SAN DIEGO -- If baseball players want to shorten the schedule, management says they should accept a reduction in pay.Tired from travel in an era that frequently has quick turnarounds following overnight flights, players are seeking changes in collective bargaining. The regular-season schedule increased from 154 games to 162 in the American League in 1961 and the National League the following year, and playing 162 games in 183 days has left little flexibility.There are ways to produce more off days in the schedule. Some of those have very significant economic ramifications, baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday. If in fact we are going to go down those roads, those economic ramifications are going to have to be shared by all of the relevant parties. You want to work less, usually you get paid less.Union head Tony Clark, a former All-Star first baseman, says the sport currently is not putting players or giving the clubs and their players the best opportunity to play every day at a high level throughout the course of the season. He said the grind is so difficult that players need to take days off to give their bodies time to recover.I dont agree that there would need to be a discussion about a loss of salary or a rollback of salaries, Clark said. If there is a lessening of the games and we put players in the position where playing whatever number of games are in that season, theyre able to play, the value of every game goes up as well.Muggsy Bogues Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Marvin-Williams-Hornets-Jersey/ . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Percy Miller Hornets Jersey .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Malik Monk Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker.Shooting guard?J.R. Smith will not attend the Cleveland Cavaliers minicamp this week in California as he and the team remain at an impasse in contract talks, sources told ESPN.com.Cavs players and coaches are gathering for workouts for several days this week in Santa Barbara ahead of the start of training camp next week. The session is meant to create camaraderie ahead of the season. Last year, the team gathered in Miami for a camp that helped launch their eventual championship season.Smiths agent, Rich Paul, and the Cavs have been in a standoff since July, when Smith opted out of his contract. No recent progress has been made in the talks, sources said. Smith, who played a significant role at both ends of the court, is seeking a multiyear deal.Smith averaged 12.4 points per game last season, shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line.Smith is focused on returning to the Cavs -- and the team wants him back -- but Smith likely wont hesitate to miss part of training camp to see if his leverage changes. Other teams currently have cap space, and events in the preseason can change the situation. Last season, the Cavs were at an impasse wwith Paul and?free agent Tristan Thompson that saw Thompson miss all of the preseason before coming to terms.ddddddddddddThe Cavs have had free agents miss the entire preseason in contract stalemates three times since 2007 --Thompson, Anderson Varejao and Sasha Pavlovic -- while Dan Gilbert has owned the team.One of the reasons Smiths talks have failed to find common ground is the wide variety of contracts shooting guards signed during the offseason. Comparable shooting guards include Kent Bazemore (four years, $70 million), Eric Gordon (four years, $53 million) Jamal Crawford (three years, $42 million), Courtney Lee (four years, $48 million) and Joe Johnson (two years, $22 million).Over the past two summers, the Cavs have locked up nearly every player on the roster to rich, multiyear deals -- including four-time MVP?LeBron James, who signed a three-year, $100 million deal this summer. Last September, Smith bet on himself by agreeing to a deal that was only fully guaranteed for one season at $5 million. ' ' '
