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He never got to coach LeBron, but Byron Scott knows the sting of Pat Riley's machinations: Bill Livingston

The term "three-peat" was coined by Cavs coach Byron Scott when he was a Lakers player. But Pat Riley, then the Lakers coach, now the Miami roster raider, owns the trademark. Somehow, that figures.

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If you see wheels spinning in Pat Riley's head as he and Michael Jordan watched the Cavaliers play the Heat on Nov. 12, 2009, you might just join Bill Livingston in a handful of LeBron conspiracy theories.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Three-peat. It is a familiar term now, applied to the imperial aspirations of great sports dynasties.

It is also Cavaliers coach Byron Scott's invention. Not that he gets much of the credit or any of the money for it.

"I understand you coined the term three-peat," I said recently to Scott.

"I did indeed," he said, smiling.

The story I heard was that Scott coined the term at the Los Angeles Lakers' victory party after they won their second consecutive championship in 1988. "We were all using it at training camp [before the next season]," he said.

"But Pat Riley trademarked it, not you," I said.

"That's right," said Scott, smiling a little less broadly.

Riley was the Lakers coach at the time who, of course, went on this summer to defeat the Cavs' immediate dreams of empire by luring LeBron James to Miami as a free agent.

"Didn't the trademark thing bother you?" I said.

"It bothered me some," Scott said.

Scott moved beyond his feelings because the Lakers had another championship to pursue, the three-peat one. They did not achieve it, sweeping into the Finals, only to be swept themselves by Detroit when a plague of injuries struck.

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"I have not spoken with Riles since [the defection of James] in July," said Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott diplomatically about Pat Riley, "but he's still a friend and obviously still a great coach."

Riley's corporate entity, Riles & Co., successfully registered "three-peat" as a trademark in November 1988. The currently retired coach -- be afraid, Erik Spoelstra, be very afraid -- receives royalties from apparel makers and sports merchandise manufacturers whenever they use "three-peat" on their products. The Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan (twice), the Lakers and the New York Yankees have three-peated since Riley trademarked the term.

Scott seems to be good at letting the past be past. If memories of the days when Scott started in the backcourt alongside Earvin Johnson and won NBA championships with "Magic and Riles" can help him now, he uses them. If they hinder him, he does not.

"I'm lucky enough to played for two of the best coaches ever in Pat Riley and Larry Brown," said Scott, who played two years for Brown in Indiana. "I have not spoken with Riles since the incident [the defection of James] in July, but he's still a friend and obviously still a great coach."

Riley is also a shark. Scott can be perhaps excused for not knowing what he had in 1988 in "three-peat," because he was a player, not a businessman. The revolting thing is how completely the Cavs allowed themselves to be played.

Owner Dan Gilbert and former general manager Danny Ferry should have howled long and loud when Riley and Jordan reportedly met with James in Miami the day of a game last season against the Heat. The wily Riley used the time to discover what James' "hot" buttons were. But Riley had absolutely no business meeting with the Cavs' superstar in his free agency year.

Riley wrote a motivational book in the 1990s. It was called "The Winner Within: A Life Plan for Team Players."

A review shows that Riley's inner winner led him to complain about Boston's rough play when he coached the glittery "Showtime" Lakers. But when he went to the less-skilled Knicks, his allegiance to artistic basketball lapsed, and he turned the Knicks into a motorcycle gang.

As Miami's president, he sent Stan Van Gundy down a trap door to make himself Miami's coach again. Multi-dimensional in inner and outer manifestations of glory, Riley coached the Heat to the 2006 title. He is probably dreaming of at least a three-peat now with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on his team. He could then enrich himself by mandating three-peat slogans on Heat merchandise.

Other teams have tried to circumvent "three-peat." When Southern California was going for at least a share of three straight national championships in football, its marketing department used "three-Pete," a play on the name of former coach Pete Carroll. A court ruled that it infringed on Riley's trademark.

The Bulls, on their way to their first three-peat in 1993, simply put up billboards in Chicago with three rows of four basketballs on them, symbolizing the four victories needed in the Finals. Each ball had a letter of the word "peat" on it. At the time, the Bulls had won three games in the 1993 Finals. So the billboard read:

"p-e-a-t

"p-e-a-t

"p-e-a-"

Riley couldn't beat Jordan's Bulls on the court or on the boards.

 


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