SPORTS
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UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, October 5, 1994
2B
Labor agreement looming over pro basketball leaders' group
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Forget about moving the 3-point line. The real topic of interest when the NBA's Board of Governors meets Wednesday is the league's labor situation.
Although owners will decide on a raft of items, including shortening the 3-point line and approving a new owner for the Minnesota Timberwolves, commissioner David Stern's report on collective bargaining is the most urgent business facing the group.
The NBA's labor deal with the players expired at the end of last season, no talks have been held since July 11 and the season starts Nov. 4.
With the major league baseball season canceled because of a strike and hockey players locked out, talk of an NBA lockout is hot and heavy.
The league, which has never had a work stoppage, has tried to squelch such talk, saying it hopes things won't
come to that.
But with the NBA and its players far apart on several major issues, can pro basketball do any better than baseball and hockey in the labor department?
"I feel optimistic," deputy commissioner Russ Granik said. "I still think the track record between the union and management has been good. I don't have any reason to think that won't continue."
Just as in baseball and hockey, however, what the owners want and what the players want in a new agreement are two very different sets of things
The players' union wants to eliminate the salary cap, restrictions on free agency and the college draft and get a larger share of revenues.
The owners want to close loopholes in current salary cap, such as contract clauses that allow players to become restricted free agents after one year and balloon payments at the end of a contract. The league also
would like to see restrictions on rookie salaries, and it insists on continuing the draft.
The players' association has challenged the legality of the cap, draft and right of first refusal for free agency, alleging antitrust violations. The players lost a court decision in July, but appealed and are awaiting a ruling before returning to the bargaining table.
However, that ruling isn't expected until the middle of the month, leaving about two weeks before the start of the season to hammer out a deal.
"We have plenty of impetus to want to make a new deal and continue our growth," Granik said.
If matters aren't resolved by then, the league could press for players to take a no-strike pledge, ensuring the season could proceed without threat of interruption.
"That's not anything we're focusing on now," Granik said. "It's too early to think about that."
Coach trying to stop Tigers' taunting
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Larry Smith came to Missouri as a lord of discipline, running a preseason boot camp at a military school, demanding that players remove their ball caps at the dinner table and in general cracking the whip.
But in his first season as coach of the Tigers, he's not having a lot of success putting a stop to taunting.
In Saturday's 34-10 loss to West Virginia, defensive players were seen slapping their chests, punching their fists in the air and raising their arms in triumph — actions that seemed strange considering the score.
There were a number of similar incidents in the a 42-0 loss to Illinois earlier in the season.
Immediately after the West Virginia
loss that dropped Missouri's record to 1-3, Smith said he hadn't seen any of it.
"You know what, I'll tell you guys, you ought to watch the football being played," Smith said. "Why do people just sit and look at that?"
Yesterday, Smith said he had reviewed some of the incidents on videotape. He also said he hopes to put a stop to it.
But he didn't mention any disciplinary action, and he repeated his statement that he wished reporters would not take notice of what occurs after the play.
"We do not condone that type of thing," Smith said. "What we did was not very smart. I've talked to a couple of players who admitted they were talking to their sideline. I told them to
shut up and play footb
On the other hand ...
"It does look dumb, I agree 100 per cent," Smith said. "But I think there are a lot of people sitting up there who don't understand the game of football, picking out things going wrong."
Though the players doing most of the jawing and strutting were inherited from the previous coach, Smith accepts some of the blame.
However, he saves the lion's share for television, which he said for years had glorified in the NFL's sack dances and end zone improvisations.
"Kids see all kinds of gyrations, they see entertainers," Smith said. "Inevitably, that's where it starts. The TV cameras focus right on it, they play it up."
Variety of disputes have postponed start of NHL season
Hockey players refuse to practice
NEW YORK — NHL teams are allowing players to practice without playing games. The players are saying no thanks.
The Associated Press
They have vowed not to lace up their skates until the season begins, and, if Monday was any indication, their blades are going to get rusty.
"No HPL player will go on the ice for two weeks, not even to skate in
their own backyard, *Pat Verbeek of the Hartford Whalers said. "Put the gear in the basement and leave it there.*
"We want to show owners how serious we are about them locking us out of the season. Who says after two weeks there won't be another postponement?"
Arenaes were made available for players if they wanted to work out on their own. Players showed up in some cities only to gather things from their lockers.
Monday was to be Day 3 of the 1994-95 schedule. So far, 16 games have been postponed by the dispute
between the NHL and the players association, and four more were scheduled for tonight.
Negotiations resumed at noon today at league headquarters here. It has been almost a week since representatives for owners and players tried to work out an agreement.
Last Friday, commissioner Gary Bettman postponed the schedule until at least Oct. 15 to reach a collective agreement.
There are huge philosophical differences to be bridged, leading to speculation there may not be enough time to resolve the problems within the next two weeks.
Negotiations face-off
National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman has threatened to postpone the Oct. 1 opening of the regular season if owners and players do not agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. Key issues:
Owners
Wage scale for veterans, salary cap for rockies
Players
Salary cap
No salary cap or restrictions
No limit on salary spending; clubs taxed for driving up the market
Tax plan
Subject free agents to salary cap; club retain right of first refusal on players who become free agents; put limit on number of free agents a team can allow and lose
五 percent tax on salaries, revenues; proceeds pooled to help small-market clubs
Free agency
Eliminate restrictions on free agents; eliminate equalization payments to clubs losing free agents
Eliminate salary arbitration
Salary arbitration
No increase in minimum salary from $100,000
until 1999-2000 season; reduce playoff bonus
pool from $9 million to $2 million; standardize
all player contracts with fixed terms in
new year
Adopt final-finder system in which arbitrator chooses either club's or player's salary figure
Salaries/ awards
keep draft at 11 rounds; increase club's negotiating rights from two to three years; keep supplemental draft of players overlooked in first year of eligibility
increase minimum salary to $125,000 and establish minor league minimum at $25,000; increase playoff pool to $14.5 million for 1993-94; keep option year and player's right to negotiate bonuses individually in standard player's contract
Draft
Limit draft to six rounds; eliminate supplemental draft and requirement that European players be drafted in order to play in NHL.
SOURCE: National Hockey League Players Association, news reports
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