Bills S and player rep George Wilson indicated that conference calls held late last week marked the "first time in a while players have been briefed on a lockout that is in its fourth month." Wilson: "We're definitely optimistic we're moving in the right direction." The AP's Barry Wilner noted players were "told more updates will come" this week, when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith and "several owners and players are to meet again at an undisclosed location." A source said "not much progress" was made during last week's meetings in Massachusetts (AP, 6/25). Do you have a question about the status of the NFL’s labor talks? E-mail us your questions and we will have SportsBusiness Journal NFL writer Daniel Kaplan answer them in our NFL CBA mailbag.
TSENG A HAPPY SONG: Yani Tseng yesterday won the Wegmans LPGA Championship by 10 strokes for her fourth major title, and in Buffalo, Bob DiCesare writes the LPGA "has to figure out how it's going to market Tseng." Women's golf "has been fighting this battle forever, struggling for relevance in a sporting world where spectator options abound." But Tseng "provides another opportunity for the tour to score in the public relations department, to make inroads into the sports mainstream, because no golfer, male or female, has accomplished what she's accomplished at such an early age." DiCesare adds, "She's affable. She's witty. She's going to win a ton more." LPGA golfer Candie Kung: "We definitely need to get her on the monitor a little more, let her talk about golf more, have more chance that people know about her" (BUFFALO NEWS, 6/27).
ATTRACTING A WIDE BASE: WNBA President Laurel Richie said in attending games she has seen the "broad appeal" of the league. Richie: "Families, older people of my generation and my dad’s generation who are attending games, and young kids -- the appeal of the game is there. This is a really loyal, engaged fan base that really supports the teams and supports the players." She added, "Once you come to a game and you see the level of play, and you have the fun that you have being in the arena when it’s live, and the energy, and perhaps getting to meet a player afterward and get an autograph, I think the job is just get them there, and you know that they will come back" (AJC.com, 6/25).
