USA Basketball (USAB) President Russ Granik said over
the weekend that USAB "may have to go back to using
collegians for international events in the wake of news that
NBA players will stay home this summer from the world
championships if the league imposes a lockout," according to
Peter May of the BOSTON GLOBE. Granik: "Maybe (USAB) will
decide having pro players is not such a good idea after all.
USAB may say, 'We don't want to go through this again, where
people make commitments, people promise to come, and then
bail out on us.' I think there will be a lot of people
saying, 'We should just go back to the days of college
players playing in the Olympics.'" Granik said the U.S.
"likely" would field a team either of collegians or CBA
players to replace the NBA players (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/13).
USA TODAY's Greg Boeck reports that the "trigger" causing
such action was the NBPA's refusal to commit its players to
the event by Wednesday, saying instead that it will announce
its position on July 2, the day after a lockout is expected
to begin (USA TODAY, 6/15). Granik: "My personal belief is
if they can't commit, we have to replace them" (David Moore,
DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/13). In Toronto Daniels & Harris
quote a league source with ties to U.S. amateur basketball
as saying USAB will "launch a lawsuit against the NBA
players" if they boycott (TORONTO SUN, 6/15).
ARE THE PLAYERS RIGHT? In Dallas, David Moore wrote
that it's "difficult to understand how this boycott will
benefit the players" in their CBA discussions, as it
"carries minimal economic impact on the owners." Moore:
"Fans in most sports seem to side against the players in
labor disputes. The players could have made the public
relations battle more difficult for the owners to win by
playing in Athens" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/14). In
Philadelphia, Stephen Smith said the boycott would only hurt
the players, "since it would be a public relations disaster"
for the NBPA during the CBA talks (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER,
6/14). In L.A., Mark Heisler wrote that if a replacement
U.S. team loses at the World Championships, the "boycotting
players, and their sponsoring union, could be vilified"
(L.A. TIMES, 6/14). But in NJ, Adrian Wojnarowski wrote
that the World Championships have turned into "a business
trip" for the NBA and that Stern should "save his indignity"
with questioning players' patriotism. Wojnarowski: "The NBA
players are guilty of a thousand things. Don't blame them
for sitting out the world championships. ... [W]hy do
Stern's dirty work overseas for him?" (Bergen RECORD, 6/13).
LOCKOUT TALK: Agent Marc Fleisher: "We're going to have
a strike or a lockout ... and it likely won't get solved
until September" (SAC. BEE, 6/14). In N.Y., Robert Lipsyte:
"As [NBA Commissioner David] Stern well knows -- why else
would he float a challenge to the [NFL]? -- the N.B.A. is
probably over as a growth industry. The end of the Bulls,
expansion, violence, a star system that promoted Dennis
Rodman and Latrell Sprewell ... damaged brand equity far
more than the slacker Shaq ... and Kobe Bryant can repair"
(N.Y. TIMES, 6/14). In Charlotte, Tom Sorensen writes that
"lurking beneath" the NBA's strong TV ratings "are a legion
of frustrated, resentful and even angry fans. When Jordan
quits, they not only will walk away from the NBA, they'll
relish the opportunity to do it" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/15).
STERN GOES NITRO OVER RODZILLA? In Chicago, Sam Smith
reported that Stern "is said to be furious with TNT ... for
allowing Dennis Rodman to disrupt the Finals with his
wrestling appearance [last week]. But TNT officials told
Stern that Rodman showed up unannounced and was not paid or
invited" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/14). In Salt Lake, Michael
Lewis reported that Rodman and Karl Malone will take part in
a WCW PPV wrestling match on July 12 (SALT LAKE TRIB, 6/13).
ALL MJ: Michael Jordan is featured on the cover of this
week's TIME under the header, "Michael: We May Never See His
Likes Again." The N.Y. POST reports that the Jordan cover
comes one week after Time's "sister publication Fortune
magazine did the same. Ouch!" (N.Y. POST, 6/15). Closing
NBC's coverage last night, Bob Costas said, "It's certainly
possible that tonight we saw the last of the [Bulls] as we
have known them, and whether it ends here or sometime in the
near future it will be noteworthy not just for the breakup
of one of the great teams in sports history, but because
given the present structure of pro sports, it may be quite a
while before we see anything like this again" (NBC, 6/14).
Bulls coach Phil Jackson, in an interview with NBC's Jim
Gray, aired on "Today": "I think you saw the last waltz of
the Bulls. I can't see how we can top it" (NBC, 6/15).
