NBA Commissioner David Stern and Deputy Commissioner
Russ Granik discussed the state of the league during a press
conference Saturday in Oakland. Granik: "We are very
pleased with the way our game looks and with the changes
made at the start of the season. ... We do have a game now,
this year, that has been more appealing, there's a better
flow to it, which is the thing we were most trying to
accomplish." Stern: "This is, like it or not, sort of the
post-lockout, post-Michael (Jordan), coming-out All-Star
Weekend. ... This is the first-time All-Stars, the younger
All-Stars, the reflection of [their] enthusiasm. ... These
are a good group of young men who are anxious to get the
kind of exposure that All-Star Weekend gives them." One
year after the resolution of the owners' lockout, Stern
said, "You just don't disappear and shut down and disappoint
your fans by missing half a season. ... That's the reality."
Asked about the impact of losing half a season, Stern said,
"I can trace it more specifically in consumer product sales
where you miss a season -- you miss Christmas season, and
the merchants don't stock, and the licensees don't ship.
You can absolutely see it. You can see it in sponsorships
where promotions ... didn't run. ... But in terms of the fan
experience and the fan interaction, I am enormously pleased
by the bounce back and the receptiveness of our fans"
Stern, on the league's slight attendance drop this season:
"There probably are some more no-shows, and ... we're going
to address at the marketing meetings that we have with the
teams on March 13." Stern, on the increasing cost of
tickets: "Rather than our teams simply, blindly saying,
'We're going to just keep raising them,' I think they are
more sensitive to the rates of inflation" (THE DAILY).
REFS' NEW CBA: News coming out of the press conference
was Granik's announcement that the league had "negotiated a
new four-year extension of our CBA with the National
Basketball Referees Association." The existing agreement
was to expire at the end of the current season (THE DAILY).
In N.Y., Mike Wise reported that NBA refs will remain the
highest-paid officials in pro sports, as they currently make
$85,000-250,000, and the new deal includes raises of
"roughly" 10% per season (N.Y. TIMES, 2/13).
REAX: In N.Y., Mitch Lawrence writes under the header,
"Game's Decline Out Of Stern's Site." While Stern touted
NBA.com and the league's int'l reach over the weekend,
Lawrence writes, "Now, about those profound problems with
the NBA game itself? The WB11-ish TV ratings. ... The
unaffordable ticket prices. The ultra-diluted product"
(N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/14). In Boston, Bob Ryan wrote that the
All-Star Weekend is "all about sponsors and glitz and
alleged fan participation, and maybe that's OK for some, but
it speaks quite loudly to the general state of affairs in a
league that is in an interesting transition phase. ... TV
ratings are hurting, tickets, even those already bought and
paid for in many instances, are being used as kindling, and
there is a general feeling of disorientation as the NBA
tries to position itself in a brave new world of changing
sports tastes and limited attention spans" (BOSTON GLOBE,
2/12). In S.F., C.W. Nevius: "Stern is the slickest suit in
all of commissioner-dom. No other sport has anyone like him.
Stern is worldly, glib, smart and conversational." Stern,
on the drop in TV ratings: "There aren't a lot of sports
that are going to post any gains in a time of exploding
viewer choices. The only question is, how much of your
former totals can you hold onto?" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 2/12).
In Long Beach, Howard Beck wrote that Stern "was positively
upbeat" about the league (Long Beach PRESS-TELEGRAM, 2/13).
In Milwaukee, D. Orlando Ledbetter wrote under the header,
"League Looms Larger Than Ever After Lockout." Ledbetter:
"Lockout? What lockout?" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 2/13).
