NFL OWNERS MEETING: NFL owners will hold their annual
March meeting beginning Monday in Palm Beach, FL, and in DC,
Leonard Shapiro writes that instant replay will be on the
agenda. NFL stats show that play was "stopped" for reviews
195 times last season, which resulted in 57 reversals. The
reviews averaged 55 seconds, and game stoppages averaged
2:54 "from the time the referee stopped play until the ball
was next snapped." Owners will also discuss realignment,
and hold a session on the league's "anti-violence policies."
Shapiro reports that owners "will not vote to provide
flexible December scheduling for 'Monday Night Football.'"
NFL Senior VP/Communications Joe Browne said that owners
will discuss the matter, which could be implemented in 2001,
but he added that "too many teams," as well as Fox and CBS,
"had concerns that made it impossible" to implement in 2000.
Owners are also expected to approve Steven Bisciotti's
purchase of 49% of the Ravens from Art Modell (WASHINGTON
POST, 3/23). In Baltimore, Vito Stellino puts Bisciotti's
expected investment at $275M (SUN, 3/23). Browne added that
the league's Super Bowl Advisory Committee "will hear
pitches" from Detroit and Houston (DETROIT NEWS, 3/23).
MLB: In N.Y., author Nicholas Dawidoff writes an Op-Ed
supporting Cardinals 1B Mark McGwire's criticism of MLB for
scheduling the upcoming Cubs-Mets season opening series in
Japan. Dawidoff: "Truculent though McGwire sounded, he's
right. There is something shameless in the desire to zip
athletes halfway around the world to play a couple of games.
... There is something deeply gratifying about cultural
distinctiveness and something inherently oppressive about
cultural homogenization" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/23). In Grand
Rapids, MI, Bob Becker wrote that regular-season games
should not be played internationally: "How does going to
Japan benefit anybody other than the owners? It puts a
burden on the players, and the fans are left out of the
equation altogether" (GRAND RAPIDS PRESS, 3/22).
