Pistons F Grant Hill says that he would not pay to see
another NBA team play, and the DETROIT NEWS' Terry Foster
writes, "Unfortunately, plenty of non-basketball players
have joined Hill in the say-no-to-the-NBA campaign." Foster
notes that NBA attendance is down despite new arenas in
L.A., Indianapolis, Denver and Atlanta. Hill: "Would I pay
to see [another] team [play]? No. ... The league is in
somewhat of a transition. It has gotten so big, maybe some
of the luster and shine has faded a little." Hill noted the
perception that some of today's players "are viewed as young
and selfish": "I hate to knock other guys in the league, but
I think a lot of it has to do with how we conduct ourselves.
You've got to say, 'Hey, where is the money?' How did the
league reach its success?" Hill: "I am hearing corporate
sponsors don't want to have a relationship with the league,
because of the perception of what the league is or is
getting to. It is kind of intertwined with this whole hip-
hop generation or whatever. The NBA does not have the pick
of the litter anymore and people are backing out of the
sponsorships" (DETROIT NEWS, 12/15).
WHO NEEDS TICKETS? In Boston, Peter May notes last
night's Celtics-Cavaliers game drew 11,997, dropping the
Cavs' average attendance to a "pitiful" 13,972 for the
season, even below last year's average of 14,120, which
ranked 25th in the league. One fan asked Celtics coach Rick
Pitino during a "down" moment in the game whether the
college product was better. Pitino looked around and said,
"Judging by the crowd, I guess so" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/15).
...Bulls VP/Marketing Steve Schanwald, on some questioning
the team's streak of 574 consecutive home sellouts at the
United Center because of empty seats: "We are getting no-
shows now. But given a choice between selling the tickets
and getting no-shows or not selling them, I'd rather sell
and have no-shows" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 12/15).
