League Notes

In N.Y., Larry Brooks noted if the NHLPA "does not have an executive director in place by late June, the players will be left pretty much on their own in making the decision whether to exercise the five-percent bump" in next year's salary cap. If the "escrow hawks within the union have their way -- only those players eligible for free agency would benefit directly from the escalator, while those under contract would stand to lose more through the tariff -- the cap will go down next season." If the NHLPA "had not triggered the escalator last June after an extremely close vote, this year's cap would have come in at" $53.96M rather than $56.8M (N.Y. POST, 1/31).

SLOT POSITION: In Boston, Nick Cafardo noted MLB player agent Scott Boras "feels that if slotting comes into place, baseball will suffer even more in acquiring top talent." Boras "will have a tough sell with MLB, which is moving closer to strict slotting and an international draft that would eliminate some of the shady deals by the buscones, the quasi-agents representing young Dominican players." There have been "abuses of the current system," but Boras "believes there should always be an elite designation of top international talent, with teams bidding for these players ... as they do for free agents" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/31).

DIRECT KICK: YAHOO SPORTS' Martin Rogers wrote the collapse of the L.A. Sol, the "most recognizable and best-supported team in the fledgling Women's Professional Soccer, cannot possibly be spun as anything other than a bitter blow to women's soccer." The Sol's "sudden demise is most certainly a blow to a league that has suffered from untimely economic woes and limited sponsorship interest and enters its second season battling to establish any kind of foothold in a crowded sports marketplace." Rumors "started to surface" last week that Sol F Marta might "seek an out from her American contract." Her absence "would mean the loss of the most valuable draw in women's soccer" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/29).