NBC really was must-see TV when Michael Jordan was in his prime. But those days are long gone. That became further evident last week when NBC bowed out after a 12-year run, and the NBA signed a television deal that makes it mostly a cable league.

The NBA, which during its heyday in the early 1990s was getting close to the NFL in terms of popularity, is now a lot closer to the NHL. Heck, the NHL at least has its All-Star Game on network TV.

In the six-year, $4.6 billion deal, the NBA signed with the Walt Disney Co. (ABC and ESPN) and AOL Time Warner (TNT and a new unnamed network), the All-Star Game will move to TNT. ABC will give us just 15 games on network television next season compared with the 33 scheduled this season for NBC. In the playoffs, once a showcase for network TV, only the NBA Finals and five other games will be shown on ABC.

``It's kind of disappointing in a sense,'' Jordan said. ``But it's a business. Free TV always has been an avenue in terms of the way fans can connect with the pro game. Now, in some respects, they have to pay to see that. But that's the nature of the business. Everything is going cable. I can understand in terms of negotiations, what (NBA commissioner David Stern) was considering. In essence, he's got to go with the best deal, and that's exactly what he did.''

Stern deserves credit for getting a deal in which the average of $765 million per year is a 25 percent increase from the average of $615 million in the expiring four-year, $2.46 billion contract with NBC and Turner Sports. But it's still the smallest percentage increase in the NBA's TV rights fee in the past 20 years.

Yes, the sagging economy played a role. But, in reality, Stern is presiding over a league that is waning in popularity. The league's regular-season ratings dropped 35 percent from 1997-98 to 2000-01.

``There's definitely been slippage,'' Cavaliers guard Bimbo Coles said. ``It's partly because of the lockout (in 1998-99). We've got to find a way to get the ratings back up and get people back in the stands. Most arenas nowadays are empty. Four years ago, you could go anywhere and the place would be packed.''

Along with the lockout, Jordan's three-year retirement gave the league a double whammy. Jordan is back, and he's selling out Washington games. But Jordan's popularity isn't so high that he's getting fans to tune into Wizards games the way they did his Chicago Bulls.

``We're trying to get a new start (in the NBA),'' Cavs coach John Lucas said. ``We need somebody to hang our hat on a la Michael Jordan, and we haven't found him.''

You better believe that ESPN, getting the NBA for the first time since 1983-84, will try to get the most of all the money it has committed. Expect those auditioning to be the next Jordan to be force fed to us on all the ESPN networks.

In the regular season, ESPN will televise 75 games, and TNT will broadcast 52 and a new AOL Time Warner sports channel will have 96. In the playoffs, all games ABC doesn't pick up will be on some form of cable.

``The commissioner and the league is trying to do what they believe is right under what the market is,'' Cavs general manager Jim Paxson said. ``For the most part, if people want to watch games, they can get access to them.''

There definitely will be no shortage of games broadcast. But the perception of the NBA has taken a hit with the sprint to cable.

It would have been nice had
Stern been able to negotiate more playoff games on network television, especially some games from the conference finals. One conference final will be on TNT and the other will be on ESPN.

In the NFL, obviously the conference championship games are on network TV. In Major League Baseball, the league championship series are on network TV. But the NBA, after its strong run in the early 1990s, is once again firmly entrenched as the nation's No. 3 pro sports league.

Trivia time

Which current NBA coaches were broadcasters at one time for NBC?

Freedom for Langdon?

If the Cavs can't trade guard Trajan Langdon by the Feb. 21 deadline, they should release him. Langdon, in the final year of his contract, barely plays, and he has no role in the team's future.

Letting Langdon go would give the Cavs a break from all this funny business they do with the injured list. Langdon was healthy enough to play but was stashed on the list for nine games earlier this month with what the team called a sprained ankle.

When the Cavs activated Michael Doleac yesterday, it was rookie guard Jeff Trepagnier's turn to be stashed (with what the team called tendinitis in his knee). When forward Lamond Murray returns in about a week from a broken nose, it figures to be Langdon who is shelved again.

If Langdon finds himself on the injured list after Feb. 21 when he is healthy enough to play, he should look at what forward Mark Bryant did last season. Bryant threatened to make noise about being stashed, so he forced the Cavs to waive him.

Langdon isn't one to rock the boat, but his agent, Arn Tellem, is. If Tellem threatens to file a complaint to the NBA office about a phantom Langdon injury, the guard might get a release.

It's doubtful any team would trade much for Langdon. If he were waived, though, there might be a playoff-caliber team that could use an outside shooting specialist. Surrounded by talented players, Langdon actually would be able to get open.

Short jumpers


The NBA's new TV contract might be worth more per season than the current deal, but next season, the NBA actually will get less money from TV than it does this season. That's because the figures in each contract go up annually. The result is that the salary cap is likely to go down next season for the first time since it was enacted in 1984-85. That will be a big shock considering the cap rose this season to $42.5 million from $35.5 million. Another change driven by the TV contract is that the NBA Draft is likely to move from the last Wednesday in June to the final Thursday. It will be televised by ESPN.


Forget about Shaq and Kobe. Lucas said the NBA's best combo is ``Michael (and) Jordan.'' The runners-up? ``Then it's, Jump (and) Man, Air (and) Jordan and Flight (and) 23 and whatever other companies he has,'' Lucas said. After Jordan poured in 40 points against the Cavs last week, Lucas is trying to soften him up for Thursday's meeting at Gund Arena.


Trivia answer

Washington's Doug Collins, Miami's Pat Riley and Indiana's Isiah Thomas.