BLOOMBERG NEWS' Levinson & Soshnick cite a source as saying that the Nets "won't furlough employees" if the NBA locks out its players after the CBA expires at the end of June. The source said that Nets CEO Brett Yormark informed employees at a meeting yesterday "that their jobs and salaries are safe." The source noted that Nets management "didn't feel the need for any changes because there's enough work for the staff as the club prepares to move" from Newark to Brooklyn for the '12-13 season (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 4/19).
KIND OF BLUE: SI.com's Jon Heyman reported Dodgers Owner Frank McCourt is "trying to come up with what sources say is $200-million-plus to pay off ex-wife Jamie in his divorce case while still holding onto the team, and it appears to be an uphill battle at this point" (SI.com, 4/18). MLB Network's Peter Gammons said Commissioner Bud Selig "would love to" intervene in the Dodgers' situation, but he "can't just step in and say he's going to get rid of the team." Gammons noted another team owner told him that Fox's $30M loan to McCourt is "almost as if the court has embezzled from baseball because all the money he's trying to get is simply to take care of his private (finances)." Gammons: "What's troublesome to Major League Baseball, basically the loan just doesn't go the Dodgers, it's so he can start to pay off the divorce and some of the lawsuits against him" ("The Dan Patrick Show," 4/18).
THE REAL THING: In Salt Lake City, Michael Lewis writes MLS Real Salt Lake is "facing a historic opportunity in the CONCACAF Champions League finals that begin" tomorrow night. RSL has "established itself as clearly the best team in the league -- it’s riding a 17-game regular-season unbeaten streak, and has won all four league games this season -- and one that can reach the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup if it can beat Monterrey of Mexico in the two-game Champions League finals series." RSL is the first MLS team to advance to the finals of the 24-club tournament since '00, and the "entire league has rallied around RSL, to the point that fellow owners have been calling and emailing" team owner Dave Checketts "with good-luck wishes" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 4/19).
