USA TODAY’s Gary Mihoces reports the CBA for NFL game officials "expires at the end of this month,” but it does not appear a lockout is a concern. NFL Referees Association Exec Dir Tim Millis said his organization is “not worried or concerned, but very much aware” of the date. Millis added that “matters such as travel per diem, how officials were graded and how playoff assignments were made, were all part of the talks," but that “those aren’t the big issues.” Millis: “The big items are pay, of course, and the second is pension.” Mihoces notes NFL officials are “paid per game, with increases based on years of service in the NFL” (USA TODAY, 5/9).
CLIP & SAVE: CSNBayArea.com's Ray Ratto said the NHL is “in huge danger of missing time" when their CBA expires in September, as the league and NHLPA "haven’t even sat down to negotiate” a new agreement. Ratto: “This is not going to be an easy one because it’s going to start with owner-on-owner arguments about how to lower the salary cap, how to make it more airtight, how to basically take away the advantages the teams have when they front load long contracts. That’s going to have to get settled before they get down to the hard business of dealing with (NHLPA Exec Dir) Don Fehr. I would expect that there will be games missed” (“Chronicle Live,” Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 5/7).
THE RACE IS ON: In Dallas, Gerry Fraley reported the possibility of a drivers’ boycott of the IndyCar Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on June 9 “is dying a quiet death.” Twelve drivers on Monday “gathered at TMS for a day-long testing of the new Dallara DW12 chassis, designed to increase driver safety.” It was the “largest gathering of drivers” at the high-banked oval since last November, when driver Dan Wheldon was killed at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The similarities between Las Vegas and TMS “triggered rumblings of a driver boycott,” but cooler heads “appeared to have prevailed.” IndyCar officials are “working with drivers to come up with specifications that answer the safety concerns” (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/8).
