In L.A., Bill Shaikin reports Angels Owner Arte Moreno, MLB Exec VP/Labor Relations & HR Rob Manfred, MLBPA Exec Dir Michael Weiner and others met "in a collective bargaining session" yesterday. Moreno also "attended the Angels' game at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night" (L.A. TIMES, 8/11).
DELAY OF GAME: GOLFWEEK's Beth Ann Baldry notes the Imperial Springs LPGA event in China, which was "postponed indefinitely this year after a government crackdown on golf-course permits forced the LPGA's hand, will be played" Sept. 29-Oct. 2. However, "most of the American stars won't be there." The tourney is set for the week after the Solheim Cup, and players indicated that with the new schedule, "there's not enough time to launch what will now be a four-week Asian swing ... immediately after the Sept. 23-25 matches in Ireland." At least "seven of the top 10 players on the U.S. Solheim points list say they likely will skip the China event" (GOLFWEEK, 8/12 issue)
SHORTCUT: Pocono Raceway officials yesterday announced that the "distance for next year's two Sprint Cup events will be shortened from 500 to 400 miles." The 2.5 mile track "hosted one 500-mile Cup event annually beginning in 1974." The change comes "five days after Pocono Raceway founder and owner Joseph Mattioli announced his retirement, turning the track over to his grandson," Pocono Raceway President & CEO Brandon Igdalsky (SCENEDAILY.com, 8/10). YAHOO SPORTS' Jay Hart wrote Igdalsky's "first order of business -- doing what his grandfather said would never be done -- is a bold one" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/10).
BEAT THE HEAT: F1 Management Chair Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed the inaugural F1 event in Austin next year has been moved from June to November. Speaking to Italian-language newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, he noted that the race was moved "because it's 40 degrees in the summer (there)." Ecclestone: "We don't want to have the experience of Dallas again." He was referring to an event in '84 "when drivers tackled searing heat and a crumbling track surface." Cynics have "also suggested it will give race organizers more time to build the bespoke circuit in Austin" (SPEED.com, 8/10).
