FIBA says NBA players can play abroad during lockout

If NBA stars are serious about playing overseas, basketball's governing body says they will be welcomed. Just as long as they promise to leave once the lockout ends.

FIBA announced Friday that it would clear NBA players under contract to play in its leagues during the

work stoppage, provided the deals they sign come with opt-out clauses.

In a ruling that paves the way for players to earn paychecks, FIBA agreed with NBA and players' association officials that players are free to sign anywhere but do so at their own risk of injury.

"As the world governing body for basketball, we strongly hope that the labor dispute will be resolved as soon as possible, and that the NBA season is able to begin as scheduled," Patrick Baumann, FIBA's secretary general, said in a statement.

"In view of our role to promote basketball worldwide, we support any player wishing to play the game, wherever and whenever. We do so while obviously taking the interests, rights and obligations of all parties into account."

Union executive director Billy Hunter has endorsed the idea, with players feeling it will pressure owners at the bargaining table if they see their players have options elsewhere, and FIBA may have been faced with a legal challenge had it denied the players.

"Our players are gratified by today's announcement by FIBA, although it comes as no surprise," Hunter said in a statement.

The Detroit Pistons are giving Lawrence Frank another chance to lead an NBA team. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Pistons agreed to a three-year deal with Frank to be their new coach. The agreement includes a team option for a fourth year, according to the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hasn't announced the move.

TENNIS

Lisicki upsets Radwanska

Germany's Sabine Lisicki defeated her second straight seeded opponent at the Bank of the West Classic in Palo Alto, beating fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2, in the quarterfinals.

Lisicki will meet the winner of the late match between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova.

Third-seeded Marion Bartoli of France advanced when Japan's Ayumi Morita retired after dropping the first set. 6-1. Bartoli will meet eighth-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, who beat qualifier Marina Erakovic, 6-1, 6-1.

Top-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain put in a double shift at the Swiss Open in Gstaad, Switzerland, advancing to the semifinals after beating Jarkko Nieminen and Feliciano Lopez. Almagro will play No. 4-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain, and Marcel Granollers of Spain faces Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in the last four. … Fourth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia defeated Italy's Andreas Seppi, 6-1, 6-3, to reach the semifinals of the Croatia Open at Umag. Cilic will next face another Italian, sixth-seeded Fabio Fognini. Second-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov and Juan Carlos Ferrero will meet in the other semifinal. … American Robert Kendrick was suspended for a year by the International Tennis Federation after testing positive for a banned stimulant at the French Open.

ETC.

North Carolina names interim coach

Everett Withers said he is excited to get started as interim coach of North Carolina's football team and sad to take over after the firing of Butch Davis.

Withers spent the last three seasons as defensive coordinator under Davis, who was fired Wednesday. Chancellor Holden Thorp cited the cumulative damage done to the university's reputation over the last year. The NCAA has reported nine potential major violations in its notice of allegations to the school.

The mentor for former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor was investigated and cleared by the NCAA in 2008 of allegations that he improperly acted as a booster while helping the player pick a college, according to records released Friday.

Less than three years later, Ted Sarniak was a central figure in coach Jim Tressel's downfall and Pryor's departure from Ohio State. The records show the NCAA ruled in favor of Sarniak, a hometown friend who went with Pryor on several recruiting visits.

"Our staff could not conclude that the benefits provided by [Sarniak] to the prospective student-athlete constituted a violation," the NCAA's Amy Huchthausen wrote in a letter dated Sept. 17, 2008, to Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith.

However, Sarniak was told he could no longer provide money, meals, tickets, presents or a cellphone to Pryor.

UCLA senior guard Jerime Anderson is scheduled for an arraignment at the Airport Courthouse on Sept. 27 to face charges of grand theft. He was accused of stealing a laptop Tuesday. Anderson has been suspended for the Bruins' opener against Loyola Marymount on Nov. 11 and barred from team activities.

— Ben Bolch

Timothy Peters took the lead late, then pulled away to win the NASCAR truck series race at Clermont, Ind. Peters, who made contact with another truck and forced a caution near the midpoint of the race, pushed into second place during the final 20 laps, then passed James Buescher on lap 194.

A youth baseball team from Uganda lost its bid to become the first team from Africa to play in the Little League World Series because of discrepancies over players' ages and birth dates. Richard Stanley of New York, a league representative, said visa issues arose when ages and birth dates listed on documentation did not match those offered by parents, guardians or the players during interviews with officials at the U.S. embassy in Kampala.

Greece defeated China, 9-8, to win its first gold medal in women's water polo at the world championships in Shanghai. Earlier, Australia beat the two-time defending champion United States, 10-5, for fifth place.

