41.   Should he sign before the deadline Saturday morning, Bertuzzi would not be affected by the cap.

42.   So first baseman Julio Franco and pitcher Jack McDowell were signed before the season.

43.   The agreements will be signed before Christmas, most likely on Monday, Gangar said.

44.   The agreement was signed before, designed to have a final of Canada and the United States.

45.   The final agreement should be signed before the end of January, Bruton said.

46.   The Rangers want them signed before their first exhibition game Friday.

47.   The salary cap was supposed to eliminate veteran holdouts because most players want to sign before the money is all gone.

48.   Their signing before the end of the period means they do not fall under the trade restrictions that clubs face with free agents who sign after the period.

49.   They did not plan to offer Gooden arbitration, but if Cleveland had announced his signing before the deadline, the Yankees would have received compensation.

50.   Union spokesman Peter Nagl said he expects a new collective labor contract to be signed before the end of June.