MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Baseball commissioner Fay Vincent presided over a meeting of major-league owners yesterday, briefing them on a list of issues facing the sport.
Among them:
* The AIDS epidemic and how it can be addressed by professional sports leagues. Vincent said he would be meeting soon with NBA commissioner David Stern and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
* The Mariners crisis. Vincent told the media that Mariners owner Jeff Smulyan has not asked for permission to relocate the team.
* New playoffs. Vincent said he had no plans to propose an extra tier of playoffs to prop up TV revenues.
There has been talk of an extra round of playoffs since baseball added an interdivisional playoff series after the strike-interrupted 1981 season. But Vincent appears to be working to shorten the regular season and move up the World Series.
* Superstations. Vincent said ownership will continue to lobby for a repeal of the compulsory license, a government-sponsored copyright arrangement through which superstation royalties are distributed to rights holders.