NBA Talks End Abruptly With No Agreement

Talks between the NBA and its union broke off Thursday night in New York with no agreement reached, putting the 1995-96 season in greater jeopardy.

After almost four hours of negotiations, the sides made no progress toward resolving the critical issue of the luxury tax, and no further talks were scheduled.

The union said its door remains open, and if no new deal is reached by midnight Tuesday, it will agree to relinquish its authority as the players’ bargaining agent.

“We gave the players a set of very meaningful proposals that addressed the issues, and we reached for our players,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said. “We will remain locked out.”

Union President Buck Williams deemed the league’s proposals unacceptable.

The sides had reached tentative agreement on a labor deal in June only to have the players, spurred on by a dissident group led by Patrick Ewing and Michael Jordan, table a vote on it and send the union back to the bargaining table. At issue was the luxury tax that would be triggered when certain contracts exceed the salary cap.

Stern reiterated that the NBA will continue its lockout if the union decertifies, saying the league will negotiate with the existing union or not negotiate at all.

Hockey

The Mighty Ducks and right wing Todd Ewen are scheduled for an arbitration hearing today to determine retroactively Ewen’s 1994-95 salary. The Ducks submitted a figure of $385,000, Ewen’s salary the previous season. Ewen asked for $525,000 after leading the team in penalty minutes and scoring a career-high 18 points in 1993-94. Arbitrator Claude Foisy will rule 48 hours after the hearing in Dallas. Ewen can become a free agent after the ruling, but the Ducks want to re-sign him.

The Ducks also announced that minor league defenseman Alain Deeks and junior goaltender Byron Penstock, agreed to multiyear contracts and will report to training camp on Sept. 10.

Jeffrey Arenburg, 38, charged with first-degree murder in the death of former King and popular Canadian sportscaster Brian Smith, made an obscene gesture at journalists in Ottawa upon arriving for his first court appearance.

Names In The News

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, who once harshly criticized the Miami Hurricanes as “a sideshow of bully tactics, thuggery and goonery,” briefly considered becoming their coach when he was sought out in mid-January. Former Miami assistant Butch Davis was later hired. “I slept on it because it was flattering,” Paterno said. “To have a new challenge in my life, at this stage of my life, made it worth considering.”