NEW YORK — A handshake deal is in place, and the NBA season is set to begin on Christmas Day. David Stern and Billy Hunter announced a tentative agreement to end the NBA lockout shortly before 4 a.m. Saturday in a small conference room at a law firm in the General Motors Building in Manhattan. Gentlemen, start your engines! The settlement, first reported by Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, came on the 149th day of the work stoppage that forced the postponement of the
Lockout update: Almost midnight edition (with audio)
NEW YORK — About an hour ago, a rumpled looking David Stern walked through the lobby of the building where negotiations are being held. After much speculation, the favored explanation was that he had tried to get back into the building through the wrong entrance and had to walk around the block. At least that was my interpretation. Other than that, it been a brutally dull and cold evening on lockout stakeout duty tonight, with the sides now approaching 12 hours together.
Lockout talks: Brief update
NEW YORK – NBA lockout talks stretched into the evening Friday at the same building where the 1998 lockout took a turn for the worse, and where Latrell Sprewell’s arbitration hearing was held. Just a stone’s throw from Central Park, the usual suspects from more than two dozen previous negotiating sessions assembled again. They included David Stern, Adam Silver and Peter Holt for the owners; and Billy Hunter, Derek Fisher and Maurice Evans for the players. The players new antitrust litigation lawyers;
Gibson Column: Navarro Breaks Euroleague Scoring Title. Who’s Up Next?
BARCELONA — Chuck Eidson stared at a clear path to an empty basket as the crowd rose to their feet in Palau Blaugrana. Eidson knew this ovation wasn’t intended for him, so he glanced to his left and wisely shoveled the ball off to Juan Carlos Navarro, who caught it, took two steps and laid it up off the glass. When the ball fell through the nylon, the Euroleague had a new all-time leading scorer. La Bomba had needed 14 points to
Lockout update: What the players want
NEW YORK — It is Black Friday, and the players are going bargain(ing) hunting at today’s NBA lockout negotiations. If commissioner David Stern is willing mark down a few pieces of merchandise, there will be something under the tree for everyone on Christmas Day. There is a deal to be done today, or later this weekend, if the owners are in a giving mood, but the players had better realize that they are not going to get everything on their wish list.
Lockout update: Meeting set for Friday
NEW YORK — Owners and players will met again Friday, which is 30 days before Christmas. And since commissioner David Stern has said it will take approximately 30 days from the date a handshake agreement is reached until the season can start, Friday is going to be a pivotal day. But with that being said, if a handshake is reached Saturday or Sunday, 29 or 28 days will suffice. A couple of clarifications are in order, based on what I am hearing. _
Bernucca column: Take the NBA lockout quiz
Miss the NBA yet? Believe it or not, my wife does. She has a job with a long commute that usually gets her home around 9 p.m. By that time, my son and I have commandeered the TV and are bouncing back and forth on League Pass, trying to watch the fourth quarter of all the early games. Normally, she walks in while we are shouting at the TV about a great play or a blown defensive assignment or a missed call.
Escrow system still problematic; Kessler shelved?
NEW YORK — He is a close-talker and a loud-talker whose voice can be the verbal equivalent of fingernails on a chalkboard. David Stern has called his behavior “routinely despicable,” and on more than one occasion he has commandeered the post-meeting news briefings to incessantly spew vitriol at the NBA owners with whom he has been butting heads. He is Jeffrey Kessler, the lead outside counsel for what used to be known as the National Basketball Players Association, and he is