Scorecard July 7, 1997

Drawing the Line

If Dennis Rodman is looking for more fodder to fuel his persecution complex, he needs to look no farther than the quartet of rule modifications approved on June 27 by the NBA's Board of Governors. Flinging up wild threes, forearm-checking, flopping to draw a charge and calling timeouts while flying out of bounds are just a few of the pet theatrics that the changes will force him to curtail in the 1997-98 season. But is what's bad for Rodman good for the league? In this case, definitely.

First, the three-point are will be moved back from 22 feet to its original 23'9" (except in the corners, where it will remain the same). Scoring in the NBA has been slipping for 15 years, dropping last season to 96.9 points per game, a 3.4-point dip from 1995-96 and the lowest average since 1954-55. The stripe's proximity prompted too many iffy shooters—like Rodman, though he's hardly the worst offender—to let fly. Teams averaged 16.8 three-point attempts last season; in 1993-94, the year before the are was moved in, teams averaged 9.9.

In addition to discouraging low-percentage shots, the redrawn line will create wider spacing on the floor. Those extra 21 inches should make it more difficult for perimeter players to both guard a three-point marksman and double-down on a post player. That will in turn create more room for cutting and passing, rebounding and fast-breaking—and scoring.

Making defense more difficult was also the intent of two other changes. Defenders won't be able to use a forearm to slow a player facing the basket, thus making it harder to impede forays to the hoop by slashing players like Michael Jordan, Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway. And once the slasher nears the goal, he'll feel less constrained: The no-charge area underneath the basket will be expanded to a four-foot semicircle. A player who bowls over a defender in this area, long Rodman's favorite hangout on defense, won't be called for an offensive foul.

The last rule was more aesthetic than essential. A player can no longer call timeout if both of his feet are in the air and any part of his body has passed the out-of-bounds plane. Once considered a heady, hustle play, the frequency with which the hurtling TO has been used recently has made it an annoyance. No wonder it was a Rodman specialty.

Fine Print
The folks at USA Track & Field have been known to gripe about the lack of media coverage their sport receives. Perhaps they should take some of the blame themselves. The credentials issued to reporters covering last month's national championships in Indianapolis carried a lengthy Conditions of Acceptance passage printed on the back. Among the 34 lines of legal boilerplate was this sentence: "Holder agrees not to transmit or aid in transmitting any description, picture or reproduction of event."

Wayne's World
Wayne Huizenga's announcement last week that he would have to sell the Florida Marlins because they are on track to lose $30 million this season engendered musings by pundits about the sad financial state of the game and finger wagging from his fellow owners about overspending on free agents. But Huizenga's red ink may not run as deep as he says.

Huizenga owns Pro Player Stadium, where the Marlins play, and 70% of SportsChannel Florida, which broadcasts Florida's games. He claims as a baseball expense the $2 million the Marlins pay in stadium rent, but that money is essentially going from one pocket into the other. And while according to Financial World the Marlins receive only $23.9 million a year in rights fees, a sum that is $1.3 million below the major league average, that deal helps Huizenga's TV operation as much as it hurts his ball club.

Even by Huizenga's calculations, the Marlins are projecting revenues of $60 million this season, thanks to a 32% increase in attendance that through Sunday had lifted Florida's average crowd to 29,525. The Marlins' payroll is $49.5 million. (Though Huizenga says he has spent $175 million on player contracts since last season, he is counting the full value of long-term deals like Gary Sheffield's $61 million blockbuster, of which only $6.1 million is to be paid in 1997.) To lose $30 million, Huizenga would have to incur $41 million in nonplayer expenses—an unlikely sum. The non-player costs of the high-spending New York Yankees are $32 million.