Pacers F Paul George and Jazz F Gordon Hayward were among the players losing the chance at $75M because they did not make an All-NBA team this season, and TNT's Charles Barkley said, “The idiots at the Players Association who signed off on that, they should be fired ASAP. ... Letting the media people who didn't vote right decide is dumb” (“NBA Tip-Off,” TNT, 5/19).
CHANGE IN PERCEPTION: In N.Y., Seth Berkman reported the WNBA is "working to change a perception of referees who have come under increased scrutiny in recent years, instituting new financial and teaching benefits." This year, the league "added in-season training for referees, coupling on-court work with classroom and video sessions." The league has also recently "expanded its measures to evaluate referees" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/21).
SKATING BY: NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has noted that the league "will get past" not participating in the '18 PyeongChang Games. In Toronto, Steve Simmons wrote hockey fans "won't" and the players who "don’t get to go ... won't" either. Simmons: "But why worry about them?" (TORONTO SUN, 5/21).
