Larry Bird is still irked about the terrible call by veteran ref Jess Kersey that cost his Pacers Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals last season. "I'm still upset about it," Bird said. "I'll be upset all year, and when I leave here, I'll still be upset. It was a bad call by an experienced referee, and he knows it was a bad call. He got caught up in the New York B.S., and it killed us."

Fans noticed when the Magic shipped out all their popular players, to the tune of 5,000 fewer season tickets this season.Seattle's Gary Payton offers no apologies for his rocky relationship with some teammates last season. "What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to go around and talk to everybody and get everybody back into their life? Hey, I got kids, too. I can't adopt 12 more. . . . I can't go out and say, 'Let's eat lunch and let's see if I can make you happy.' That's not my job to do that."

Milwaukee coach George Karl almost sounded like he was talking about himself when he offered this odd compliment for Charles Barkley: "He's been a great ambassador for the game, a unique ambassador, definitely an eccentric ambassador and a stupid ambassador. He's been good for the game. And he said things that had to be said that very few people had the guts to say."

You gotta love having Phil Jackson back in the league. Here's his take on living in L.A.: "I've noticed what I've been calling 'freeway-frenetic' kind of jitters in people who live here, and I understand now having been here and riding in five-lane traffic at 70 mph and bumper-to-bumper with semis that there is a little bit of hyperactivity that goes on when people are cellular-speaking and trying to do multiple tasks at the same time while driving down the freeway. The freeway is the hallowed sacred spot that I enter with fear and loathing."

Rapper Percy "Master P" Miller ripped the Raptors for cutting him. Coach Butch Carter's response? "Who cares? The truth of the matter is that Miller is not unlike 60 percent of NBA players. They think they are better than they really are."

The folks in Atlanta swore they knew what they were getting into when they traded for Isaiah Rider, so it should have come as no surprise to them that he reported late for camp, missed several practices, popped off after a game in which he missed 15 of 22 shots and committed six turnovers, then said he wanted to be the man, like Steve Smith used to be the man. "We can't depend on one sole person," Rider preached. "A lot of guys were just kind of watching me. That's kind of unfair to me."

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When Dallas genius Don Nelson shipped off the Mavs' No. 1 pick this year in the 1998 Steve Nash trade, he assured everyone Nash would be better than anyone they'd be able to draft. Nash shot 36 percent last season, is often injured and stuck behind Robert Pack on the depth chart. With that pick, the Suns took UNLV's Shawn Marion, a 6-7 forward who is starting and averaging double figures in points and rebounds.

Suns coach Danny Ainge says he has too much talent to fail. "At the end of the year, if this team has not won 50-something games and competed against the top teams in the league throughout the season, then there needs to be changes," he said. "I'm not afraid of that stuff at all. If we play like garbage, I should be gone."

Wizards coach Gar Heard, already fed up, has threatened to put poorly conditioned starters Rod Strickland, Mitch Richmond and Ike Austin on the bench if they don't shape up. (You still think the Jazz should have dealt for Austin?)

When chronic whiner Scottie Pippen complained to refs that Seattle's Vern Maxwell was using a forearm on him, Mad Max fired back with, "Stop (complaining)! You'd better not be guarding me when you come out here, 'cause I'm gonna bust your (rear). You ain't in Houston, and you're still crying like a (girl)!"

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