//
Kobe-to-Italy deal now on verge of collapse?
This situation quite obviously remains fluid. From Sportando : Virtus Bologna informed via its official website that Legabasket (the Italian League) rejected its proposal to make a special schedule for the Italian team in case of Kobe Bryant’s signing. Virtus asked to play as many games as possible during the 40 days of Kobe Bryant in Italy against the best teams and in the biggest arenas. The goal of Virtus was to have a big share and the biggest arenas sold out
Lockout update: Talks to resume this afternoon
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — NBA labor talks will resume this afternoon in New York, and they are expected to last through the weekend — if not longer. Prior to today’s bargaining session, there will be a player meeting including some of the league’s biggest superstars. If you believe Virtus Bologna owner Claudio Sabatini, Kobe Bryant will be among them. There is some news out there this morning on a few of the details of what the owners are seeking, some of which
Reports: Kobe to Italy deal “95 percent done” – UPDATED
From Andrew Dampf of The Associated Press: “Italian club Virtus Bologna said it has reached a verbal agreement with Kobe Bryant for the Los Angeles Lakers star to play in Italy during the NBA lockout. “We have reached an economic deal,” Virtus president Claudio Sabatini told a local radio station. “There’s still some things to arrange but at this point I’m very optimistic. I would say it’s 95 percent done.” A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday that
More audio on NBA Lockout from Portland radio
By Chris Sheridan And then there is this link to a radio spot I did with John Canzano (who broke the lockout amnesty clause story in The Oregonian) on the Bald Faced Truth show on 750thegame radio in Portland. We even talked about Ted Williams vs. Jose Reyes, and I explained my vision for this Web site. Click here to listen. And please follow Canzano on Twitter. He is one of the best in the business.
Audio on NBA Lockout from L.A. radio
By Chris Sheridan Click here for a link to a radio interview I did this afternoon on the Mason and Ireland Show in Los Angeles. The subject matter, not surprisingly, was the NBA lockout. I think I may have won the co-hosts over to my line of reasoning regarding what a settlement might look like financially, and why an imminent settlement makes so much common sense.
Bernucca column: Amnesty Irrational
By Chris Bernucca I would prefer not to bring politics into basketball, but I have to wonder if John Boehner, Eric Cantor and Mitch McConnell somehow sneaked into the recent NBA labor negotiations and presented the amnesty clause as another one of their magical job-creating proposals. Those proposals always seem to start with legislation that assures companies and individuals who already have lots of money will either (a) keep all of their money or (b) be given more money. And they always
NBA Lockout: Where the settlement lies, dollar-wise
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — From what I can gather, it is looking more and more like a deal is going to be cut in the 51/49 or 50/50 range when it comes to the split of basketball related income. It’ll probably take the sides a couple of days to get to that point when negotiations resume Friday, with the owners currently offering only 46-48 percent (down from 57 percent in the last deal) and the players at 54 (but having