Mixed Reviews For Talks

Locked-out referees, hoping to get a new contract before the NBA starts putting three replacement officials on the court for each game, said they made progress in negotiations during a 3-hour meeting, but the NBA disagreed.

It was the second consecutive day the two sides met for 3 hours. They plan to meet again today.

“As far as I’m concerned, we’re continuing to make progress,” said Fred Slaughter, general counsel for the referees union. “Every day we’ve been talking, we’ve been talking about big issues and we’ll continue to talk about big issues until we get an accord.

“As long as we talk, we’ve got a chance to get it done.”

Jeffrey Mishkin, executive vice president and chief legal counsel for the NBA, was not as optimistic.

“We’re no closer to an agreement and we remain far apart,” he said.

NBA spokesman Chris Brienza said discussions centered mostly on pension and benefit issues, with little talk on the major economic problems.

The referees, locked out since Oct. 1, are eager to get a new contract by Monday, when the NBA plans to add about a dozen replacement refs, enough to increase the two-man crews it has been using to three.