August 14, 2002 [LINK]

[Hope rises for averting strike]

Yesterday the players' association announced they are NOT going to set a tentative strike date for the time being. This seemed like a rare welcome sign of willingness to compromise, but today it was reported that the players secretly agreed to an Aug. 30 strike date if they fail to reach an agreement with the owners by then. This disingenuous P.R. move casts doubt on the players' good faith.