LABOR BOARD THUMPS BASEBALL OWNERS

The National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) told baseball owners it will issue an unfair labor practice complaint against them, a move that could, ironically, turn the player's strike into a lockout. The board, created 60 years ago to settle disputes between workers and management over federal labor laws, said this morning that team owners "did not properly follow the rules of collective bargaining" when they eliminated salary arbitration and rules relating to free agency last year. The complaint may lead to a court injunction reinstating pre-strike work rules. But TIME sportswriter Steve Wulf notes that the owners may then simply lock out the major leaguers and start the season with the replacement players they now are using in spring training. "They think they have the players on the run," Wulf says.