YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski analyzes NBA Commissioner David Stern's standing throughout the league under the header, "Fear And Loathing Of David Stern." Teams "tremble over retribution from Stern and fear it in the form of officiating," but "respect has eroded for him, replaced with fear and loathing." One longtime league exec said, "Do you have to be mean and a bully to be a commissioner? As he’s gotten older, he has become more mean-spirited, and it shows in how he deals with his own staff, coaches and with the new-age owners." Wojnarowski added, "Don't push Stern too hard because there will be a price to pay. ... Anything goes in Stern’s NBA, except challenging the emperor" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/15).
MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: Red Bulls F Thierry Henry is the "on-field leader for far lesser-paid soccer players, a few of them earning the MLS minimum of $40,000 per year," but the French star said that "such inequities will not stand in the way." Henry: "When I hear the amount of money (other MLS players make), it does slap me in the face. Where I'm from, everybody on the team will earn good money, and rightly so, because there's so much money in the game." But he added, "MLS reminds me of a young version of the English premiership" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 3/16).
BUILT TOUGH: NFL Exec VP/Football Operations Ray Anderson yesterday during a conference call with reporters said that he "will continue to crack down on illegal hits and won’t hesitate to issue suspensions to repeat offenders." He also said that "coaches and clubs will be held liable for the actions of their players." Anderson: "There is a clear acknowledgement that we need to be aggressive in disciplining, and we will give very clear advance notice to all players and all clubs to what that could potentially entail" (PHILLY.com, 3/16).
