Page 17 - atoday

SPORTS A17
Wednesday 11 November

MLB remains MILLER
FLITE
hopeful of
Cutler rallies Bears to win over Chargers
2016 spring
Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller
training game makes a touchdown catch as San Di-
ego Chargers inside linebacker Don-
in Cuba ald Butler looks on during the second
half of an NFL football game Monday,
Nov. 9, 2015, in San Diego.
Associated Press
BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Page 20
Major League Baseball
Commissioner Rob Man-
fred remains hopeful that
a big league team will
play an exhibition game in
Cuba during spring training
next year.
President Barack Obama
announced in December
his intention to restore dip-
lomatic ties between the
United States and Cuba,
and embassies were re-
established in July.
“There are a variety of is-
sues involved there, not all
of which are wholly within
baseball’s control,” Man-
fred said Tuesday at the
general managers’ meet-
ings.
“Obviously, the federal
government has some
significant influence on
whether that’s going to
take place, and there
are issues that need to be
solved before that can
happen.”
U.S. teams played spring
training games in Cuba
before Fidel Castro’s revo-
lution but none appeared
there from March 1959
until the Baltimore Orioles
faced Cuba’s national
team in Havana in March
1999. MLB has not returned
since.
“We got a little time still.
There isn’t really a firm cut-
off,” Manfred said.q