Yao's retirement to squeeze league

BEIJING — Yao Ming's retirement could diminish the NBA's once-burgeoning popularity in China, with many fans saying they would no longer watch games.
"What's the point of watching NBA now?" said an online user called Lubingxia on Sina Weibo, a Chinese

Twitter-like site.
An online poll on Weibo by Monday lunchtime showed 57 percent of respondents would stop watching the NBA after Yao's retirement.
The 7-6 center is expected to announce July 20 at a news conference that he's retiring from the NBA after nine seasons because of leg and foot injuries.
He boosted the popularity of the basketball league in China and throughout Asia, spiking merchandise sales and TV ratings for games after the Rockets made him the top overall pick in the 2002 draft.
Yao, 30, missed 250 regular-season games over the past six seasons.
"He is one of the most influential people in today's society - especially to those born in the 1980s," said Ren Bo, 25, a sports trainer. "It's probably going to be awhile until we see another Yao Ming."
The news upset fans in China, where he has been praised as a role model for the past decade and strengthened that image by carrying his country's flag during the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"It is Yao Ming who makes the kids in China like basketball, and it's also Yao Ming who makes the kids know how a real professional basketball player should be," said Xu Jicheng, a longtime basketball commentator.
"I'm not thrilled about his retirement, but I will still support him," said Guo Ju Fei, 24, a small business owner. "Millions of Chinese still idolize him."
Some online comments conveyed sadness that Yao's retirement would mean the end of a great era and that fans would not get to see him compete at the 2012 London Olympics. There also was some anger that his injuries kept him from reaching his peak in the NBA.
"I still haven't recovered from the fact that Yao is retiring," wrote one online user going by the name of Xie Chen. "The feeling is worse than being dumped."
Others hoped a "miracle" would occur and that Yao would change his mind and remain in the NBA.
Many comments expressed gratitude to Yao for being a Chinese icon and an athlete his countrymen could be proud of.

Players fight NBA's push for revamped system

Unable to come up with a new collective bargaining agreement and seeking enormous changes to its system, the NBA locked out its players Thursday night. The owners have sought a system with a set salary cap and tighter limits on contract length and guarantees. The players prefer to keep the basics of the current system, offering tweaks to the percentage of revenue to be devoted to player salaries.
A look at the issues and circumstances that shut down the NBA:

Follow the money
The NBA claims it was $300 million in the red last season with 22 teams losing money. No matter the accounting that led to those numbers, the owners have negotiated based on those figures and the goal of turning them around, with NBA commissioner David Stern arguing the investment it takes an owner to get into the league should be expected to be profitable.
Players have proposed a reduction in the percentage of basketball-related income they would receive, from 57 percent to 54.3 percent, but argue they should not be responsible for preventing ownership mistakes. Owners seek a more even split.
The owners contend their proposal would guarantee $2 billion annually in player salaries. Players contend that would assure only about 45 percent of basketball-related income.
New blood
Unlike the 1998 negotiations, when much of the league leadership had bought in before the dramatic increase in franchise values, the league is filled with owners such as Boston's Wyc Grousbeck, Phoenix's Robert Sarver, Cleveland's Dan Gilbert and Golden State's Joe Lacob who bought into the league at elevated team prices.
Six owners are also NHL owners. Wizards/Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said the NHL is in better financial shape than the NBA because its CBA prevents owners from taking "stupid pills."
Exceptions
When players say they should not have to protect owners from themselves, they are largely talking about exceptions that have driven up their payrolls. The mid-level exception in particular was designed to protect the sport's middle class but has instead become a contract demand in free agency.
Owners began negotiations by proposing a $45 million hard cap, allowing no exceptions that would exceed that number. They have since proposed a "flex cap" in which teams could exceed the salary cap to an undetermined level, targeting $62 million for typical payrolls.
But players argued that the larger ceiling is, in effect, a hard cap. Last season, 17 teams exceeded the $58 million salary cap.
Player power
Friday will mark the one-year anniversary of The Decision and the consolidation of power of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. Though there was nothing new about players leaving teams to play with other top players, this move seemed particularly beyond the owners' control, with many teams knowing they had no chance to be considered.
Even the possibility of Deron Williams becoming a free agent led him to be traded more than a year before he could leave Utah on his own. The potential of Dwight Howard or Chris Paul bolting from relatively small-market cities adds to the sense the league is becoming a collection of haves and have-nots.
The ability of teams to offer longer and richer contracts to their own players than to players switching teams no longer seemed likely to keep stars from aligning.
Spending parity
The idea of a luxury tax — a penalty of a dollar for every dollar spent over a specified threshold - was expected to keep teams from buying their way to championships and to redistribute the tax to those that did not exceed the tax threshold.
Though just seven teams exceeded the luxury tax last season, the past four champions were taxpayers.
The past three titles went to this season's top spending teams, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers paid $110 million in salary and taxes. Last-place Sacramento spent $45 million.
The rich get richer
The NBA has little revenue sharing. The largest portion of that comes from distributing the money collected from teams paying luxury taxes - money that would be eliminated in the system the NBA has proposed.
Stern has said he wants to triple the league's revenue sharing, but the owners have not come up with an agreement that the players argue would solve many of the problems the owners have sought to remedy by reducing player salaries.
The Lakers' new television deal with Time-Warner Cable could be worth as much as $3 billion over 20 years. Some small-market teams struggle to get a deal that turns a profit. Where the NFL can have extensive revenue sharing based on its national television contracts, the bulk of NBA television revenue is from local deals controlled by individual teams.

Jackson is moving on

Phil Jackson imagines himself exploring the southern tropics next winter, or maybe circumnavigating the globe on a motorcycle. The Lakers’ retiring coach doesn’t imagine returning to an NBA bench. At least not right now.

Jackson informally wrapped up his tenure with the team yesterday, three days after the two-time defending champions were swept out of the playoffs by the Mavericks. The Lakers have no plans to replace him imminently, but Jackson left only the slightest doubt he’s done with what’s likely the last chapter of his unmatched career.

