SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. B01

LENGTH: 725 words

HEADLINE: Clock ticking on labour talks

BYLINE: Geoff Baker, Toronto Star

HIGHLIGHT:
'Sense of urgency' prevails as baseball works to avert strike

BODY:
Darkness slowly engulfed the skies above an open-air SkyDome last night as baseball fans, players and owners anxiously wondered what morning would bring.

Uncertainty lingered into the late hours over whether negotiations in New York City would produce a settlement in time to head off a major league players strike set to begin this afternoon. Representatives of players and owners met four times yesterday and had scheduled an 11 p.m. conference call to say whether they were any closer to avoiding the sport's ninth work stoppage since 1972.

But optimism was fading that a deal on the key issues of revenue sharing and a luxury tax could be reached quickly enough to avoid calling off games scheduled for today. "Everywhere you look, people are talking about it," Blue Jays first baseman Carlos Delgado said before last night's game with the New York Yankees. "My friends call me and ask, 'Are you going out on strike?' People on the street ask me if we're going out."

And they were asking it again as the Jays sat in their clubhouse, or stretched on the infield. Notepads, microphones and television cameras were directed at the Jays by a swarm of media members recording what doomsayers predict could be the sport's final hour.

Negotiators worked feverishly to resolve the stalemate as players, teams and fans prepared for life after last night's final pitch.

"We're just going to keep working," said Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, as he hurried to a 6: 30 p.m. bargaining session. "I've been prepared to work all night, all week.

"Of course there is a sense of urgency. No one wants to lose a single game or a single day of games."

A growing tide of fan disgust, evident all week in polls, interviews and dropping attendance, has added to that sense of urgency. There are fears the game would not recover in many markets, Toronto being one of them, if a strike cancels the season and World Series as it did in 1994.

"It's ridiculous, they've really got to get realistic," said Toronto resident Bill Tsourounis, waiting in a SkyDome food line with his 5-year-old son Dimitri. "It's millionaires against millionaires and it's the fans who suffer. We came tonight because we think they're going to go on strike and it'll be the last game."

Pointing to his son, he added: "I wanted him to come because he's never been to a game and I wanted him to see at least one."

A larger-than-usual SkyDome crowd of 32,679 was bolstered by thousands of Yankees fans who travelled up from New York. Former Jays outfielder Raul Mondesi received the only noticeable boos, but fans did hold up banners and signs directed at players and owners.

"Go on Strike MLB, NFL Starts Sept. 5" read one banner in the upper deck. A smaller sign held up by a fan stated: "The Puck Drops Oct. 9."

Harlem resident Donald Simpson, 42, one of the Bleacher Creature fans from Yankee Stadium, made the trip with about 20 other people. They bought tickets for the entire weekend series before players set the Aug. 30 strike date.

"There was supposed to be about 60 of us but a lot of our fellow Creatures dropped out after the date was set," Simpson said. "We're hoping that we're here all weekend. We love our Yankees and we want to see the season played out. We don't think either side is more to blame than the other. We think they're equally bad."

There is no time set for the strike to begin. Today's first game starts at 3: 20 EDT when St. Louis visits Chicago.

"We're not going to send players to the stadium to take batting practice and open up the gates and all that stuff when, if a deal doesn't get worked out, they would have to leave," Tampa Bay player representative John Flaherty said. "We don't want to put anybody in that situation."

Jays manager Carlos Tosca said he hadn't received instructions from management about protocol for the next 24 hours.

A total of 438 games are at risk over the next 31 days if no settlement is reached.

The Jays announced that fans who purchased tickets for games cancelled by a strike can get cash refunds or tickets to another game. Those who opt for tickets in lieu of cash will receive a bonus ticket to a second game.

Fans can request either option by mailing their tickets to the Jays with a return address, or they can visit the Gate 9 box office at the SkyDome.



GRAPHIC: VINCE TALOTTA/Toronto Star THE FANS SPEAK: Young Blue Jays followers make their feelings known during last night's game against the Yankees at the SkyDome. Players and owners worked feverishly into the night to head off baseball's ninth work stoppage since 1972. REUTER PHOTO BACK SASS: Disgruntled baseball fan Zonk Lanzillo awaits the start of yesterday's Rangers-Orioles game at The Ballpark in Arlington.

LOAD-DATE: August 30, 2002