Franchise Notes
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NBA Not Going To Penalize Trail
Blazers Over Miles Situation |
ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan reported the NBA will not penalize the Trail Blazers for "sending a threatening e-mail to other teams warning them not to sign" F Darius Miles. NBA President of League & Basketball Operations Joel Litvin: "We don't plan to do anything to the Blazers." NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter declined to "positively or negatively characterize the lack of punishment for the Blazers." Hunter: "That's something we have to study, but clearly it's within the jurisdiction of the league what they want to do. I certainly felt conduct of the Trail Blazers was outrageous, and we'll monitor things from here to see if any additional action [is] necessary" (ESPN.com, 1/13). ESPN’s Chris Broussard said, “It’s safe to say that nobody in the league feels sorry for the Blazers. ... There was already the feeling around the league that Portland’s front office was arrogant, and now this letter just confirmed that to a lot of teams" ("NBA Coast To Coast," ESPN2, 1/13). Meanwhile, Miles scored 13 points for the Grizzlies last night against the Cavaliers, and in Portland, John Canzano wrote, "I don't know about you, but somehow all the absurdity of this situation has managed to make the small forward a sympathetic figure" (Portland OREGONIAN, 1/14).
STUDYING ABROAD: In San Diego, Mark Zeigler notes MLS Galaxy MF David Beckham and F Landon Donovan both are on loan to clubs in Europe, and while Galaxy officials insist that the two are expected to return to the team for the MLS season in March, it is "starting to become apparent" Beckham and Donovan "want out of playing for the Galaxy." Donovan, who is playing for German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich, last week said, "I'd definitely like to stay for longer." Beckham is on loan to Italian Serie A club AC Milan, and AC Milan officials have "already expressed their desire to keep" Beckham past the March deadline. Zeigler writes in Beckham, the Galaxy would "lose its major draw and face a precipitous drop in ticket sales, as well as sponsorship dollars." In Donovan, who reportedly is under contract through the '09 season, the team would lose the "designated-player slot that allows only a portion of his contract to count against the league's salary cap" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/14).
CLEARING THE PUCK: Officials from Bear Mountain resort, owned by Lightning co-Owner Len Barrie, yesterday "brushed aside persistent rumours that the massive real-estate development is on the verge of being sold to a group of investors from Dubai" for $500M. Bear Mountain Real Estate Dir Dale Sproule "played down suggestions of a link between the hockey team's finances and the sale of the resort." Sproule: "It's not a thing where you have a cash-flow problem down there and then you put Bear Mountain up for sale. That's not how it works. It's got really no relevance to Tampa Bay" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/13).
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