The awful ending to the season did nothing to change the 11-time champion coach’s mind about his future. Although he still loves basketball, Jackson wants to get on with the life he imagined as a boy growing up in North Dakota.

“I have no plans to return,’’ the 65-year-old Jackson said in an emotionless news conference at the Lakers’ training complex. “Today, I’m sure. What it’s going to be like in six months, I’m not sure.’’

Jackson’s equivocation could keep the rumor mills turning for several more years, but the coach clearly relishes the prospect of his extended break from the NBA grind.

Jackson said there’s a point in a coach’s life at which “you either move on or stay in it, you never break away from it, and it becomes the rest of your life. I always thought I’d like to do something beyond just the basketball coaching.’’

Jackson made it clear he wishes he had left the Lakers last summer, fresh from the glow of his 11th championship after a Game 7 victory over the Celtics. Instead, he reluctantly returned at the behest of the Buss family and his players to go after an unprecedented fourth three-peat in his coaching career.

But the Lakers never got it together during his curtain call, foundering through long stretches of a 57-win regular season and struggling in the first round of the playoffs before the Mavericks blasted them in four straight games.

“Talent wins, and when you have talent to coach, it makes all the difference in the world,’’ said Jackson, a 1,155-game winner whose career .704 winning percentage is the best in NBA history. “I’ve coached some of the best talent that’s ever played the game.’’

Yet Jackson acknowledges he never really reached his amply talented final team, which appeared exhausted or just plain uninterested in another championship run.

“This team just had an ability to get into a funk and not [get out of it],’’ Jackson said. “I never really had a team like that, that couldn’t make adjustments and learn from mistakes.’’

Kobe Bryant also checked out of the Lakers’ training complex yesterday, defining the season as “a wasted year of my life."

For a team that knows its season could be one-and-done, the Hawks are still feeling quite confident about their chances in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Their mantra: Just take it to Game 7.

“If we get this win,’’ Jeff Teague said, referring to tonight against the Bulls, “I think there’s a good chance we’ll get Game 7. I feel like there would be a lot of pressure on them playing at home in Game 7.’’

Of course, there’s that little matter to take care of in Atlanta. Game 6, with no room for error.

For the first time in this postseason, the underdog Hawks are one loss away from going on vacation. They’ve played three competitive games on the road, winning the series opener and putting the Bulls on the ropes Tuesday night.

But led by MVP Derrick Rose and backup Taj Gibson, the top-seeded team in the East pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 95-83 victory and a 3-2 lead in the series.

The Bulls sound confident, too, as well they should. Just one more win will send them to the conference finals for the first time since 1998.

“No matter the situation, down or up, we believe,’’ Carlos Boozer said. “They’re a good team. There aren’t going to be too many times in the playoffs when you blow a team out. In the course of a game there are going to be waves . . . This is two very good teams battling things out.’’

Traylor found dead Robert Traylor, the former NBA and University of Michigan big man nicknamed “Tractor’’ because of his hulking frame, has died. He was 34. Police in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said Traylor was found dead yesterday on the bedroom floor of his oceanfront apartment. Police and Traylor’s team, the Bayamon Cowboys, said he had been missing for a few days and apparently died from a heart attack. Perez said Traylor’s survivors include his wife and two sons . . . Mavericks guard J.J. Barea says he doesn’t hold any animosity toward Lakers center Andrew Bynum after their ugly collision. Bynum elbowed Barea in the chest while the guard was in the air for a layup in Game 4 of their playoff series. He hit the floor hard, Bynum was ejected, and on Tuesday was suspended for the first five games of next season. Barea says he has a bruise on his ribs and another on his left hand. He said yesterday that he received an apologetic message from Bynum that he considers sincere. He didn’t return the call because he didn’t think it was necessary. Barea said: “He just had a big mistake. People have those sometimes. He lost his mind and he fouled me pretty hard. I know he regrets it.'

Rivers ‘leaning heavily toward coming back’

The hottest coaching commodity in the NBA isn’t even on the market.

The hottest coaching commodity has a job. The question is whether or not he wants to keep it.

Doc Rivers broke his silence on the matter last night.

“I’m leaning heavily toward coming back,’’ the Celtics coach said after his season ended with a 97-87 loss to the Heat in Game 5 last night. “I made up my mind the last couple of weeks. I’m a Celtic. I’m competitive, as well. I love our guys.

“Listen, there’s been a contract for basically three months there,’’ Rivers added. “Danny [Ainge] and Wyc [Grousbeck] have been on the other side of patience. It gave us a long time to talk about it as a family. I haven’t signed anything or done anything but it’s there and I probably will sign it.

“We only got one [child] left at the house and he basically told me he didn’t want me home. It will be easier and that’s one of the things for my family because it’s only Austin playing and Spencer. The other two are graduated from college. And it will be less travel in a lot of ways and they can come see me more because my wife only has one kid in the house. So that’s big for us. I told [Wyc] one of the games here, whatever you figure out with [my agent], I’ll probably do it.’’

Make no mistake. It’s a given in the minds of every NBA observer that Rivers would have his pick of jobs should he come to the conclusion that he has gone far enough with the one he has.

