award-winning journalists new york times bestsellers no topic out of bounds no opinions left unsaid an institution for sports talk and information this is the sports reporters here's mike lupica mitch alb and bob ryan i'm micheloupic at the detroit free press i'm mike luica, MLB.com, and the New York Daily News.

And I am Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe and ESPN.

We welcome you to the Thursday edition of the sports reporter's podcast.

We're with you twice weekly, Monday and Thursday.

And gentlemen, we will start with an off-the-field announcement,

which is the most predicted thing.

Everyone knew it was coming.

There was nothing going to get in the way.

And that is that as of 1159 on December 1st, baseball is in a lockout.

The owners and the players have not come to any kind of an agreement on the new CBA.

And we have entered into the beginning of what might be a dark winter, and who knows,

it might be a dark spring, and God forbid, it could be a dark summer.

But one thing I say about this, guys, there was no false advertising.

Everybody predicted that this is where we would be here on December 2nd, that they weren't

going to come to any agreement.

They were so far apart. And, you know I to what degree of concern do I want to address

you Mike as a guy who like me really does truly love love love baseball are you

concerned about this at all not right now Bob I I think that in the middle of January, if they have not reached an agreement, then this, you know,

then this S gets real because then you're looking at spring training and what would be a different

sort of hampering of spring training than we got a couple of years ago

because of COVID.

Bob, you're 100% right.

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