June 20, 1999
Web posted at: 7:02 p.m. EDT (2302 GMT)

WASHINGTON (June 18) -- Although the New York Knicks lost the opening game in the NBA Finals, they still pursue the champion title that has eluded them since the early '70s when a young forward named Bill Bradley helped drive them to the top.

Bill Bradley has gone a long way since then but he remembers those times well.

Bill Bradley

"My greatest thrill was, of course, winning the two NBA titles in 1970 and 1973, standing at mid court with your fists raised in the air, smiles on your face, chills going up and down your back," said Bradley, a Democratic presidential hopeful and former Senator from New Jersey.

Basketball was Bradley's ticket to the U.S. Senate and today it's juicing up his White House run, helping to generate huge amounts of cash.

"Don't you know," said Bradley jokingly, "this is how I'm earning money this year?"

Bradley can afford to joke. Out on the trail, his campaign is a curious, low-key affair, but his fund-raisers are in high gear.

Bradley raised an impressive $4.3 million in the first quarter alone, and with the second quarter winding up, his campaign says he's meeting or exceeding targets. As his old team hit the boards Wednesday night, Bradley hit the trail in Los Angeles with his old Knicks teammate, Phil Jackson. By himself, Bradley doesn't draw much of a crowd all the time, but with Jackson at his side, the Santa Monica Boys and Girls Club was packed.

Phil Jackson, L.A. Lakers Coach said: "Well, this was on my schedule back in March to be here, and I'm guessing that if I hadn't signed the contract this morning, there wouldn't be all these television cameras up here."

The news that Jackson has signed with the L.A. Lakers is the top story in the city and Bradley again comments jokingly on it.

"I bet you think that he accepted the position as the coach of the Lakers, because they offered him umpteen million dollars," he said. "Not true. He accepted the position with the Lakers, because he agreed with me that would be part of my southern California strategy in my run for president of the United States."

Another legendary coach, Dean Smith, is also on Bradley's side. What Jackson and Smith have in common beyond their support for Bradley is that they both had coached Michael Jordan, the most famous athlete in America -- Smith at North Carolina, Jackson with the Chicago Bulls.

In 1996, Jordan steered clear of politics, while the Democrats held their convention on his home court in Chicago. But now it may be very different.

As Bradley's campaign progresses, Jordan said he is starting to know Bradley, the presidential candidate, better.

Bradley, foreground, played forward for the New York Knicks

"I do see myself supporting him, and I have had some conversations with Bill about it, and I've always respected him as a leader," said Jordan in his recent visit on the Larry King's Live show.

According to an analysis of FEC reports by the Campaign Study Group, an independent research firm, Jordan and his wife have each given Bradley $1,000, the maximum for individuals. Should he decide to actively campaign, Jordan could be worth far more helping to pack fund-raisers and drawing in voters who are alienated from politics.

A measure of Jordan's popularity: that $1,000 check he wrote. Sports memorabilia experts say it's worth twice it's face value at auction.

Bradley's own days as a sports star have of course long passed.

But for those who remember the young Bill Bradley -- teammates, opponents, and fans -- these are the ties that bind. When Bradley played for Princeton, he was the top college player in the nation, taking his team to the 1965 Final Four and scoring 58 points in one game.

"Bill Bradley is a sports hero to my generation: establishment, Ivy League-type white guys who admired him for his total lack of pizzazz, his total lack of show and for his incredible hard work," said professor Samuel Popkin from University of California-San Diego.

Many of those establishment types are now at the peak of their careers, men like Disney Chairman Michael Eisner and media mogul Barry Diller, two of Hollywood's most powerful. Diller hosted a fund-raiser for Bradley in L.A. Thursday night that had on the guest list Eisner's wife, Jane, and Phil Jackson.

Friday, June 18, 1999

• Gun control dies in House
• Roll call: House rejects gun control legislation
• Roll call: House passes juvenile justice package
• Roll call: House approves NRA-backed amendment on gun-show background checks
• Roll call: House rejects measure for mandatory gun-show background checks
• Roll call: House approves Ten Commandments provision
• 'Political play of the week' emerges from gun debacle
• Bush quietly signs NRA-backed gun bill
• Election briefs: News on McCain, Keyes, Gore and Bush
• Presidential candidate Bill Bradley rakes in the cash
• House panel holds new round of campaign finance hearings
• Gambling report urges restraint
• Lawmakers to airlines: Voluntary passenger-rights plan must get off the ground
• Helms says Holbrooke will likely be confirmed
• Gore chips away at that wooden image
• Republicans rivals use Bush's lead to appeal for money through mail
• Candidates express mixed views on Commandments, gun controls
• House panel, Clinton administration explore Social Security compromise
• Justice Department opts not to retry Maria Hsia on tax evasion trial
• Giuliani could have fight to face Hillary
• Robertson warns GOP leaders Gore stealing their message
• 'Compassionate conservative' is Bush campaign buzzword
• Clinton to appear on CNN's 'Late Edition' Sunday
• Ruling delayed on whether alleged Capitol gunman should be forced to take drugs
• Reno says she's not bothered by Parkinson's
• What it takes to pack the Clintons

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