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Allen out with knee sprain; Odom expected backMIAMI (AP) Miami Heat forward Malik Allen missed practice with a sprained left knee Tuesday, a day after being taken off the court on a stretcher. Tests didn't show a break, but Allen did not leave with the Heat on a three-game road trip that begins at Atlanta on Wednesday. Allen was hurt in the second quarter of Monday's 105-96 win over the Chicago Bulls. After colliding while jockeying for position, two Bulls, Eddy Curry and Marcus Fizer, fell on Allen's knee. The prognosis was better for Lamar Odom, who sat out Monday's game with a bruised right knee. Odom, the Heat's second leading scorer, returned to practice Tuesday and is expected to play against the Hawks. Reserve Wang Zhi-Zhi also will miss the start of the road trip after traveling to California to be with his wife, who is expecting the couple's first child. It is not known when he will return. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Riley denies Dallas rumorAs much as playoff possibilities hovered over Friday night's Mavericks-Heat game at AmericanAirlines Arena, there also was a tangible subtext. Fueled by rumors, but strong enough to elicit responses from both parties, is the notion that Pat Riley could emerge from the Heat front office to take over next season on the Dallas sidelines. The reports have coincided with the Mavericks' inability to produce quality, Riley-like defense during Don Nelson's coaching tenure. With one year left on his front-office commitment to the Heat, Riley said there is no credence to the speculation. "It is absolutely irresponsible journalism," he said. "If anybody throws my name out there, like that, for any team, any organization, it's absolutely irresponsible and it's wrong. "It's irresponsible because there's nothing to it, absolutely nothing to it. I have to deal with it, we have to deal with it, but when my owner looks at it, he's wondering and it's not fair." Via South Florida Sun-Sentinel Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Heat losing money, but hopefully not for longMIAMI (AP) Micky Arison attended the 1955 World Series at Ebbetts Field as a 6-year-old fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He watched the woeful expansion New York Mets lose at the Polo Grounds. And in 1965, he sneaked into Shea Stadium for a concert by the Beatles. He was 16. ``Old enough to know better,'' Arison says with a laugh. These days, Arison does his cheering at NBA games as owner of the Miami Heat. He acknowledges that the role is frustrating because the Heat have been losing a lot of games and money recently. Arison is also chairman of Carnival Corp., the largest cruise line company in the world. But while the growth of Carnival _ including the recent launching of the Queen Mary 2 _ has made Arison the second-wealthiest resident of Florida, his NBA franchise struggles. ``I would not characterize it as a success,'' Arison said. ``I would characterize it as a work in progress, and hopefully we'll be successful one day.'' The Heat had losing records the past two seasons, and they're below .500 again this year. Because of high player salaries and debt payments on their 4-year-old arena, the Heat say they've been losing up to $30 million annually in recent years. With a smile, Arison confesses that he sometimes kicks himself for getting into sports ownership, and he doesn't plan on buying any more teams. ``One sports team is probably one too many,'' he said. ``No, I'm kidding. But it's a tough business. It's very consuming. It's very depressing when you lose.'' Arison's late father, Ted, co-founded the expansion Heat in 1988, and Micky bought a controlling interest in 1995 for $60 million. Later that year he hired coach Pat Riley, who transformed a perennial loser into a team that won four consecutive Atlantic Division titles. But for the most part, the Heat's luck has been lousy. There were back-to-back last-second playoff losses to the New York Knicks, and shortly after the team moved into AmericanAirlines Arena in January 2000, All-Star center Alonzo Mourning was diagnosed with a serious kidney illness. The Heat sank in the standings, and financial losses rose. Thousands of seats in the vast 19,600-seat arena sat empty at almost every game. To reduce the red ink, the player payroll was slashed to less than $50 million this season, a decrease of nearly $30 million from the late 1990s. Salaries for employees were cut 10 percent last fall. It's small consolation to Arison that pro basketball is hardly alone in South Florida among sports with budget and attendance problems. The Florida Marlins lost money last year despite winning the World Series, and the NHL Florida Panthers are also running in the red. Arison, 54, leaves most of the work to others, primarily Riley, who quit as coach last October but remains team president. Arison spends most of his time on his cruise business and becomes involved with the Heat only if there's a major financial decision, such as the acquisition last August of $65 million free agent Lamar Odom. Riley appreciates Arison's willingness to stay out of the spotlight. ``Other men have to be seen,'' Riley said. ``They're sitting behind the bench. They're thumping their chest. They're speaking out in the press. And he's not that way. Even though he's very involved behind the scenes, he does it in a different manner.'' Still a fan, just like when he was growing up in New York City, Arison roots for the Heat from a courtside seat. He envisions better days when the Heat again make the playoffs, perhaps in April. There's cause for optimism. Riley abruptly quit as coach four days before the season, but he remains in charge of personnel and is rebuilding with a promising core of talented young players for new coach Stan Van Gundy. However, attendance has declined for the third consecutive year to 14,959 per game. ``The team looks like it's very much going in the right direction,'' NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik said. ``If that continues, the fans will be back. Miami is not one of the teams we sit around worrying about.'' The Heat might be only the fourth most popular team in Miami _ behind the Dolphins, Hurricanes and Marlins _ but the value of the franchise has climbed to an estimated $236 million. That's four times what Arison paid for the Heat nine years ago. There have been periodic rumors that he wants to sell. ``Do I think about it? Sure. But the team is not for sale,'' Arison said. ``I'm working very hard to try to see this thing through and turn it around.'' Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Heat Mar 2004 Archive
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