(00:00:00) Detroit attorney has filed a lawsuit alleging false imprisonment on behalf of passengers stuck inside Northwest aircraft at Detroit during last weekend snowstorm Northwest and sis, it did the best it could and Blaine some of the problems on inadequate snow removal at the airport. And in the City attorney. Larry Sharpe has says there's no excuse for what passengers experienced (00:00:21) trapped without rescue in a deteriorating situation of smelly odors crying children frustrated people anger at the psychological Malou that was consistent for (00:00:34) everybody surface is seeking to have the lawsuit designated a class action. He says he's received hundreds of inquiries from potential class members. The ice is getting thicker on Minnesota lakes. Thanks to prolonged bout of below zero temperatures, but the director of trails for the Iron Range resources and Rehabilitation board urges caution before crossing water. The Lyle Pankratz says underwater currents and even fish movement can weaken ice on lakes and Dreams, (00:01:00) if you don't know the water body, my recommendation always is talk to a local Resort or a local business person or somebody that you have faith in that knows the water body (00:01:15) many Minnesota Lakes had open water and early December but Sub-Zero weather since mid-December has quickly thickened the ice the forecast for the state of Minnesota today calls for another cold day and snow will end in the southern portion of the state by this afternoon high temperatures today from 12 below zero in the north west to near 10 above in the Southeast at this hour Duluth report Sunshine one above a wind chill index of minus 14 and in the Twin Cities light snow continues to fall a temperature of a tube of a wind chill of minus 3, that's news. I'm Greta Cunningham. Thank you Greta six minutes now past eleven o'clock programming. I Minnesota Public Radio is supported by T CF Foundation. And good morning. Welcome to midday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary eichten. Glad you could join us. Well 1998 was a great year for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings rolled up the best record in the National Football League set all time scoring records for the league. They sold out every game and were widely hailed as being so good that the Vikings at least conceivably could go down as one of the best teams of all time. But excuse me that of course was 1998 and this month as we start a new year. We will find out if the Vikings can capitalize and all those achievements and accomplish. The one thing that no, Minnesota Vikings team has ever accomplished when the Super Bowl which is the whole point of professional football this weekend, excuse me, the Vikings play Arizona at the Metrodome in the divisional round of the National Football League playoffs. And if they win this weekend, they play either Atlanta or San Francisco. Just go at the Metrodome for the conference Championship. If they win that game. It's on to the Super Bowl on January 31st in Miami. One thing is certain win or lose the Vikings. The season of generated the most enthusiasm we've seen for a Vikings team in over 20 years. And if all goes according to plan, well, it's a matter of fact, let's see we have made connections now with with the man who has been right in the middle of all of all of this enthusiasm Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs who's in Minnesota this weekend for the big game. We invite you to join our conversation as well. Give us a call six five one two, two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand outside the Twin Cities. You can reach us toll-free and that number is 1-800-222-8477 thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight Our Guest this our Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs. Good morning, sir. Good morning. You sound fired (00:04:03) up. I am fired (00:04:04) up now after you bought the team last summer you sounded like a kid who got a new bike for Christmas has a owning this team turned out to be as much fun as you thought. It was going to be (00:04:19) more really more. It has just been such a ride and it continues to get better. And here we are now into the playoff phase and the Vikings having earned that home field advantage that we talked about at the start of the season and having owned that home field noise and familiarity of having all their fans. Are we get these next two games down which I fully expect we will then we'll go to Miami and win the Super Bowl (00:04:58) what has been the highlight of the season for (00:05:01) you. Well there have been so many I think the first highlight came in training camp over at Mankato and at our team scrimmage which normally had drawn around 2,000 people and we had some 7,000 people turn out that came early and stay late then our opening game here against Tampa Bay, which the Vikings one very handily and then going into Lambeau Field and and breaking a tradition of something like twenty nine straight wins there and then going into Cowboys Stadium on Thanksgiving Day in the Cowboys really built their season around knocking the Vikings off and then the Vikings handily winning that game. They've been they've been several defining moments as I would say during the (00:05:54) season. Hmm. I would think that cowboy game would have been fun for you to give you bragging rights down in Texas. (00:06:00) Well is more than that, I mean it was it It was it was it was Goosebump tear-jerking kind of time. That was Thanksgiving Day the Cowboys knew that the Vikings game was was really what they needed to to put them into the stratosphere for this season. And we had just played Green Bay four days prior to that. We're on the road. Our guys just did such a fantastic job of totally controlling that game. It was it was really a special time for me being in Texas and having that happen. (00:06:40) I think a lot of people around here