RYE BROOK, New York -- U.S. Major League Baseball moved toward a large-scale court fight as two years of contract talks collapsed Wednesday, and owners prepared to cap two decades of spiralling player salaries.


Owners refused to back off their demand for costs control and players refused to consider proposals that would restrict free agency, a right they won in 1976. After two hours of bargaining, management's negotiating committee headed for Chicago, where all owners were to meet Thursday. The owners left little doubt that they will declare an impasse and impose a salary cap.


"We remain deadlocked at this time over the central issue of cost control," John Harrington, the chief negotiator for the owners, said after talks broke down Wednesday. "The union has refused to make any proposal on the critical issue of linking player costs to gross revenue."


Players struck Aug. 12 in an effort to force an agreement that would prevent a cap. But owners held firm and on Sept. 14 canceled the World Series for the first time since 1904.


Talks resumed in mid-October under the supervision of former Labor Secretary W.J. Usery, but four rounds of sessions produced scant progress.


"Sure there's disappointment, but I don't think any of us are surprised by where we're at," Atlanta Braves pitcher Tom Glavine said. "We're trying to maintain what little amount of freedom we have."


If owners impose a cap Thursday, they would eliminate salary arbitration -- which has existed since 1974 -- and force some teams to cut as much as $5.6 million from their payrolls next season. They also would eliminate rules that limit the amount a player's salary can be cut and insert clauses into contracts requiring each player to make 20 free promotional appearances per year.


The union would challenge such a move as early as Friday, asking the National Labor Relations Board to seek an injunction in federal court on grounds that there is no impasse and that owners haven't bargained in good faith.


The NLRB ruled against owners Wednesday, announcing it will file two unfair labor practice complaints, alleging that management illegally failed to make a $7.8 million contribution in August to the union's benefit plan. That case likely will be heard in March by an administrative law judge, according to Daniel Silverman, the NLRB's regional director in New York.