For the last four years it has been a good job. But you don’t need that proverbial PhD in Hoopology to know that it’s not going to be a plum job for much longer. The Big Three are getting up there in age, and Ainge will soon have a lot of rebuilding to do. Why should Doc put himself through that?

The man could not be in a better position. He won’t turn 50 until Oct. 13, which means he has a long shelf life as an NBA coach. The best part is that he is under absolutely no pressure to do anything. He can do whatever he likes.

Who among us hasn’t been speculating for a long time now that the 2011-12 season would be a perfect time for Rivers to kick back, take a year off, maybe grab a little broadcast gig if he likes — don’t forget that he was a top-of-the-line color man — and go see son Austin play for Duke? And when he’s not doing that, he could watch son Spencer play for his high school team. And when he’s not doing that, he could go watch daughter Callie play professional volleyball.

That’s all before we even discuss the impending lockout and the very real possibility that it may be well into 2012 before we see a real, live NBA game.

It’s not as if by taking a year off anyone in the NBA is going to forget just who Glenn “Doc’’ Rivers is. Every general manager has his cellphone number; you can count on that.

Rivers was always well thought of, but in the last year or so his reputation has grown exponentially. Coaching a championship team (2008) will enhance anyone’s résumé, and people likewise took notice when the Celtics extended the Magic to seven games without Kevin Garnett the following year.

Things really took a turn skyward last year, when the Celtics surprised the basketball world by coming within 94 seconds of beating the Lakers for what would have been championship No. 18. Doc’s stock soared.

He began his NBA career as a coaching prodigy, a 36-year-old player-turned-broadcaster-turned-coach who took an Orlando team picked to finish last and almost got it into the playoffs. For this he was named Coach of the Year in 2000.

The coaching business being among the more volatile ways of making a living in American society, he was introduced to the flip side three years later, when a team that was supposed to be built around Grant Hill didn’t have Grant Hill and got off to a brutal start (1-10). At that point, the Magic made Doc Rivers an ex-coach.

That bumpy ending in Orlando didn’t deter Ainge, who brought Rivers to Boston, a city where Rivers first attracted attention a little over two decades earlier by putting on the best guard show ever at one of the Boston Shootouts.

It has certainly been an interesting ride here. For one thing, Doc Rivers is the only coach in the history of the NBA who presided over an 18-game losing streak one year and was able to hoist the championship trophy the next. It was primarily about the players, of course. That’s always the case.

But it was also about recognizing what had to be done in order to make those marquee players into a unit. It was about having the prescience to take the Big Three on that Duck Boat ride to give them a teeny taste of what winning a championship in Boston would be like. It was about trotting out the “Ubuntu’’ theme. It was about classic personnel management, of knowing how to adjust to the whims and habits and aspirations of proud veterans. It was about recognizing the special talents of Rajon Rondo, talents that were accompanied by a very peculiar psyche that Doc is still trying to probe to this day.

It was about making it clear that any team success was going to start with defense, and then getting everyone involved to buy into what he was selling. Whatever he was selling, it must have been appealing, because no Celtics team ever played harder from the first exhibition to the final 131-92 Game 6 destruction of the Lakers than the 2007-08 edition. I can state that categorically. The 1985-86 team was better, but it took nights off. Doc’s 2007-08 team took no nights off.

It was about Doc maturing as a coach. He has to be 50 percent better at every aspect of coaching than he was in Orlando.

The word is out. There may be an NBA player or two who wouldn’t want to play for Doc Rivers, but I can’t imagine who it would be. His people skills and his sheer humanity separate him from the pack.

Why should he stay? The situation here is only going to deteriorate. He is at the perfect point in his professional life to take a year off and then see what new, challenging opportunities present themselves. He has given the Celtics great service. Then again, I’m sure he feels a sense of loyalty to his core group. But they’re all big boys. They would understand.

Doc Rivers is in an enviable position, but it’s only because he has earned it.

NBA players association alleges unfair labor practices

NBA players on Tuesday filed an unfair labor practices charge against the league with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging "harsh, inflexible and grossly regressive 'takeaway' demands."

The National Basketball Players Assn. said it's seeking an immediate investigation by the NLRB, plus an injunction to stop the league's threatened lockout of players when the current collective-bargaining agreement expires June 30.

The union claims the NBA has violated three sections of the National Labor Relations Act in the months preceding Tuesday's filing.

"If some of these allegations are true, the totality of the conduct can be deemed bad faith," said Bill Gould, a former NLRB chairman and current Stanford law professor. "This is a shot across the bow" by NBA players.

The NBA issued a statement saying, "There is no merit to the charge filed [Tuesday] by the players association … as we have complied — and will continue to comply — with all of our obligations under the federal labor laws. It will not distract us from our efforts to negotiate in good faith a new collective bargaining agreement with the players association."

In the other major sports labor drama, NFL players in April sought to avoid a slow-moving NLRB process by asking a U.S. District Court judge in Minnesota to stop NFL owners from locking out their players.

An attorney for the NFL owners argued in a hearing that the NLRB — not the federal judge — had jurisdiction and was the only body empowered to determine if instituting a lockout was a legal "tool" to help strike a deal.

District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson sided with the NFL players and lifted the lockout, writing in her decision that the owners had an unfair advantage to maintain the lockout for the duration of the uncertain NLRB review.

A stay of Nelson's decision was later granted by a federal appeals court in St. Louis, and the court has scheduled oral arguments from both sides June 3.

