USA TODAY's Seth Livingstone in a front-page cover story reports MLB and Commissioner Bud Selig are "weighing whether to strike down one of baseball's grittiest traditions and prohibit tobacco use in the majors." It is "clear that many players -- whose union would have to agree to such a change -- will resist" a league-wide ban. Various estimates "suggest roughly one-third of major leaguers use some form of tobacco," but Selig has made "eradicating smokeless tobacco from major league clubhouses a pet project." MLB several years ago "asked personnel to avoid smoking in public view," and also asked producers of "Moneyball" to "remove scenes depicting tobacco use; the scenes were not deleted." The NCAA has "banned chewing tobacco since 1994" (USA TODAY, 9/27).
WORLD RETURN? In Ottawa, Mark Sutcliffe reported with NHL "participation in the next Winter Games in doubt, the league is quietly looking at bringing back the World Cup in 2015 or 2016." Senators President Cyril Leeder said that the NHL's "interest in reviving the tournament is to broaden its fan base by expanding its marquee events." Sutcliffe noted the "most reasonable outcome would be to hold the World Cup every four years, in between Winter Olympic tournaments, so hockey fans would have a high-level international tournament every second year." But scheduling "may not be that simple," and it would "potentially put the tournament in conflict with the Summer Olympics" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 9/25).
CALCULATED VICTORY: In N.Y., Karen Crouse notes Bill Haas and Jim Furyk, in expressing "surprise at winning both" the FedExCup and Tour Chamionship the last two years, "aren't ignorant, just lacking the math degree it takes to keep the cumulative points system straight." It is "not ideal to have a golfer unaware of what exactly is riding on the 4-footer he's standing over for par." The FedExCup is "in trouble when it can't raise the pulses of its participants." Crouse: "The system needs tweaking even if the players won't come right out and say it" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/27).
