In L.A., Kevin Baxter cited a source as saying that a "league-wide ban on alcohol" in the locker rooms of MLB teams is "still under discussion" by officials in MLB Commissioner Bud Selig's office. The NFL has a long-standing league policy that "bans alcohol in the locker room," while the NBA and NHL "allow individual teams to set their own rules." Some MLB officials believe that aside from protecting players, the "zero-tolerance policies are also sending a positive and socially responsible message." The Dodgers are one of 19 MLB teams that have banned alcohol in the clubhouse, and manager Don Mattingly said that public perception "has played a big role in forcing teams to act" (L.A. TIMES, 3/20).
VACANT SEAT: The AP's Graham Dunbar noted CONMEBOL, the South American soccer confederation, is "being told it must act 'immediately' to find a replacement for Ricardo Teixeira on FIFA's executive committee." Teixeira resigned his seat Monday for "personal reasons." FIFA's 24-member ruling panel, "chaired by president Sepp Blatter, meets next week in Zurich." CONMEBOL has three FIFA seats and "traditionally elects one member from each of Brazil and Argentina" (AP, 3/20).
ATLANTIC RETURN: In Atlantic City, David Weinberg noted the UFC will be "ending its seven-year hiatus from Atlantic City" on Friday, June 22 when it stages a card at Revel's 5,500-seat entertainment arena. The event will be televised on FX as part of the UFC's Fuel TV series. The show, headlined by Gray Maynard-Clay Guida, will be the seventh UFC event in Atlantic City in a 12-year span, but the outfit has "not staged a card on the boardwalk since UFC 53 was held at Boardwalk Hall" on June 4, 2005 (PRESS OF ATLANTIC CITY, 3/19).
