Sports briefs for August 18, 2004

Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2004 | 9:32 a.m.

NHL labor talks yield no progress

Three negotiating sessions in six weeks failed to bring the NHL and the players association any closer to labor peace.

Now, less than a month remains before a season-threatening lockout is expected to be imposed.

"We're all aware of the timeline," NHLPA senior director Ted Saskin said Tuesday after a five-hour meeting in New Jersey. "At our end, we're working hard toward doing what we can to get to a fair agreement for both sides, and we're going to continue in that direction."

The NHLPA formally rejected six proposed concepts put forth by the league that were discussed in two previous meetings. Talks then shifted to a general discussion of league, and specific team economics and operations.

"Today can be more fairly characterized as a side step in the process," Saskin said. "We'll have further discussions so that hopefully we can find areas where we are in agreement and build from there."

The next talks will take place over two days next week in Ottawa, then resume Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 in Montreal, the site of World Cup of Hockey games on those nights.

The two-week tournament, a joint venture between the NHL and the NHLPA, concludes Sept. 14. The current contract between the league and its players expires the next day.

NCAA denies Bloom

The NCAA denied Jeremy Bloom's request to play football at Colorado while accepting endorsement money to fund his skiing career. The ruling probably means Bloom's college football career is over. The university is preparing an appeal.

Agassi bounces back

Top-seeded Andre Agassi withstood an early challenge from local favorite Paul Goldstein for a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Agassi, who won last week's Cincinnati Masters, trailed 3-1 before taking the next four games and seizing control of the match.

Dreifort injured

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Darren Dreifort was diagnosed with torn ligament in his right knee, an injury that could sideline him for the rest of the year.