Nba Players

One team features Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning. The other includes Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone.It's a battle that basketball fans would love to see on the court. Instead, it will be played out over the next nine days at National Labor Relations Board sites across the country.NBA players will begin a voting process today -- with another vote scheduled Sept. 8 -- that could determine whether the 1995-96 season starts on time. It's a vote to decertify the National Basketball Players Association -- a vote to decertify is a vote against the tentative collective bargaining agreement that owners and player representatives agreed to on Aug. 8.A league-imposed lockout has been in effect since July 1, shortly after a group of 16 players filed an antitrust suit against the league.

Maybe you yawned when you heard the news. Or maybe you just shrugged when you heard about Jason Collins and said: "What's the big deal?" But it's a very big deal. First active male player in a major team sport to declare he's gay? In the macho world of the NBA, where a player like Tim Hardaway once hissed "I hate gay people" before the ensuing backlash had him backpedaling like a fighter trying to avoid another haymaker? Oh, it's a very big deal. Now Collins, a 34-year-old journeyman center for six teams over 12 seasons, comes out of the closet and makes history.

NBA players yesterday voted overwhelmingly against decertifying their union, clearing the way for the season to begin on time.In voting tallied in the New York office of the National Labor Relations Board, the players, by a margin of 226-134, decided not to decertify their union, raising hope that the league will begin its regular season as scheduled Nov. 3."The players want to play basketball," said Portland Trail Blazers forward Buck Williams, president of the players union. "We believe we got a fair agreement."

A black nylon sign hangs over the entrance of St. Frances Academy's gymnasium with a simple, three-word message: "Protect this house. " Playing before a packed hometown crowd Tuesday night, that's exactly what Will Barton did. The rookie Portland Trail Blazers swingman led "Baltimore's Best," a makeshift squad featuring NBA role players and high school talents from the Charm City, to a 124-109 win over "Team Armour" - a group comprised of...

HAVANA -- Magic Johnson wasn't here, but some little guy named Anthony Bennett was. Patrick Ewing was on vacation while Christian Laettner was bounced around the middle like a pinball. Charles Barkley was sharpening his golf game and Mike Peplowski was refining the art of the turnover.College players from the United States don't win gold medals in basketball anymore. They may not even win the bronze medal today. While the United States is relegated to the Pan American Games consolation final against Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico will play for the gold.

Having already lost, combined, more than a half-billion dollars in salaries, scores of NBA players began converging on New York yesterday to prepare for a historic vote that could decide the fate of the current season.With NBA commissioner David Stern's recommendation to cancel the season facing a vote of the league's Board of Governors tomorrow, the 430 members of the players association were summoned to New York to vote today on the league's latest proposal.Union director Billy Hunter said the 19-member negotiating committee, which met yesterday, will urge the players to reject the "final offer" that was sent by the league to the union and its players last week.

NEW YORK -- In the days after Magic Johnson's Nov. 7 announcement that he carries the AIDS virus, his peers in pro basketball began to wonder whether they were at risk, whether they should get tested and how one contracts the disease."

RICHMOND, Va. - Dwight Howard has had a pretty good year. Last June, he went from high school all-star to the NBA's No. 1 overall pick, and then, as a teenage power forward for the Orlando Magic, he proved himself a world-class rebounder, a promising scorer and a man who would steer clear of anything resembling trouble. Yesterday, Howard recounted the thrills of battling his idol, Kevin Garnett, to the best high school players in the land, those who would succeed him on the fast track to pro glory.

WASHINGTON -- A crowd of eager basketball fans had already gathered when the gleaming, two-door gold Mercedes made a U-turn and pulled up to the curb just outside the MCI Center.Out of the luxury import stepped Washington Wizards forward Juwan Howard. Already in possession of a seven-year, $105 million contract, Howard was taking to the street along with other NBA players to plead the case of a players union in pursuit of a bigger slice of the league's financial pie.Yesterday was supposed to mark the first day of NBA training camps, with players gearing up for the season with two-mile runs and two-a-day practices.

Even as the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons face off on the NBA's grandest stage, a possible work stoppage casts a shadow on the league's horizon. As recently as the All-Star break in February, commissioner David Stern and union chief Billy Hunter said they foresaw smooth contract negotiations that could wrap before the regular season ended. But in recent weeks, league officials, union representatives and agents spoke less optimistically, with some saying a long, crippling stoppage was possible.

