Lots Of Little Stuff Here …

Since this idea crossed my mind, I assume it also impacted others; might Brandon Sorsby spend the 2026 football season in the CFL as he prepares for draft eligibility in April 2027?  Well, the answer is a resounding “NO!” from the folks in charge of the CFL.  In a statement by the league, they did not leave a whole lot of wiggle room:

“Upholding the integrity of the league and ensuring fair competition are paramount to the CFL.  The allegations involving Brendan Sorsby are serious and concerning. At this time, the CFL will not register a contract for him, and no team will be permitted to add him to its negotiation list.”

The CFL season is about month old now and as of this morning there are two winless teams in the standings – – the Lions and the Redblacks.  Even if either team were tempted to make a run at Brendon Sorsby, that avenue has been cut off.

Moving on …   This item has been hanging around on my clipboard for several weeks now.  Back in April, the folks at Churchill Downs announced that they were going to buy the branding rights for the Preakness Stakes and for the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, the sister race that happens on the day before the Preakness.  Evidently, the idea was that Churchill Downs would lease back the rights to the Maryland horse racing officials to stage the two races each year.  Before you ask, I don’t understand the subtleties of that transaction but that is what has been widely reported.

Well, the State of Maryland must understand something in that proposition that it does not like because Maryland governor, Wes Moore, announced that the State of Maryland would “exercise its right of first refusal to match the Churchill Downs offer of $85M” for those branding rights.  Don’t ask me to explain the nuances here but the Governor’s remarks make it clear that something important was contained in the original offer by Churchill Downs:

“The Preakness Stakes is more than just a race.  It is a cornerstone of Maryland’s history, culture and economy.  This decision (to match the Churchill Downs bid) secures a vital asset for our state allowing Maryland to shape its horse racing destiny and by leveraging the Preakness’s iconic status and partnering with industry experts to enhance the fan experience  and preserve Maryland’s position as a key power player in the Triple Crown for generations to come.”

Who knew?  Certainly not I …

Switching gears …  The MLBPA presented some of its ideas to the baseball owners as the early stages of negotiations for a new CBA chug along.  The union suggested that the trade deadline to be moved to a window between July 21-27. Currently, the Commissioner’s office chooses a date annually between July 28 and Aug. 3. This year’s trade deadline is Aug. 3.

The players are onto something here; the trade deadline was in mid-June once upon a time and rosters after that time were more firmly set than is the case today.  I like the idea of an earlier trade deadline, and I would like to see it moved a lot more than a week or so; make the trade deadline July 1 every season and deal with it.

The union went off the reservation with the addendum to that original proposal.  They want to make some trades available after the trade deadline.  That sort of negates the idea of a “deadline” but that seems not have bothered the authors here.

The union wants to expand major league rosters from 26 players to 28 players for the first two weeks of the regular season.  Owners will reflexively oppose that idea since that adds two more “major league level salaries” to their books even for only a couple of weeks.  My sense is that the union put this on the table as a bargaining chip somewhere down the line.

The union also set forth a slew of proposals to regulate – – and presumably to reduce – – the back and forth for players with the parent club and the minor leagues.  As with the roster expansion idea noted above, this is a mere ripple in the negotiations where a salary cap and salary floor are out there for discussion.  All these ideas being floated now are ancillary to the big-ticket issue in reaching a new CBA.  There are still more than four months to go before the current CBA expires so there is no real urgency to get moving on any “big stuff” so this is the phase where each side will offer up “wish list items”.

Significant action in situations like this demand urgency and urgency is related to deadlines.  The big deadline here is December 1, 2026; that is when the current CBA expires; it will probably be until the month of November before serious give-and-take talks take place.  Nothing will happen now because the next scheduled meeting of the negotiators is not until the All-Star break in mid-July.

Finally, keep this sports-themed thought with you over the Holiday weekend:

“The British blew a 13-colony lead …”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………