21.   At first, the league would have eight teams that play in moderate-sized arenas during the traditional basketball season on Saturdays and Sundays.

22.   At the plate, they were the best their respective leagues had to offer.

23.   At least as a starter, for now, the league already has.

24.   Bean-counters argued persuasively that the league would have to start out small and then slowly build on the grassroots popularity of the game.

25.   Before that help arrives, the league may have to lose some teams, said Alexei Zhuk, a sportswriter for the influential Kommersant business newspaper.

26.   Billy Hunter, head of the NBA Players Association, admits the league has problems with its hip-hop image.

27.   Both leagues have modest attendance goals.

28.   A cynical public comes to understand that the league has its clear druthers.

29.   A new league must have an integrated marketing and advertising strategy and campaign.

30.   According to NBA director of media relations Jan Hubbard, the league has a program on sexual harassment during the rookie orientation.