ports Page 16 Friday, May 29, 1981 The Michigan Daily 4 Extra inungs! NLRB petition delays NEW YORK (AP)-Both sides in the stalled baseball talks agreed yesterday to a delay in the impending strike that would have shut down the game. But the plan, which was not immediately detailed, requires a court order to go in- to effect. The strike had been set to begin prior to today's games, but after meeting for 7'!2 hours with Daniel Silverman, regional National Labor Relations Board director, representatives of the players and owners agreed not to op- pose a preliminary injunction which could delay a walkout. "WE WILL file a petition for a preliminary injunction and ask for a hearing date," Silverman said before escorting Marvin Miller, executive director of the Players Association, and Ray Grebey, chief negotiator for the owners to the court building across the street where the injunction was to be sought. (th wer play yea ted K The action came one day after the full NLRB in Washington said it would seek a temporary restraining order blocking what would be the first midseason strike in baseball history.sThe restraining order would be designed to give the NLRB time to try and obtain an injunction blocking the strike for an even longer period while an unfair labor practice charge brought by the players is resolved. After a delay of about 45 minutes while attorneys and the principals waited in a hallway for a judge and a courtroom to become available, the two sides moved into court. Judge Henry Werker opened the proceedings, saying: "Use Abbot and Costello. Who's on first?" SILVERMAN addressed the judge and explained that "based on preliminary discussions with the par- ties, there is a possibility for an exten- sion in the strike deadline." The NLRB representative said he would like a hearing date to be set. But Werker said, "You have difficulties with me on that one. I'm leaving Mon- strike day for Rochester, N.Y., where I'll be spending two weeks trying criminal cases." The judge then asked one represen- tative from each side to join him in his private chamber for further discussion. DONALD FEHR, general counsel for the Players Association, and Louis Hoynes, National League attorney, joined the judge for the conversation. Both sides were under orders from Silverman not tb discuss the case with the media. The court action had to take place at U.S. District Court in New York since the original unfair-labor practice charge that led to the NLRB decision to seek the order was filed there. NLRB OFFICIALS had said they ex- pected the restraining-order request to be filed earlier. A court-ordered postponement could give the players a legal way around the deadline imposed by the basic . it's fair to say that things e possibility of a strike) ren't on the minds of the yers as much today as one r ago. I don't think it affec- anyone, to tell you the truth. -Pittsburgh manager Chuck Tanner agreement reached last year when it was established that if the players did not strike by June 1 over the issue, they could not do so for the remainder of the life of the agreement. Players and management yesterday greeted the news that a strike had been temporarily put off with less surprise and relief than when the walkout was averted one year ago. "I THINK IT'S fair to say that things weren't on the minds of the players as much today as one year ago," said Pit- tsburgh Manager Chuck Tanner after his club defeated the Cubs, 9-4. "I don't think it affected anyone, to tell you the truth." Tanner added that one year ago, he noticed an "obvious effect" on his players as the strike deadline neared. "It just wasn't the same this year, so it wasn't as much on their minds when no strike came," Tanner explained. Chicago player representative Tim Blackwell agreed with Tanner, saying there was less talk among the players about the postponement of a possible strike. . . .AND IN THIS CORNER... Mark Mihanovic ; Swallow your pride, Illini.. . ... you may get a break B ACK A CAT into a corner and it'll come at you with its claws up. The Illinois athletic department, it had seemed to me, was the cat, and the Big Ten faculty representatives had backed it into the tightest of corners with the penalties it levied against the Illini for their alleged role as the con- ference's adversary in the Dave Wilson eligibility case: three years of probation and two years of sanctions denying the men's program access to any conference-generated athletic revenue or post-season competition. The latter factor is certainly the one that has the Illini people wailing the loudest; it'll cost them a cool million per annum, they claim. Thus, it seemed understandable that Illinois would, want to fight the representatives' decision, claws up. It was a cat with no other way out. Sure, the faculty men felt that their role as the governing body of the Big Ten was being challenged; but their point could have been duly made with a somewhat lighter penalty. Athletic Director Neale Stoner and his depar- tment were being assessed 30 yards for offsides. But it now appears that the Illini have been fighting simply for the sake of it. When the conference faculty representatives recently extended the date that the sanctions would begin from July 1 to September 1, they were sending a signal to Illinois: stop screaming bloody murder, and we'll sit down and see if we can work something out. Yet the school failed to pick up the hint, and threats to leave the Big Ten unless sanctions are completely dropped continue to emanate from Champaign. Illini blowing their chance Thomas Anton, Michigan's faculty rep, is perplexed by the Illinois reac- tion to postponement of the penalty. "It provides a symbolic opportunity for Illinois to make changes in its athletic program," Anton explained yester- day. "It's unclear whether they are making any effort to do that. "Illinois has, throughout the affair, taken the position that it, rather than the conference, has the right to determine eligibility," he continued. "Illinois, from the beginning, has attacked the governing constitution of the conference, which is the faculty body. Unless Illinois is prepared to recognize that, and unless it makes changes accordingly, I don't see how the sanctions could be changed." There you have it: the psychology of the men pulling the conference strings. As much as anything, they are insulted by this challenge to their authority. Their egos are a mite sensitive after a court ruling last fall made it possible for Wilson to play the 1980 season despite the fact that they had ruled otherwise. Whether or not Illinois feels that the original 9-0 vote of the representatives to impose the sanctions is borne of spite, it should take advantage of the penalty postponementito deal with the Big Ten in private, to attempt to per- suade the representatives that they realize there were mistakes made but that maybe the faculty members could be sports and lighten upa little. Instead they continue to claim total naivete and innocence. And spew out more threats. Reps won't admit mistake Besides, Anton is of the opinion that the original penalties were quite reasonable. "We were very careful to take all the factors into account," he said. "They played a player for an entire year who the conference deter- mined ineligible. "We tried to find a set of penalties that would get Illinois' attention and also provide them motivation to make corrections and make them quickly." Undoubtedly the other eight decision-makers feel similarly. So the smart thing for Stoner and Co. to do would be to deal with the faculty representatives the way they want to be dealt with, admit that they were at least partially involved in-Wilson's litigation against the conference (it is in- credulous to imagine that they weren't), and ask for a little mercy. Of course, Illinois can remain atop its high horse of principle. It can fight the penalties all the way and then be forced to accept them in martyr-like fashion. But do you stifle opportunities for hundreds of young athletes in or- der to maintain the eligibility of one? Or, hell, we'll show them, we'll leave the conference, it might say. But really, where is Illinois going to go where it will enjoy advantages comparable to those of Big Ten residency? The Missouri Valley Conference? Sometimes you're wrong even when you're right. Maybe, in this case, the principle should take a back seat to the practical.