Several NBA players will be in Baltimore on Tuesday for an exhibition game at St. Frances. Dwayne Wise , Under Armour B'more Finest's director of basketball operations, told The Sun that a team of Under Armour-sponsored pros will take on a team made up mostly of Baltimore players. Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks), Kemba Walker (Charlotte Bobcats), former Terps star Greivis Vasquez (New Orleans Hornets), DeAndre Jordan (Los Angeles Clippers) and Derrick Williams (Minnesota Timberwolves)

Former NBA player Oliver J. Miller was sentenced Friday to a year in the Anne Arundel County jail for pistol-whipping his girlfriend's brother in Arnold. Miller, 41, who was living with his girlfriend in Edgewater, pleaded guilty last fall to first-degree assault and carrying a handgun. "I apologize for the wrong I've done," Miller told Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Paul A. Hackner. He said he is "just a man protecting the people I love. " The allegations stemmed from a family argument at a cookout April 17 at a friend's home.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Lou Williams takes shots on the court, but prevented them from being fired recently in a Philadelphia neighborhood. Williams told the Philadelphia Daily News that he was approached by a gun-wielding man while stopped in his car Christmas Eve. But he talked the gunman out of the crime, then took him to McDonald's. “A guy tried to rob me but decided not to because of whatever I do in the community,” Williams told the paper. “He's a Lou Williams fan, so he didn't rob me.” Williams said the man knocked on the driver's window with a gun drawn.

NBA players sponsored by Baltimore-based Under Armour will be sporting their professional jerseys in upcoming ad campaigns for Under Armour footwear, under a partnership between the company and the National Basketball Association. The multi-year partnership between the league and the sports apparel company will allow the athletes to wear official NBA uniforms when promoting footwear in promotional campaigns, brand advertising and in-store promotions, Under Armour said Tuesday. NBA athletes with Under Armour endorsement deals include Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks, Derrick Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Bobcats and Greivis Vasquez of the Memphis Grizzlies.

In a letter to the editor, the Laurel Boys and Girls Club thanks the National Basketball Players Association and Wizard Andray Blatche for partnering with the club in giving away more than 1,100 turkeys to families in the greater Laurel area. The Laurel Boys and Girls Club would like to thank the National Basketball Players Association and Wizard's own Andray Blatche for partnering with the club in giving away more than 1,100 turkeys to families in the greater Laurel area. Many of the families really appreciated the gratitude of the turkey giveaway.

The National Basketball Association needs to make these contract talks work or do what the National Football League did years ago and hire and play temporary replacement players ("Will there be an NBA season of any kind?" Nov. 18). Maybe then these overpriced players and owners will come to agreeable terms and fully save the NBA season. Barry Apple, Woodlawn

On the basketball court, NBA players dazzle. They're quick. They're flashy. They look good doing what they do. And nowadays, two months after an imposed leaguewide dress code, early fashion reviews are in: These pro ballplayers are looking equally as good off the court. The Cleveland Cavaliers' hip young star LeBron James has a penchant for preppy cable-knit sweaters under his suit jackets. Allen Iverson throws a phat leather jacket over his cashmere walking suits. Shaquille O'Neal likes three-piece suits, with three, four or even eight buttons.

NBA players sponsored by Baltimore-based Under Armour will be sporting their professional jerseys in upcoming ad campaigns for Under Armour footwear, under a partnership between the company and the National Basketball Association. The multi-year partnership between the league and the sports apparel company will allow the athletes to wear official NBA uniforms when promoting footwear in promotional campaigns, brand advertising and in-store promotions, Under Armour said Tuesday. NBA athletes with Under Armour endorsement deals include Brandon Jennings of the Milwaukee Bucks, Derrick Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Bobcats and Greivis Vasquez of the Memphis Grizzlies.

A former professional basketball player pleaded guilty Tuesday in the pistol whipping of his girlfriend's brother after a dispute at a cookout in Arnold. Oliver J. Miller, 41, a former NBA player, pleaded guilty in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to first-degree assault and carrying a handgun, allegations that stemmed from a family argument at a cookout in April. Deputy State's Attorney Thomas J. Fleckenstein said that Miller followed Jason Worley from the cookout, and was seen whacking Worley in the head and face with a handgun outside Worley's home before driving away.

If you've been paying attention to the NBA's labor woes, this statement should sound familiar: "Unfortunately, we lose less money by not playing, and we know if we were to try to continue to play we would lose franchises and be in terrible, terrible shape. We are out of gas. " And you'll probably think you've heard this before, from a player involved in the collective bargaining process: "It's interesting that we're supposed to enter into a partnership that starts with a lockout.