ESPN's Robin Miller, on CART's 2001 schedule: "The guys
in Germany want to have the first race, [but] it's going to
be England instead. So, the contract's not signed yet, and I
know the German people are pretty unhappy about it, but I
think what they're going to have to look at is that they're
going to have to have a couple of events next year, and CART
certainly figures into it. They've built an oval, there's
not a whole lot of options they've got and I think CART
probably got them over a barrel" (ESPN2, 6/29).....In DC,
Rick Freeman writes that MLB yesterday "overturned" the
suspensions of 12 Dodgers players who were involved in an
"altercation" with Cubs fans May 16 at Wrigley Field.
Freeman adds that the move "is the second time" that a
penalty "handed out" by MLB VP/On-Field Operations Frank
Robinson "has been reduced or overturned." The first one
"involved" a fight between the White Sox and Tigers
(WASHINGTON POST, 6/30)....MLB umpires said that they "won't
grant" MLB an extension on a temporary labor agreement that
expires today, but they "won't strike unless negotiations
become contentious again" (BLOOMBERG, 6/29)....The NTRA,
Keeneland Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and
Breeders Association announced a program aimed at
identifying, recruiting and retaining new owners for
thoroughbred racing. Components of the program, to be called
TheGreatestGame.com, include consumer research, marketing,
advertising, TV and an interactive Web site (NTRA).