League Notes

In Toronto, Bob Elliott writes with Fenway Park this postseason "drawing 38,000 fans" and Tropicana Field "drawing 34,000, these aren't the usual post-season revenues the [MLBPA] sees from the first four games." As a result, World Series participants "likely will see a smaller share than other years" ( TORONTO SUN, 10/16 ). A PURCHASE PROPOSAL: In London, Neil Harman reports ATP Tour player Novak Djokovic, his father Srdjan and his uncle Goran "are chiefly involved" in purchasing the ATP Tour Dutch Open. Djokovic yesterday "confirmed that talks were continuing." Djokovic: "We have bought the licence from them and to have the tournament in Serbia next year is our big goal. We have some administrative work to do in the next few weeks, but we would like to have the tournament in May from next year." The ATP BOD has "agreed to the deal in principle, with ratification to come once the small print is agreed upon" ( LONDON TIMES, 10/16 ). BOYCOTT BACKDOWN: ONTHEBASELINE.com's Aaress Lawless reported Sony Ericsson WTA Tour player Dinara Safina "has backed away from her Tour boycott threat , which she made after being misinformed about tournament entrance rules for 2009." Safina was "concerned that under the new Roadmap plan, she could be deemed ineligible to compete in Moscow's Kremlin Cup," but the Tour "cleared up the issue by confirming that according to the new rules, the Kremlin Cup will have an unlimited field of top players" ( ONTHEBASELINE.com, 10/14 ). DRIVE FOR DIVERSITY: ESPN's Nicole Manske reported the '09 candidates to participate in NASCAR's Drive For Diversity, which is in its fifth year and allows women and minorities to compete for positions within NASCAR, were "put through a battery of tests to see if they have what it takes to make it" in the sport. DEI President of Global Operations Max Siegel said for the "future of the sport, we need to grow it. We need to get more women and people of color in the pipeline in terms of talent ... and invest in them at an early age." ESPN's Ed Hinton noted "team owners and scouts come to the combine looking for a combination of driving ability and marketability." Bill McAnally Racing Owner Bill McAnally said, "We're looking for natural driving ability and marketability. We can definitely work with them and sharpen their skills on both and develop them" ( "NASCAR Now," ESPN2, 10/14 ).

Djokovic Wants To Purchase ATP Tour Dutch Open, Bring Tourney To Serbia For Next May