Associated Press
Vince McMahon claims he’s being thrown out. His opponent insists McMahon is the double-crosser.
World Wrestling Entertainment is moving its Monday show to Los Angeles because of a conflict with the Pepsi Center in Denver, which had booked two events for the same night.
The Nuggets are scheduled to play host to the Lakers on Monday in Game 4 of the Western finals, but WWE had previously secured the arena for an episode of Monday Night Raw.
McMahon criticized Kroenke Sports, which owns the Nuggets and Pepsi Center, for not being more helpful when the conflict arose.
“They bumped us right out of the building, hardly an apology,” McMahon said. “They didn’t do anything for us at all, and the media was talking about someone has to write a check. They didn’t want to write anything, and they wanted to give us a Sunday night. And the name of the show is Monday Night Raw.”
Kroenke Sports claims McMahon had previously agreed to a deal to shift the event to Sunday.
“We negotiated in good faith with Vince and believed we had a deal in principal as of Tuesday,” Kroenke Sports executive vice president Paul Andrews said. “In fact, it was so clear to us that we asked Vince to do a joint press release. He said, ‘Paul, I have no problem with a joint press release.’ Then, he asked us if he could get five tickets to the Denver Nuggets’ game on Monday night so he could apologize to Mr. Kroenke in person.
“That was Tuesday. We find out by a press announcement today by Vince, who I believe is the master of propaganda, that he’s moving the event to the Staples Center. He didn’t even contact us to tell us he hadn’t accepted the deal we negotiated the night before, so we’re quite shocked, frankly.”
WWE executive V.P. Shane McMahon said the offer came too late.
CAVALIERS
CLEVELAND ó Is LeBron James, who is making his ninth appearance on Sports Illustrated’s cover this week, jinx proof?
“Did something bad happen to him the other eight times?” coach Mike Brown wondered. “I’m OK with it.”
BULLS
CHICAGO ó Gar Forman has been promoted to general manager, replacing John Paxson, who will remain with the team as executive vice president of basketball operations.
CLIPPERS
LOS ANGELES ó The Clippers didn’t need time after the lottery to decide who to take No. 1. They settled on Blake Griffin long ago.
“I’d say we made the decision June 2008,” assistant general manager Neil Olshey said. “When he decided to go back to Oklahoma, that if we got the No. 1 pick in ’09, he’d be the guy.”
On Wednesday, the Clippers strategically placed pictures of Griffin on their Web site to advertise ticket sales for next season.
TISDALE
TULSA, Okla. ó Friends and fans paid their last respects to former Oklahoma and NBA star Wayman Tisdale. A public viewing was held at the Friendship Baptist Church in Tulsa.
Some people lined up two hours before the church doors were opened.
GRANT
PORTLAND, Ore. ó Brian Grant is afraid. Just 37 and three seasons removed from his NBA career, he has Parkinson’s disease.
Fear is unfamiliar for Grant, who built a reputation for hard-nosed play.”I’d be lying if I said, ‘Nah, I’m not scared. I’m going to face this thing head on,’ ” Grant said, his voice cracking. “I am going to face it head on, but I still have fear. There are times when I’m scared of just losing control of me, you know? Not being able to control myself and having to have someone take care of me.”