expected the Vikings were going to be good the national experts seem to Poopoo the team but people here expected the team to be good. But was there any reason to believe they were going to be this good now you predicted they were going to win all their games, but that sounded like a lot of Bluster (00:06:57) frankly. Well, I think you did to a lot of people if you looked at it just based. Historically you'd have to say they was but as I looked at it just looking at game per game. Just looking at the schedule and seeing what Dennis in the coaching staff had had prepared and put together. I really honestly thought that that they would do that. And of course they very nearly did (00:07:22) Red McCombs is our guest this first half hour of our program owner of the Minnesota Vikings and let me give you the phone number again. If you have a question for red, six, five, one two, two seven six thousand outside the Twin Cities one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight add an joins us from Duluth. Go ahead sir. (00:07:42) All right, red. Hey Dan. Yeah. I just first want to say thank you very much for everything. You've done for the Vikings. You're the best honor. Well, thank you very much. And I'm I'm known in Duluth is crazy Dan. The ultimate Vikings fan is seen on the news there. I've always been a big biking's fan. I even have a tattoo on my arm, which I've had for six years now. Well, I'm going to accept that absolutely as you say crazy Dan the absolute Viking fan congratulate all thank you. Yes, I really enjoy going to the games and getting all dressed up and getting the fans. I believe I really helped out getting the fans into the game and I was wondering if maybe you'd help me get to the Super Bowl to get the fans really in a big game. Well drop me a note here to Vikings headquarters at Eden Prairie. And let's see what we can do here at things like you. Thanks. Thanks, Dan. (00:08:44) Let's go to another caller Amy who joins us from Sauk Center, I believe right (00:08:49) Amy. Yes. Hi. I've been a viking fan for many years win or lose. I enjoy the Viking so much and in the past, I know they've had struggles but it seemed to me that as soon as red Macomb bought the team this summer that's where I felt they were going to go to the Super Bowl and I didn't know anything about about mr. McCombs, but it seemed to me that Danny needed to have control of the team. He needed to have the decision making in his hand without all these Outside worries without all the problems with all the owners and so that really was the deciding moment. I hope that in the future when the Vikings don't do as good and certainly that's bound to happen. I hope people will continue to support them as they have this year because they're not always going to be the top team but they still need our support and I get frustrated people who only watch when the Vikings are winning and just one comment for read my understanding at least as of the last couple of games was that the only game the Vikings lost was the one that you weren't at. And so I just want to confirm that you're going to be at the Super Bowl so we can be certain to win that game. Now you make me feel good. You say all the things that that really make me feel good for sure and it was interesting. The only game that I didn't attend my doctor's wouldn't let me go because I had a little kidney flare-up but my doctor and his wife went on my plane and took my seat, so I don't know whether he I don't know whether he really Diagnosing me right or not, but any rate he went and I didn't but if we keep all of the if we keep all the plumbing operating I will guarantee I would be at every (00:10:30) game. How do you how do you maintain the fan enthusiasm when the Vikings don't do as well as they're doing the season? (00:10:40) Well, we haven't had to face that and you know, who knows we know that this is this is the Vikings and the guys that they play against or the best in the world at what they do and everyone is working very hard to try to be the ultimate winner. So when you get into the game a sports one of the things that you realize is that when that when it's all over there's only gonna be one of you standing it's not like other businesses to where all of you can do well in sports, there's going to be one of you standing and that's what makes Sports so special as it is. How do you handle that it to time? I've always found that fans stay with and respond the teams to where the players play. Well and where the players they know are giving a hundred percent of what they got and hopefully that that will always be the case with the Vikings. There's a great history here in a great tradition that all of these current players and myself have to build on based on what Bud Grant and all those who have gone before us have established. (00:11:49) What are the chances you're going to be able to keep this team together for next season. Now the tradition of late in the National Football League, is that a team wins one year and then other teams start plucking off their players one by one maybe not the biggest of the big stars, but the guys who really make the team good as opposed to just sort of mediocre. (00:12:13) Well, the way the players contracts are written now, An agreement between the league and the players it's inevitable through free agency that you're going to lose some of your players. I think Dennis and his staffs approach is that you must continually be developing new Talent many of them players that fans are not familiar with are aware of to try to offset these losses when they come because particularly when you're successful like the Vikings are this year than other teams are not only interested in your coaches, but they're interested in your players. Those are judgment things that you have to work with. You cannot keep all of them. Although that's our goal is somehow to try to find a way we were pretty successful at doing that