"I don't think that baseball will ever be,
in our lifetimes, what it once was."
-- Bob Costas, "Meet the Press," NBC, 9/11.
"Lest anybody not understand, there can't be joy on any side."
-- Acting Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig,
announcing the cancellation of the World Series, 9/14.
"My legacy in this league is that I'm going to be the
one that unshackles the merchandise sales."
-- Jerry Jones in a U.S. NEWS interview, 9/26 issue.
"Man, I've got a Rolls-Royce. Big house. Limo. All those
things. This is why every kid's dream is to be a major-league
ballplayer." -- Lou Whitaker, arriving at a players union
meeting during the strike TAMPA TRIBUNE, 9/22.
"We're going to be showing cartoons here within a month."
-- ESPN's Keith Olbermann, on labor strife in sports,
"SportsCenter," 9/22.
"He is a very successful automobile dealer.
What makes him think he has the abilities to do what he is
attempting to do here is beyond my comprehension."
-- Peter Angelos on Bud Selig, Baltimore SUN, 10/4.
"I came here as a dove. Now I am a hawk."
-- Penguins owner Howard Baldwin, after another unsuccessful
round of hockey talks, CANADIAN PRESS, 10/6.
"They are to the NHL what chickens are to Colonel Sanders --
necessary to the business but of no concern."
-- Vancouver PROVINCE's Tony Gallagher on the fans, 10/7.
"He reminds me of me, but that's no blessing."
-- Bud Selig on Gary Bettman, BOSTON GLOBE, 10/13.
"I didn't think Senators had this much sense."
-- DETROIT FREE PRESS' Mitch Albom on Bucks owner Herb Kohl
holding the line against Glenn Robinson, ESPN, 10/16.
"We have allowed our most violent street gangs in this country to
serve as the sports world's unpaid fashion consultants."
-- N.Y. POST columnist Phil Mushnick, on the popularity of black
sports apparel, "Outside the Lines," ESPN, 10/20.
"The owners are talking about replacement players. We think
it's a lot easier to have replacement owners. There's only 26
of them, and they're not very good at what they do."
-- Agent Rich Winter, on the possibility of a hockey
league run by the players, EDMONTON JOURNAL, 12/17.
"The photographer doesn't say give us your best side,
he says give us your least damaged side."
-- Blues forward Brendan Shanahan, on being in GQ,
"Entertainment Tonight," 10/25.
"Let's see where they are a year from now."
-- NHL Senior VP Brian Burke on the NBA announcing its decision
to play the '94-95 without a CBA, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 10/28.
"It's easier for young people in this neighborhood
to get drugs than it is to get Nike merchandise."
-- Independent retailer Robert Logan, on supply restrictions in
urban areas by top apparel companies, HARTFORD COURANT, 10/31.
"We're not here to prod the establishment and we're not here to
replace it. We're here to coexist with it."
-- Dick Moss, announcing the formation of the
United Baseball League, 11/1.
"The understanding is that we will not
leave until we have a deal."
-- Braves President Stan Kasten, during pre-Thanksgiving
baseball talks, ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 11/14.
"I am sure the French want the Louisiana Purchase back, too."
-- Bulls Player Rep Steve Kerr, acknowledging the improbability
that NBA owners will dump the salary cap, BOSTON HERALD, 11/15.
"We think this gives us exactly the same profile
that Blockbuster Video and Disney gave to the NHL."
-- CFL Commissioner Larry Smith on FedEx's involvement in
starting a CFL franchise in Memphis, TORONTO STAR, 11/18.
"It appears the old way of owning a sports
franchise no longer works."
-- Dallas Stars Owner Norm Green, bemoaning the trend toward
"big business" ownership of sports franchises, 11/21.
"The ones that do, it's not good for their health, believe me."
-- Terry Pendelton, on MLB players who might cross picket lines
during spring training, WUSA-TV (DC), 12/5.
"This is not about a league fighting with the union.
This is about a league fighting for its future."
-- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, after the NHL Board of
Governors unanimously stood by the league's tax plan, 12/12.
"We're not talking about the game here.
We're talking about a business in serious trouble, and it would
be a lot more appropriate for understanding if the issues were
analyzed in the business context they require."
-- Outgoing MLB chief labor negotiator Richard Ravitch,
criticizing the sports media's coverage of the baseball strike.
