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NBA owners and players resumed talks today

NBA owners and players resumed talks Friday aimed at ending the 148-day lockout in time to save the league’s Christmas Day schedule.

That deadline has created a sense of urgency because the Dec. 25 schedule is traditionally a showcase for the league. This season’s three-game slate was to include Miami at Dallas in an NBA final rematch, plus MVP Derrick Rose leading Chicago into Los Angeles to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

After a secret meeting earlier this week, the sides have returned to the table for more discussions. Commissioner David Stern has said the league needs about 30 days from an agreement to when games could be played.

Participating in the talks for the league were Stern, deputy commissioner Adam Silver, Spurs owner Peter Holt, the chairman of the labour relations committee, and lawyer Rick Buchanan and Dan Rube. The players were represented by executive director Billy Hunter, president Derek Fisher, vice-president Maurice Evans, attorney Ron Klempner and economist Kevin Murphy.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

New plan calls for 66-game NBA season

Talks aimed at ending the NBA lockout have resumed, two people with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday, with a quick settlement necessary to start the season by Christmas.

The discussions began quietly Tuesday and are expected to continue through the Thanksgiving holiday, the people told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the talks were supposed to remain confidential.

The talks between representatives of the owners and players are now centered on settling their lawsuits: The players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the league in Minnesota and the league filed a pre-emptive suit in New York, seeking to prove the lockout was legal…

The plan now would be for 66 games if a resolution comes soon. The league played a 50-game schedule in 1998-99 during its last lockout, when a deal didn’t come until January, so there’s still hope of some games this season even if it doesn’t include Christmas.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

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LeBron, Wade, Melo, CP3 set up 4-game Homecoming Tour

LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony are going home — and bringing friends with them.

With no end to the NBA lockout in sight, the All-Star group is set to lead a four-game “Homecoming Tour,” starting with a matchup in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio on Dec. 1, followed by a Dec. 4 game in New Orleans, a Dec. 7 game in Chicago and culminating with a Dec. 10 contest in East Rutherford, N.J.

James, Paul, Wade and Anthony are committed to play in all four games of the tour, which was announced early Monday. Proceeds from the tour — which will include events such as food drives, educational outreach programs and clinics in each city — will benefit the four headlining players’ charitable foundations, and tour sponsor Google Plus will stream each game live.

“It’ll be very neat,” Wade told The Associated Press. “First of all, this is something we talked about doing a long time ago as players. To have an opportunity to go to these different cities that we’re from, to bring basketball to them at a high level and also have a charitable component in each city and to be with the guys, it’ll be cool. It’s something we’re looking forward to.”

Tickets for the first three games go on sale Tuesday. Tickets for the East Rutherford game will be on sale Wednesday.

— Reported by the Associated Press

James, Wade and Bosh had initially been listed to participate in a world tour of NBA stars, which also was to include Paul and Anthony. That tour was to include stops in Puerto Rico, London, Macau and Australia before it was cancelled.

“It’s not anything that I’ve heard about since then,” Wade said, with the change of plans to a domestic tour. “I was excited about the opportunity to go, obviously to play basketball with some of my friends, some of the best players in the game, to travel to different places and given them kind of what we get over here, the excitement of the game. It’s unfortunate.”

Instead, the passports are off and the domestic games are on.

“You could see, I was there to the end,” Wade said. “I wasn’t going to pull out of it, I was going to keep going and I wanted to play.”

— Reported by Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Shaq rejected entrance by NYC club

Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t power his way through the lane at a New York nightclub this weekend — getting TURNED AWAY at the door … all because he was dressed like a lumberjack.

TMZ has learned … Shaq rolled up to nightclub/restaurant Mars 2112 on Saturday night wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, tennis shoes and a beanie (pictured above with random fan later that night).

But according to the club promoter, Mike Mogul, Shaq’s attire wasn’t up to club standards … so security politely informed the retired NBA star that he would not be allowed inside.

— Reported by TMZ

Former NBA guard Cuttino Mobley suing Knicks

Former NBA guard Cuttino Mobley sued the Knicks Wednesday in federal court, claiming the team “saved millions” by sending him to a doctor “they knew would disqualify him from playing” due to a heart condition soon after trading for him in 2008.

