BASEBALL STRIKE . . . PLAYERS BOOT OWNERS AGAIN

Striking major league baseball players tonight moved toward rejection of Sunday's new owners' proposal, making it likely they'll impose a salary cap later this week. The owners' gambit: Replace their escalating payroll tax idea with a flat tax -- a second alternative to the hated salary cap. Owners' negotiator John Harrington said yesterday the plan was a "substantial move," but players' union head Donald Fehr may have foreshadowed tonight's answer over the weekend: "At first blush, it appears their new proposal contains virtually all the elements of the salary cap." BTW: Strikers' fears of being replaced by foreign athletes are now for naught. Since the Labor Department certified the strike this weekend, the U.S. now won't grant any imported stars entry visas.Post your opinion on theSocietybulletin board.