NBA: BLOOMBERG's Scott Soshnick reported that the NBA
has kept "a close eye" on its teams' recruitment of free
agents. The league last month sent its 29 teams a memo,
"outlining what they can and can't do to convince players to
sign." For example, the league "said a team couldn't give a
player a gift worth more than $500, otherwise it would be
considered an attempt to bypass the salary cap." NBA
General Counsel Joel Litvin: "We remind our teams that their
recruiting of free agents has to be subject to some
semblance of reasonableness." Some reports in Orlando said
the Magic spent $1M "wining and dining" free agent F Grant
Hill and F/C Tim Duncan, a figure that Magic Dir of Media
Relations Joel Glass denied (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 7/12).
EXPOS FATE NEAR? FSN's Tracy Ringolsby said that Expos
Majority Owner Jeffrey Loria "is going to bring us some
closure" to the ownership situation in Montreal. Ringolsby:
"In the next few days, he'll settle his deal, buy out his
limited partners up there, and then he can start making the
moves and get ready to go to Washington, DC" ("Baseball
Today," FSN, 7/12). One baseball source told CBS
SportsLine, "What [Loria's] doing, unless (the minority
partners) sue him or go along with him, is he's kind of
forcing a sale. It's either, 'I buy you out or you buy me
out -- but I'm not selling.' So it's only a one-way deal:
'I buy you out, or if I don't buy you out, I'm going to
diminish your percentage in the ballclub anyway (with the
cash call)'" (CBS SportsLine, 7/13).
