Each man squeezed another man's throat for between two and three seconds. There is no disputing this.

	Sprewell can't go to his left. So what?

Each had had numerous, detailed problems in the past with his temper. Each had had physical confrontations with members of his team in the past. No one who knew either was surprised at his actions.

One choked a 48-year-old man.

The other, a 20-year-old kid.

Both incidents were exhaustively investigated by outside parties.

One man was suspended for 67 games and lost millions of dollars in salary.

The other was suspended for three games, and fined $30,000.

The disparity in punishments? Odd, but in and of itself, not indicative of anything.

Here is where their stories separate.

One was then castigated by the national media. The story spilled out of the sports pages and broadcasts. Bigfoot news anchors led their broadcasts with the details. He was referred to, on numerous occasions, as a thug. A menace. A punk. An out-of-control monster. He became the symbol of everything that was wrong with sports: overpaid, overindulged, overheated.

The other is symbolic of nothing but his own actions. He is viewed as immature, rude and crude. But he is not trotted out as a sign that sports are out of control. He is not viewed as a threat -- other than to 64-year-old secretaries. And, almost by reflex, his supporters (and detractors) point out all the good things that he does as well. He is considered a paradox, not a criminal.

	“	Sprewell was treated in the media like most of the young African-American males I see on local television. Knight was always viewed in a larger subtext. ”
		— Aldridge

I ask, why the difference in the national reaction? What is different about what Latrell Sprewell did and what Bob Knight did?

Something must be different. Because I've seen no stories on World News Tonight, no comment on This Week with Sam and Cokie, about What it All Means now that Knight has been, uh, disciplined by Indiana's president and Board of Trustees. (I humbly submit that if Knight doesn't have to specifically apologize to the one person that started all this -- the 20-year-old kid he choked on camera -- then the rest of this "zero-tolerance policy" means nothing.)

It is patently obvious that Sprewell is black and Knight is white. That is the first thing I think of, and why shouldn't I? Sprewell was treated in the media like most of the young African-American males I see on local television -- a menace to the community, convicted before the trial was held, rarely given a chance to give his side of the story. Knight was always viewed in a larger subtext -- a coach who raises money for good causes, who graduates most of his players, who helps his ex-players get jobs. Some have asked for his head on a platter, but only his head. No one says college coaches are out-of-control as a group, and need tough love as a group.

Yet this was the common undercurrent in the wake of the Sprewell incident. Athletes were lumped together, the errors of a few an indictment of the whole. Most college coaches are white. Most athletes in team sports are black. To ignore this is to have your head in the sand.

And yet, I am aware of the differences. Knight is older, his life more defined, perhaps, than Sprewell's. Because he has been in a position of authority for 30 years, he has had a chance to have more of an effect on more people's lives. It is clear he has done a lot of good things in his life, helped a lot of people. My point is, so has Sprewell. He's putting relatives through school. He's got a business with his brother. He lives on the computer. He loves his family. None of this was brought out when he was fired by the Warriors.

I am in no way condoning what he did to P.J. Carlesimo. I said at the time of the attack that Sprewell should have been suspended for the entire season. I said it was wrong and hypocritical of the New York media to sanctify Sprewell just because he was now wearing the home white. If he was a pariah in San Francisco, how come he was a hero when you had to face him in the locker room?

But there is absolutely no difference in what each man did. And, I have to point out again, only one was on videotape. So why was Latrell Sprewell demonized, talk show fodder for months, while Bob Knight, though criticized, was always put in a larger context? In other words, viewed as a human being? Flawed, granted, but a human being?

You tell me.

Finally, Portland and Los Angeles
The NBA Finals are set. They start Saturday in Los Angeles.

The Western Conference finals are like the NFC Championship used to be a few years ago, when the Cowboys and Giants and 49ers and Packers slugged it out. The true championship, the smart guys say, will be decided here.

Lakers versus Blazers, Phil versus Scottie, Shaq and Kobe versus Sheed and Smitty. The two best teams in the league, they've been eyeing each other all season. Talk of one gets the other all riled.

Subplots abound. Phil Jackson and Scottie Pippen, each looking for that post-Michael title that will solidify him as worthy in his own right. Does anyone know the triangle (and how to sabotage it) better than Pippen? Does anyone know how to push Pip's buttons better than Big Chief Triangle?

Shaq, looking for a championship that will put the capper on his MVP season and establish him in historical context. Arvydas Sabonis, who hoop fans never saw at his best, who'd love to end his career with a title on the world's biggest basketball stage.

Kobe Bryant, looking to continue a strong postseason and erase all the memories of his first three aborted playoffs. Steve Smith, looking to erase his own postseason demons. Glen Rice, who knows a big series will definitely get him that $14 million per that he's looking for in free agency. Mike Dunleavy, who knows a trip to the Finals will stop all the talk that his job is in jeopardy.

