Written By Bill Campbell

For those of you who have never watched a major league baseball team in spring training, let me tell you about it – particularly, how it begins. The first day of a full squad work-out is pretty routine: fielding drills, running drills, bullpen sessions, pick-off practice, fielding bunts, nothing very glamorous. Kind of boring stuff, really. The Phillies did all of this last Saturday and it's usually done in an empty ballpark. So few people attend the first day, you'd almost believe the sound of a baseball making contact with a leather glove could be heard a mile away.

But the enthusiasm concerning the Phillies for this coming season is so intense, so fervent and pronounced that the stands and bleachers at the Carpenter Complex in Clearwater were filled to capacity from the very first day for routine drills and, of course, the atmosphere of the starting pitching rotation. And Jimmy Rollins' interesting pre-season comments are the talk of the town.

A couple of years ago, Rollins called the Phillies the team to beat for the World Series – and they were. Now he's calling for them to win 100 games and a lot of people think they might -- which brings up an interesting thought. Rollins is 32 years old. He's coming off a dismal season and is in the final year of a six-year contract. He played in only 88 games last season in a campaign spoiled by injuries. But his new wife has him taking yoga classes and he has been running long distances, which is something new for Rollins who is more of the sprinter type. He also reported to training camp two weeks early. He is usually one of the last players to arrive. He makes $8.5 million a year. Not only is his enthusiasm on the line. So is his money. Once again Rollins has a lot to prove.

I have always thought that, even with the presence of Utley, Howard and others, Rollins when in good shape is the player who makes the Phillies go. If for no other reason, he plays the game with a smile, like he really enjoys it. The baseball diamond is the place he really wants to be. The Phillies are the oldest team in baseball and some extra enthusiasm wouldn't hurt no matter how good the vaunted pitching staff turns out to be.

With each passing day, the March 3rd labor deadline draws closer. The NFL club owners and the players have agreed to enter federal mediation, which I find mildly encouraging. At least they're talking. As I understand the process, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, under the direction of George Cohen, holds separate talks with representatives from both sides in the dispute and persuades them to allow Cohen and his independent government agency to run the talks. It's even possible that the talks could progress through seven consecutive days or more.

Cohen, a retired attorney, has an interesting background in sports labor disputes dating back to the NBA and major league baseball. He argued before District Judge Sonia Sotomayor, now a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, on the day she ruled to end the 232-day-old baseball strike of 1994-95. So the issues certainly couldn't be completely new to Cohen. He once was a legal advisor to the Hockey Players' Association before joining the mediation service in 2009.

Mediation is not binding but it should be viewed, at least, as a positive step. After talks break down as they did last week, it would seem helpful to bring in an outside perspective to possibly bridge the gap though they seem very far apart.

The owners have already filed a complaint before the National Labor Relations Board accusing the players' union of not bargaining in good faith. The issue here, as it always has been, is money. Pro football is a $9 billion industry. The owners are not claiming that the system is broken – they just want a bigger share of the profits.

A reasonable expectation is that the entrance of mediation will get the talks on to the right track and possibly avoid a lock-out. Injuries keep piling up with each passing season. The injured reserve lists loom larger every year. The seasons now run from summer practice sessions through the Super Bowl in late January. And an 18-game schedule remains highly controversial. The deadline is fast approaching.

Two deaths left their marks on pro football ledgers this week. Ollie Matson, one of the greatest players ever, who once was traded for nine players and won two medals in the 1952 Olympics, has left us at the age of 80. He died in Los Angeles of respiratory failure. Matson finished his career with the Eagles in 1966.

The other passing was a suicide: four- time Pro Bowl safety man, Dave Duerson, shot himself in the chest at age 50 but not before sending text messages to his family, requesting that his brain be examined for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition linked to athletes who have sustained repeated concussions. He has donated his brain to Boston University for the study of the disease which has been connected with depression, dementia and, occasionally, suicides by former athletes.