Abe Pollin

POOR MICHAEL Jordan, the neophyte NBA executive, was used by Abe Pollin? Please. Nike ought to consider a new sneaker line. Air Abes. With velcro tabs for the geriatric set, the shoe can make a 79-year-old man leap intergalactic icons in a single bound. Most impressive feature? Air Abes can really fire! That's right, folks. Abe Pollin, owner of the Washington Wizards, just took off from the foul line and floated like a butterfly to sting Jordan like the mother of all bees. It's a bird.

The NBA gossip mills, such as they are, are all churning over the question of whether the marriage between Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin and Michael Jordan, the once and presumed future president of basketball operations, can be saved. If the barrage of stories emerging this weekend are to be believed, Jordan and Pollin, who are scheduled to meet sometime this week to discuss the club's future and Jordan's involvement, will be left only to haggle over the terms of the divorce. But the two men still have enough mutual interests to make saving their relationship a priority.

ANOTHER SUITOR. Another city. Another stop on the Michael Jordan Savior Tour. Maybe this is a basketball midlife crisis the likes of which we've never quite seen before. It's not every day that the greatest player ever sputters into meltdown mode, giving the distinct impression of a man stumbling into uneasy middle age. Michael Jordan is on his way out not only as shooting guard but as the Washington Wizards' president, too? Hold on there, partner. It takes more than one attempt to divorce Jordan.

WASHINGTON -- The contract talks at times demonstrated a bitterness between the Washington Wizards and Rod Strickland. But just two days before the start of the regular season, the Wizards were finally able to put together their dream backcourt.Strickland, a point guard whose 10.5 assists a game last season led the NBA, signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the Wizards last night and will play alongside Mitch Richmond in tomorrow night's season opener at Indiana. The Wizards will have a $5 million buyout option in the fourth year of the contract.

LANDOVER -- Peter Bondra, dressed all in black, entered the Washington Capitals' locker room last night to backslaps, broad smiles and welcome-home wishes.After a 39-day holdout, Bondra and the Capitals reached an agreement on a five-year, $9 million deal yesterday in time for 1995's leading NHL goal-scorer to climb into a uniform and onto the ice for last night's 7-4 loss to Los Angeles."I'm excited, relieved and very happy to have Peter under contract for the next five years," said Capitals general manager David Poile.

Mayor Marion Barry strengthened Washington's economic base and self-esteem by persuading sports impresario Abe Pollin to agree to build a new arena near the Gallery Place Metro station.Downtown is the best site for such entertainments as the National Basketball Association Bullets and the National Hockey League Capitals, both of which Mr. Pollin owns and both of which play at the USAir Arena, formerly the Capital Centre, in Prince George's County. Washington's Chinatown on the Metro, near the Convention Center, is a better spot.

The Washington Bullets' practice at Bowie State yesterday was nearly over when coach Jim Lynam blew the whistle, interrupting the scrimmage.Lynam knelt on one knee and looked up at his No. 1 draft choice, Juwan Howard."

Juwan Howard, the Washington Bullets' first-round draft pick, yesterday rejected the team's latest contract offer at a two-hour meeting at the home of Bullets owner Abe Pollin, the club said in a news release.The money offered was unchanged -- a guaranteed $30.7 million over 10 years. Yesterday, however, the club said it included a series of options that would allow Howard to negotiate for more money after his second, third or fourth years. He also was offered an unconditional right to terminate midway through the contract.

WASHINGTON -- Even after he became general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers nearly two years ago, Jim Lynam never could rid himself of the intense desire to coach."

Kick-off time in the Great Stadium Tussle arrived last week in Annapolis. After the first few minutes of action, the tally board read: Schaefer 7, Cooke 3. This could be a high-scoring affair.Rapidly moving the ball down the field on his first possession, quarterback William Donald Schaefer connected with Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman on a fly pattern that split the defense and resulted in the first score. Mr. Braman let the whole world in on a little secret: Two NFL owners he knows have told him they are serious about wanting to move their clubs to Baltimore.