JULY 1,1*98
Hu- IJnrfLxitb (Dbserttrr
Page B2
NBA
L o c k s O u t P la y e r s
mer o f 1995 lasted three months; in
1996 it lasted only a few hours.
The old agreem ent was to run for
six years, but the ow ners had the
right to reopen it if the am ount o f
designated revenue being paid to
ward player salaries exceeded a cer
tain level - 5 1 .8 percent o f basket
ball-related income.
The ow ners say they are now d e
voting 57 percent o f those revenues
to player salaries, a total o f almost $ I
B y CHRIS SHERIDAN
The N B A ’s sum m er o f labor dis
cord tipsofftom ghtat m idnight East
ern time.
T hat’s when the lockout begins
and all business will com e to a halt:
No trades, no free agent signings, no
practices, no resolving the M ichael
Jordan question.
After going more than a w eek since
the last talks on a new collective
bargaining agreem ent, the league
announced M onday w hat everyone
knew was com ing - a lockout that
eould w ipe out gam es for the first
time in NBA history.
• “We need a w ay to slow dow n
salary grow th to bring it in line w ith
tiur revenue grow th,” com m issioner
¿»avid Stem said. “T he current sys
tem does not w ork."
Z “We ca n 't afford to play next sea
son under the current system . T h at’s
just the reality. T h at’s w hy ow ners
alerted to lockout,” Stem said.
Z The m ove cam e as no surprise.
Blayers were told throughout last
season to expect a long w ork stop
page, and talks w ere going now here
Sefore breaking off.
Z The biggest question now is when
if will end.
Z "W e spent all o f this year urging
players to save their m oney so they
would be able to survive a lockout,”
union director Billy H unter said.
David Stern
“ W e’ve ta k en c o n tin u o u s p o lls
am ong the players, and they are pre
pared to go the distance."
Stem even acknow ledged that the
im passe could last into Novem ber,
when the season opens, or even into
1999.
“Y es, that is fair and accurate.
There are a num ber o f clubs that will
do better not operating than operat
ing. T h at’s som ething the players
don’t seem to understand,” Stem said.
T his will be the third lockout in
league history. A lockout in the sum
billion.
The im pending lockout already
caused 12 NBA players to be re
m oved from the team scheduled to
com pete next m onth at the world
cham pionships in G reece. USA Bas
ketball, the governing body for the
national team, will replace them with
a team o f A m ericans currently p lay
ing overseas, m inor leaguers and
possibly som e collegians.
Despite meeting nine tim es since
April, the ow ners and players have
made only m inim al progress on a
new agreem ent to replace the one
expiring at midnight tonight.
"W e’ve m ade four different pro
posals, all involving player salaries
going up every year," deputy co m
m issioner Russ G ranik said. “The
players m ade one set o f proposals,
and have never m oved o ft those pro
posals in any w ay on econom ic is
sues.”
Stem and G ranik said the league’s
profit m argins have been shrinking
for the last five years, and alm ost hal f
o f the 29 team s stood to lose money
in the just-com pleted season.
“T he final num bers aren ’t in, but
for first tim e, as a w hole, w e believe
the league w as actually unprofitable
last season,” S tem said.
He also said the NBA w ould ac
cept an agreem ent sim ilar to the
N F L ’s, in w hich a salary cap could
not be exceeded for any reason.
T he players have vow ed to resist
any form o f a “hard” salary cap and
w ant to keep the current “soft” cap,
especially the rule know n as the
“ Larry Bird exception,” w hich al
lows team s to exceed the salary cap
to retain their ow n free agents.
Such an exception allow ed the
Chicago Bulls to pay M ichael Jordan
m ore than $33 m illion last season
despite the salary cap being set at
$26.9 m illion.
“ A t th e la st b a rg a in in g m e e t
in g , th e u n io n sa id th a t u n le ss th e
o w n e rs w e re p re p a re d to a g re e to
m a in ta in th e ‘L arry B ird e x c e p
tio n ’ as is, th e y h ad n o th in g f u r
th e r to ta lk a b o u t,” G ra n ik sa id ,
re f e r rin g to th e Ju n e 22 se ssio n ,
w h ic h b ro k e o f f a fte r o n ly 30
m in u te s. " W e n e e d an a g re e m e n t
th a t is n o t to ta lly o p e n -e n d e d ,
an d i f th e r e ’s a w ay to do so th a t
TYSON COULD FIGHT IN OCTOBER
B y TIM DAHLBERG
• M ike Tyson plans to fight in
either O ctober o r N ovem ber if N e
vada boxing authorities agree to
reinstate him after a one-year sus
pension.
Adviser Shelly Finkel said Tyson
w ill apply next m onth for the li
cense, w hich was taken aw ay after
Tyson bit Evander H olyfield tw ice
on the ears during their W BA heavy
w eight title fight last June.