The NBA case is different, Gould said, because the NLRB's general counsel will immediately work to explore the players' charge, and if a violation is believed to have occurred, the general counsel can issue a complaint to the four-person board.

The board can then vote to move the case to a U.S. court "in a matter of weeks, before the expiration of this agreement," said Gould.

Earlier this month, basketball players association head Billy Hunter, in a memo to players, reported the league is seeking a hard salary cap that would be a 22% reduction from the current $58-million soft-cap figure.

The union argued in its NLRB claim that the NBA has engaged in "classic 'take it or leave it' bargaining … intended to delay action on a renewal [collective bargaining agreement] until the NBA locks out the … employees in order to coerce them into accepting the NBA's harsh and regressive demands."

The league and players have a bargaining session scheduled during the NBA Finals in Dallas or Oklahoma City.

Noah's mistake a teachable moment for all, including spectators

MIAMI -- The Chicago Bulls have plenty to worry about heading into Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals. How do they resurrect their abysmal fourth-quarter offense? How do they stop the Miami Heat's newfound ruthlessness when it comes to closing out games?

But sometimes, sports are bigger than the games themselves. Sometimes, sports make us think about issues we'd rather not confront. You pay money or sit in front of your TV to watch sports and be entertained -- to get away from the mundane issues of life, and in some cases, to block out the complicated, sensitive entanglements we're involved in every day.

Sometimes, sports and life collide, as they did Sunday night in Game 3 between the Heat and the Bulls.

Joakim Noah was whistled for his second foul in the first quarter. He went to the bench. A loud, persistent, disrespectful heckler (and a drunken one, according to a teammate) wouldn't leave Noah alone. NBA players, who are seated within say-it-don't-spray-it proximity to fans 82 nights a year (plus, for the lucky ones, the playoffs), rarely lash out.

Noah did. He lost his composure. He did so profanely and disrespectfully, and used a bigoted slur for homosexuals. It was caught on camera and uploaded to YouTube within minutes.

No sooner had he checked his cell phone after the game did Noah realize what a huge mistake he'd made.

You know the rest. Noah apologized -- after the game, and again Monday -- and it wasn't one of those fake "if I offended anyone" apologies. It was genuine, and from the heart. Noah was fined $50,000 by the NBA -- the correct amount, because it's clear to me that a heat-of-the-moment rant directed at a heckler is worse than doing the same to a game official, which cost Kobe Bryant twice that amount for the same slur. Noah couldn't have been more contrite, expressing his willingness to accept the consequences of his actions.

Case closed. But not really.

This has to be a teaching moment for players across the NBA, and in sports. Another player cannot use that word on the court, on the bench -- anyplace where NBA business is being conducted. (The trustworthy soul in me wants to believe that such hateful speech would be off-limits at home, in the weight room, and at the club, too. But let's just police what we can and hope it carries over to the rest in time.)

At a time when the NBA is taking the lead in the public discourse on gays in sports, with the universal backing of Suns executive Rick Welts after he came out last week, this can't happen again. Players are creatures of habit, and the NBA has proved that habits can be reformed. Whether you agreed or disagreed with the dress code, NBA players somehow learned to appear in public dressed for work instead of for a pickup game at West 4th Street. It took some time, but the NBA managed to get players to curb their reactions to referees' calls, too. Call this the David Stern mind-control police if you want, but the game is presented in a much more positive light when every stoppage in play isn't punctuated by a tantrum.

Whether you agreed or disagreed with the 73-game suspension imposed on Ron Artest for the unconscionable act of going into the stands at the Palace, you can't argue with the results. The point was made, unequivocally, that the line between the court and the seats is one that is never to be crossed. Artest hasn't been mistake-free since the incident, but it's worth pointing out that he did receive the NBA's citizenship award this season.

Noah isn't going to be nominated for any humanitarian honors any time soon, but it's hard not to commend his handling of the aftermath. He did interview after interview at the team hotel Monday, answering every question and expressing remorse at every turn. He didn't duck, didn't make excuses. He admitted he was wrong -- and more importantly, understood why he was wrong.

"People who know me know I'm an open minded guy," Noah said. "I'm not here to hurt anybody's feelings."

Noah stayed around long enough to conduct a one-on-one interview with Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com, an out, gay sportswriter -- and a talented one at that -- in a profession rarely called upon to wrestle with life's weighty topics. Noah was raised in the melting pot of New York City's SoHo neighborhood. His father, of course, is former tennis star Yannick Noah. His mother's best friend was a gay man known to Noah as "mom."

When Arnovitz approached Noah Monday, these were the first words out of Noah's mouth: "I'm really sorry about what I said."

This is the Noah his friends and family know: respectful, contrite, self-aware, and better yet, accepting of people's differences. Not the guy everyone saw using hurtful, bigoted language on national TV Sunday night, and on YouTube forevermore.

"I'm pissed off at myself," Noah told Arnovitz, "because that's not who I am."

Noah will pay his fine, proceed with his promising basketball career, and try to put his true self forward from now on. He'll try to act more like the thoughtful, apologetic 26-year-old who comported himself in exactly the right manner Monday, and not like the hothead who forgot his roots and failed his upbringing in an instant that will follow him everywhere.

