MLS responds to Players Union criticisms over labor talks   Just
a day after members of the Major League Soccer Players Union
publicly criticized MLS officials over their handling of labor
negotiations, MLS is defending itself against claims that it is
not taking talks over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement
seriously.  MLS president Mark Abbott responded on Saturday to
criticism from players that MLS hasn't done enough to help make
a labor deal happen, telling SBI that the league has done quite
a bit to try and get a deal to happen.  "They're mis-
characterizing the scope, extent and seriousness of the
proposals that the league has made," Abbott said. "We can't
compel them to accept those proposals, we can't compel them to
appreciate those proposals but I can tell you that they are
significant. To say that the league is not serious is a complete
mis-characterization of what has happened over the past few
weeks, or months for that matter."  "There was some sense that
the league hadn't been taking the negoti