Even though a Dec. 1 deadline looms, negotiations toward a new labor deal in Major League Baseball have progressed this week, to the point where sources finally are expressing optimism that an agreement can be reached before owners impose a lockout.Two sources who had spoken with both sides told ESPN.com on Wednesday that they now sense there is a path to a deal, following negotiations Tuesday that stretched into the night.Owners and the players union have been hung up for weeks over several major issues, most notably an international draft, the elimination of draft-pick compensation for teams that sign free agents and a new luxury tax/revenue-sharing formula.Owners had begun making preparations for a potential lockout of the union, sources said, if there was no significant progress before the current collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.Sources from both sides told ESPN.com they believed that threat of a lockout represented a hard deadline to make a deal, rather than just a soft deadline that could be easily extended. Although a December lockout wouldnt result in lost games, it essentially would place all typical offseason activity in a deep freeze, as well as cut off funding of benefits to players.A lockout also could harden positions on both sides, and could cast a pall over a sport that was hoping to capitalize on the momentum of an epic postseason that produced the highest World Series ratings in a decade and a half. As the pressure to avoid that lockout mounted this week, the two sides appear to have reached what one source described as that moment of truth, when people realize the clock is ticking down and youve got to compromise to unravel the logjam.Players have pushed for an end to a system that forces teams to surrender their first-round draft pick if they sign high-profile free agents. In return for that concession, however, sources briefed on the discussions say that owners have held firm on their insistence on the need for a worldwide draft of foreign-born players.One potential compromise on that issue could be some alternative system that would not include a draft, but would limit spending on international players more effectively than the current system of signing pools and penalties, which a number of teams quickly found ways to circumvent.Other issues remain on the table, as well, but are believed to be closer to resolution. Roster size is expected to increase from 25 to 26 before September, and to 28 or 29 active players after Sept. 1. More teams are expected to be required to play day games on getaway days when teams face long flights following those games. Changes are likely in both the joint drug agreement and domestic-violence policies, assuming other issues can be agreed to.With the sides so close in so many areas and revenues at an all-time high, neither side foresees a scenario that leads to shutting down the sport when the time comes to play actual games. However, even a December lockout is not something anybody wants, said one source, given all the possible ramifications.Negotiators now will take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, while they review the most recent proposals. Negotiations are expected to resume either Sunday or Monday, from the site of the players unions annual meetings in Dallas. Wholesale Hurricanes Jerseys . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Carolina Hurricanes Gear . 1 position. 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The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. 29.54 Average runs per wicket in the last Ranji Trophy season, the lowest among the four seasons since 2012-13, when Super League and Plate League concept was abandoned. The runs per wicket figure has kept decreasing season by season in the last four tournaments. It was 33.04 in 2012-13, 31 in 2013-14, and 30.30 in 2014-15. However, the scoring rates have remained nearly the same. With all matches to be played at neutral venues this season, the runs per wicket figure may go down further. 4 Players who have moved to Kerala this season from the other teams, the most for any team apart from Chhattisgarh which is a new team. Jalaj Saxena and Iqbal Abdulla, two of the four who got transferred to Kerala, had played for just one team since their debut. Saxena played for Madhya Pradesh from 2005-06 till last season while Abdulla was part of Mumbai from 2007-08 till last season. Click here for all the details about transfers.9 Matches that ended within two days in the last season, which raised a major talking point about pitches favouring bowlers way too much. Comparatively, there were only three such finishes in the previous three seasons. 0 Number of times a Ranji Trophy final was played as early as January 7, which is the scheduled date for the finale this season. The previous earliest Ranji final was played from January 11 in two seasons - 2009-10 and 2010-11.2004-05 The last time a new team was added to tthe Ranji Trophy - Jharkhand replaced Bihar that season.dddddddddddd Chhattisgarh is participating as a new team this time, the 28th team. This season will be the first to have more than 27 teams participating in a Ranji season.1 Number of teams which have got to the knockout stage in each of the last four Ranji seasons - Mumbai, the defending champions of this season, is the only one. Twice they managed to win the title, once they were knocked out in the quarter-finals and once in semi-finals.2 Batsmen who have aggregated over 750 runs in each of the last two seasons - Karnatakas Robin Uthappa and Mumbais Shreyas Iyer. Uthappa made 912 in 2014-15 to be the highest scorer, and scored another 759 runs in 2015-16. Iyer with 809 runs was highest run-getter for Mumbai in 2014-15 while last season he made a mammoth 1321 runs.1 No of bowlers who have taken 40 or more wickets in each of the last two Ranji seasons - Mumbai pacer Shardal Thakur. He picked up 48 wickets in 2014-15 and 41 last season. He was rewarded with selection for the recent tour of the West Indies but he couldnt make it to the playing XI in any of the four Tests. Odisha pacer Basant Mohanty is the only other bowler who has picked 35-plus wickets in both of the last two seasons - 37 in 2014-15 and 41 in 2015-16. ' ' '