Idle Notes: MLB CBA, NBA CBA, NASCAR Title Sponsor

Major League Baseball has reached a new collective bargaining agreement that eliminates one of the more controversial items in the game. In other news, the NBA is close to a new CBA that would move up the start of its regular season, and NASCAR has found a new title sponsor for its primary series.

Major League Baseball owners and the MLB Players Association agreed to a new five-year collective bargaining agreement late Wednesday, averting a threatened lockout by the owners. As part of the new deal, the MLB All-Star Game will no longer determine home field advantage in the World Series, a controversial provision that had been in place ever since the 2002 Midsummer Classic ended in a tie. Starting next year, the pennant winner with the best record will host the World Series, putting baseball in line with the status quo of the NBA and NHL. (USA Today 12/1)

NBA owners and the National Basketball Players Association are expected to reach agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement by December 15, the date that either side can opt out of the current agreement, ESPN.com reported Friday. According to the report, there is a “strong likelihood” that the deal will include an earlier start to the NBA season. Next season could start as early as October 15, ten days earlier than this year’s October 25 tipoff, in an effort to reduce the number of times teams play on back-to-back nights. (ESPN.com 12/2)

NASCAR has reached agreement with Coca-Cola-owned Monster Energy to become the title sponsor of its top-tier racing series, previously known as the Sprint Cup. Financial terms were not available, save for a Twitter post by ESPN business reporter Darren Rovell, who said the value of the sponsorship is two-and-a-half times less than what Sprint was paying previously. NASCAR has not announced the new name of its top series, which before Sprint was the NEXTEL Cup and Winston Cup. (Sports Business Daily 12/2)