Which brings us to the final lesson, another teachable moment that should not be overlooked in this collision of life and sports that has interrupted the Eastern Conference finals -- though I'm glad it has, because the more light that is shone on bigotry, the more it will slink back to the shadows. NBA players aren't the only people required to learn from this. The paying customers have to change, too.

In the major team sports, NBA fans are seated closer to the action -- and to the players -- than in any other. On a nightly basis, players face repeated, disrespectful, and sometimes disgusting heckling from people who think paying for a ticket gives them the right to act like fools. The ticket does not give you the right to do that; read the fine print on the back. But forget the fine print for a moment, and just think about common sense.

Why would anyone shout obscenities -- and worse -- at a person he doesn't even know? Why would he expect the recipient of these vile attacks not to respond -- which they rarely do? Why does anyone expect that a person with a bigger paycheck than you should adhere to a different set of standards for conduct and decency?

Despite the disconnect in that logic, NBA players almost always take the high road. In the rare cases when they don't, any language pertaining to race and sexual/cultural orientation clearly should be off-limits. This is the hard lesson that Noah, who is bigger and better than the word he used, has relearned over the past 24 hours. But what about fans? Where is the line that you shouldn't cross? Why do you believe that it's your right to continue to cross it?

The vast majority of fans understand this. According to teammate Taj Gibson, the fans who were seated near Noah's heckler Sunday night realized it, too -- and tried to get him to knock it off. But the guy wouldn't stop. He wouldn't stop flexing his beer muscles and wouldn't curb his tongue, which Noah said launched something "disrespectful" his way about this mother.

"The guy just kept going," Gibson said. "I know the crowd looked at the guy, too, like, 'Come on man, leave him alone. It's over.' But the guy just kept going. ... It was the usual, but in those circumstances, it was heavy because he was really loud. And he was a big guy, too. He was intoxicated. When I saw him, I was surprised, because he just kept going and going. Normally a fan may say a couple of things and then sit down. But he just kept going and going, and it was Joakim the whole time."

Even after the incident, the guy kept going at Noah and other players on the Bulls' bench for the rest of the game, Gibson said. Why not ask that he be removed?

"I've seen guys removed for doing stuff like that," Gibson said. "But being from New York and playing in hostile environments like Rucker Park, Joakim knows better than to get a fan thrown out after spending so much money on a good ticket."

Noah has to be better than this, and based on his response to this self-inflicted controversy, he will. But the fans do not live in a cocoon that shields them from responsibility. There will continue to be those who think they're above it all, and they shouldn't be tolerated, either.

So how about this? The next time a heckler thinks his $300 ticket and beer receipts give him license to say whatever he wants to people he doesn't even know, take out your phone and aim it at him. Then, put him on YouTube and see how he likes it -- how his wife likes it, and how his boss likes it.

Shine the spotlight on the guy who thinks he's big enough to sit in the big-boy seats, but never has to follow the same rules or face the same consequences as the player seated a few feet away. Joakim Noah will learn from this and do better. But the question that also has to be asked is, will you?

Despite sore ankle, MVP should be A-OK

Derrick Rose should be fine. Time will tell if the Chicago Bulls will be, too.

The NBA's MVP went through a full practice Tuesday, one day after twisting his left ankle in the closing seconds of a 103-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Rose expects to be ready for Game 2 today.

"It's fine, it's fine," he said at his MVP news conference in Lincolnshire, Ill., a few miles from the team's practice facility. "Actually, the medicine that they gave me was great. I woke up this morning feeling great, went to practice, worked out afterward."

Coach Tom Thibodeau said his star point guard "didn't have any swelling."

Rose officially became the NBA's youngest MVP and joined Michael Jordan as the only Bulls player to win the award, which was no surprise given his spectacular season and Chicago's leap to a league-leading 62 wins.

He has a ways to go before he catches Jordan, who won five MVPs and led the way to two championship three-peats, but he sure is off to a good start.

"I'm not even touching that man right there," Rose said. "I'm far away from him. If anything, it would be great to be close to him. This is a different team, a different era."

Rose, 22, got 1,182 points and 113 first-place votes from a panel of media voters, supplanting Wes Unseld as the youngest to win the award with a runaway win. Orlando's Dwight Howard (643 points) finished second and Miami's LeBron James was third.

He averaged 25 points and 7.7 assists while leading Chicago into contention for its first championship since the Jordan-Scottie Pippen era. For all the groaning over the Bulls missing out on James in free agency, they did quite well for themselves anyway.

Carmelo and Amar’e take Manhattan

Last month, a blockbuster trade landed Denver Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony with the New York Knicks, sparking a media frenzy and hopes for the team’s first NBA championship since 1973. The renewed optimism for Gotham hoops comes as Melo joins former Phoenix Suns sensation Amar’e Stoudemire, who this season inked a five-year deal worth nearly $100 million in the Knicks’ aggressive push for a title — and relevancy.

“The Knicks are a classic franchise, so it’s nice to see them having a moment,” says GQ senior editor Will Welch.

Off the hardwood, both athletes are known as much for their style swagger as they are for their stutter step.

Stoudemire — who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Yankees-Tampa Bay game in September — has cemented his sartorial standing by wrangling Anna Wintour to Madison Square Garden for a Knicks game.

Meanwhile, Anthony has been a tabloid fixture since Stoudemire threw a star-studded dinner at the West Village’s Spotted Pig to welcome his newest teammate and longtime friend.

