To avoid a big drop-off in fan support for smaller market teams, the Blue Ribbon panel recommends that rich teams be forced to share the wealth. The panel would also rein in skyrocketing player salaries with a tax on teams that exceed a certain payroll limit. That obviously doesn't sit well with the players union which did not send a representative to today's hearing. But NBC sportscaster Bob Costas told the committee that while he has always been a strong supporter of the players he's convinced its time to change. And new arguments do.
Baseball needs a new paradigm.
In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace. Josh Rogers reports. Yesterday the hirsute pair who sold out to Unilever last August criticized the appointment of Unilever's Yves Couette as CEO, and said they may quit. The two favored hiring a long-time member of their board of directors. But Ben and Jerry's spokesperson Christie Hymert says Couette's visit with employees last week inspired only positive feelings.