PHILADELPHIA -- Pat Croce, the Philadelphia 76ers' energetic president, doesn't look like he can take much more of the NBA lockout.
Croce, a basketball junkie, watched helplessly Tuesday as the league canceled the All-Star game scheduled for Feb. 14 in his town.He's so fed up that he'd just as soon wait for the next chance to host the game in 2002.
"I wanted it, I lobbied for it, we petitioned for it . . . we did everything for it," Croce said. "But we wanted the whole show. I don't want half a show that only a small portion of Philadelphia can get involved in. And it's moving along, and we don't have time to plan a great Philadelphia show."
Red-faced with emotion, Croce said he called NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik last week and told him he didn't want the game.
"I said, 'Russ, what's the story? Where are we with the NBA All-Star game?'" Croce said. "He says, 'It's still up in the air. What do you want?' I said, 'I don't want it.' "
Croce got a call from NBA commissioner David Stern on Monday. Stern told him the league was negotiating with Philadelphia hotels for a way to lessen the economic impact of losing the game. The league followed through on Tuesday, canceling the crown jewel of its schedule due to the 161-day lockout.
"We didn't want a fake game," Croce said. "We want All-Stars at our game -- All-Stars that were voted by the fans for the game, not just appointed."
Stern promised Philadelphia would be the host for the 2002 game. Golden State already has the game in 2000, and the 2001 game is all but scheduled for Washington, D.C.