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CNN Live At Daybreak

Bottom of the 9th

Aired August 29, 2002 - 06:07   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is the bottom of the 9th, and there are no signs, at least for now, of extra innings. I'm talking about tomorrow's baseball strike deadline, which players say is a firm date. Talks do resume today, though.
Commissioner Bud Selig stopped in to see negotiations before last night's session, but he did not take part in the talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are there particular sticking points...

BUD SELIG, MLB COMMISSIONER: Well...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... within the two revenue-sharing and the taxes...

SELIG: No, I'm going to let the negotiators do all of that. It's a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to say we have the same -- the same issues are unresolved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they closer? Do you see some movement that you're getting any closer?

SELIG: Well, I mean, look, there has been a lot of -- it's been very constructive and both sides are reaching out, but I can't tell you that we're any closer. I think only time will tell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It doesn't sound very promising, does it?

For more on the pending baseball strike, we want to go to CNN's Sean Callebs, who joins us from Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.

Sean -- bring us up to date.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we are here, because this is where the last scheduled day game before the strike deadline is supposed to take place.

And really, the stadium behind me is the cornerstone of the economic revival of Denver's lower downtown area, but business leaders here say they will take a big hit if the players vote to walk. And many fans we have spoken with say they are reluctant to toss their support to baseball if this sport votes for its 9th work stoppage since 1972. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS (voice-over): The pop of the Met, peddling peanuts, and fans knocking back a beverage in the shadow of the park, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) that could all come to an end in a matter of hours.

Many fans who only slowly came back after the '94 work stoppage are steamed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would probably be skeptical about going back for quite a while. I'm just fed up with this. I mean, they did it in '94. They ruined a great season. Why do it again?

CALLEBS: Eighty-one times a year, tens of thousands parade through the lodol (ph) area, or lower downtown, on the way to a Coors Field home game.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This whole neighborhood would dry up if there is no baseball next year. I mean, and I don't know that baseball can withstand, you know, this type of situation, and I think the fans don't care whose fault it is. It's just we're tired of it.

CALLEBS: Using the past as a yardstick, business and baseball have a reason to fear the economic fallout from a work stoppage. According to "Team Marketing Report," a sports marketing publication, in 1993, the last full year before the strike, Major League Baseball drew more than 70 million fans. But in 1995, attendance plunged by more than 28 percent to 50 million.

Many fans label owners out of touch, and players just plain greedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're all mercenaries now, you know. They're just -- they're being hired by the highest bidder. It's not about the team or any type of the hometown. I mean, they've got player movement and all that. There's no, like, hometown feel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: Now, if labor and management can't come to an agreement, it's the fans turn to offer their pitch. And with little public sympathy for either the players or the owners, expect a brush (ph) back.

Live in Denver, I'm Sean Callebs.

Carol -- back to you.

COSTELLO: Fun to use these baseball puns, isn't it? I have a question for you, though. The strike deadline is midnight tonight, but can they negotiate past that time a little bit?

CALLEBS: They can talk as much as they want past that time. The first scheduled game would be a day game between the Cubs and the Cardinals on Friday. At that point, that is when we would all feel the impact. And also, it's important to point out that a couple of Major League teams have already postponed their travel arrangement. So some teams are concerned about it.

COSTELLO: They're afraid those players will get stuck, and they won't be able to find their way home.

CALLEBS: I suspect they'll be OK.

COSTELLO: Yes, I think so. Thank you, Sean Callebs. We appreciate it.

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