Z Finkel said Tyson w ould have
his first com eback fight either in
O ctober or N ovem ber if the com
m ission looks favorably on his ap
plication.
“I’ve got to believe the chances
o f him getting a license are good,”
Finkel said. “H e has behaved in the
last year.
.........
.
Tyson is eligible to apply to r a
new license July 9, a year after the
N evada State Athletic C om m ission
revoked his license and fined him $3
m illion for the infam ous biting in the
rem atch o f their first heavyw eight
title fight.
Tyson was disqualified in the third
round by referee M ills Lane after he
bit a chunk out o f Holyfield ’ s left ear,
then bit his right ear after the fight
was resumed.
Finkel, w ho said he will represent
the form er heavyw eight cham pion in
his dealings w ith N evada boxing au
thorities, is one o f several people
who Tyson has aligned him self w ith
after splitting from prom oter Don
K ing and his form er co-m anagers,
John H om e and Rory H olloway.
Tyson has filed suits in N ew Y ork
__ a in efforts l to a not
and 1 Z
C -9 alifornia
get nut
out n o f f
contracts w ith King and H om e and
Holloway.
Finkel h a sn 't talked to K ing re
cently about a possible settlem ent o f
the contractual dispute, but said
T y so n ’s attorneys believe he can go
ahead and fight w ithout a settlement.
“W e d o n ’t believe h e’s under that
contract,” Finkel said.
Tyson, w ho split from K ing in
February, reportedly ow es m illions
in taxes and has encountered cash
flow problem s in the m onths since he
has not been in the ring.
Tyson m ade $ 140 million in purses
in six fights since his release from
pri son in 1995, but h alf o f that money
w ent to his co-m anagers and King,
according to contracts contained in
court records.
W hile
h ile u n d er su sp e n sio n , he
earned $3.5 m illion to play the role
o f enforcer fo rth e W orld W restling
F ederation in its W re stle m an ia
matches in March.
If Tyson gets his license back, he
is expected to take a fight against a
m ediocre opponent, m uch as he did
when he fought Peter M cN eeley
after his release from prison on a
rape conviction in 1995.
T he big fight aw aiting T yson,
though, is a possible third m atch
w ith Holyfield, w hich could rival
the grossing pow er o f the first tw o
fights.
Holyfield has indicated interest
in such a fight, but said it w ould
have to work into a tim etable he has
o f unifying the heavyw eight titles,
then retiring in 2000.
Hingis, Novotna Win at Wimbledon
B y STEPHEN WILSON
Venus Williams powered into the
Wimbledon quarterfinals today, easily
beating the player who knocked her
sister out the tournament a day earlier.
Volleying with authority for the first
time and showing an all-court game that
could make her a real title threat, Will
iams defeated Virginia Ruano-Pascual
6-3,6-1.
The prospectofa fourth-round meet
ing between Venus and her sister was
dashed M onday w hen 16-year-old
SerenaWilliams failed togetpast Ruano-
Pascual. Citing a calf injury, Serena quit
the third-round match while trailing 7-5,
4-1.
Venus took pleasure in avenging that
result.
“1 wanted to win every point, all the
points that Serena couldn't win yester
day,” the 18-year-old American said. "1
didn ’t like it when she (Ruano-Pascual)
came back to 4-3. That was negl i gent on
my part. 1 had to get serious to make sure
she didn’t get too many more games.”
Also advancing to the quarterfinals
were defending champion Martina
Hingis, last year’s runner-up Jana
Novotna and French Open champion
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.
Hingis, the top seed, beat Thailand’s
Tamarine Tanasugam 6-3, 6-2, No. 3
Novotna downedNo. 10IrinaSpirlea6-
2,6-3 and No. 5 Sanchez Vicario rallied
for a 3-6,6-3,6-2 win over Dominique
Van Roost.
Williams will face Novotna in the
quarters, while Hingis will play Sanchez
Vicario.
In men’s play, defending champion
Pete Sampras moved closer to his fifth
title in six years by beating French quali
fier Sebastian Grosjean 6-3,6-4,6-4 to
reach the quarters.
Sampras, who hasn't dropped a set so
far, finished the match with his 13 th and
14th aces. He was never broken, faced
World Cup Soccer Roundup
B y JOSEPH WHITE
Both favorites won. Both by 2-1.
That doesn’t come close to telling the
through 90 minutes o f torture. We
won with our fighting spirit. They
found the strength to win a game that
story.
The story was in the face o f Edgar
Davids, running toward a sea o f or
ange in the stands, his left index finger
thrust in theairas he celebrated his first
goal for his country. It was a second-
half game-winner during injury time
Monday that lifted the Netherlands
into the World Cup quarterfinals.
