The NBA agreed to permit teams to negotiate with
players immediately, but no deals can be signed until the
new CBA is completed (N.Y. TIMES, 1/9)....Jazz Owner Larry
Miller, on the league's nine-member Labor Relations
Committee: "I would say there were two hard-liners on the
committee. They had their positions and were not moving
from it. On the other side, there were two or three on the
other end of the spectrum that were more liberal. ... And
the rest were in the middle" (DESERT NEWS, 1/9)....Marvin
Miller called NBPA President Patrick Ewing "the only hero in
this whole thing" who saw the "gigantic bluff by Stern and
company. He was right, and he was the only one who was
right" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/10)....The AP's Chris Sheridan
listed NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik among his
winners: "Granik passed his final test and showed himself
worthy of succeeding Stern as commissioner someday" (AP,
1/10)....In Ft. Lauderdale, Ira Winderman noted that
"getting enough quality" refs could be a challenge for the
league. Of the 57 refs on the league's '96-97 roster, 12
have been lost due to IRS investigations. Several "more
could be added to that group" (SUN-SENTINEL, 1/10).
THE OTHER DAVE: CBS's David Letterman, to his guest
Marv Albert, on the NBA's new CBA: "I'm with the players on
this ... I'm telling you, if they'd open the books -- those
greasy, theivin', weasely bastard owners -- if they would
open the books, like your buddy [MSG President] Dave
Checketts, open the damn books. Let's take a look what's
going on. I think we would see the players are still
getting screwed" ("Late Show," CBS, 1/8).
