NBA

["Shawn Roth" <ufpdev!shawnr@uunet.uu.net>]

Two crazy news stories:



NBA'S NO. 1 DRAFT PICK MIGHT PLAY IN EUROPE

(AP) - With no end in sight to the NBA lockout, overall No. 1
draft pick Michael Olowokandi might go to Europe to play
professionally. "If they cancel the season, or if the season
doesn't start until the latter part of December, then I'll go,"
Olowokandi said Monday. The lockout went through its 139th day
Monday. Commissioner David Stern and union director Billy Hunter
have not spoken to each other during the 10 days since the last
negotiating session, and no collective bargaining talks are
scheduled. Olowokandi's agent, Bill Duffy, said he has had
preliminary talks with Efes Pilsen, a club team in Turkey, and
would advise his client to play overseas if he receives an offer
worth $5 million. Olowokandi, a Nigerian citizen, is trying to
get a British passport so he can be excluded from a European
league rule limiting teams to two foreigners.

If Olowokandi signs overseas, he would risk the $10 million he
stands to earn from the Los Angeles Clippers in the first three
years of his rookie contract. Also, it would mean the 7-footer
from Pacific would have to wait an additional year for free
agency or to be eligible for a lucrative extension to his NBA
contract. Three other first-round picks from last June's draft
are currently playing in Europe. Dirk Nowitzki, chosen ninth
overall by Milwaukee before being traded to Dallas, is playing
for DJK Wurzburg in Germany. Radoslav Nestrovic, picked 17th by
Minnesota, is playing out the final season of his contract for
Kinder Bologna in Italy, and Vladimir Stepania, chosen 27th by
Seattle, is playing for Olympia Ljubljana of Slovenia. Vlade
Divac, who became a free agent after playing for the Charlotte
Hornets last season, has talked of joining Kinder Bologna until
the lockout ends. 	

BAD BOY RODMAN TIES KNOT IN LAS VEGAS

(AP) - Basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman heard wedding bells
during the weekend, but his agent on Monday questioned whether
the marriage was legal. The Chicago Bulls star tied the knot
Saturday with "Baywatch" actress Carmen Electra, whose real name
is Tara Patrick. Security guards searched A Little Chapel of the
Flowers for hidden video cameras before the two exchanged vows at
the Strip chapel. Workers were sworn to secrecy. But Rodman's
agent, Dwight Manley, said Monday that Rodman was intoxicated at
the time and taken advantage of by Electra and people he called
"leeches." "From what I can determine, it's not legal. It sounds
like he was deeply intoxicated," Manley of Newport Beach, Calif.,
said. "Obviously anyone that would marry somebody that was
intoxicated to the point that they couldn't speak or stand had
ulterior motives of some sort."

Manley said several people who attended the wedding ceremony
called him Monday to tell him Rodman was intoxicated Saturday
night. "We don't issue a license if they're intoxicated no matter
who they are," said Cheryl Vernon, supervisor of the Clark County
Marriage License Bureau. Rodman's marriage has not yet been
recorded. The minister who performed the ceremony has 10 days to
submit the license to the recorder's office. It is valid for one
year, meaning that if the minister does not submit the license,
another minister could perform the ceremony without Rodman and
Electra having to apply for another license, Vernon said. Rodman
was staying at the Hard Rock Hotel and could not be reached for
comment. He and Electra have been dating at least since June. A
spokeswoman for Electra did not immediately return a call seeking
comment.