NFL players ratify agreement
Only two teams voted against the $1.6 billion pact
WASHINGTON (AP) - Na
tional Football League players
ratified by a 3-1 margin Wed
nesday the five-year, $1.6 billion
collective bargaining agree
ment that came out of their
57-day strike
"We are delighted by the ra
tification," said Ed Garvey, the
executive director of the NFL
players union. He said the
agreement will be formally
signed Friday in Washington.
Garvey said the results were
based on votes from 26 teams
He said the Atlanta Falcons had
not reported their votes and the
Miami Dolphins would not vote
until Thursday.
Earlier, most player represen
tatives declined to disclose how
their teams had voted
But more than half a dozen
teams were reported to have
ratified the contract by large-to
overwhelming margins. Two
teams, the Chicago Bears and
Detroit Lions, were reported to
have voted it down
The Minnesota Vikings voted
55-0 to accept, the San Fran
cisco 49ers voted 31-2 to ratify,
with three abstentions, and the
New York Giants were 47-5 in
favor
Members of the Dallas Cow
boys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
and Los Angeles Rams said
their teams had voted over
whelmingly in favor, although
they did not disclose the vote,
and a member of the Falcons
said they had approved it It was
also reported that the Buffalo
Bills had approved the contract
by a 2-1 margin
The Houston Oilers also ap
proved the contract But the
Bears and the Lions, who voted
against ratification, were two of
the last teams to agree to return
to practice after the strike
ended
Detroit's Stan White, a
member of the NFLPA executive
committee, said the Lions had
turned down the agreement by
more than a 2-1 margin "
Bear player rep Brian Basch
nagel declined to disclose his
team's vote except to say it was
against the contract
Acceptance of the contract
by a majority of those par
ticipating in the vote would
complete the ratification
process and formally end a
labor dispute that forced the
first inseason strike in the
league's 63-year history
The players, whose signed
ballots were verified by their
player representatives, voted at
their training sites with the in
dividual team results forwarded
to the union's headquarters for
final tabulation
The contract includes a S60
million one-time cash bonus to
be distributed among the
league's 1,500 players, an in
creased minimum wage scale,
severance pay. increased
playoff, pension, insurance and
per diem monies and other
benefits
And for the first time. NFL
clubs guarantee to allocate
specific sums toward player
compensation over the life of
the contract The players also
won greater access to their
medical records and the right to
choose their own surgeon for
game-reiated injuries
Other gains by the players
include an easing of the com
pensation rules governing the
movement of free agents who
have played out their contracts
and a streamlining of non-injury
grievance procedures
Player representatives, repre
senting each of the league s 28
teams, voted 19-9 Monday to
urge the full membership to
ratify the agreement
Union leaders had predicted
the full membership would fol
low the player representatives
vote and accept the tentative
agreement
NFL owners ratified the
agreement last month
The union ordered the players
on strike on Sept 21—10 weeks
after the former collective bar
gaining agreement had expired
and after more than eight
months of fruitless negotiations.
The players closed the camps
for 57 days, wiping out eight
weekends of the 16-week
regular season Officials have
since rescheduled one lost
weekend, to be played Jan 2-3,
leaving a nine-game season, the
shortest in league history
Ex-Warrior
claimed by
Portland
PORTLAND (AP) - The Port
land Trail Blazers announced
Wednesday they have claimed
6-foot-9, 214-pound Hank
McDowell, who was placed on
waivers by the Golden State
Warriors on Monday
McDowell, in his second sea
son in the National Basketball
Association, averaged 3 2
points and 3.3 rebounds per
game as a rookie He hit 40 per
cent of his field goal attempts
and 69 percent of his free
throws McDowell, who can play
forward or center, averaged 2 9
points per game in 14 games
this season
Portland also placed 6-foot-9
rookie center Audie Norris on
the injured reserve list Norris
has missed the past five games
because of residual pain from a
stress fracture in his right leg
McDowell, 23, was Golden
State's fifth-round draft pick out
of Memphis State in 1981 He
was the voted most valuable
player at Memphis State in both
his junior and senior seasons
Lots of talk, no action at baseball meeting
HONOLULU (AP) - There was a lot of
talk at baseball's winter meetings Wed
nesday, but little action as teams waited
for a deal or a tree-agent signing to
unloose a torrent of trades
After two and a half days of meetings,
there was still only one trade, a five
player deal between Oakland and Boston
on Monday, but there was no lack of
trade talk
The Texas Rangers, for example, ap
peared to be nearing a deal that would
ship off one of these meetings' most
sought-after players. Gold Glove third
baseman Buddy Bell
And there was the usual flurry when
New York Yankee George Steinbrenner
arrived on the scene and told reporters
that the Yankees still were in the chase
for free agents Steve Garvey, Floyd Ban
nister. Steve Kemp and Omar Moreno
Steinbrenner also said the club would
try to make a deal involving third base
man Graig Nettes, who has expressed
a desire to be traded Nettles' name has
been mention in trade talks with Kansas
City
Steinbrenner said his main concern is
to improve a team that finished fifth in the
American League East last season, but
we can t make any real significant
moves until we find out what we've got
(in the way of free agents)."
