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Elephant Rumblings: Arizona will open for pro sports on May 16

MLB news roundup

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Good morning, Athletics Nation!

The latest news in the sports world comes out of Arizona, where the governor announced that major pro sports could resume in the state on May 16, which is this-coming Saturday. Any games played would have to be without fans in attendance.

This is especially interesting news given that Arizona is one of the primary locations mentioned in past plans by the league and players union. Those one/two/three-state concepts aren’t currently under consideration anymore, but it’s nice to know that one of the more potentially useful locations will be available if and when it comes time to start playing again.

Before it comes time to figure where to play, though, MLB still has other major hurdles to jump through. One is the safety of the whole operation, with lots of players and personnel needing to be in various levels of contact or at least proximity. Will they be able to get tests, and personal protective equipment, etc.? What happens if someone tests positive? The league sent a safety proposal to the union this week for feedback and approval.

The other is money. The owners want to cut player salaries to make up for the lack of fans in attendance, but it sounds like that’s not something the players are ready to accept. Both sides seem to be digging in their heels, so hopefully they can come to an agreement so that salary disputes aren’t the reason we don’t have baseball later this summer.

The two sides will continue negotiating today. Stay tuned to find out more!

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Sounds like a big step!

Welp

Counterpoint

Only a 6-tweet thread this time

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