NEW YORK — Michael Jordan and Paul Allen, two megalomaniacs who were only bit players through the first 128 days of the NBA lockout, were in attendance Saturday evening as negotiations between owners and players resumed with federal mediator George Cohen assisting. But it was a mix of hawks and doves, too, as Jordan and Allen were joined by Mickey Arison of the Miami Heat, who was fined $500,000 early in the week after he tweeted a fan was “barking at
Sheridan column: On con games and lockout settlements
NEW YORK — “Michael Jordan is a con man.” Those words were spoken by Jeff Van Gundy, then the coach of the New York Knicks, on a Chicago radio station in January of 1997 when the Bulls and the Knicks were bitter rivals whose epic postseason clashes almost always managed to go Chicago’s way. Van Gundy meant it in a complimentary way, saying Jordan was brilliantly ruthless for the way he befriended opposing players off the court and then demolished them on the
Tweet of the Day: Mark Cuban’s brother
This tweet was pointed out in an excellent post by Vishnu Parasuraman on Grantland.com: @bcubanBrian Cuban The owners are publicly not at 51 percent but I suspect they have 1 percent in their back pocket to close this out. 2 Nov via TweetDeck
Mediator to return to NBA talks
NEW YORK — Federal mediator George Cohen will be back in the mix Saturday when owners and players resume collective bargaining discussions. The NBA confirmed Friday afternoon that Cohen will attend. Previously, as outlined in this post yesterday, the union had given its OK for Cohen to return and was awaiting a response from the NBA. The bargaining session will begin at 4 p.m. EDT, after the NBA holds a Board of Governors meeting.
Lockout update: Owners will meet first Saturday
From Howard Beck of the New York Times: “A critical weekend for the N.B.A. labor talks will begin Saturday morning with an owners meeting, during which the league’s hard-liners will insist that no more financial concessions be made to players, according to a person briefed on the agenda. The owners’ faction includes between 10 and 14 owners and is being led by Charlotte’s Michael Jordan, according to a person who has spoken with the owners. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in
More Euroleague: Maccabi-Madrid
On Thursday night, Jordan Farmar’s Maccabi Tel Aviv squad was able to squeeze by a strong Real Madrid squad led by Rudy Fernandez in Round 3 of the Euroleague, 88-82. It was Day 126 of the NBA lockout in America, but Israeli spectators were treated to a star-studded game featuring three current NBA players – Farmar, Fernandez, and Serge Ibaka of the Thunder, plus eight players who were either former draft picks or NBA players – Sokoflis Schortsanitis (Clippers), Keith Langford (Spurs),
Gibson Column: DaJuan Summers Left To Fry Under Tuscan Sun
BARCELONA — Somewhere in Tuscany, DaJuan Summers is negotiating a buyout with Montepaschi Siena after playing only four games. Between the offers, counter offers and number crunching, I hope both sides can put down their pens long enough to look at each other and ask: What were we thinking? On the one hand you’ve got Siena, fresh off a Euroleague Final Four appearance as well an Italian Championship, their sixth in as many years. On the other, DaJuan Summers, a 23-year-old whose
Involuntary Decertification Possible in NBA lockout
// Updating what I am reporting in the above video, there is more news: As many as 50 NBA players held two conference calls this week to discuss decertification as a fallback option. This was a strategy that was employed in the summer-long 1995 lockout, forcing Charles Grantham from power as he was replaced by Simon Gourdine. This time, it would be a revolt from within the ranks aimed at stripping Billy Hunter of his power, and it would fall under the category