The dapper dandies certainly know how to make a Big Apple entrance — pocket square and all. “Amar’e feels like an old soul, in a way,” says Welch.

“He’s got the whole prep thing going on. You see Amar’e in bow ties, chunky-framed glasses and cardigans.”

In 2009, the Brooklyn-born, Baltimore-raised Anthony began working with celebrity stylist Khalilah Williams-Webb, who refined his aesthetic.

Much to her delight, he shaved his trademark braids without nagging.

“My first question for him was, ‘Are you going to shave your braids?’ And he said no. [But] I went to Denver one day, and they were gone. I was so excited,” says Williams-Webb, who recently picked up varsity letterman jackets and crew-neck sweatshirts for the newly minted Knick.

She put him in custom suits with pops of color and tossed the baggy jackets out with his untucked, oversize shirts.

Stoudemire and Anthony, who stand at 6-foot-10 and 6-foot-8, respectively, both have pulled off style coups for men of their height.

The stars — who entered the NBA while in their teens — are devotees of LA-based tailor Waraire Boswell. At 6-foot-7, Boswell is an expert at fitting a taller, more athletic frame.

“Despite all of the money at their disposal, they can’t just walk into Barneys and Bergdorf and buy off the rack,” says Welch. “They have to have their stuff made for them.”

Knicks fans, however, love them best in blue and orange mesh.

Stoudemire, who only started playing organized ball at 14, was drafted into the NBA right out of high school, while Anthony played a year at Syracuse, won a national championship and entered the pros with just one year of college under his belt.

“Both of them have come really close to an NBA championship, but fell short,” says Robert Tuchman, author of “The 100 Sporting Events You Must See Live.”

“Being in New York should change that.”

Thus far, the team is trying to jell, and has been streaky at best.

But the new additions have already captured the hearts of basketball and fashion fans alike.

Here’s how they stack up against each other in the personal arena . . .

Not-so-humble abodes

* Stoudemire: The swinging bachelor is in the penthouse of 99 Jane St. that opened in November after the previous tenant, Goldman Sachs banker Richard Kimball Jr., angered neighbors with his hard-partying ways. The $37,500-a-month pad has 4,500 square feet inside and another 4,500 square feet of outdoor space to entertain hopeful gal pals.

* Anthony: The recent arrival hasn’t yet committed to an apartment, but The Post has reported that he’s mulling two locations in SoHo, including the same Mercer Street building where Jon Bon Jovi lives (also the place where Mark Madoff committed suicide in December). He’s reportedly considering the upscale Soho Mews on West Broadway as well.

Marital status

* Stoudemire: “Amar’e is a lot more private with his private life,” says sports author Robert Tuchman. The dapper dandy was linked to Kanye’s ex, Amber Rose, in December, but the pair denied a romantic relationship.

* Anthony: Carmelo Anthony wed MTV personality and longtime girlfriend La La Vazquez at a star-studded ceremony at Cirpriani 42nd Street in July. Amar’e, Kim Kardashian, LeBron James and Spike Lee watched as Melo wed Vazquez, 31, in a custom navy Waraire Boswell tuxedo.

Mass appeal

Stoudemire: The Florida native has made no secret of his design aspirations, and plans to collaborate with Rachel Roy on men’s and women’s collections, to be rolled out in the fall. The pair was spotted discussing details at The Lion in December.

Anthony: While his teammate rubs shoulders with the fashion pack, Melo’s hanging with the VH1 film crew chronicling his and wife La La’s move from Denver to the Big Apple, tentatively called “La La’s Full Court Life.” It’s a follow-up to the network’s “La La’s Full Court Wedding.”

Spectacles

* Stoudemire: He rocks rec specs while posting up on opponents, but in his off-time, Stoudemire gets his cache of nerd-chic glasses from SoHo’s Silver Lining. From chunky, square Arthur Miller styles to the rounded Urkel variety, his frames are an integral part of Stoudemire’s playful, preppy aesthetic.

* Anthony: “He has to have his shades,” says celebrity stylist Khalilah Williams-Webb, who also plucks aviator sunglasses from Silver Lining’s vintage collection. “He loves Silver Lining because they have frames that he knows no one else will have,” she adds.

Vogue love

* Stoudemire: Editrix Anna Wintour is a famous fan of athletes such as Roger Federer and LeBron James; Stoudemire can now join the pantheon. Stoudemire — whom Wintour personally invited to last fall’s Fashion Night Out — has sat front-row with her at a Tommy Hilfiger show and appears in April’s issue, playing a hilarious game of one-on-one with the magazine’s resident dandy, Hamish Bowles.

* Anthony: He’s yet to land a coveted editorial spread, but his stylist hopes New York helps cultivate his fashion profile. “It’s the fashion capital. There are so many things to see here, and the streets are an inspiration,” says Williams-Webb. “I think it will be easier to convince him to try new things.

Style & sensibility

* Stoudemire: The slim power forward, who works with Rachel Johnson, LeBron James’ stylist, favors custom suits by Gucci and Waraire Boswell. “He’s really up on what’s going on right now,” says Welch. “He looks great in a tux, which is really hard when you’re 6-foot-10. He takes risks and pulls them off.” Whether he’s wearing a casual leather jacket and jeans or a bow tie and charcoal pinstripe suit, the fashion phenom hardly makes a style mistep, Welch says. “Amar’e tends to nail it,” he says.

