No Three-Count Here: Stern Says WWE Not Changing Game Four

Stern Says Nuggets-WWE Date Conflict "Will Be Taken Care Of"

NBA Commissioner David Stern last night addressed the scheduling conflict between Pepsi Center and the WWE, saying it is not between the league and the WWE, “it's between the Nuggets and the WWE.” Game Four of the Nuggets-Lakers Western Conference Finals series is scheduled for Monday night, the same time WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” is scheduled for a live TV show from the arena. Stern said, “We’ve been saving this date since August, so this is something that will be adjusted by (WWE Chair Vince McMahon). … It will be taken care of.” Stern sarcastically added, “We never lose date smackdowns” (“NBA Shootaround,” ESPN, 5/19). Sporting News Radio’s Todd Wright yesterday reported WWE is “in negotiations to move its event … to Colorado Springs” (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 5/19). A Denver Coliseum spokesperson said that WWE “declined an offer to host Raw at the 10,000 seat venue” (DENVER POST, 5/20).

IN A HEADLOCK: ESPN’s Jim Rome said McMahon “may as well have been holding a lottery ticket, because he has the hammer in his hand, a signed contract and a rare opportunity to take a run at a billionaire in the mainstream, and he went right for the jugular.” Orange County Register columnist Mark Whicker said, “Why should the WWE move for the NBA? The WWE’s more exciting (and) their games are closer.” But AOL Sports' Terence Moore said Nuggets Owner Stan Kroenke is “getting beat up too much for this.” Moore: “How in the world can this guy predict that the Denver Nuggets are going to be in the finals of the Western Conference championships? … He did the right thing” (“Jim Rome Is Burning,” ESPN, 5/19). Fanhouse.com’s Jay Mariotti noted the NHL had to alter the schedule for the Penguins-Capitals series for a Yanni concert at Mellon Arena and said, “What you cannot do if you’re the NBA is you cannot cave in and compromise the integrity of a series like the NHL and go back-to-back (days).” Fanhouse.com’s Kevin Blackistone said, “Of course the NBA is going to fend off wrestling. They’re not going to be upset by that” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 5/19).