M.L.B.’s Lockout: What Is It? How Does It Work? What’s Next?

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports Players are locked out and transactions are frozen in baseball’s ninth work stoppage. But no one is missing any checks — yet.https://nyti.ms/3xS0xtg

With No Deadline Deal, M.L.B.’s Lockout Begins

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports Players and owners continued to negotiate until the final day, but with the sides still far apart, baseball has its first work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike.https://nyti.ms/3d8HHoq

With No Deadline Deal, M.L.B.’s Lockout Begins

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports Players and owners continued to negotiate until the final day, but with the sides still far apart, baseball has its first work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike.https://nyti.ms/31midB6

The Clock Is Ticking as Baseball Veers Toward a Lockout

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire this week, owners and players are negotiating over the sport’s future. A work stoppage seems inevitable.https://nyti.ms/3I5Fok9

Amid Fear of a Work Stoppage, Baseball Is Stuck in Neutral

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports Baseball’s general managers have been meeting, just as they always do, but the potential of a lockout has a star-studded group of free agents waiting for the dust to settle.https://nyti.ms/3FbSgmK

What the Ben Simmons Standoff Means for the Sixers and the N.B.A.

By BY SOPAN DEB AND JONATHAN ABRAMS from NYT Sports Simmons is the latest N.B.A. star to ask for a trade then try to force his way off a team, but Philadelphia is holding firm so far.https://nyti.ms/3Gh8fkO

Labor Memo Amounts to New Stance From Feds Against the N.C.A.A.

By BY DAVID W. CHEN from NYT Sports The top lawyer at the National Labor Relations Board signaled that private universities should not treat those who compete in college sports as “mere ‘student-athletes.’”https://nyti.ms/3EWsoM6

After a Workout Push, the N.F.L. Players Union Falls Flat

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports Union leadership had led a charge for players to workout on their own. But when the Broncos cut a player after a season-ending injury, tensions over the effort were revealed.https://nyti.ms/3fH5XyQ

After a Workout Push, the N.F.L. Players Union Falls Flat

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports Union leadership had led a charge for players to workout on their own. But when the Broncos cut a player after a season-ending injury, tensions over the effort were revealed.https://nyti.ms/3bFKzsE

Months Before Season, N.F.L. and Players Clash Over Pandemic Workouts

By BY EMMANUEL MORGAN from NYT Sports Players on 14 teams announced they would not attend off-season programming because of concerns about the coronavirus. Some may give up financial benefits in the process.https://nyti.ms/3mSRenH

How the Most Socially Progressive Pro League Got That Way

By BY JONATHAN ABRAMS AND NATALIE WEINER from NYT Sports The women of the W.N.B.A. have made it a hotbed of activism, leading the way for higher-profile professional leagues in combining social action and sports.https://nyti.ms/356RLcS

Djokovic and Top Men’s Players Are Creating a Players Association

By BY BEN ROTHENBERG from NYT Sports It is not clear whether the group will operate like a union, although it was billed that way to get players to join. Women are not being included.https://nyti.ms/2EP2vDe

How Rob Manfred Navigated a Summer of Peril for Baseball

By BY MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT from NYT Sports “We cannot be the one sport that doesn’t figure out how to play,” M.L.B.’s commissioner repeatedly told himself during months of contentious negotiations.https://nyti.ms/3g2VFYS

Players Agree to Expand M.L.B. Playoffs for 2020 Season

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports The proposal, which would increase the postseason to 16 teams instead of 10, would help the league recoup some broadcast revenue as it loses out on ticket sales.https://nyti.ms/30F1wwV

Baseball Enters the Unknown

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports The schedule is short. The stadiums will be empty. But the players’ biggest task this summer might be keeping the virus at bay.https://nyti.ms/2OO5ldF

N.H.L. Owners and Players Approve New C.B.A. and Return-to-Play Plan

By BY ANDREW KNOLL from NYT Sports The approval cements the league’s plan to begin an expanded playoff tournament in August, and ensures labor peace at least through 2026.https://nyti.ms/2Ohhg3j

Baseball Avoided a Lost Season. But Bigger Threats May Lie Ahead.

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports The contentious negotiations between M.L.B. and the players’ union that nearly killed the 2020 season only deepened a schism that could soon swallow up the sport.https://nyti.ms/2BInzd4

After an Acrimonious Spring, Baseball Finally Has a Plan to Play

By BY JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports Major League Baseball has set a plan to begin its season in late July, but only after an ugly back-and-forth battle between the team owners and players that cost the sport an earlier restart.https://nyti.ms/2VbNy3E

M.L.B. and Union Chiefs Form Plan to Play, Offering Hope of a Season

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports Teams would play 60 games starting in mid-July, and the postseason would be expanded to 16 teams under a framework agreed to by Commissioner Rob Manfred and Tony Clark, the union head.https://nyti.ms/3ebHBep

As Baseball Teeters, Rob Manfred’s Words Ring Hollow

By BY TYLER KEPNER from NYT Sports “It’s just a disaster for our game,” the commissioner said of the lack of trust between M.L.B. and its union. But much of the blame lies with him.https://nyti.ms/3fwlU9p