Auburn Hills

The NFL, undeterred by last week's brawl between NBA players and spectators, will put fans on the sidelines this weekend to test a new premium seating program. Four fans at the Minnesota Vikings-Jacksonville Jaguars game will be seated 36 feet from the sidelines at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The test comes about a week after players and fans fought at an NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers in Auburn Hills, Mich. "Obviously, security is one of the issues that's a concern," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said yesterday.

The Washington Bullets will play two games against the world champion Chicago Bulls to highlight their eight-game preseason schedule in October.They face Michael Jordan and the Bulls in Birmingham, Ala., Oct. 18, and meet again four days later in Knoxville, Tenn.There will also be a homecoming for coach Wes Unseld, center/forward Pervis Ellison and rookie guard LaBradford Smith when the Bullets play the Utah Jazz at Freedom Hall in Louisville. All three are Louisville graduates.The itinerary begins Oct. 13 with a game against the New York Knicks at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. The Bullets will travel to the Bahamas Oct. 20 to play the Miami Heat.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee A. Iacocca, his voice cracking with emotion, bade goodbye to shareholders yesterday at what is expected to be the last annual meeting he will preside over as the company's chief executive."

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - It's always a nice story when the junior varsity sneaks up and steals one from the arrogant upperclassmen. Or when the Eastern Conference team can truly compete in the NBA Finals. "All year long [we were] called the junior varsity conference," Detroit guard Chauncey Billups said, the disdain evident in his voice. "We played everybody they played - the Lakers, Minnesota - and had the same success. "Maybe the bottom part of the conference isn't as strong as the Western Conference bottom, but I think the top three teams in the Eastern Conference are just as good as the top three teams in the Western Conference.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- In the NBA, they're used to big.But they will have to get used to Shawn Bradley.The 7-foot-6 center, who came to the Palace at Auburn Hills yesterday for tonight's NBA draft, probably will be the second player chosen -- behind Chris Webber. A lot of NBA hotshots came to the Detroit area at the same time, and so did a bunch of little shots -- reporters, mostly.When Detroit Free Press photographer John Collier asked Bob Lanier to pose with Bradley, the 6-foot-11 former Piston started to shy away.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Washington Bullets gained the dubious distinction of becoming the second NBA team to lose 20 games last night.The Detroit Pistons, victors in 12 of their last 15 games, did the honors with a 118-110 victory before a sellout crowd of 21,454 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Joe Dumars did most of the damage for Detroit with 36 points. Orlando Woolridge had a season-high 29 points and Bill Laimbeer added 20.Pervis Ellison led the Bullets (8-20) with 27 points. Harvey Grant had 26 and Rex Chapman added 19.Only the lowly Dallas Mavericks (2-22)

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Scoring has been a problem for the Washington Bullets all season, and their failure to put the ball in the basket did them in again last night.The Bullets shot 42 percent from the field and 60 percent from the foul line in their fourth straight defeat. The Detroit Pistons held on down the stretch for a 100-93 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills."We're having a very difficult time scoring," said Bullets coach Wes Unseld.The Bullets converted eight offensive rebounds into 16 points, but Unseld said that wasn't good enough.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Bradley fans had plenty to cheer about yesterday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, and don't think their basketball team didn't hear them. After the final horn sounded in 13th-seeded Bradley's 72-66 upset of fifth-seeded Pittsburgh, the Braves acknowledged the faithful who made the trip from Peoria, Ill. "It was a great feeling because the fans have been with us all year," said sophomore center Patrick O'Bryant, who led all scorers with a career-high 28 points. "We wouldn't have been able to do a lot without their help and support, constant cheering and giving the other team garbage, whatever they do."

Were 'bad' days so bad? Ethan Skolnick Sun Sentinel David Stern would love the answer to this question: There is none. For all the talk of an NBA image problem, it's a challenge to come up with anyone whose presence in the league embarrasses it. Sure, some players have shown poor Twitter judgment. And, yes, Gilbert Arenas deserved punishment for his senseless, if not malicious, gun stunt. But the two primary participants in the Auburn Hills brawl, Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson, have been model citizens on playoff teams - Artest made news for revealing he used to drink Hennessy at halftime.

Points Matt Santangelo, Gonzaga ..........26 Stromile Swift, LSU ......................23 Lonny Baxter, Maryland ................22 Marcus Fizer, Iowa State .............22 Gilbert Arenas, Arizona ................21 Erick Barkley, St. John's ...............21 Mateen Cleaves, Mich. State ........21 Stevie Johnson, Iowa State ..........21 Nolan Johnson, Oklahoma ............20 Andre Hutson, Michigan State ......19 Ivan Wagner, Texas .......................19 Anthony Glover, St. John's .....