NBCSPORTS.com’s Mike Florio noted the NFLPA is “exploring a potentially seismic shift in the structure and duration of workouts that currently run from April into June.” The idea would be to “replace the current cluster of workouts with a pre-training camp series of sessions aimed at getting the players ready for the season.” The existing series of phases and OTAs and minicamps that are followed by six weeks of down time could be “swapped for four weeks before training camp.” That would give players a "lot more time off, and it would potentially make them just as ready for camp,” since they would “go straight from the pre-training camp workouts into camp.” It is “not something the union is planning to attempt to negotiate with the league in the short term" (NBCSPORTS.com, 2/25).
KEEP CONFIDENT: In Philadelphia, Jonathan Tannenwald wrote it is the “worst time for MLS to make decisions out of fear instead of confidence.” MLS has “many years of research that show its teams sell the most tickets when their kickoffs are at 7:30 p.m. local time.” But when a weekend kicks off at 7:30pm ET, it is the middle of the night across Europe and Africa, meaning some of the world’s "most important soccer nations can’t easily watch games live.” MLS could "schedule more games that they can watch live" by having "more afternoon kickoffs over here." MLS’s “disdain for the Open Cup" also has been "remarkably petty.” What is behind MLS’s Open Cup grievance is a “congested schedule for sure, but that is the league’s own fault" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/23).
TIGER AT THE TOP? In D.C., John Feinstein wrote the PGA Tour “needs a new commissioner," though Jay Monahan is “charming and smart and a great salesman.” Hiring another businessman, politician or corporate CEO “wouldn’t change much, if anything.” The Tour should hire someone who "really knows golf, who has been a successful businessman and who has the clout to look the Saudis in the eye across the negotiating table," and the "one person who fits that description" is Tiger Woods. If Woods is surrounded by people who "understand how to break down the financials, he will close the best deals possible" -- and he "won’t run for cover at the first sign of trouble" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/24).