It appeared unlikely, however, that
New York would come away from these
meetings with Garvey. That chase
reportedly has been narrowed to the San
Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs
Published reports said the Cubs would
announce in Chicago on Wednesday
that they had signed Garvey The Cubs
offer was reported at $7.5 million over
five years, compared to the Padres’ $6
million for five Garvey turned down an
offer of $5 million over four years from his
old team, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"I don't know anything about it,” Cubs
General Manager Dallas Green said "I
know of no press conference in Chicago
I don’t know where that came from That
doesn’t mean, though, that we're not
going to try to sign Garvey.”
Padres President Ballard Smith con
firmed he had talked with Jerry Kapstein,
Garvey's agent. The Padres had been
considered the frontrunners in the
sweepstakes, partially because Garvey
would not have to leave Southern
California, and Ballard Smith indicated
Wednesday that he would be willing to
revise his offer, if necessary.
"I don't have any feeling for the situa
tion right now,'' Smith said, "because I
don’t know what Chicago has offered.
I’ve talked to Kapstein, and I told him,
Tell us what you want.1 ”
The Phillies were set to meet with
Bannister's agent, Tom Reich, on Wed
nesday, and two other teams — Kansas
City and St. Louis — still appeared in the
serious contention for the services of the
left-handed pitcher Bannister led the
American League with 209 strikeouts last
season for the Seattle Mariners.
Along with the Yankees, the California
Angels also were seeking the services of
Kemp, an outfielder from the Chicago
White Sox, and Moreno, a center fielder,
was being sought by the Yankees, An
gels, and his former team, Pittsburgh.
I et al.
MEETINGS
A planning mealing lor the Wesley Foundation. United
Methodist Campus Ministry, is scheduled for 12:30 p m
at the Wesley Center, 1236 Kincaid Students who are
interested may help plan the events tor Winter term
SEMINARS / WORKSHOPS
Incaet Conference: Winter term, Register for H S TLN
4623, a 408G class lor one credit, February 19 (Saturday)
at the Holiday Inn, from 8 a m to 5 p.m Fee at workshop
is $15 (includes materials and lunch) Topics covered
include victims, families, offenders, medial perspectives
and Lane County Incest Treatment Program
SPEAKERS
Antler will read from Factory (a book of poetry) and
other work* on Monday at 7:30 p m at the Homefried
Truckstop, 790 E. 14th. Many of Antler’s poems deal in a
broad way with wilderness, ecology and survival
MISCELLANEOUS
Gay Networking I* sponsoring a free presentation
about gay men's legal Issues: "Discrimination In
Housing and Employment." The guest speaker is a
DOONESBURY
by Garry Trudeau
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Eugene attorney The presentation will be held tonight at
8 at the Keystone Cate. 5th & Lawrence For further
information call 485-3665
Browse for hand-crafted gifts and enjoy live musk:
and hot cider today at the Christmas Craft Fair, room 167
EMU, from 10a.m. to 5:30 p m
Benefit party for the Committee to Free the Yellow
Ribbon Burners to celebrate victory over the Register
Guard (forced to publish the supported on Nov. 30. pg
13B), to repay loans for it. and to launoh the next stage of
the offensive to overturn the "arson" convictions. The
party will be held Saturday night at 8 at the Amazon Child
Center, 2227 Patterson, apt 1
Interested In being an Intern? Political Science Peer
Advising has information on current openings for
Congressional internship opportunities for Winter
and/or Spring terms Congressman Weaver (4th Dist)
and Wyden (3rd Dist.) have internship positions open in
Washington, D C that offer great work experience and
academic credit. In addition, Weaver's office has a
position open in his Eugene office All those interested
stop by our office in 907 PLC for more information These
positions may be filled at any time.
The students currently participating in the People and
the Oregon Coast program will be presenting their
projects for the term at the Oregon Institute of Marine
Biology (OIMB) tonight at 7 for the public
Greenpeace Eugene Is sponsoring the first of Its
1982-83 whale watches on Dec 12 The two-hour
chartered cruise costs $15 per person Advance pur
chase must be made to reserve a seat Come watch the
Gray whales. For information call Greenpeace at
687-8121 between 10 a m and 5 pm, Monday through
Thursday
POLICY
The Emerald'* brtels column is the respon
sibility ot the news/editorial department and is
open to anyone wishing to announce meetings,
lectures, seminars, exhibits, scholarships, inter
views, or miscellaneous events Briefs are run
once and they are subject to space limitations
They must be typed and triple-spaced in a
65-character margin, include all pertinent in
formation Also, list a name and phone number in
case we have questions, and the date you want
the brief to run. Events with donations or admis
sion charges will not be accepted unless the
organization is non-profit All items must be
turned in by noon the day before publication at
the Emerald Office, Room 300, EMU If you have
a question, contact Cort at 686-5511
Stutz
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