Because it's so big, I'm going to do what I hate doing, and make a prediction. But I'll tell you why first.

Starting guards: Ron Harper vs. Damon Stoudamire; Kobe Bryant vs. Steve Smith

If I'm the Blazers, I make Harper beat me again and again from the perimeter. Smith has no chances guarding Kobe in space; I suspect Portland will put Pippen on Bryant and leave Smith on Rice. Stoudamire was pretty good against Utah and with his quickness, he should be able to get into the paint against Harper and Rice and force Shaq to step out -- unless Jackson puts Kobe on him. The potential switches are intriguing in and of themselves.

EDGE: Portland.

Starting forwards: Glen Rice vs. Scottie Pippen; A.C. Green vs. Rasheed Wallace

Rice will have to put the ball on the floor in this series. Whether it's Pippen or Smith, both will play him for the jumper. The reason they can is because the Blazers will no doubt double Shaq with the 6-foot-11 Wallace, figuring Pippen can get to Green in time to negate weakside action. Big-big double teams are one of the few things the Daddy still needs to show he can beat. And Pippen is quicker in the paint defensively than anyone the Lake Show has seen. L.A. has no one who can handle Wallace on the block, and unlike Chris Webber, Sheed has consistent perimeter skills. Of course, Sheed could be in the locker room with multiple Ts on him by the time it matters. He must keep his head and stay out of foul trouble trying to help Sabonis. If he does, the Blazers win.

EDGE: Portland.

Starting centers: Shaquille O'Neal vs. Arvydas Sabonis

The Diesel has feasted on Sabas the last two playoffs. Too quick, too big, tough physical. He's gotten Sabonis in foul trouble; Sabonis has never made Shaq come out by consistently hitting the 18-footers he drains against everyone else. But Sabonis is healthier now after spraining his ankle late in the regular season. Shaq will put up huge numbers; no one can stop him. But Portland can double him with bigs: Wallace, Brian Grant, maybe even Jermaine O'Neal. The Spurs gave Shaq problems when they brought Tim Duncan and Will Perdue to give help to David Robinson. It's the only thing that's left to try.

EDGE: Los Angeles.

Bench: Derek Fisher vs. Greg Anthony; Rick Fox vs. Detlef Schrempf; Robert Horry vs. Brian Grant; Brian Shaw vs. Bonzi Wells

No one talks about these matchups, and they'll probably determine the series. If Horry can keep the peripatetic Grant off the offensive glass and get his hands on some loose balls; if Fisher can do what John Stockton couldn't and shake Anthony; if Fox can hit a couple of 3-pointers and loosen up things for Kobe's sorties to the hole; if Shaw gets in the passing lanes and strips Wallace in the paint, the Lakers cruise at home and probably steal one on the road. If Grant exposes L.A.'s fours underneath and gives weakside defensive support; if Schrempf has Emerald City Flashbacks and hits double figures a time or two; if Anthony plays flypaper D down the stretch and comes up with a key steal; if Wells forgets he shouldn't be playing in key spots and abuses the Lakers on the block like he did Jeff Hornacek, the Blazers gain a split of the first two games and put doubt in the Laker minds.

I'm guessing the former happens more than the latter.

EDGE: Los Angeles.

Coaching: Phil Jackson vs. Mike Dunleavy

Each has trusted, capable assistants who know the nuances of the other team. Both can play the media game -- Dunleavy is already planting the seed about O'Neal's illegal defenses; Jax can bait and belittle with the best of them. I'm figuring that sometime in this series, the Lakers will be in trouble. Maybe down 2-1 with Game 4 in the Rose Garden. Maybe down 3-2 going back to the Staples. And at that moment, Jackson will come up with something. Maybe in a team meeting, maybe in the media room afterward. But he'll come up with something to calm his team's jangled nerves. It's why he's here.

EDGE: Los Angeles.

Intangibles: Home court doesn't really matter in this series, though it can get loud at the Rose Garden, and it has been surprisingly raucous in the Staples Center of late. These Blazers were built with the Lakers in mind. GM Bob Whitsitt has always been fond of collecting big men; he's consistently resisted all entreaties for Jermaine O'Neal and Grant. And now, the Blazers have 24 fouls to use on the Diesel, and they won't leave any in the holster. Pippen was brought here to take Bryant down; Smith and Schrempf were imported to bring veteran savvy to a combustible group. The Blazers coasted the last month of the regular season; we all thought it was Laker Fatigue after L.A.'s big victory in Portland on Leap Day. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But the Blazers are playing huge right now. The Lakers have played well when they had to. They've rarely faced adversity in the playoffs, but when they did, they responded with monster efforts. It says here that they'll face more in this series than they will in the Finals. Which tells you which way I'm leaning.

THE PICK: Lakers in seven.

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