“I put all o f m yself into the final
shot, and I scored," said the 25-year-
old midfielder, breaking a two-year
media silence to discuss the 25-yand
blast that eliminated Yugoslavia in the
was nearly lost.”
Croatia joined the quarterfinalists
today with a 1-0 victory over Roma
nia. on a penalty kick by Davor Suker
in first-half injury time.
It was the first time since 1974 that
a first-time World Cup team reached
the quarters, and Croatia will play
Germany on Saturday in Lyon.
Argentina and England played to
night to fill the last quarterfinal spot,
and there was more fan violence on the
92nd minute.
The story also was the sight o f
G erm any's veterans, sprawled on the
grass, gasping for air, their aging legs
cramping in 9 1-degree heat. They
didn’t just win. they survived a heart-
stopping scare, needing two goals 11
minutes apart deep in the second half
to beat Mexico.
“I wouldn ’ t want to go through such
a game every day,” German coach
Berti Vogts said. “My team went
eve o f that game.
A sudden show o f force by riot
troops triggered insults, scuffles and
wild baton charges early today in the
centerofSaint-Etienne, where the game-
will be played tonight. Police arrested
several English fans and local toughs.
There were someminorinjuries,mostly
caused during crowd stampedes.
“This is the worst moment in my
career,” Mijatovic said. “The Dutch
goalie is tall, so I decided to shoot high
and under the bar. It didn’t work. I'm
sad for my teammates
only one break point and broke Grosjean
four times.
“1 felt pretty good today,” Sampras
said. “ I haven’t played a baseliner until
today, which was a little bit unusual. I’m
playing pretty well, holding serve pretty
handily. It’s been a pretty good week.”
Sampras, whose third-round match
stretched over four days because of rain
delays, washappylogetthisoneoverquickly.
“It was nice to start a match and
complete a match in one day,” he said.
Sampras will next face big-serving
Mark Philippoussis, who downed fel
low Australian Jason Stoltenberg 5-7,6-
1,6-3,6-3.
PHONE DISCONNECTED?
MUSIC cm dill E
cm ok Pflcmc
GALORE
Where we cam activate any
pager for $19.95 or we
can activate any cellular
fol- $44.95 We also have
FREE Cellular phones
(with annual agreement).
Galore also has pager &
C ellular accessories and the
latest Hip Hop, Rap, & R&B
in the Portland area.
Come on dow n and check us
out we know we have what
you need!
located at: 3213 NE
M a rtin Luther King Blvd.
o r C all (503) 288-9180
JE A N IE
NO PROBLEM AT
5403 N E 42nd
SIMPLY CELLULAR g- TELEPHONE
Portland, O regon 97218
CREDIT CHICKS
DEPOSITS
TURNDOWNS
(503) 287-0008
9 :0 0 - 6 :0 0 M - F
—
M M MB MB MB Mi Mi MB
leanies Cleaners
Coupon
I
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
k e e p s th e e x c e p tio n - o r so m e
e le m e n ts o f it - w e ’re p re p a re d to
d o th a t.”
H unter pointed out that only 10
percent o f players signed their cur
rent contracts under the Bird excep
tion.
“ For the other 90 percent, it’s a
fixed cap. W ithout the exception,
teams w ouldn’t have room to accom
m odate m ost o f the players,” he said.
T he lockout m eans team s cannot
conduct practices, sum m er cam ps,
w orkouts, coaching sessions or team
m eetings. A handful o f players who
w ere to be paid part o f their salaries
this sum m er will not receive those
paychecks until the lockout ends.
U nlike the last lockout, team s will
not be barred from w orking with
players rehabilitating from injuries
as long as those sessions take place
outside o f N BA facilities.
Also, some previously scheduled char
ity' games will be allowed to proceed.
H unter said he expects to meet
again with Stem in mid-July.
“If there’s a softening in our posi
tion, w e’ll let them know,” Hunter
said. “But the league is profitable, the
commissioner and thedeputy com mis
sioner are the highest paid in profes
sional sports, the number o f league
employees is growing and the average
salary o f coaches is higher than that o f
the players. So why are things so bad?”
REGARDLESS OF YOUR BACK BILL
PHONE SERVICE RESTORED IN 3-5 DAYS
AFFORDABLE RATES • NO HIDDEN FEES
3939 NE MLK JR BLVD
9 : 0 0 - 4 :0 0 S at.
—
"""" """ """ “I
leanies Cleaners |
Coupon
$ 1 2 o ff of
$8 o ff of
$ 3 0 o r mpKe
$20
280-8000
leanies Cleaners
leanies Cleaners
THIS AD GOOD FOR 1 FREE LONG DISTANCE CALLING CARD
WHEN PHONE SERVICE IS ORDERED
Coupon
Coupon
$4 o ff o f
25 % o ff
$ 1 2 o r m ore
P lo n U o f S
PORTLAND AREA RESIDENTS ONLY