Despite new TV agreements worth $2.64B, NBA owners
"still expressed concern about the sport's financial
health," according to David Moore of the DALLAS MORNING
NEWS. Besides the TV deal, owners spent "roughly an hour-
and-a-half" discussing the current CBA with its players at
its Board of Governors meeting in New York. Owners
"authorized" Stern to appoint a labor relations committee to
study the CBA, and Stern said that the committee "will be
asked to report its conclusions to the board around March
1." The committee "will recommend" whether or not the
owners "should complete the agreement or exercise their
right to nullify the final three years of the deal and
return to the negotiating table" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
11/12). In Chicago, Michael Hirsley writes that possible
labor problems, including a lockout or a strike, were
addressed in the new TV deals. In the "event of a work
stoppage, both networks would keep paying the NBA for up to
a year, and both would be reimbursed that money later by the
league" (Michael Hirsley, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/12).
DRUG WARFARE: CNN/SI's Jim Huber reported on the NBA's
substance abuse policy regarding marijuana. Huber: "The
NBA's lax stance on pot, which dates back to 1984, stands in
sharp contrast to the position taken by the other
professional sports leagues." Commissioner Stern: "If in
fact the policy underlying the prohibition of marijuana is a
good public policy, we should get behind it and police
ourselves in a way that puts us at the cutting edge of
what's good and right." But NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter
countered, "I'm not convinced at this stage that there is a
problem. Nobody has provided me any evidence of anybody
being in violation of a, quote, drug problem, other than the
three or four individuals who were arrested for marijuana."
Huber: "Meanwhile, players opinions vary regarding both
testing and penalties for marijuana use" ("CNN/SI," 11/11).
ESPN SportsZone's "Showdown" this week asks Web browsers,
"Should The NBA Test For Marijuana?" (SportsZone, 11/12).
DETROIT/DC ROCK CITY: The NBA approved WNBA franchises
for Detroit and Washington to begin in the '98 season. Two
more WNBA expansion teams have also been approved for the
'99 season, but the locations won't be announced until next
year (NBA). Wizards President Susan O'Malley said that the
planned promo campaign will not be aimed at the "typical"
sports fan: "We might advertise in the Style section as
opposed to Sports" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/12).
