FanShot

Can The Mighty Quinn Save Christmas?

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Come all without, come all within You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn. - Bob Dylan Mark Stein reports that the NY Times says Jeffrey Kessler is out and Jim Quinn is in. This is great news for anyone that still wants to save some season this year. "The Times, meanwhile, reported that Hunter has hired Jim Quinn, formerly the union's chief outside counsel, to replace union lawyer Jeffrey Kessler and help Hunter complete the deal. Kessler has had a combustible relationship with Stern and other owners during the past few months of negotiations; Quinn played a similar closer's role in the 1998-99 lockout and is said to have good relationships with both Hunter and Stern after years of participating in such talks. One source told Broussard that it was Quinn -- a litigation lwyer with a long history of representing player organizations in the NFL, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the NHL in addition to the NBA -- who brought the parties back together Monday. ... The Times reported that the two sides have essentially resumed talks from where they were Nov. 10, working from a league-issued proposal that features a 50-50 split of revenues, shorter contracts and various restrictions on the league's biggest spenders." Ken Berger also reported on Tuesday that Quinn helped broker the deal that ended the 98-99 lockout. (Sean M posted that story in a fanshot earlier this week.) "That person is Jim Quinn, who for nearly 20 years served as lead outside counsel for the National Basketball Players Association and who helped broker the deal that ended the 1998-99 lockout. Quinn's unique perspective as a longtime, formidable and respected adversary of commissioner David Stern covers multiple collective bargaining agreements as well as the landmark antitrust lawsuit spearheaded by Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson in 1976. ... "The most favorable outcome is that they somehow get together quickly and reach an agreement so that they can have a reasonable season," Quinn said. "I hesitate to guess what most likely outcome is." "I think both sides want a settlement," he said. "I just don't know whether they can get one quickly.""