MLB negotiations stumble…NBA to unveil restart plan…MLS players OK package…Coach Majors dies

NEW YORK (AP) — The start of the major league season is in serious jeopardy after management rejected the players’ offer for a 114-game regular season in the pandemic-delayed season with no additional salary cuts. That’s according to a person familiar with the negotiations who also tells The Associated Press that MLB did not plan to make a counterproposal. MLB told the union it had no interest in extending the season into November, when it fears a second wave of the coronavirus could disrupt the postseason and jeopardize $787 million in broadcast revenue.

UNDATED (AP) — A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press the NBA has told the players association that it will present a 22-team plan for restarting the season to the league’s board of governors on Thursday. The plan would have 13 Western Conference teams and nine Eastern Conference clubs going to Florida, with the playoffs starting in August and likely ending in October. Teams would play eight games to determine playoff seeding starting around July 31 before the postseason begins.

UNDATED (AP) — Major League Soccer players have approved a new collective bargaining agreement that will allow for the league to return this summer with a tournament in Florida. The Major League Soccer Players Association announced the ratification of the CBA. Players approved economic concessions for this season. The league countered the proposal from the players and set a Wednesday deadline for ratification.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — College Football Hall of Famer Johnny Majors has died at his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, at age 85, according to his wife. Majors coached Pittsburgh’s 1976 national championship team and completed a 185-137-10 record in 29 seasons with the Panthers, Iowa State and Tennessee from 1968-92. That followed a standout playing career at Tennessee during which he finished second to Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung in the 1956 Heisman Trophy balloting.

UNDATED (AP) — A diversity report for racial and gender hiring across college sports found overall improvement yet still reported grades lagging behind the professional ranks. The report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida assigned an overall C-plus score, a B for racial hiring and a C-plus for gender hiring. Lead report author and institute director Richard Lapchick noted in the report that the grades trailed those of professional leagues reviewed in other TIDES studies such as the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and WNBA.