for this season 21 of the 22 starters this year were starters last year, but it is an issue and every team grapples with it and I think the Vikings will do as good a job with it as anybody. (00:13:19) Lake Jeffrey requested for mr. (00:13:21) McCombs. Yeah, mr. Combs a good morning to you and thanks for bringing us a great team. I think it's kind of symbolic when I know Dallas when you were the first owner and Randy Moss is the first rookie and Dennis Green was the first coach to get a to get a turkey leg there. I think we have a good team and that shows that we're using a whole effort to make us number one. My big question for you. Here is is the problem are the the fear amongst out me and my friends are that someday, you know, you might bring Tech Vikings back to Texas with you. Do you have any plans to ever move the team? No, I don't. I think the Vikings or Minnesota tradition and and that's not even on the radar screen. They have great following here and we have to find a way to make it work here. (00:14:14) The metronome is really given the Vikings. Big home field advantage this year. It's so noisy and the rest. Can you survive in the Metrodome long-term or do you need a new stadium? (00:14:28) Probably there is going to have to be another facility situation. You could the there's nothing wrong with this Metrodome working. The problem with it is that you're not competitive on the revenue side because of lack of revenue from from signage and from from concessions in sweet sales Etc. If your competition didn't have these things that created greater revenue streams for them than I think you could make a case that you continue playing in the Metrodome as it is, but that's not the case more and more of the teams have those increased revenue streams. And for the Vikings to be competitive. They're going to have to find a way to Access those revenue streams. We don't really know what the answer is to that. The state of Minnesota is very much aware that this is an issue. The governor's appointed a commission to look at it and in time we'll just have to see how that plays (00:15:34) out Edward your question, please (00:15:37) yes, I guess mr. Combs. Yes. That's my it's going from Big Lake Minnesota. And I guess the previous caller just followed up on what my questions was. I saw you this morning on Channel 11 great to see you. Well, thank you and I want to congratulate you and how you brought the team together and just a little and from the business aspect and this is what I want to talk about as far as the stadium issue and it just goes to show you put a winning team on the field and I think you will have no problem as far as getting people to listen to you. The governor's wide open on that. I know he says as far as taxpayers money, but that's I think the bottom line and Bring the people of Minnesota together, which you did very nicely and well Brad you the going to people of Minnesota have responded. We we wanted the Vikings to have the home field advantage that they have to play against that every place else a play in the people of Minnesota certainly responded from the very first preseason game right on through we've had the greatest crowds in the NFL. I wouldn't trade the Minnesota crowd for anybody's crowd and the players respond to that. The players are aware of it the players look forward to it. It is a big factor in the success of this team this year, (00:16:55) right? I know you have to run here, but let's get one more caller on if we could pleasure. Gel. (00:16:59) Yes. I was just going to call and comment on the quarterback issue. I was just wondering will you won't you want to play quarterback? I'd like to meet your quarterbacks. I'm too short. I just was wondering what you felt, you know, as far as keeping both of them. Is that going to be a possibility do know that yet? Well, it is our plan to keep both of them because this year told that story if we hadn't had both of them this year. We wouldn't be sitting here talking about the Super Bowl. This is a brutal vicious game and for a quarterback to get through a season healthy is unrealistic in this business. We will certainly make every effort to see that we keep both of them (00:17:48) longer-term. Are there some changes that are needed in the way the the game is structured to offset the impact of injuries. So many of the teams by this time of the year when they should be at their Peak form end up with third stringers on the field because they don't have anybody left maybe expanded rosters something like that. (00:18:07) It is a big issue and I'll tell you people who are very much more knowledgeable than I or looking at that because it is a very big issue. Not only is it a costly issued to the team's money-wise, but the fans want to see these players. This is the entertainment business and Windstar guys go down you have problems. I really don't know what the answers are but it is a big issue with in the league. (00:18:40) You're confident. I'm sure that Minnesota will beat Arizona on Sunday. Absolutely and you have a preference as to who the Vikings play. Then the following week Atlanta or San Francisco. (00:18:51) No, I don't think the players have any have any preference one way or the other they're just anxious to get this game behind them and get ready for the next (00:19:00) one any tickets available for the playoffs. Are you all sold out? I suppose sold (00:19:05) out. That's a hike. As (00:19:07) problem and then you've sold all your tickets for next year. (00:19:12) No, we're gonna keep about 8,000 games per game for Game Day kind of sales, but we've cut off season ticket sales. (00:19:22) Well, congratulations on a great season rad really (00:19:25) appreciate you guys have played a great role in we appreciate all that you've done the bringing us to the fans and we're very grateful for that. Take care. Thanks (00:19:34) Red McCombs. The owner of the Minnesota Vikings the Vikings on Sunday play