PC: No, I don't look at it that way. I'm a positive person. As I say in the book, I look toward each day and get excited about it, and a funny thing happens: When you're excited about the day, it becomes exciting. If I were to look at the day with a negative slant, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy; more often than not, you won't be disappointed -- it will be a negative day. I like the way it's working out between Allen and Coach Brown and the way the team has confided in Allen.
PB: Coach Brown recently went AWOL on you. What happened?
PC: He went ballistic after we lost to the Mavericks, and he had a right to. He had a tirade in the locker room afterwards, and there was a team meeting the next day. Some words were said -- constructive, passionate words -- and Larry wanted to reflect on what he heard. He took two days to look in the mirror. I think he needed to have his batteries rejuiced. I can't tell you exactly what Coach Brown was thinking, because he's crazy. He's crazy! There's a fine line between genius and crazy.
PB: Do you fear that the players will think, "Well, if the coach gets to disappear for a few days, so can I"?
PC: There's always that fear. But I don't expect it.
PB: What were your thoughts when you heard about A-Rod's $250 million contract with the Texas Rangers?
PC: Wow, is that nuts? It's very scary, though the NBA at least has a salary cap. How can a league survive that way? It's hard to compete with a team that spends $250 million on one man. Luckily, we're not in that ballpark.
PB: The NBA is in a lull. What can you do to jazz it up?
PC: I have been doing it. We were averaging 8000 fans a game, and now we're up to 18,000, which is cool. Our TV ratings are up, which is cool. We've reached out to the fans since day one. I treat it like Double-A baseball, working the concourse every game. We've created a fabulous show surrounding our game. We have a dance team that emulates the Knicks' girls. We have a house band and a wild, acrobatic mascot like the Phoenix Suns' Gorilla. We brought the Gorilla in here so we could evaluate him. We have interactive videos during the game. I get bored easily -- I want continuous visual stimuli.
PB: Do you hang with the players?
PC: If I see them out celebrating, I'll party with them. I'm friendly with them, but we generally don't hang out.
PB: Do owners get groupie sex, too?
