MLBPA Exec Dir Michael Weiner said that the second round of CBA talks between MLB and union officials "will occur sometime during the next few weeks in the Phoenix area," according to Barry Bloom of MLB.com. The two sides had an "amicable meeting in Florida on March 2," and Weiner said that he "hopes that regular sessions occur once the season begins on March 31." Negotiations for the last CBA in '06 were "conducted under the radar, ending without rancor and the signing of the current Basic Agreement" that expires in December. Both sides "want that atmosphere to continue," resulting in the "public non-specificity of a date for the next session" (MLB.com, 3/13). MLB Commissioner Bud Selig during a stop at the Brewers' Spring Training facility in Scottsdale Saturday "talked about the NFL's labor problems and baseball's peace." He said that there is "nothing he could offer" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Selig: "When you have substantial differences, this is what happens. It's a sign of the times in sports as it is in everything else." He added, "When I think about my earlier days in baseball and the public posturing that went on, it was a pretty accurate barometer of what happened. Owners ripping owners, owners ripping the union, commissioners in the middle getting ripped. I'm glad we stopped that. It's good to have a constructive atmosphere" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/13).
HISTORY LESSON: MLB has formed a Baseball Origins Committee, which will be led by league historian John Thorn. Selig will be part of the 10-member panel that will also include filmmaker Ken Burns, historian Doris Kearns Goodwin and syndicated columnist George Will. The panel will seek to determine the origins of baseball and will explore the sport's evolution (MLB).
