Luxury Tax

The plan looked like a good one at the time. The 76ers entered the off-season armed with a $4.45 million trade exception, hoping it would help them obtain a player, preferably a tough-minded veteran who could provide a spark and get the team back into playoff contention. However, as the expiration date of the trade exception arrives today, Sixers president and general manager Billy King is going to allow it to run out without using it. The team acquired the exception from the New Jersey Nets last August in exchange for Marc Jackson.

The Yankees were hit with a $34 million luxury tax yesterday and the Red Sox were told they owe $4 million to the commissioner's office. Baseball's biggest rivals were the only teams to exceed the payroll threshold. Noteworthy Elrod Hendricks, who spent nearly four decades as a player and coach with the Baltimore Orioles, died yesterday. He was 64. The cause of death was not immediately known. The Giants acquired outfielder Steve Finley from the Angels for third baseman Edgardo Alfonzo in a swap of former All-Stars who dropped off dramatically last season.

Two weeks ago, when he revealed that Willie Green had suffered a knee injury in a pickup game, 76ers president and general manager Billy King talked of needing an alternate plan if Green were to miss a significant amount of time. But now that he knows Green will miss most, if not all, of the 2005-06 season after the third-year guard had his left anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed, King is taking a cautious approach toward a Plan B. "We're going to be patient and try to make the right decision," King said yesterday after the Sixers went through their first rookie and free-agent minicamp session at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Billy King was clearly choked up, even though the 76ers' president and general manager had made the inevitable move yesterday of putting guard Aaron McKie on waivers. On the day the Sixers showcased their newest acquisition, Steven Hunter, a 7-foot forward and center just signed as a free agent, the mood turned gloomy when King discussed severing ties with McKie. "It's probably one of the hardest days in my whole career because of what he brings to the table as a professional, as a player," an emotional King said after a news conference at the Wachovia Center.

Marc Jackson, who was emotional about a return to his Philadelphia roots two years ago with the 76ers, is moving on. The former star at Roman Catholic High and Temple was traded to the New Jersey Nets yesterday for a conditional second-round pick in the 2006 draft. The Sixers also included an undisclosed amount of cash. The Sixers made the move to lighten the potential luxury-tax load and to clear the way to acquire other players. Jackson is slated to earn $4.55 million this season and $4,875,000 next year.

As he finished answering a question about returning to the 76ers, Samuel Dalembert reached out with his right hand, wrapped it around the shoulder of president and general manager Billy King, pulled King toward him, and said: "I feel the love, man. " The 6-foot-11 Dalembert got lots of love from the Sixers in the contract he signed yesterday, a reported $64 million over six years. But he said he didn't always feel that love last season. It was no secret that Dalembert was not the biggest fan of former coach Jim O'Brien, who played a defensive system that did not allow Dalembert to roam free inside to block shots.

The NBA's new six-year collective-bargaining agreement has been completed and signed, giving team executives, players and agents a chance to look it over before free-agent signings and trades can begin Tuesday. But for all the figures and terms and legal mumbo-jumbo on the lengthy document, which was finalized early yesterday, there is one number that certainly attracted the attention of the 76ers right away - $61.7 million. That's the threshold for the NBA luxury tax. Any team with a payroll that exceeds that figure must pay a dollar-for-dollar tax on anything above $61.7 million.

It's only a matter of days before the National Hockey League cancels the season. Negotiations aimed at ending the 149-day lockout ended abruptly after three hours yesterday in Toronto without any progress and with no talks planned. "Quite frankly, I don't know why [the union] asked us to stay overnight," said Bill Daly, the league's chief legal counsel. "We didn't cover any new ground. " Commissioner Gary Bettman warned Wednesday that unless the league and the NHL Players' Association had the framework of a new collective-bargaining agreement in writing by the end of the weekend, he would cancel what little remains of the season.

Just when there appeared to be a chance the puck might be dropped . . . negotiations to salvage the final two and a half months of the hockey season fell apart yesterday in New York after just four hours, with no further talks scheduled. Barring one side capitulating, all that remains is for National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman to cancel the season as the lockout enters its 143d day. Either that, or Bettman allows the season to expire on its own. Nothing could be more ominous than the fact that NHL Players Association executive director Bob Goodenow returned to Toronto, saying only that he would leave the lines of communication open.

The last wisps of hope for a hockey season remained in the hands of National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players' Association executive director Bob Goodenow late last night. The two sides convened in New York about 1:30 p.m. and talked into the night in an effort to end the 142-day lockout. One player who spoke with a union representative said there was a lingering hope that the season could be saved. "I talked to the PA a little while ago, and it was neither progressive nor regressive," the player said last night.