MLB Exec VP/Baseball Operations Joe Torre yesterday said that expanded instant replay "remains on track to be implemented in time for the 2014 season even though several details remain to be ironed out." MLB.com's Paul Hagen reported the MLB Rules Committee "will have informal discussions" today on the matter before "meeting again at the Winter Meetings next month." Torre said that he "didn't know whether there will be a vote on instant replay during the Owners Meetings" this week in Orlando (MLB.com, 11/12).
DEAL BREAKER: ESPN.com's Chris Broussard cited sources as saying that the NBA is "engaged in settlement talks with Ozzie and Daniel Silna to end a contract that has long been described as 'the greatest sports business deal of all time.'" The Silna brothers are the former owners the ABA Spirits of St. Louis, and when the ABA merged with the NBA in '76, the Silnas "agreed to dissolve their team in exchange for a small percentage of the NBA's future broadcast revenue." It is becoming a "financial windfall for the Silnas," as they "receive 1/7 of the television revenues of the four ABA teams that were absorbed: the Spurs, Nuggets, Nets and Pacers" (ESPN.com, 11/11).
SQUEEZE PLAY: In Newark, Frank Giase wrote MLS "made the right call this season in taking a break for international games," but fans have to wonder if an "exception for the playoffs would have been the right thing to do." The break "stretched out the season, and yes, MLS Cup final will be played Dec. 7 ... but the offseason had been too long anyway, and there were complaints about that as well." So it "all seemed like a good idea." But good ideas "can also be tweaked, and MLS failed to adjust the playoff schedule when the United States cruised through CONCACAF World Cup qualifying play after losing its opening game" (NJ.com, 11/12).
