SO LONG, MONTREAL. HELLO, WASHINGTON?

摘要

After coaxing a labor agreement out of the tough-talking players union, what will Major League Baseball do for an encore? One impressive second act would be to solve the conundrum of the Montreal Expos. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig spent the past year plotting to eliminate the forlorn franchise. But the labor deal that players and owners struck on Aug. 30 bars MLB from euthanizing any teams until 2006. Yet leaving the Expos in Montreal much beyond next season doesn't seem like a tenable proposition. With paltry support from advertisers and no local TV deal, revenues have been barely a trickle. As a result, the 29 MLB owners, who are covering the Expos' operating losses, are on the hook for nearly $500.000 each.