1.   Already the discussion of a potential strike date is threatened by the union.

2.   As a result, Fehr went on, an earlier strike date is now not out of the question.

3.   As soon as I heard that the baseball players set a strike date, I called my doctor in hope of his prescribing a mild sleeping pill.

4.   Better to hear that than another horror story from a bunch of noisy lawyers yapping about contraction, luxury taxes and strike dates.

5.   A more prominent view, he said, is that setting a strike date this season is necessary to try to force meaningful negotiations.

6.   After that is decided, the selecting of a strike date is critical.

7.   But the players say the owners are refusing all efforts to negotiate and that setting a strike date is their only recourse.

8.   But they contend that setting a strike date is their only way to get talks moving with the owners.

9.   During the telephone meeting, the board is expected to set a strike date.

10.   Earlier, people close to the union mentioned early August as a possible time for a strike date.