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CNN Live At Daybreak
Interview with Chris Cotter
Aired August 16, 2002 - 06:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Going to turn now our attention to sports. Joining us to talk about baseball and possible baseball strikes and some other news is Chris Cotter of 790 The Zone here in Atlanta.
Chris, good morning.
CHRIS COTTER, 790 THE ZONE: Well it's always a pleasure to be here -- Anderson.
COOPER: Yes, so what is there going to be a baseball strike or?
COTTER: Well, early on in the week I would have told you no because you know Monday came and went, the players decided not to set a specific strike date. So that was sort of a show of good faith toward the owners. But as of yesterday, you know Rob Manfred, who is the top labor negotiator for the owners, came out and shook his head and said it was a speed bump. And a lot of people kind of taking a look at it saying might be a little bit more than just a speed bump, this might be a serious roadblock. Today they'll meet and decide whether they're actually going to set a strike date. It might be August 30. And if they set one, then it might change the tone of the conversation.
COOPER: Is it all just -- I mean it's -- obviously it's all just about money.
COTTER: Well it's a huge amount of money. I mean there's a luxury tax that they're negotiating over right now. That's the biggest sticking point. And the owners want any salary structure for any specific team over $100 million, the owners want to put a luxury tax over that. Well the players want it to be $140 million. So you can see that this $40 million...
COOPER: Right.
COTTER: ... per team issue is going to be a rather, rather big one. And somewhere in between they've got to meet soon. And I mean really soon, otherwise August 30 is going to be -- it's going to come up and they're going to strike.
COOPER: Now I don't really follow baseball very closely, but I mean if they do go on strike are people just going to be outraged at the players or at the owners? I mean does anyone win in this?
COTTER: Well they're trying -- right -- they've been in the court of public opinion, both of these sides, really, over the last year; and I think that neither side is going to win. I think they're both losing. Nobody cares about whether it's the owners' fault, the players' fault, fans want to see baseball. And right now both sides are losing. If they go on strike, I think it's going to be really, really detrimental. I think it's going to take a long time for people to come back.
COOPER: Now you know Little League Baseball is something that everyone's always sort of loved and...
COTTER: It's innocent. You think it's innocent, right,...
COOPER: Right. Right. You think it's innocent, but...
COTTER: ... compared to all the money grubbing professionals.
COOPER: ... in the news now this morning talk of problems with this Harlem team that made it to a Little League...
COTTER: All stemming from last year, of course, if you remember the age problem...
COOPER: Right.
COTTER: ... where you had 14 year olds or 12 year olds playing with 11 year olds...
COOPER: Right.
COTTER: ... and, you know, the need to win...
COOPER: Yes, you had like guys with beards smoking cigars like batting, you know, and I'm 14.
COTTER: Right. Right. The need to win even at Little League is there, and it's really (UNINTELLIGIBLE) again. Now in Harlem you know age problems and also U.S. citizenship coming into play as well, but I think the situation there is they're resolving that situation. But it just goes to show you that after last year now all these teams are going to be scrutinized, even Little League teams are going to be scrutinized. It's unfortunate, because you remember when we played Little League,...
COOPER: Right.
COTTER: ... it was just all about playing.
COOPER: Right.
COTTER: It had -- it had nothing to do with winning.
COOPER: It was -- it was some residency problems of how long the people actually had lived in Harlem, whether they lived in the Bronx. "New York Times" reporting this morning, though, that it's been settled. So that's some...
COTTER: See I think that's a little bit too much to do about nothing,...
COOPER: Yes.
COTTER: ... in my personal opinion.
COOPER: Well according to "The Times," it says they can go ahead and play.
COTTER: Yes, and I think they should be. The age is a little bit -- is something that's more of a big problem when you think about a 12-year-old versus a 10-year-old or 14 versus 12, that's a big difference when kids are playing.
COOPER: Right. Only about 30 seconds left, golf, what's going on in golf?
COTTER: PGA Championship this weekend. Rain yesterday kind of pushed it off a little bit, but it should be an interesting tournament. Tiger Woods not eligible for the Grand Slam because he lost in the British Open; but still very, very compelling that he could win the PGA, his third PGA Championship.
The most interesting thing about the PGA is of the four majors in golf this is the one that usually produces a first-time major winner. I think 11 of the last 14 PGA champions have won their first major at that PGA Championship. So Phil Mickelson, this may be his tournament to break through. But Tiger Woods looked pretty good on day one, just kind of positioning himself, waiting for the weekend to really make his move, which is what he always does.
COOPER: All right, Chris Cotter, the 790 The Zone, thanks very -- do you dress this well in radio?
COTTER: No, not even close.
COOPER: All right.
COTTER: I don't even want to talk about how I dress on radio.
COOPER: All right, thanks for being in.
COTTER: You're welcome.
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