NO MORE PROS AT TOURNAMENT? In Boston, Peter May, on
the Tournament of the Americas: "Because the US had to play
here, one other team is not going to Sydney, and that's too
bad. What was FIBA thinking to force the United States to
come here and qualify for a berth when they were the
defending Olympic champions?" May: "The NBA doesn't need
this aggravation, and neither does USA Basketball. ... This
was overkill, pure and simple" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/25). In
N.Y., Lenn Robbins, on pros playing in the tournament: "No
mas, por favor. ... This isn't sports, it's folly. ... It's
time to bring back the collegians" (N.Y. POST, 7/26).
NHL NOTE: In Pittsburgh, Dejan Kovacevic wrote that at
the NHL Draft, most of the league's coaches "held a private
meeting to discuss organizing for the first time." Penguins
coach Kevin Constantine: "When people see that we're getting
together, they instantly think `union' and that simply
wasn't the case. You look around at other sports, and
almost everybody has an association where coaches work
together, share ideas as people, as pros. It's not
unionizing" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 7/25).