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Leagues and Governing Bodies

LOCKOUT, PART I: CHECKETTS SAYS OWNERS IN FOR LONG HAUL

          Two NBA officials told Mike Wise of the N.Y. TIMES that
     Tuesday's proposal offered by the NBPA that included a
     "Superstar" luxury tax "would not have an impact" on the
     current labor dispute.  The "league plans to respond today"
     to the players' offer.  Wise adds that any "notion that the
     owners would be willing to budge was dispelled yesterday" in
     remarks made by MSG President Dave Checketts.  Speaking in a
     Manhattan restaurant, Checketts said, "People ask me, 'Why
     didn't you learn anything from what baseball did, the way
     they destroyed their product?'  And my response to them is,
     if we learned anything from baseball it is that we must keep
     them out as long as it takes.  They didn't hold them out
     long enough.  And as a result, even though baseball had a
     major comeback, we know that baseball is going to lose
     somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 million this year." 
     Checketts is "perceived to have less of a hard-line
     approach" than some other owners in the current
     negotiations, but his comments "hardly spoke of divisiveness
     among the owners."  Checketts, on MLB's strike: "The mistake
     they made was coming back too soon, perhaps, and not getting
     a labor agreement that would carry them into the next
     century" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/15).  In Orlando, Larry Guest notes
     sources who say that Magic Owner Rich DeVos is "among" the
     hard-line owners backing NBA Commissioner David Stern. 
     DeVos and other owners "are behind Stern" even if arbitrator
     John Feerick rules that teams must pay guaranteed contracts
     during the lockout (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/15).
          WHAT ABOUT THE TAX? The AP's Chris Sheridan writes that
     if the owners "latch onto the concept and adopt the tax
     system ... it could signal that the sides have found an
     acceptable mechanism for solving the biggest rift between
     them -- a new economic operating system" (AP/BOSTON GLOBE,
     10/15).  NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter: "The message that we
     have is we're trying. ... We're not inclined to see [the
     Bird exception] go away, but ... we're prepared to address
     their concerns, assuming it doesn't require the imposition
     of a hard cap" (USA TODAY, 10/15).  Bulls Player Rep Steve
     Kerr: "[Tuesday] was clearly an effort to modify the Larry
     Bird exception on our part.  Neither side was willing to
     budge before that. ... In normal bargaining sessions, it's
     give and take.  That's not happening here.  We're basically
     negotiating against ourselves.  They're sitting back
     laughing because they're not giving anything up and we keep
     making concessions" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 10/15).  NBPA VP
     Dikembe Mutombo: "We met from 9 to 5 on Sunday and came up
     with this proposal."  Union leadership then met with agent
     David Falk to hear his suggestions, which Mutombo called,
     "very similar to what we already had" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION,
     10/15).  Heat C Alonzo Mourning: "They haven't talked about
     putting a cap on what the people in the league office earn
     or coaches earn or owners earn.  When we bring that up, all
     that does is start an argument" (MIAMI HERALD, 10/15). 
          DID LUXURY TAX WORK FOR MLB?  In Toronto, Doug Smith
     compares the NBPA's proposal to MLB's luxury tax, which has
     "done little except widen the gap between wealthy and poor
     franchises."  Blue Jays GM Gord Ash: "Obviously, it's not
     been a drag on salaries" (TORONTO STAR, 10/15).
          A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM? In Detroit, Terry Foster
     writes that there is "a growing push to have Isiah Thomas
     act as a third party" in negotiations.  Agent Hiram Sapp met
     with Thomas and is "pushing" the NBA and NBPA to use him in
     talks.  In speaking with Foster, Thomas called dropping the
     Bird exception "a mistake" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/15). 
          ISN'T IT IRONIC, DON'T YOU THINK? In Denver, Mike
     Monroe noted that NBPA President Patrick Ewing, who is the
     highest paid player of any currently under contract, will
     lose $225,610 per game canceled (DENVER POST, 10/14).
          

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