A new CBA proposal from NBA owners "appears to vary
little from previous proposals," according to Phil Jasner of
the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS. The league made a proposal
before the weekend, but NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter said,
"We're still trying to find out where they moved off their
last proposal. Generally, it still deals with a hard salary
cap. They have not moved or retreated from their position"
(PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 9/26). The union is expected to
respond to the offer on Tuesday (USA TODAY, 9/28). An NBPA
official: "There's nothing new on the core issues we've been
fighting over and some tinkering of other issues" (WASH.
POST, 9/27). In N.Y., Mike Wise wrote that the offer "could
be construed as either immediate progress or a mound of
propaganda," and noted that the chances of "this proposal
ending the labor dispute appear slim" (N.Y. TIMES, 9/26).
DEADLINE SET FOR '98: NBA Commissioner David Stern and
Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik were interviewed in
Saturday's WASHINGTON POST. Granik: "If we don't have a
deal by the first or second week in October, I don't think
we'll see much NBA basketball in 1998." The two added that
if play does not begin before January 1, it would cost the
league $250M. Stern, referring to the Larry Bird exception:
"We cannot continue without adjustments. The Larry Bird
rule made great marketing sense and I was a proponent
because I did not want teams broken up. It was the best
part of our deal and the worst part. A team should have the
right to keep a player but not at the expense of destroying
the entire club. ... The notion that a team should have an
edge in negotiating with its own players is one that we
still support" (Bucher & Solomon, WASHINGTON POST, 9/26).
REAX: In Akron, Terry Pluto wrote, "The NBA just
doesn't get it. The NBA doesn't understand how precarious
its hold over sports fans is" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 9/27).
In Dallas, Kevin Blackistone: "There isn't any public
reaction to the NBA's problems as of yet except for
resounding silence" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 9/27). CNN/SI's
Fred Hickman calls the lockout "the most incredibly stupid
thing I've ever seen" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 9/27).
TV TIME: In Detroit, Becky Yerak wrote that despite the
lockout, Fox Sports Detroit is "operating as if the regular
season will start on time." In case games are canceled, Fox
Sports Net has reached a deal with the NBA to provide "one
regionalized vintage game a week." Fox Sports Detroit Dir
of Media Relations Tim Bryant: "On other nights [when a game
was scheduled] we'll find other local or national
programming to fill the void" (DETROIT NEWS, 9/27).