Mobley claims the Knicks pulled that stunt to save money in payments toward the NBA’s “luxury tax” for teams with high payrolls, and also to clear “room under the salary cap in their request to retain the services of other [marquee] players.”

“Mobley’s career was effectively ended,” says the disability discrimination suit in Manhattan federal court filed by the retired journeyman guard, who before being signed by the Knicks in 2008 had played for the Los Angeles Clippers, leading them to within a game of the Western Conference Finals in 2006.He also played for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings…

The Knicks, in a statement, strongly denied the allegations that they purposely engineered Mobley’s disqualification from playing as a means to save $19 million in related luxury tax and and salary costs. And the contention in the suit that Mobley’s retirement helped them get under the salary cap to sign players is flawed. Mobley’s contract expired after the 2008-2009 season and the Knicks were attempting to get under the cap to sign players by the summer of 2010. Mobley’s retirement was irrelevant to that strategy.

— Reported by the New York Post

NBA TV show `The Association` may feature the Knicks

The NBA reality show, “The Association’’ has contacted the Knicks about being the subject of their third season, according to a television source.

“The Association’’ — an up-close, behind-the-scenes series — is similar to HBO’s NFL documentary series “Hard Knocks’’ that once followed the Jets. Talks with the Knicks are only in their initial stage.

Last season, “The Association’’ followed the Celtics with Donnie Wahlberg as narrator. Two years ago, it featured the Lakers, and Andy Garcia was the narrator.

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

Nets working hard to gain New York support

For fans seeking season tickets to next year’s debut in the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn-bound club started dishing out seats five months ago.

The results have been better than the ill-fated marriage of forward Kris Humphries and Kim Kardashian: About 50% of their 100 suites — average price $250,000 — are already sold, the team said.

And season ticket sales for the 4,400 best seats in the new Brooklyn arena are about 15% ahead of expectations — with per-game costs ranging from $99 to $1,500.

The positive news comes despite the team’s inability to use its players — including stars Deron Williams and Brook Lopez — in any promotional capacity due to the ongoing lockout.

The Nets are luring buyers in other ways: the “All Access” 2012-13 season ticket holders receive unlimited complimentary food, along with first shot at seats for any of the other 180 events annually expected at the facility.

— Reported by Larry McShane of the New York Daily News

Security guard sentenced for bomb threats at NBA office

A private security guard who called in bomb threats to a National Basketball Association office in northern New Jersey that he was hired to protect has been sentenced to six months in prison.

Jose Quesada also must serve six months of home confinement once he’s freed and then three years of supervised release under the sentence imposed Wednesday.

He had pleaded guilty in November 2010 to knowingly providing false information indicating that malicious damage by means of an explosive would take place.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Harlem Globetrotters trainer found shot

Authorities say they are investigating the death of an athletic trainer for the Harlem Globetrotters after he was found shot in his Colorado home.

Weld County sheriff spokeswoman Margie Martinez said Saturday that the girlfriend of 42-year-old Thomas Bashline’s called deputies around 4:30 p.m. Friday, saying she had found him unresponsive in a bedroom. Bashline’s home is 11 miles west of Frederick in northern Colorado.

Investigators responding to the scene determined he had died.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Knicks guard Andy Rautins moves home to save money during lockout

Like the rest of his NBA brethren, Andy Rautins is going to miss a few paychecks during the lockout.

To offset that, he’s found a way to save some money.

The Knicks guard has stayed in his parents’ home outside of Syracuse during the lockout, sleeping in his childhood bedroom.

“It’s nice to get some home cooked meals up here,” Rautins, a former Syracuse star, said in a phone interview. “It’s nice because it’s a rare opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Normally, you’d been in a busy season by this time. But I’ve been trying to see the positives in [staying home] and there’s a bunch so far. It’s saving me a lot of money right now and I think that’s a big concern for a lot of players.”

If the lockout extends, Rautins will consider pursuing an internship at his financial adviser’s Manhattan firm to learn about investment advice and financial planning.

— Reported by Ian Begley of ESPN New York

InsideHoops.com editor says: I hope he gets allowance money, and some extra cookies if he mows the lawn and cleans his room.