Saturday February 10 12:54 AM ET NBA Owners, Players Discuss League By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - NBA players and owners aren't used to seeing eye-to-eye. Now they finally realize they need each other if the league is going to solve its problems. And they called in Michael Jordan to lend a hand. Jordan, now the Washington Wizards' president of basketball operations, was one of the ownership representatives as a half-dozen men from each side huddled with commissioner David Stern on Friday. They agreed to work together to improve the NBA's popularity. ``It's different from the past, because we're always usually going against each other,'' said Detroit's Michael Curry, the union's first vice president. ``We definitely are walking this path together.'' Among the topics covered in the 21/2-hour meeting at the start of All-Star weekend: overall quality of the game; player-fan interaction; and the players' image. The often acrimonious relationship between players and owners led to the lockout two seasons ago, a public relations disaster that many say still has lingering effects. Television ratings have slid more than 15 percent each of the past two seasons, and attendance has declined. ``We just began discussing the issues, good and bad, and we're going to continue to move into that direction of trying to come up with solutions,'' said Detroit's Jerome Williams, a member of the union's executive committee. Stern and Billy Hunter, the executive director of the players' association, agreed to meet with each of the teams during the second half of the season. Jordan, who owns a minority stake of the Wizards, spoke about how players can improve their off-court images. He didn't comment after the meeting, and NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said Stern would discuss the session at his annual state-of-the-league address Saturday. ``We want to be able to put a better product out on the court, where the fans are interested and where they want to continue to come out,'' Curry said. ``Whatever corrections we need to make - whether it's with our behavior, whether it's with our production as players - we're going to focus on trying to correct all those things.'' The league's image has been hurt recently by, among other things, Allen Iverson shouting a derogatory remark about homosexuals at taunting fans, and three Phoenix Suns being arrested in the span of two months. ``There's no question that some things that happen are a microcosm of society, and in Phoenix I've experienced that in living color in recent weeks,'' Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said. ``There's been a real emphasis on the negative things and we understand that. We just need to work constructively and I think that will happen. There's a feeling about it that we're going to work together to address the issues.'' Also attending were New York's Dave Checketts, Cleveland's Gordon Gund, Miami's Mickey Arison and Detroit executive Joe Dumars. In addition to Curry and Williams, the players were represented by Orlando's Pat Garrity, Miami's Alonzo Mourning, Toronto's Antonio Davis and Philadelphia's Theo Ratliff. ``We all have pride in the league,'' said Garrity, the union secretary-treasurer, ``and there are things that both sides want to improve.'' ------------------ When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view. -- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
