WHINING & DINING.

WITH THE NBA PROS already in camp and the NCAA only a month away from its "Midnight Madness," autumn is precisely on schedule for round ball.

It is darned comforting to find our colleges lamenting the loss of a few superstars to the pros while the pros continue whining about its sinking TV ratings and doing dumb things to improve it -- like inventing new rules.

Why do we use the word "dumb" to describe the NBA remedial effort? Because the sport doesn't need fixing.

What the NBA is suffering from is not a loss of technical panache, but a loss of Herculean charisma in the persons of players like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

But the cure for that illness is patience, not panic. Just sit back and wait for the inevitable arrival of bright new faces and tall bodies as well as the maturation of the existing young talent into box-office attractions.

We believe it is already happening. Look at the miraculous emergence of a 6-foot, 167-lb. human tattoo named Allen Iverson. With the whole world looking on, he fearlessly sundered every defense with his relentless driving.

It was incredible and exhilarating, and it is going to sell a million tickets this year. As will the parade of super comets like Kobe Bryant, Garnett, Nowitzki, Francis, Miller, McGrady, and Battier.