the Arizona Cardinals at the Metrodome game time 315. The winner of that game will advance to the conference Championship. If the Vikings win that game will also be on our at the Metrodome be the following Sunday and if the Vikings would win both of those games this weekend the following weekend. It's on to the Super Bowl in Miami where the Vikings would play the winner of the American Football Conference play. Laughs the Minnesota Vikings have been in the Super Bowl four times all in the 1970s. They've never won the Super Bowl. So if the Vikings were to manage to pull that off this year, it would be a first in franchise history. It's 25 minutes now past eleven o'clock. And what we're going to do is catch up on some news headlines and then we're going to be shifting our Focus just a little bit. We're going to be talking basketball Big labor agreement was reached this week ending the National Basketball Association lock out there were some unique Provisions in the labor agreement that was reached this week in there are some talk that perhaps some of the ground that was broken by that labor agreement might spill over to Pro Sports in general. We'll see we'll be talking with rip Britt Robson in just a couple of minutes, but right now this reminder about upcoming programming, I'm Chris Roberts on the next All Things Considered right Ernie. Gaming on what's become a fantasy writing. They read like somebody read Lord of the (00:21:12) Rings and combined it with a soup's on of Conan the Barbarian and all they can remember of some Dungeons and Dragons games and this is the (00:21:21) result that conversation and all the news on the next All Things Considered weekdays at 3:00 at Minnesota Public Radio Canada wfm 91.1 in the Twin Cities All Things Considered at 3 over the noon hour today part 2 of our midday program. It's off to the National Press Club. We're going to hear from Lee Zhao Shang. He is the ambassador China's Ambassador the United States. This is the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. Of course, China is rapidly emerging as one of the world's great powers and should be an interesting interesting talk live coverage of the national Press Club. Speech by China's ambassador to the United. That's over. The noon hour today right now news headlines. Got a Cunningham Greta. Good morning. Gary US senators have reportedly reached an agreement on starting President Clinton's impeachment. Trial Senate Republican leader Trent Lott says the plan calls for senators to put off a decision on the contentious issue of whether witnesses will be called lot says that decision will be delayed until both sides have a chance to outline their cases for his part President Clinton sounded upbeat during a speech today in Detroit Clinton says, he feels good about the future US senators gathered for a closed-door meeting this morning to outline a framework for the trial the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said this morning the bombing attack on Iraq last month may have killed hundreds of members of Saddam Hussein's forces General Hugh Shelton estimates between 600 and 1600 members of Iraq's Republican guard were killed along with what he calls several key individuals in the leadership structure vice president Gore announced a plan this morning to help hog. Farmers who are says US Government will pay hog Farmers 50 million dollars in the next several weeks. To compensate for disastrously low pork prices that are driving some producers out of business in Regional news of Ramsey County Sheriff's Sergeant has been ordered to stop focusing on drunk driving enforcement and quit patrolling a strip of Rice Street in Little Canada after complaints from local bar owners. The owners say their establishments were singled out and their business suffered as a result Sergeant Brad Urban who was honored for his high number of DWI arrest last year says, it's not right to stop an officer from upholding the law because too many arrests upset bar owners Sheriff. Bob Fletcher says, the issue is even-handed of enforcement of the laws the forecast for the state of Minnesota today calls for the snow to end in the southern portion of the state by sometime this afternoon accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are possible today. It will be cold. Once again with highs from 12 below zero in the Northwest to 10 above in the Southeast tonight clear and cold with lows from 30 below in the far north to near 10 below zero in the south at this. Rochester reports no for above and in Duluth. Mostly sunny one above a wind chill index of minus 14 the Twin Cities light snow falling 8 above with a wind chill index of -3 and Gary. That's a look at the latest news. Thank you Greta. It is 29 minutes. Now past eleven. Midday coming to you on Minnesota Public Radio. Now sometime this month, hopefully at the end of the month after they win the Super Bowl the Minnesota Vikings season will come to an end and then it's time to shift attention time for pro basketball a last-minute labor agreement reached between the National Basketball Association players and team owners this week ended the NBA lockout and opens the way for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the other teams to get back into action next month and sort of public radio's Michael coup reports as recently as a few days ago. It appeared the NBA 98 99 season would be cancelled entirely because of a labor dispute and then at the last minute Deal was struck Minnesota Timberwolves. Vice president. Kevin McHale says, the new collective bargaining agreement will help smaller franchises compete with bigger ones for the Sport's top players. The I think that they've done everything they could to try to put a good agreement together that gives us a chance in a smaller Market to compete with the Chicago's New York's and LA's and I think that I feel as comfortable as any other team out there that will be able to do what