TAKING IT IN STRIDE: In St. Paul, Tom Powers writes that T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor will "take his inevitable suspension with a smile" and that "he will display no trace of bitterness toward his sentencing judge, [NBA Commissioner David Stern] who keeps trying to electrocute him." Taylor: "My relationship with the commissioner, on a personal level, is one thing. I don't hold it against him (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/10). On FSN's "National Sports Report," Philadelphia Inquirer beat writer Stephen Smith discussed Stern's ruling in the Joe Smith case: "What people need to recognize if that [Taylor] went to [Stern] begging for the lockout ... because he was the guy that was forced to sign Kevin Garnett to a $126 million [contract], to ask and plead for this. Then [to turn] around and circumvent the rules you begged and cried to have implemented for a marginal player like [Smith] -- that's absolutely insane" ("The Last Word" FSN, 11/9). TNT's Charles Barkley, on the Joe Smith ruling: "I was disappointed in the Commissioner's ruling, because every team does that or has done it" (TNT, 11/9). MORE NBA: In Akron, Terry Pluto writes that the Cavs strong start has helped ticket sales, as the team sold about 1,400 tickets before last Saturday's game. Cavs President Jim Boland: "That 1,400 is double our usual walk-up sale. I've been with the Cavs, and this is the most conversation I've heard about the team" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 11/10). ...76ers President Pat Croce, on the NBA's ticket prices: "I hate it when we get into the ticket-pricing meeting and we do it, and I walk out. We have to pay high salaries. And you make money from television, advertising sales and ticket-pricing. But I don't want to lose anybody, and every time [tickets are increased], I know we do" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 11/10)....In Charleston, Ben Brazil wrote that North Charleston (SC) is one of 20 Southern cities "vying" for one of the eight teams that will make up the National Basketball Development League. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said that NBA officials, including Stern have visited the city to "investigate the possibility" of locating a team there. NBA Senior VP Rob Levine said that he "hopes to choose" the NBDL cities by early '01 (POST & COURIER, 11/9).
