Rockets-Fox deal appears close By DAVID BARRON Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle The Rockets and Fox Sports Net were said to be in the final stages Thursday of talks on a new contract, and the Rockets' hand may have gotten a wee bit stronger when the Nielsen overnights for Wednesday's exhibition in San Antonio arrived. Yao Ming's debut game in a Rockets uniform earned a 4.3 rating and 6 share on KNWS (Ch. 51). That was the team's best preseason rating thus far, and it came against the most competitive World Series game thus far on KRIV (Ch. 26). Neither side would offer details on the status of negotiations or on pending issues, but the Rockets are said to be seeking a shorter deal, for a maximum of two years, while FSN wants a longer commitment. The Rockets obviously want to see how Yao progresses before locking themselves into a longer contract. The regular-season home opener is Nov. 2, so the sides have a relative eternity to complete work, especially when you consider they didn't sign their last deal until the afternoon of the home opener in 1997.
You scared the hell out of me... We don't need no stinking Rick Fox anyway... (unless Vanessa Williams ends up sitting next to me in the stands)
