FROM THE NBA FILES: In S.F., Bill Wallace writes that
Federal Judge Vaughn Walker dismissed Knicks G Latrell
Sprewell's suit against the NBA and the Warriors, saying
that the amended version of an earlier suit "consists of the
same baseless claims previously dismissed by the court."
Walker also informed Sprewell that he would "be ordered to
pay the NBA's legal costs ... as punishment for wasting the
court's time with a frivolous legal action." Sprewell
claimed that his suspension for choking head coach P.J.
Carlesimo "overstepped" arbitrator John Feerick's authority
(S.F. CHRONICLE, 3/30). Sprewell attorney Robert Thompson
Jr. said that his client will appeal the dismissal to the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (ESPN.com, 3/30).
Sprewell's suit was seeking $30M in damages (BOSTON GLOBE,
3/30)....T'Wolves F Kevin Garnett, on playing in Japan next
year: "That's what the NBA is all about -- opportunity. One
day you're playing in (hometown) Mauldin (SC), where there
are five people, the next day you're playing (high school)
in the wild streets of Chicago, then in the Target Center,
then in Tokyo. That's seeing the world" (USA TODAY, 3/30).
NEW TRICK FOR AN OLD DOG? WHA & ABA co-Founder Dennis
Murphy is "trying to put together a spring football league"
consisting of 12 teams that would play 16 games from March
through June. Cities being "cultivated for franchises"
include Toronto, Tampa Bay, Chicago, Orlando, Ft.
Lauderdale, Memphis, Denver, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, L.A.,
and a northern CA city. The season schedule wouldn't
conflict with the NFL or CFL seasons (TORONTO SUN, 3/30).
PGA CELL PHONE UPDATE: PGA Tour VP/Championship
Management & TPC Dir Brian Goin said that spectators at the
TPC "cooperated well with the crackdown" on the use of cell
phones, with "around 100" phones checked in each day, a
number "less than he expected" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 3/30).
YOU'RE OUT! The MLBPA put together an umpire ranking
system to maintain "more accountability and consistency," a
list MLBUA Exec Dir Richie Phillips called "foolish" USA
TODAY publishes the entire umpire rankings, broken down into
rankings for seven categories (USA TODAY, 3/30).