we have got to do to take care of the players that we consider very important to work for our success during the lockout teams were prohibited from talking to prospective free agents something the Timberwolves will now have to do in Earnest most of their players from last year are unsigned including star Tom gugliotta. Mikhail says he hopes to bring as much of last year's team back as possible. It's always been Our intention to try to keep our team intact. I'm a big believer in chemistry. I'm a big believer that the longer you play with got a someone the better you get to know the various gnome the bit easier it is to play and all the good things that come with familiarity. But hey if I wish I had 12 guys in Contract. Yeah, absolutely assembling a team and preparing them for a condensed schedule of three to four games a week will be challenging but no less so than convincing fans many upset by the labor problems to return Timberwolves head coach Flip Saunders acknowledges that but he says his team might piggyback on the success of another Minnesota sports franchise. Of course, you know, we've got some fences to mend just from the standpoint of what's all happened, I guess from in our city. The positive thing is even if we were playing we probably wouldn't get as much publicity the way the Vikings are playing so that's kind of a positive and so our idea is hopefully, you know, the Vikes they Super Bowls the week before we open up and hopefully they can win a Super Bowl and that excitement maybe can carry over it and starting to write in our season this year schedule will include roughly 50 regular season games followed by a full playoff schedule. I'm Michael coup, Minnesota Public Radio joining us now to talk some more about the impact of the lockout on pro basketball that Timberwolves in Pro Sports in general is Britt Robson who covers the Timberwolves for City page. (00:27:07) Is (00:27:07) and we invite you to join our conversation as well. If you've got a question about this new NBA labor agreement what it means give us a call our Twin City area number six five. One two, two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one eight hundred two four two two eight 286512276 thousand or 1-800 to for to to 828 Brett. Good morning. Thanks for joining us. Sure. No problem. Was there anything accomplished by this long labor or deal? (00:27:38) Oh, yeah, certainly. There's from the owners perspective. They have something that was relatively unprecedented in Pro Sports, which is a pretty good understanding of how much their payroll is going to be over the next six years, which really no one no other Pros professional sports league has from the player standpoint. They have the same thing that most of the star players have a pretty good idea of what they're going to be making the problem. Is that most of the Better players are going to be making less than they might have expected to previous to the (00:28:12) negotiation. Now, this is all the result of this salary range is essentially that have been set up right exactly. It really doesn't matter how good you are if you get on the team, it's simply a matter of how long you been in the league as to what you're going to get paid (00:28:27) well to some extent. I mean only not every player for example that it has over 10 years of NBA experience is going to be paid fourteen million dollars, which is the cap for the it's the biggest amount of money what this does is caps the amount of money that the best players are going to get it prevents bidding wars on especially desirable players. The Timberwolves have some players. For example who Sam Mitchell is a 10-year veteran or close to it. And while there are increased in be a minimum may help him. He won't be getting the 14 million dollars. So most of it is not so much. It's a little bit too simplistic to say that because you've been in the league a certain number of years you'll X amount of money that's only really true of the most desirable players. (00:29:11) Is it is it fair though to to pay or Sam Mitchell good solid player, but a kind of a middle of a middle of the pack guy essentially pay him more than you would Osa a third year Michael (00:29:27) Jordan. Well, I think even even if Sam Mitchell gets the maximum minimum salary put it this way. If a third-year player rookie salary cap guy could probably get about two to three million dollars a year. That's about the most that a Sam Mitchell could ask for I think in terms of the argument that it unfairly penalize has the younger players. That's only true of super Talent. Whoo in previous. Let's go back to the the before the current NBA and agreement agreement took place Stephon Marbury next year probably could have Manded of close to what Kevin Garnett gut which is a over a hundred million dollars in salaries. Now, he's going to be restricted to say 60 or 70 million dollars spread out over a six or seven year period now a lot of us, of course would love to have that on the other hand. It does represent a 20 30 40 percent cut in what he might be able to get otherwise on the open market. I don't know if that's a penalizing. I think that the young players are going to be getting less but the rookie salary cap that had been an agreement before pretty much penalize them for the first two or three years. (00:30:43) Anyway, does this mean then the owners will all get fabulously rich off of money. They would have otherwise had to pay the players. (00:30:51) Well, it depends on who you talk to. I mean if you talk to the owners certainly they would just basically say that they are losing less or that they will have a chance to make a little more. I always find it interesting that when we talk about caps that especially from a fan perspective. Fact is it would be nice if you could cap the owners profits basically put a certain amount of money that each owner could make in terms of profitability. And then what's over that amount? They