League Notes

In L.A., Billy Witz reports NFL owners “have begun to consider the possibility of a lockout.” Among the options discussed at the league’s owners meetings this week were a lockout in ‘08, implementing a new economic system in ‘09, and starting a “‘contingency fund’ war chest that teams could begin contributing to next year.” NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said the league and NFLPA are “very far apart.” NFL Exec VP/Labor Relations Harold Henderson said, “We still expect to get an agreement (in March). But there’s no telling. I told everybody a year ago that I thought we’d have a deal by now” (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 11/17). NFLPA Exec Dir Gene Upshaw said, "I think both sides better get prepared where there is no deal. I told our staff Monday that's what we have to communicate to the players — what direction we're going — and right now it looks like an uncapped year [in ‘07]. We can’t accept what they have on the table" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/17).

NOT PICTURE PERFECT: BLOODHORSE’s Tom Precious reported the state of New York is “threatening legal action against” NYRA and Sotheby’s auction house because it “hasn’t signed off on the sale of [NYRA’s] equine art collection.” The auction scheduled for December 2 is expected to raise $2M for NYRA. The organization is supposed to report all monetary decisions to an oversight board “created this year to monitor NYRA finances” (BLOODHORSE.com, 11/16).

World Cup Ticket Sales Under Fire Again

TICKET MASTERS: European Parliament members Alexander Lambsdorff (Germany) and Toine Manders (The Netherlands) have accused FIFA of “illegally abusing its control over the sale of tickets” to the ’06 FIFA World Cup. Lambsdorff and Manders, members of the parliament’s Liberals group, said that FIFA “is charging fans a [US$5.85] non-refundable fee without any guarantee they would receive tickets.” They added that fans “are also required to pay in advance without knowing if they’ll receive tickets.” This is the second complaint filed this year against FIFA’s ticket-selling system. British fans in March said that FIFA “discriminated against people outside of Germany” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/16).