* Anthony: When Melo shed his braids and baggy togs, adopting a cleaner silhouette, he began his ascent into the league’s style elite. “He’s coming into his own and figuring out who he is off the court,” says Welch. “He’s isn’t as consistent as Amar’e. He looks best when he keeps it simple.” He committed some flagrant fouls over the NBA All-Star Weekend when he showed up at one event in a flamboyant plaid suit and at another in a head-to-toe mustard-color ensemble. But Welch insists his best accessory is God-given. “He has an incredible smile,” he says.

Hansbrough, Irish fail to get past Louisville

An ironic twist doomed Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament semifinals Friday night — Ben Hansbrough tried too hard.
Normally content to let the game come to him when he’s struggling with his shooting, Hansbrough had no choice
but to turn it up a notch after the Irish frittered away a 14-point lead in the second half under Louisville pressure.
But the Big East Player of the Year missed a Kemba Walker-like step-back jumper that would have won the game at the end of regulation. Then he missed two shots in the final minute of overtime that would have given the Irish a chance as Louisville rallied for an 83-77 win before a capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden t hat included former Presiden t Bill Clinton.
‘‘It’s a perfect example of someone who almost wanted it too much,’’ Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. ‘‘It was an emotional investment in him wanting it so bad that he tied himself in knots.
‘‘[But] he’s the reason we’re in this position. We just have to get him some rest and get him going again.’’
Hansbrough scored 13 points on 3-for-16 shooting. He missed two free throws with 3:53 to go in regulation and had six turnovers to go with five assists as Notre Dame (26-6) was denied its first Big East title game. No. 3 seed Louisville (25-8) plays No.  9 seed Connecticut tonight.
The Irish, who still hope to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, overcame Hansbrough’s 1-for-8 shooting in the first half to build a 46-32 lead. Scott Martin scored 13 of his 21 points on 5-for-7 shooting, and Tim Abromaitis added 12 of his 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting in the half.
But Louisville turned up the heat with backcourt pressure in the second half, relentlessly drove to the basket and threw Notre Dame off
kilter. The Irish shot 8-for-28 in the second half — 3-for-13 from three-point range — while being outrebounded 30-18. Louisville had 23 offensive rebounds for the game.
‘‘They took us apart [in t
he first half],’’ Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. ‘‘I said you’ve got one shot at winning this game — you’ve got to take their legs out from them and it’ll pay off in the end. They did a fabulous job.’’
Notre Dame still led 66-58 on a Hansbrough three-pointer with 6:35 to go. But after Martin grabbed an errant Louisville pass in the lane, Hansbrough tried the same shot and missed. The Cardinals scored eight unanswered points to tie the game at 66 with 2:47 to play.
Carleton Scott tied the game at 72 with 46 seconds left in regulation and Notre Dame had the final possession. But Hansbrough’s outside jumper missed.
Hansbrough’s three-pointer gave Notre Dame a 75-74 lead in overtime. But Louisville center Terrence Jennings (16 points, five rebounds) scored on a rebound, Abromaitis and Hansbrough missed, and Louisville guard Chris Smith hit two free throws to give the Cardinals an 81-77 lead with 18 seconds left.

Defending champion Lakers send Spurs message

The Los Angeles Lakers might not catch the NBA's winningest team for the No. 1 seed in time for the playoffs, but they handed the San Antonio Spurs a blunt reminder that the Western Conference is still theirs to surrender, beating San Antonio, 99-83, in a blowout Sunday. 

 It was the seventh straight victory for the Lakers. Coach Phil Jackson concedes that San Antonio's 61/2-game lead in the West might be too big to overcome with 18 games left. But the Lakers still made a few marks.

One is emphatically ending San Antonio's franchise-record home winning streak at 22 games. Another is beating the Spurs for the first time in three tries, including last month's stunning loss in Los Angeles when Antonio McDyess tipped in the winner as time expired

Chicago 87, (at) Miami 86: Derrick Rose scored 27 points, Luol Deng capped an 18-point effort with two free throws that put Chicago ahead for good. It was the fourth time since Feb. 24 where Miami held a double-digit lead and ultimately lost.

(At) Oklahoma City 122, Phoenix 118 (OT): Russell Westbrook had 32 points and 11 assists, James Harden matched his career high with 26 points as Oklahoma City overcame an off night from scoring leader Kevin Durant (18 points, 3-for-14).

New York 92, (at) Atlanta 79: Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points and Landry Fields added 15 as New York won easily. Carmelo Anthony, who was poked in the eye in the first quarter and later hit in the head in the first half, finished with 14 points, his lowest total since New York acquired him in a Feb. 22 trade.

(At) Philadelphia 125, Golden State 117 (OT): Andre Iguodala had his second straight triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to carry the 76ers.

New Orleans 96, (at) Cleveland 81: David West scored 23 points, and Chris Paul had 13 points and 11 assists in 26 minutes before being carried out on a stretcher after hitting his head. Paul was chasing a loose ball when he hit his forehead on Ramon Sessions' right shoulder and immediately fell to the court.

Memphis 104, (at) Dallas 103: Zach Randolph made a high-arching 17-footer with 0.3 seconds left, capping a comeback from 18 points.