would have to be refunded in terms of what the ticket costs were or merchandising or something. It's interesting that the players are often Captain terms of their salary amounts, but the profits (00:31:28) aren't and I assume that's not part of this new (00:31:30) that whatever happened. I think as long as the players. I mean the owners of the ones that pretty much run the league (00:31:37) I want to ask you one more question here before we get to Scholars 50 Games season. There is a certain amount of hand-wringing about that but isn't that seems like plenty of games? Really? (00:31:47) Yeah, and it's a very different dynamic as what's going to be kind of fun and interesting about it normally teams NBA teams play an average of three games a week of an especially busy week might include four games what you have this time is you're going to be having about 13 weeks solid of four games a week. after a minimal amount of work out in practice and frenzied period of free agent signings, so what you're going to have is teams that are less prepared in terms of their chemistry less prepared in terms of their physical conditioning going out and playing a more strenuous schedule than they otherwise (00:32:26) would But in terms of if they would have had more time to prepare for this wouldn't a 50 game schedule actually be better, (00:32:38) I guess from the standpoint of the Casual fan. Certainly. I think most casual basketball fans would say that they don't really start paying attention to pro basketball until you know, everybody pretty much gets frozen in and football season is over and some even just wait either from Michael Jordan to come to town or for the NBA Playoffs to begin. So for them a shortened season is not that big a deal for pro basketball junkies, like myself, you know, I've been waiting traditionally first week in November is a time when I start being able to go to games and it hasn't happened for the last two months. So I guess for people who are very much involved in it. It's been (00:33:16) lost Robson joins us this hour. He writes for City Pages covers the Timberwolves and is joined us to talk about the NBA labor agreement that was reached this week and what it means for the Timberwolves and Pro Sports in general if you'd like to join our conversation six five one two, two seven six thousand. That's our Twin City area number six five one two, two seven six thousand outside the Twin Cities 1-800 to for 22828 Janelle go ahead place. (00:33:42) I'm an avid fan and are there guy thinking to be able to televise all those? Probably not. I mean it's not really known one way or the other yet because the schedule hasn't even been made out yet. The league is feverishly now trying to put together a schedule. What I've heard is that as many of the existing home dates on the current schedule that the teams have will be honored where travel interrupts that they'll have to make arrangements and they'll be adding dates. Of course to get this 52 52 games in a 13-week regular season. Then television networks who have existing contracts with the individual teams, of course are going to be having to negotiate how they will structure things and to what extent their money their television contracts will be rebated to what extent they will televise things. I think it's the quick answer is nobody knows yet because nobody even knows what the schedule is yet. Once the schedule is set then the local TV networks will have to negotiate with the Timberwolves and then also Of course, there are National Television contracts with ESPN and was CBS Sports and some others. So I imagine some game certainly will be on television. But whether they'll be more or less than there were otherwise would be is still up in the (00:35:03) air is it true that the owners continued to receive TV money? Even when they weren't playing the (00:35:09) game? Yes. That was how do they work that? Well the NBA has is fortunate enough. The owners certainly are fortunate enough to have a commissioner in David Stern who is one of the more powerful and brighter Commissioners. Probably the only comparison I can think of in Pro Sports and recent in our lifetimes or at least an older middle-aged people's lifetimes is Pete Rozelle of the NFL who brought pro football into the modern era or via television and Super Bowl David Stern has presided over the growth of NBA basketball through marketing and through his Brilliance and negotiations and and he's done it again and in terms of negotiating with the television networks, He basically brought in a closet said that the each team would be paid approximately 20 million dollars whether or not any games were shown which which gives what you basically had was more than likely the insurance companies for the television networks subsidizing the owners during the lockout. Wow, Michael your question, please yeah, hang on. Yes, you are. I just read an article yesterday in the New York Times Like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Uh-huh, and it was on a shorter season. Yeah back when he played did you happen to see that? No, I didn't. Well, he suggested that because it was just easier on the athletes as far as injuries. And as far as practicing together and just had more time during the week instead of playing every two days or three days and it was just easier on the public as far as well, you know and during a you know, 80 some schedule season. I don't think that Is necessarily a bad argument I think in this case what you have though, I believe the old NBA season used to be 74 games. If I'm not mistaken, which is about 10% less than a full 81 games. Now. I think that it would be good from everybody's perspective. You'd have better rested players. Of course. The problem being is you would not have as many games to collect revenue from and the owners would not be able to have a bigger pool of money to work with the difference in this case. However, is that