In Seattle, Jerry Brewer writes, “This is a good time to embrace the NBA again.” Seattle fans "get to have the world’s greatest basketball league back, and it comes during a time when the league is actually living up [to] that title.” The NBA is “considerably better than the league that abandoned us five years ago.” In terms of “quality of play and its entertainment value, the NBA is enjoying its best run in nearly 20 years.” The current “crop of stars is far more likable and trustworthy” (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/19).
PENALTY BOX: In Toronto, Damien Cox wrote Hurricanes RW Kevin Westgarth, one of the “most prominent” NHLPA members during the NHL lockout, has “heard the speculation surrounding another outspoken player, Chris Campoli, and his inability to find NHL work.” Campoli is “unemployed” and some are “suspicious that NHL owners are spitefully making sure he stays that way for choosing to lead the union fight.” Westgarth said, “I’m not sure. I hope that different things you do for PA and your colleagues don’t end up working against you” (TORONTO STAR, 2/16).
BOY MEETS GIRL: In Newark, Dave D’Alessandro writes WNBA Liberty GM & coach Bill Laimbeer “might be the most influential coach and GM in the history of this 16-year-old women’s league.” His “first lap around the WNBA was in Detroit,” and now he’s back in the league with N.Y. D’Alessandro: “If you follow the league at all, you know it needs him badly.” This market “needs a big personality to stimulate interest in a league whose attendance has cratered.” Laimbeer once “seemed like the guy who might insert his foot in his mouth and keep chewing until he got to mid-femur.” But he is “very shrewd, and he’s a terrific advocate for the league” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/19).
