NBA WANTS YOU! On CBS SportsLine, Mike Kahn quotes NBA
Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik as saying the NBA Rules
Committee will have "at least a dozen members ... before
we're through" in an effort to propose rule changes to the
game. Granik: "We want a good cross-section of opinions.
That could include former players, media members from
television" (CBS SportsLine, 6/17).
FRESHMEN ELIGIBILITY: USA TODAY's Editorial debate
focused on possible NCAA restrictions on the eligibility of
freshmen men's basketball players. Former Georgetown coach
John Thompson: "If it's a good idea for basketball players
to adjust to college before competing, why isn't it a good
idea for all athletes?" More Thompson: "Has everyone
recognized that Title IX demands that what you do for one
gender you do for the other? For the sake of everyone
involved, let's look carefully before jumping at what sounds
good" (USA TODAY, 6/17). A USA TODAY editorial counterpoint
reads: "If requiring players to sit out a year means some
will opt out of college to try for the pros, so be it.
Their number is small compared to the number of those who
would benefit" (USA TODAY, 6/17). In Pittsburgh, Bob Smizik
writes freshman ineligibility "will never happen. The
colleges are afraid of it. ... A developmental league
sponsored by the [NBA] could end everyone's problem. A six-
team, 10-man developmental league backed by NBA clout, with
some ESPN2 exposure and salaries starting at, say, $50,000
would have all the glamour needed to attract basketball
players 21 and younger" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 6/17).
MORE NOTES: In Atlanta, Norman Arey, on tonight's
exhibition soccer game between the Fusion and the A-League
Atlanta Silverbacks at DeKalb Stadium: "The MLS office is
going to be watching the game very carefully. Atlanta, an
A-League team, is trying to woo an MLS franchise here"
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 6/17)....USA TODAY lists NFC team-by-
team salaries today, and Larry Weisman notes that "the
surprise is the emergence of defensive linemen as prized
possessions able to command large contracts" (USA TODAY,
6/17)....In Toronto, Jeff Blair writes that MLB continues to
conduct an "investigation" into a bar fight last Saturday in
Philadelphia that involved Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi and
pitching coach Mel Queen. Fregosi said that "he will not
press charges" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 6/17).
