Little Progress in Thursday's NBA talks

["Nathan A." <nj13@navix.net>]

This is from ESPN sports zone. It looks like little progress was made in
todays talks. But I see two positive things here: no one stormed out after
15 minutes, and there is another session scheduled for Tuesday. So some
dialogue must be going on.

Nathan A.



NEW YORK -- Negotiators for the NBA players and owners talked for about
                 five hours Thursday in their first formal session in about
two months.

                 "On the one hand, we didn't make what you'd call progress,
but we did talk,"
                 NBA commissioner David Stern said.

                 The meeting at a Manhattan hotel was only the second formal
bargaining session
                 since the lockout began almost 3½ months ago, and there was
little hope of saving
                 the start of the season.

                 Another meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, where the players
are expected to
                 offer a counterproposal, deputy NBA commissioner Russ
Granik said.

                 Granik said unless a settlement is reached Tuesday, the
regular season likely
                 won't start as scheduled Nov. 3.

                 "We'll wait until after Tuesday's meeting before we make
any final decision on
                 that," Granik said. "But realistically, it will be very,
very difficult ... to open on
                 time."

                 At stake was how the players and owners will divide almost
$2 billion in annual
                 revenues, and the impasse is almost certain to cause the
league to call off games
                 because of a work stoppage for the first time in its
52-year history.

                 "The overall health of the league has to take precedence
over that record of
                 never missing a game," Granik said before going into
negotiations shortly after 10
                 a.m. ET.

                 Like Granik, union director Billy Hunter said his side
would not not be offering
                 any new concessions.

                 "We're prepared to address their concerns, we really are,"
Hunter said. "But I'm
                 not going to bid against myself. They have taken an
intransigent position in which
                 they are not inclined to respond to anything other than
what they are demanding.
                 It's not going to be a concession deal where they make
demands and we
                 concede."

                 The owners and players have only a couple of days to come
up with a deal that
                 will save an 82-game season, and such a breakthrough seems
unlikely with the
                 sides far apart on the main economic issues.

                 The last formal bargaining session was held Aug. 6, and
owners walked out of
                 the room after hearing the players' proposal.

                 Stern and the owners claim as many as half of them are
losing money, and the
                 league as a whole is much less profitable than it was just
a few years ago.

                 The owners are seeking a system with cost certainty,
looking to gradually roll
                 back the amount of revenue devoted to player salaries from
57 percent to 48
                 percent.

                 The players have offered some concessions, but are
unwilling to accept a "hard"
                 salary cap or give up the "Larry Bird exception" that
allows teams to exceed the
                 salary cap to retain their own free agents.

                 "We're ready to sit there and talk all day and all night
and maybe someone will
                 come up with something," Granik said. "Often that's how it
happens, but I have no
                 reason to be optimistic."

                 The entire exhibition schedule has already been canceled.

                 "We feel that the NBA is making a lot of money. Everybody,
for the most part, is
                 doing financially OK," union president Patrick Ewing said.
"So we don't see why
                 they had to lock us out. If you asked David Stern, I don't
think he would say that
                 the league as a whole is doing bad."

                 Granik said the owners would reject any union proposal to
play the upcoming
                 season under the old operating system.

                 "Billy suggested that two weeks ago, and we told him he
couldn't possibly be
                 serious," Granik said. "The whole point of where we are is
that we can't live
                 under the old deal -- even for one more year or one more
day. It's out of the
                 question." 
___________________________________________________________
The North Bend Sports Page: http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/arena/2430

"Yes, the president should resign. He has lied to the American people, time
and time again, and betrayed their trust.  He is no longer an effective
leader.  Since he has admitted guilt, there is no reason to put the American
people through an impeachment.  He will serve absolutely no purpose in
finishing out his term, the only possible solution is for the president to
save some dignity and resign."

 ~ William Jefferson Clinton on President Nixon, ARKANSAS GAZETTE,