League Notes

USA TODAY's Beau Dure reports the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) has launched a weekly audio podcast "highlighting several crucial decisions that [MLS] referees got right ... or wrong." The podcast "will soon be video, as will a similar MLS podcast in development." The podcasts are a "training tool for the 140,000 referees in U.S. Soccer ranging from the pro ranks to the youth game, but they're also available for public dissection" (USA TODAY, 5/7).

The Players Offering PGA Tour-Record Purse Of $9.5M

IT PAYS TO WIN:  The purse for The Players Championship will be a PGA Tour-record $9.5M. The only larger worldwide prize in golf is the $10M European Tour event in Dubai (THE DAILY)....The GLOBE & MAIL's Tim Wharnsby reports even though individual NHL player salaries rose this season, an '05 agreement between the league and the players indicates that the $6.5M (all figures U.S.) playoff and Presidents' Trophy bonuses "won't rise or decline" in the current CBA. The Stanley Cup winning team will earn a collective $1.1875M payout, or $75,000 per player based on a 25-man roster (GLOBE & MAIL, 5/7).

COVERING UP? NEWSDAY's Karen Bailis wrote the WNBA at last weekend's rookie orientation told its players if "you want to get noticed, you gotta wear makeup." Bailis: "There's still a long way to go. ... Let's call the emphasis on players' appearance what it is: sexism and homophobia." The WNBA's "push for pretty is applying makeup -- concealer, if you will -- to gloss over the unsightly blemish of the perception of the league as a bunch of lesbians" (NEWSDAY.com, 5/6).