NBA Commissioner David Stern could "sell plastic tulips
in Holland," according to Mark Whicker of the ORANGE COUNTY
REGISTER, who wrote that this abbreviated season "should
have driven Stern to the Adirondacks." But despite the
lockout, Whicker wrote the NBA "is back. Primarily because
the NBA, as always, never went anywhere." Whicker: "Since
this sensational first round has made us forget the lockout,
it also reinforces Stern's belief that every minute of the
lockout was worth it. Agents are on the run. Players are
staying put. Owners know next year's payroll. It should
have happened earlier. ... All is good and getting better
with the NBA. David Stern extends his five-game lead on
life" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 5/18). TV GUIDE gives
"Cheers" to the NBA, as its 50-game schedule "turned out to
be a mercifully brief sprint to the game's truly important
phase: the playoffs. ... Hey, maybe shorter is better" (TV
GUIDE, 5/22). But in FL, Gene Frenette writes after watching
the playoffs: "Somebody take it away and retool the event
into something better than hockey in baggy shorts. ...
Basically, about all that's left to keep anyone from
reaching for the remote in these playoffs is Allen Iverson
[who's] the league's one jolt of electricity" (FL TIMES-
UNION, 5/19). Actor Samuel L. Jackson said on "The Late,
Late Show With Craig Kilborn" last night that Iverson "is my
favorite player right now" (CBS, 5/18).
SHARE ALIKE: BLOOMBERG's Scott Soshnick reported that
NBA teams will share "a record" $7.5M in playoff bonuses,
although the regular-season tie between the Jazz and Spurs
"is causing a problem." The team with the best record is
supposed to get $240,000 for its total roster, "although
league lawyers still haven't determined how it'll settle the
deadlock between" the two teams (BLOOMBERG, 5/17).
MASS EXODUS: NCAA President Cedric Dempsey commented on
the continued early entry of underclass college players into
the NBA Draft. He said the NCAA had examined the
possibility of the NBA financing loans of up to $25,000 to
college "stars in an effort to encourage them to stay in
school." But he said he was not convinced such a system
would work after meeting with NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter.
Dempsey: "You're probably going to see more kids leaving
early. I think the parties feel they'd be in litigation in
a hurry if they tried to develop a procedure or policy that
would restrict it" (USA TODAY, 5/19). In Orange County,
Frank Burlison called NBA the "biggest culprit" in early
entry, as it has "created the 'ticking-clock' mentality with
its ... rookie contracts that must be played out before a
player can sign for the really big bucks" (OCR, 5/18).
