Baseball in Japan scrapped
By Ronald Blum
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Baseball canceled its season-opening series in Japan because of the threat of war in Iraq, and other sports discussed whether military action would cause changes to their schedules.
The NCAA said its men's and women's basketball tournaments, which start this week, will go on as scheduled. But men's games could be forced off CBS if that network goes to war programming.
The NBA and NHL said their schedules would remain unchanged, and those sports discussed security arrangements, as did the tennis and golf tours.
Baseball's Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics were scheduled to leave for Japan today, and play a two-game series in Tokyo Tuesday and Wednesday. It would have been baseball's second opener in Japan, following games between the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs in 2000.
"Given the uncertainty that now exists throughout the world, we believe the safest course of action for the players involved and the many staff personnel who must work the games is to reschedule the opening series," commissioner Bud Selig said yesterday. "It would be unfair and terribly unsettling for them to be half a world away — away from their families at this critical juncture."
The NCAA has spent four months reviewing options in case of war. The latest ultimatum President Bush delivered to Saddam Hussein in a television speech Monday night "heightened the urgency of our considerations," NCAA president Myles Brand said.
He consulted yesterday with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and members of the NCAA's governing bodies before deciding.
"We are also concerned that life go on as normal," Brand added. "We see no reason, after consulting with Secretary Ridge, to make any alterations to our plan."
Brand kept open the possibility of reconsidering if unforeseeable threats emerge in coming days.
Because of the current security climate, the NCAA is taking "extraordinary steps to ensure the safety of the athletes and fans," Brand said.
He said it was up to television networks whether their coverage of the tournaments take second billing to war coverage if a U.S.-led coalition attacks Iraq.
CBS holds the rights to the men's tournament. But the network, which is owned by Viacom Inc., has discussed switching the games to ESPN or other outlets if CBS needs more air time for war coverage.
ESPN and ESPN2 already are scheduled to show the women's tournament, and the network said yesterday that it remains committed to showing all of the women's games.
The PGA Tour does not plan to cancel the Bay Hill Invitational this week or any other of its tournaments.
"With a lot of things that are going on, I think it's a wonderful distraction for us, and hopefully we can provide the type of entertainment for people who decide to tune in and watch," Tiger Woods said.
The NBA said no changes had been decided on.
"In the event of war, we would work together with those agencies to determine if any changes in our season are appropriate," league spokesman Brian McIntyre said.
NASCAR is scheduled to race this weekend in Bristol, Tenn.
Officials of the Nasdaq-100 Open tennis tournament plan to start as scheduled in Florida today.
The Dubai World Cup races, the richest day in thoroughbred racing, will go on as scheduled on March 29.
