The NCAA's Exec Committee voted yesterday to "delay
implementation of its new aluminum bat specifications, a
move that probably will reduce the amount of damages sought
by bat maker Easton Sports," according to Steve Rock of the
K.C. STAR. NCAA officials said Easton's $267M lawsuit
claiming the bat alteration is an illegal restraint of
trade, "was not a major deciding factor" in the decision to
delay specifications "for one baseball season." Rock writes
that "one result, though, may be that Easton lops a healthy
chunk of change off of its lawsuit." David Ettinger, one of
Easton's attorneys, said, "Certainly, it's good news to a
degree for Easton. ... But I think the bulk of our damages
are still going to be there" (K.C. STAR, 8/13). Easton
Chair Jim Easton said he was "encouraged" by the decision to
delay the enforcement of the new bat performance standard
from January 1, 1999 to August 1, 1999. But he added,
"Until the NCAA provides us with the specific details and a
timeline on how they intend to test bat performance, we are
not prepared to discuss the status of our lawsuit" (Easton).
