A few years ago representatives of the National Hockey League Players Association, known hereafter as the hockey union, approached Michael Weiner about becoming its executive director. Weiner at the time was general counsel of the Major League Baseball Players Association, known hereafter as the baseball union.

Weiner passed on the opportunity, preferring to stay with the baseball union. It was the intelligent decision because last December he became executive director of the best sports union in creation.

The hockey union, however, has not failed in its quest to get a general counsel from the baseball union. That was the position Donald Fehr held before he became executive director of the baseball union in 1983, and now Fehr is on the verge of becoming the hockey union’s executive director.

Fehr and the union’s executive board must still work out terms and conditions of a contract, and the union’s executive board has to approve him. But all of that is expected to happen in the next 10 days or so.

The union has been in such a state of discombobulation for years that the players are most likely prepared to give Fehr whatever he wants, including salary, to insure that he will take the job.

Upon his acceptance and approval, Fehr will instantly upgrade the credibility and stature of the union and put N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman on notice that he won’t have the union to kick around anymore.

Fehr, 62 years old, has decided to take the job despite what appears to be unanimous advice from friends and former associates to reject it and stay sane.

Keep reading...

In what now seems like ancient history, Major League Baseball clubs were always careful during labor negotiations with the players union to avoid claiming that they were losing money. Had they made that claim, under labor law they would have been required to open their books. Opening their books was the last thing clubs wanted to do.

Last week half a dozen clubs had their books opened for them.

In as remarkable and stunning an exclusive baseball story as I have seen, a Web site, deadspin.com, disclosed the financial reports of half a dozen teams – Marlins, Pirates, Rays, Mariners, Rangers, Angels. Anything financial you might want to know is in those reports, and Deadspin posted them for everyone to read and download.

Keep reading...

Will George Will be the next baseball commissioner? Will there even be a next baseball commissioner? Fay Vincent, whom Selig succeeded as commissioner, wrote a book that carries the title “The Last Commissioner.” But at the rate he is going, Selig may really be the last because he may not let anyone else have the job.

But let me get back to George Will because I didn’t throw his name up there just to have a name.

Will, a nationally known political columnist and seemingly permanent member of Selig’s special committees, was one of three names mentioned the other day by a person in Major League Baseball in connection with the commissioner’s job. The other names were Bob DuPuy and Selig.

Keep reading...