NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik "sent a letter to
[NBPA Exec Dir] Billy Hunter ... suggesting that Saturday's
full bargaining session in Manhattan be canceled," after the
players "withdrew their agreement with the league on an
escrow plan," according to Mike Wise of the N.Y. TIMES.
Granik: "We are going nowhere. Whatever progress we made on
Friday is all but gone. If this is their position, then I
don't expect there to be a meeting on Saturday. ... Based
upon their not accepting the tax, we're back to square one."
Hunter "disputed Granik's contention that it would be futile
to hold a meeting on Saturday," saying, "If the N.B.A. is
serious about making a deal, they should stop posturing and
come to the bargaining table this Saturday with the goal of
ending the lockout and saving the season." Granik "admitted
that any thought of playing in December has been lost."
NBPA outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler: "We told them on
Friday, 'Let's set a date to cancel the season on
Wednesday,' and we'll negotiate around the clock for six
days and see where we are. Our feeling is, whatever deal we
can make a month from now, we can make now. But the
commissioner didn't want to do that" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/25).
Kessler, on the NBA: "They're frustrated because the union
is not falling apart, and they're frustrated because the
players have positions that they feel strongly about. All
of those issues need to be discussed at the negotiating
table on Saturday" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/25). NBA CLO
Jeffrey Mishkin: "The season is in grave jeopardy. We are
as far apart as we've ever been" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/25).
A WONDERFUL LIFE? The NBA informed NBC that the games
scheduled for Christmas Day have been canceled. NBC will
show "It's A Wonderful Life" in place of the scheduled
Lakers-Suns/Knicks-Bulls doubleheader, which would have been
NBC's first '98-99 NBA telecast (NBC Sports). NBC Sports
VP/Sports Information Ed Markey: "We're just on the sideline
hoping it gets settled fast. We're like every other NBA
fan." One Canadian TV exec said that he thinks NBC "will
play a huge role in getting this resolved," as "they're the
ones bankrolling the owners right now. They're the ones
paying all the dollars. I think NBC will call a lot of the
shots as to when the season will start" (Robert MacLeod,
Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 11/25). In Chicago, Sam Smith writes
that the union "had hoped all along that NBC would pressure
the NBA into playing the Christmas games, but that clearly
was a misjudgment as NBC, with no football, is in no
position to endanger its long-term relationship with the NBA
by pushing for a quick settlement" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/25).
Bulls Player rep Steve Kerr, on "It's A Wonderful Life"
playing on NBC: "That's rather ironic because isn't that the
movie where (Jimmy Stewart's character) loses all his money?
Doesn't he lose all his money and become so frustrated that
he ends up deciding to go jump off a bridge? Well, I'm not
ready to jump yet" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/25).
LOCKOUT FALLOUT: In a front-page story in the CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, Rick Bonnell notes that one in three Hornets fans
is "losing interest in the team during the lockout." An
Observer/WCNC-TV poll of 404 people, including 233 who said
they were Hornets fans, found that 44% "say they've missed
games little or not at all," while 37% said they'll "have
less interest in the team" after the lockout (CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER, 11/25)....The latest cancellation of games "pretty
much ensures that players will lose two months of pay,"
totalling about $300M (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 11/25)....NYC
Controller Alan Hevesi said that the lockout has cost the
city's economy $53M -- and "could go as high as" $236M if
the season is lost, via lost sales at MSG's box office and
businesses around MSG (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/25)....The IHL UT
Grizzlies have launched a newspaper ad campaign "aimed at
Jazz fans, even picturing John Stockton atop a Zamboni"
(SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 11/25)....In Chicago, Sam Smith looks at
how the lockout will affect free agent F Scottie Pippen.
Smith, noting that the Bulls will probably resign Pippen, as
the Suns, Magic and Rockets have all said they will go
another way: "If [the Bulls] listen to the players union,
they offer Pippen maybe $5 million. After all, if no other
team is going to offer Pippen a contract, why should the
Bulls bid against themselves?" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 11/25).
