'Gift to the fans'
NBA exhibition game set for Saturday night in Atlantic City
Posted: Friday December 18, 1998 07:28 PM
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Reggie Miller (left) jokes around while Shawn Kemp laughs it up in a press conference for the players' exhibition game AP |
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (AP) -- Gathered in another gambling town and
needy for publicity, locked-out NBA players tried to boost prospects for
their exhibition game by billing it as a "gift to the fans."
But this gift, in person or on TV, comes with a price.
"The Game on Showtime," featuring 16 current or former All-Stars, will
tip off at 9 p.m. EST Saturday night at the Atlantic City Convention
Center. The telecast is available only to cable customers who pay a premium
to receive Showtime.
"This weekend is for giving back to the fans," said Shawn Kemp of the
Cleveland
Cavaliers, "and hopefully people will tune in around the country
because people miss professional basketball."
About 8,000 tickets have been sold or given away for the 12,500-seat
arena, according to game director Curtis Polk, although a ticket agent was
quoted in Friday's edition of The Press of Atlantic City as saying
only 574 tickets, priced at $25, $50, $100, $200, $300 and $500, had been
sold through his agency as of Thursday morning.
Promoters historically have been wary of scheduling events in this city
between Thanksgiving and Christmas -- traditionally the slowest time of the
year.
Interest also has been kept down because of the non-participation of Michael
Jordan.
"We have no expectations that Michael will attend," Polk said.
The 16 players will be divided into two teams. The "Red" team, coached by
Charles
Barkley, will include Patrick Ewing,
Tim Hardaway,
Kemp, Dan
Majerle, Karl
Malone, Reggie Miller,
Mitch
Richmond and Dominique Wilkins.
The "White" team will include Alonzo
Mourning, Vin
Baker, Tom
Gugliotta, Allan Houston,
Chris Webber,
Glen Rice, Penny
Hardaway and Gary
Payton.
"We're going to have a little surprise on the 'White' team coach," Polk
said.
For some of the players, this weekend will be the first time they've seen
each other since more than 200 of them gathered in Las Vegas in late
October for a union meeting.
Some have criticized the players for using two gambling towns for their
meetings.
Polk explained that Atlantic City was chosen because it is close to
Philadelphia, site of the now-canceled NBA All-Star game, and because it is
within 200 miles of several major cities.
Since their caucus in Las Vegas, when an 82-game season remained a
possibility, the first 2 1/2 months of the season have been wiped out by
the owner-imposed lockout that threatens to cancel the entire season.
Players have lost more than $400 million in salaries.
Commissioner David Stern said he spoke with union director Billy Hunter
by telephone Thursday but that no new negotiations are scheduled.
"This weekend, we're trying to get off the lockout topic and focus on
this game," said Mourning, who refused to answer questions concerning the
details of the work stoppage. "At this time of year our body clocks tell us
we should be playing basketball. There should be some intensity out there
because we're anxious to get going."
Proceeds from the game will be donated to charities in the Atlantic City
and Philadelphia areas. Organizers backed off an earlier plan to share some
of the proceeds with "needy' basketball players.
"It was met with tremendous criticism and the players admitted they made
a mistake. We all admit we made a mistake," agent David Falk said. "I think
they league at some point should also admit that they made a mistake in
depriving the fans of basketball simply so they could make more profits."
Tim Hardaway said he expects a positive reaction from fans who have gone
almost six months without seeing professional basketball.
"Hopefully, the fans will come out and give us a standing ovation. People
are starving to see us play basketball, so I hope they are going to welcome
us back," Hardaway said.
A spokeswoman for TicketMaster refused to release any updated ticket
sales figures Friday. Polk said some of the tickets that had been purchased
in blocks had been given to children from the Philadelphia public schools
system.
A spokeswoman for Caesar's Palace, which is co-sponsoring the game and
providing rooms for the players, said the casino had given some of its
tickets to local schoolchildren.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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