan and the L.A. DAILY NEWS' Matt McHale both called
continued labor peace Selig's greatest challenge (7/12).
IS MLB BACK, OR IS IT A MIRAGE? NEWSDAY's Shaun Powell
wrote MLB is "back in favor. ... The fan has finally
forgiven the game for the labor lunacy of the mid-1990s"
(NEWSDAY, 7/12). In Chicago, Rick Telander noted the
increased interest and asked, "Is there anyone who even
remembers 1994?" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/12). In AZ, Steve
Wilson wrote that MLB, "without so much greedy and boorish
behavior, is regaining its place as the national pastime"
(ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/12). On "The Sports Reporters," ESPN's
Mike Lupica called it the "best baseball season since these
guys tried to kill baseball in 1994." But ESPN's Mitch
Albom said, "To me, it depends on where you are. If you're
sitting in New York City right now, it's a huge story. If
you're sitting in Detroit, you're waiting for football
season to start. I don't think it's back across [the
board]" ("ESPN Magazine's The Sports Reporters," ESPN,
7/12). In Atlanta, Mark Bradley wrote that while MLB "is
banking on the Homer Chase to save it ... it wasn't the game
that failed; it was the people who run it. And guess what?
They're still in place" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 7/12).
