Weekend Hot Reads....

The N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Bill Madden scores a sit-down chat with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who gave the wide-ranging interview last month "as he prepares to leave office in January, after what many consider to be the most impactful commissionership in the history of the game."
 
The N.Y. TIMES' Victor Mather wrote if NBA teams, like soccer teams around the world, were "relegated to a lower league" following poor seasons, the benefits "would be tangible, and immediate." The specter of tanking "would cease to haunt the NBA," as teams "would have to fight tooth and nail to stay where they were, instead of finding themselves, heaven forbid, in the D League the next season."

Elsewhere:

• Book examines why many NFLers "wind up in dire straits after their time on the field."
• After more than a decade of trying, DC United finally on cusp of securing new stadium.
• Taking stock of the lessons learned at last week's frenzied MLB Winter Meetings.
• Tennis players are increasingly enlisting former champions to be their coaches.
• George Halas "was his own press agent" when the NFL "begged for media attention."
• The Sounders provide a model that the fledgling LAFC "is trying to follow."
• USSA CEO Tiger Shaw "has concerns about the future" of skiing, snowboarding.
• Bill Simmons: Redskins fans should boycott if they want to "dump" Dan Snyder.