Players may accuse MLB of collusion

Major League Baseball players are threatening to file a collusion grievance charging owners with conspiring against free agents last winter.

“We have concerns about the operation of the post-2009 free agent market,” new union head Michael Weiner said Tuesday in an interview with the Associated Press. “We have been investigating that market. Our investigation is far along but not yet complete.”

The sides reached a standstill agreement last year giving the union additional time to decide whether to proceed with a grievance against teams alleging misconduct after the 2008 season.

Management denies any violation of the collective bargaining agreement, which states clubs may not act in concert with respect to free agents.

“The free-agent market operated in a manner that was completely consistent with the requirements of the basic agreement,” said Rob Manfred, executive vice president of labor relations in the MLB commissioner’s officer. “I feel confident that the MLBPA will come to the same conclusion when they complete their investigation.”

Agents for players, without going into specifics, have claimed they received multiple similar offers for free-agent clients and have pushed the union to contest the practice.

The union filed collusion grievances following the 1985, 1986 and 1987 seasons and, after arbitrators ruled in the union’s favor, management agreed to a $280-million settlement. A triple-damages provision was inserted into the league’s labor contract in 1990.

BASKETBALL

Purnell hired as DePaul’s coach

DePaul hired Clemson’s Oliver Purnell as its coach, hoping he can revive a once-proud program that has struggled in recent years.

Purnell was 138-88 in seven seasons at Clemson and is 394-279 in 22 years, with stops at Radford, Old Dominion and Dayton. He led Clemson to the NCAA tournament the last three years.

Steve Donahue, who led Cornell to three straight Ivy League titles and to the round of 16 in this year’s NCAA tournament, was hired as Boston College’s coach.

Monday night’s NCAA men’s national championship game won by Duke over underdog Butler was a hit nationally and locally.

In Los Angeles, it earned an 11.7 rating and 19 share, up 65% from 2009.

Nationally, 48.1 million saw some or all of the game on CBS, according to Nielsen Media Research, an increase of 17% over last year.

-- Diane Pucin

CYCLING

Tour of California has its best field

The Amgen Tour of California, scheduled for May 16-23 and to include a mountaintop stage at Big Bear, will have its best field of 16 teams led by a new American-based squad, RadioShack, which is partly owned by Lance Armstrong and features three-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer.

California-based HTC-Columbia will bring the world’s best sprinter, Mark Cavendish, and Colorado-based Garmin-Transitions is led by Dave Zabriskie.

BMC Racing Team has added American veteran George Hincapie.

-- Diane Pucin