The NBA "looks ready to sacrifice" its streak of "never
having lost a game to labor strife," according to Chris
Sheridan of the AP. NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik
told the AP, "At some point you have to elect to deal with
the lesser of two evils, and I think we've concluded that to
once again make a bad economic deal is even worse [than]
what'll flow from losing games." Granik added that unlike
the '94 MLB strike, which started in mid-August and led to
the cancellation of the World Series, if the NBA loses
games, it "will be at the beginning of the season. It might
go all season, but at least it's not going to start at the
climax of the season and go from there" (AP, 8/28).
THAT'S RIGHT, THE WOMEN ARE SMARTER? Liberty F Rebecca
Lobo commented on the need for a union before last night's
Game One of the WNBA Finals. Lobo: "There are some issues
that players need to address, like a pension plan,
insurance, some fundamental issues. And I just hope we keep
in mind that it's only the second year of the league, we
can't command the kind of money the men are getting because
it's not available right now. We need a union, but we need
it for the right reasons" ("WNBA on ESPN," 8/27).
