Free Republic

Expos players were told this week that a decision on their 2005 home is near, that it won't be Montreal and that there is a strong likelihood they will be living in the Washington, D.C., area. Sources familiar with the Expos' relocation process told ESPN.com on Thursday that union leaders Donald Fehr and Gene Orza met Wednesday with Montreal player representative Brian Schneider and assistant rep Brad Wilkerson. The player reps were informed by the union that there is now an overwhelming probability that they will wind up in either Washington or Northern Virginia -- although there is still a...

Expos players were told this week that a decision on their 2005 home is near, that it won't be Montreal and that there is a strong likelihood they will be living in the Washington, D.C., area. Sources familiar with the Expos' relocation process told ESPN.com on Thursday that union leaders Donald Fehr and Gene Orza met Wednesday with Montreal player representative Brian Schneider and assistant rep Brad Wilkerson. The player reps were informed by the union that there is now an overwhelming probability that they will wind up in either Washington or Northern Virginia -- although there is still a...

VIENNA, Va. (AP) -- The head of the group trying to bring a major league baseball team to northern Virginia said he will end his efforts if major league baseball doesn't pick a new home this year for the Montreal Expos. The Expos were bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002 season. Baseball failed to meet deadlines in 2002 and 2003 on finding a new home for the team, which has struggled to draw fans in Canada. Baseball officials say they hope to decide by mid-July on where to move the Expos for 2005.... Virginia's legislation to fund...

<p>It's hard to know who is being the bigger baby here: John Henry or George Steinbrenner. In an e-mail sent to reporters about the deal that puts Alex Rodriguez in pinstripes, the Red Sox owner whined that "baseball doesn't have an answer for the Yankees." Mr. Steinbrenner fired back that this was just "sour grapes" because the Sox had failed to broker a deal for A-Rod back in December.</p>

About the Rendlesham Incident In late December 1980, in Rendlesham Forest, England, numerous U.S. military personnel witnessed what has come to be regarded as the most significant military-UFO incident in the history of Great Britain. The servicemen were posted to the RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge facilities — which together constitute one of the largest NATO bases in rural Suffolk, East Anglia — when, on December 27, they noticed unusual lights and activity near the base's back gate. A trio of security patrolmen led by Jim Penniston, thinking a military aircraft might be down or in distress, ventured into Rendlesham...

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Jose Maiz Garcia, a 100-pound power hitter, played left field on this city's Little League team in 1957, when it became the first non-American team ever to win the Little League World Series. Now Maiz hopes to make more Mexican baseball history by bringing the first Major League Baseball team south of the border. Maiz, a construction magnate, is one of the partners bidding to move the vagabond Montreal Expos to a new permanent home here in Mexico's richest city. "When I was 8 years old I started playing baseball -- I just love it," said Maiz,...

PORTLAND - The City of Portland will not bid to play temporary host to the Montreal Expos next season, choosing instead to focus on drawing the big-league team permanently, Mayor Vera Katz announced Thursday. The city had considered pitching a proposal that would bring the Expos to town for the entire 2004 season, while Major League Baseball sorted out where the team would play in the future. But Katz said in a prepared statement that such a proposal would “divert critical time and resources” from the city’s goal of becoming the permanent home of the Expos. The city remains open...

<p>The Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority is struggling to find a viable site for a ballpark to house a professional team, even as Major League Baseball nears a decision on the future home of the Montreal Expos.</p> <p>Just two months before baseball plans to announce the fate of the Expos, the authority faces determined resistance from the public to its favored sites and has had no success in persuading owners to sell the land necessary to build a stadium.</p>

Montreal has traded Cliff Floyd for pitchers Sun Woo Kim (on the big league roster) and Seung Jun Song (at AA Trenton), per Jerry Trupiano announcing the Sox game.

Ex-Expos Partners to Sue Selig, Loria By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer ------------------------------------------------------------------ NEW YORK (AP) — The former minority partners of the Montreal Expos are filing a lawsuit charging baseball commissioner Bud Selig and former team owner Jeffrey Loria with fraud. The 14 owners planned to file the lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Miami under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a person close to the lawyers for the minority partners, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, said Monday on the condition he not be identified. The lawsuit concerns the proposed contraction of the Expos, the group said Monday...

CLEVELAND -- The disappointing Cleveland Indians traded ace Bartolo Colon to the surprising Montreal Expos for first baseman Lee Stevens in a six-player deal Thursday night. The Indians sent Colon and a player to be named to the Expos for Stevens and three minor league prospects -- shortstop Brandon Phillips, pitcher Cliff Lee and outfielder Grady Sizemore. The Indians, who had high hopes after starting the season at 11-1, have faded ever since in the AL Central. They are 36-41 and in third place, seven games behind Minnesota. The Expos, who escaped baseball's plan to eliminate them in the offseason,...