this will not be relaxed schedule this shortened NBA season will actually be more intense games will be closer together and if they players conditioning, I think that it's going to be sort of a strange year because there will be players who come in and in the best shape that they can be in. There'll be other players who have not been as assiduous and keeping themselves in shape whose performance will fall off. Conditioning an individual discipline of the players will be more important this season than it has been in recent years because of the way that ago she ations of (00:37:59) gun, right? What does it say that fans in general seem to be so apathetic about this lockout the cancellation of the games. In fact, you heard a lot of people who own season tickets saying gosh, I don't want him to play. I'd like my money back, right? What does that mean? What (00:38:19) side I think there's a number of factors you can look at their one is that the NBA is part of professional sports and I think that as we know here in Minnesota very via the negotiations over the Target Center lease via over the Vikings wanting a new home. Certainly the Twins stadium issue has been on the Forefront and it's that way in every other City practically people are very very tired of Owners and players both of whom make a tremendous amount of money wanting more demanding more and then not even being able to get along with the huge amounts of money that they're going to be divvying up. I'm not sure that the NBA would have gotten as much negative fan reaction if they had been one of the first leagues to go through this. I think the fact that they are perhaps the last major professional sports League at least among the big for hockey basketball football and baseball the really endure a rending strike like this. I think the public is just tired of it and and rightfully so the player certainly did not help themselves with some of their comments it only few of them made these comments but as a guy like Kenny Anderson the point guard for the Boston Celtics talking about how you know, he may have to sell a few of his a fancier cars and complaining about the you know, how much money he has to pay various alimony people from his past wives and and What have like a tremendous amount of money left over just terrible public relations comments from the NBA standpoint. And then you also have to look at the way the owners of have dealt with this it is what people forget. This is not a strike two players did not ask for this work stoppage. This was a lock out. The owners were the ones who said that they could not exist under the current contract and felt it was better for them to stop a season on their own then play Under the existing (00:40:14) conditions. You think fans will come back and droves this of course is important not only the Timberwolves but all the businesses around the Target Center make so much money off the Timberwolves (00:40:23) fans. Well, I think that the shishi factor or the real trendy Factor the NBA for in recent years, I think has really become the stylish League. It's become the league one reason because of the National Basketball Association has been extremely good at marketing its players and itself both And internationally a lot of that does have to go back to David Stern as we mentioned to the extent that professional hockey when it decided it. Wanted to become big time hired Stern's assistant Gary Bettman to be there commissioner, but I think that it was almost too slick after a while and they almost became too good at marketing players before those players have proven themselves to be complete werner's it's one thing to give Michael Jordan a tremendous amount of money via sneaker contracts or something else but a lot of players began to become iconic figures in through the media through Nike and through the NBA's own marketing Machinery before they had really done anything and and that I mean in our way that wasn't fair to the players themselves to sort of give them a plate itself sense of self-importance and and perhaps hinder their own development as players. If not their their bank accounts, but I think that kind of thing this work stoppage has revealed. The weaknesses of that and the hypocrisies of that and I think that that will be very difficult to get the the people who kind of bought that Hook Line and Sinker. I think they're going to be soured on the process and they would have been a natural backlash. Anyway, I think but I just think it enhances the backlash. (00:42:03) But Robson is with us. He covers the Timberwolves for City Pages. We're talking this part of our our about the agreement which ended the NBA lockout Timberwolves will return well, they'll start their season now in February abbreviated schedule, if you'd like to join our conversation, if you've got a question about how this will affect pro-sports 6512276 thousand outside the Twin Cities 1-800 to for to to 828 Alex. Go ahead, please (00:42:34) I'm hi there. It sounds like with the abbreviated preseason and then the more strenuous regular season. It almost sounds like a recipe for more injuries throughout the season do you foresee that at Yes, I do. I think that what's going to happen is you've got to because the games are so much more important when you have 50 games crammed into 13 weeks as opposed to 81 games spread out over two months longer than that each game becomes more important and coaches and trainers and players are going to be less likely to want to give particularly their better players time to rest and and time off. So I think that's a factor. I think that one of the things we saw in the NBA exhibitions games that they put on as to kind of keep themselves in the public eye or a lot of players were woefully out of shape and I just think it's very difficult. No matter how disciplined you are to put yourself in the kind of competitive game shape that you would be in when coaches are driving you