NFL owners offered revised proposals this morning to the NFLPA on core issues, and they were apparently enough to keep the two sides talking as the union’s deadline for decertifying approached. The union must decertify by 5:00pm ET in order to be able file an antitrust lawsuit against the league in the six months after the CBA expires. The longer-than-expected talks could be a sign that a third extension of the deadline  is coming, though at presstime that is uncertain (Daniel Kaplan, SportsBusiness Journal).

Multiple reports claim NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith Friday afternoon told players that the union is planning to decertify despite a late push by NFL owners. Smith held a conference call at 2:00pm to update players not partaking in mediation in DC, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Twitter reports, “We'll see if anything changes, it always could, but De Smith told players during his conference call the plan is to decertify.” The N.Y. Daily News’ Gary Myers added, “Latest hearing now is decertification is way union leaning, but not final.”

For continuing updates, see the SBJ/SBD NFL Labor Watch page.

MLB Rangers GM Jon Daniels Friday morning said that Chuck Greenberg’s resignation as Managing General Partner & CEO “will not have any impact on baseball operations.” Daniels cited the “very hectic offseason as perhaps a reason why” the Rangers’ ownership group has “never fully jelled” in the seven months since buying the club. He added, “Ownership changes are not unusual. In the big picture, this may look like just another in a series of changes the club has made. We look at it as the last in a series. Nothing changes as far as how we operate” (DALLASNEWS.com, 3/11).

The IOC Friday named USOC Chair Larry Probst and CEO Scott Blackmun to two of its 28 official commissions. Blackmun will serve on the IOC's Marketing Commission and Probst will serve on its Int'l Relations Commission. The USOC has not had either of its top two execs serve on an IOC commission in at least seven years. Former IOC member Bob Ctvrtlik, who was on the USOC board until '08, served on the IOC Reform Commission & Environmental Commission.

Blackmun said in a statement, "Larry and I are honored to join these very important commissions. We are grateful that the IOC has selected us to serve alongside so many important leaders of the Olympic Movement, and we look forward to working on behalf of the worldwide Olympic Movement."

Longtime NFL player agent Gary Wichard reportedly has passed away, according to multiple sources including a staffer of Pro Tect Management, which Wichard founded in '80. In December, the NFLPA suspended Wichard for nine months for his role in a scandal involving several Univ. of North Carolina football players (SPORTSAGENTBLOG.com, 3/11).

National Football Post’s Aaron Wilson reported on Twitter, “There had been unconfirmed rumors for a while that agent Gary Wichard was dealing with a serious illness. Unfortunately, they were true.” Panthers QB Jimmy Clausen, a Wichard client and friend, tweeted, “I am lost for words right now” (TWITTER.com, 3/11).

MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that this year the league will create an officiating command center inside its N.Y. digital offices, where a staff of 3-4 referees from U.S. Soccer will monitor all MLS games live. Garber said the group would be used to monitor the refereeing at each game, as well as the overall broadcast quality. “It will serve as a tool to provide a deeper analysis of our total game,” Garber said. “It’s a chance to evaluate and in many ways grade each of the games and try to ensure the quality improves.”

Meanwhile, Garber said the league still views the N.Y. Cosmos as well as a proposed MLS team owned by the Wilpon family as possible franchises for the league’s 20th teams. Garber said the Wilpons “would be great MLS owners, and they have a great site for a soccer stadium.” He said the league is very interested in the Cosmos group as well, but that it “needs to get further with them on what their ownership structure would look like, and how they would build a privately financed stadium in New York.”

NHL Exec VP/Marketing Brian Jennings and Exec VP/Content Charles Coplin will both participate in sports and music panel discussions at the South by Southwest festival in Austin that began Friday. Jennings will participate Sunday in a discussion panel called "Sports and Music: Perfect Harmony." Coplin next Thursday will speak at the “Sports As Entertainment And How Music Fits In” panel.

Jennings said, “We’ll be talking about how artists have used league platforms and events to launch a single or a performance. We’re always thinking of how we can create strategic music alliances for our events.” The NHL has previously worked with artists such as Nickelback, the Goo Goo Dolls and Snoop Dogg at league events. Jennings said he would also be looking to create partnerships with bands for future NHL performances.

Tryouts begin Sunday for "The People's Games," a competition between L.A. and N.Y. featuring "each city's best amateur athletes." The league was founded by former ABC golf producer Terry Jastrow and Armyan Bernstein, who envisions this as the "first stage in a 16-city league." Jastrow and Bernstein said that they have "turned down network and sponsorship offers until they get things figured out." The sole sport is basketball this year, but if the league lasts, it will "expand to include soccer and football" (L.A. TIMES, 3/10).