On collusion Part IV; NASCAR contract close for Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick is close to signing a 2 year contract with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports, his NASCAR Nationwide Series business:
http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/unrestricted/entry/view/417
30/danica_patric
The Conclusion of Collusion (aka Part IV)
After all the damages noted in Collusion I, II, and III, the distrust between the players and the owners grew even greater.
As Fay Vincent told the owners shortly after taking over as Commissioner in 1990, "The single biggest reality you guys have to face up to is collusion. You stole $280 million from the players, and the players are unified to a man around that issue, because you got caught and many of you are still involved." Certainly, every labor negotiation since has been freighted with memories of what the owners did (particularly considering that Bud Selig and Jerry Reinsdorf—two of collusion’s most enthusiastic ringleaders—have remained in positions of power over the last two decades).*
Baseball’s expansion in the 1990’s can be partially attributed to the fact that the owners needed the money to pay the players because of their collusion. So, while collusion can never be considered a proud time for baseball, without it there may never have been the epic World Series homer by Kirk Gibson; and the Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, and Arizona Diamondbacks may never have existed.
Although the players union has raised the collusion issue again, the situation has been nothing like the 1980's when Peter Ueberroth was leading the way for the owners.
In the present decade, the union alleged that collusion occurred during both the 2002 and 2003 off seasons. The issue was settled in the 2006 CBA with owners paying the players $12 million dollars, although there was never an admission of guilt by the owners.
The MLBPA raised the collusion issue after the 2007 season, and again after the 2008 season. The latest suspicion of the union was related to Barry Bonds, but perhaps this could be viewed as an instance of common sense on the part of the owners, who preferred to not have the negative media attention and side show atmosphere that Bonds could have brought.
This brings us up to the present, when we have another effort by the union to look into owner collusion. See link:
_owners_push_back_collusion_deadline/
* 1985-1988: Collusions I, II...and III (A Hard Lesson Learned) by Maury Brown
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