and you have the best players. You're actually on the team you're focused every day on what you're doing. So I think the players won't come back in as good a shape. I think they will go through a harder regimen and I think injuries will become more of a factor. I think in this respect to Timberwolves are fortunate to have two of the younger and more discipline players in the NBA in Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett. Both of whom have never been the kind of players to let themselves get out of shape and I think that owed bodes well for the Wolves relative to other teams, (00:44:12) Don your question, (00:44:13) please yes, both of you have talked a lot about the the owners and players in the benefits. They derive from this agreement. Apparently the the fan doesn't mean much to you. Could you comment please I'll hang up and listen. Well interesting attitude toward my opinion toward the fans my opinion toward the fans pretty much is that it's a free market capitalist economy. And if the fans want to pay the exorbitant prices that it cost to get into the building than they should If they don't then they shouldn't I do think that professional sports has priced the fans out of mainstream entertainment by which I mean that if a father and a the two parents with two kids want to go to a regular season game and not sit way up in the nosebleed section, it will cost them anywhere between a hundred and two hundred dollars, but that is not new that that that's not something that the negotiating process has changed one way or the other if anything the the spiraling costs of salaries have been curbed somewhat by this agreement and the fans may have some chance of at least seeing ticket prices stabilized and the league has noticed that they have a public relations problem and have put forth. What I consider to be somewhat fig leave approaches such as offering a certain percentage of Dollar seats, most of them obviously will be you know again way up in the rafters, but I think that fans I mean that is one of the problems the league faces, but every professional sports team faces this is that the fans it's become the kind of game where if you actually want to go and experience these games in person. You have to pay through the (00:46:08) nose. Is there any end in sight to that you think baseball can still offer you a pretty good value? (00:46:17) Well only because they play a hundred and sixty two games right? I think if other sports were to offer that many games they could probably offer the same amount of value. Even there I mean if you look at baseball, the twins certainly are one of the less expensive tickets in town, but then again the twins are not competing very well. So yeah, I mean it's it's it's certainly is something that is at the heart of the pro sports debate is to you know to what extent do you need people who are certainly in pro football. The television contracts are large enough that and the games are few enough that you could charge, you know, tremendous amount of money per for pro football or not. And it doesn't really matter that much because television takes care of your you're not revenue for the most part basketball a little bit different same as hockey certainly hockey and in particular with no television contract really has to rely on very high ticket prices again, you know, it's it's a situation you're seeing the best athletes in the world. The argument would go sports at its most competitive level and I've got to say I mean not to be I'm opposed to a lot of public subsidies for various Sports Arenas, but what really drives this process as much as anything is that owners and players have discovered that various politicians elected by the people will offer exorbitant tax breaks and huge dollars to entice professional sports teams to come into their markets and until and unless that stops you can expect that the owners and players will continue to take advantage of that (00:48:10) couple of quick questions before we wrap up here Britt number one. How good will the Timberwolves be this year this abbreviated year. (00:48:18) I think that they'll be pretty good. I think the biggest Factor right now the X Factor that is unknown is that Timberwolves power for Tom gugliotta is 200 free agents currently on the market in the league and whether or not the Timberwolves can sign him will be an important factor in this season under the current agreement as somebody was between six and nine years of NBA experience. He can command 11 million dollars a year, which is within the Wolves salary structure right now, but it's no more than any other team can offer him and no less. So it's really kind of up to Tom gugliotta as to whether or not he wants to play here. If he does want to play here then the Timberwolves have three bona fide stars in be a stars and they're also able to sign a couple of other people that they previous I won't get into the Arcane aspects of it. But Tom Hammonds for example valuable role player may be able to come back to the team now where he wouldn't have under the existing agreement. So I think that if the Timberwolves can keep their core intact, which is possible but not certain. Hmm, he'll be very good (00:49:32) 15 seconds is Michael Jordan going to play this year. (00:49:35) I would say no, I think that he has said all along that he won't play and less Phil Jackson is the coach Phil Jackson is no longer the coach of the Chicago Bulls and I think that the capping of salaries while it doesn't apply to him was something that he and his agent David farc fought against and the fact that the league didn't listen to him. He's probably going to take his ball and go home and he has every right to I mean, it's he certainly has enough money and enough visibility. He does not need the game as much as the game needs (00:50:07) him. Thanks Brett. Appreciate it. Okay, Robson who teach you or covers rather the Timberwolves for City Pages?