I think it's looking pretty awful right now, this 50/50 BRI day seems like the last big chance to get this done without severe harm.
i'm an optimist and i still think, no. i just think there are too many owners who were emboldened by what NHL did a while back. it feels like that situation all over again.
I think so. The NBA Owners risk losing all the support from fans since the NBPA has preety much agreed to the 50/50 but want tweaks to the system. If the Owners are already getting 3 billion dollars shifted to them for 10 years (which more than covers the loses that Owners have reported) and refuse to loosen up on system issues then the blame is squarely on them.
Perhaps, but do you think enough of them will sit out an entire year without any revenue generation? They still have to pay their employees, seems an awful lot of money to lose. I personally think all of this is just noise, and that a deal will happen in this month or next. While the NHL is much better off in terms of solvency, they are not as popular as they were, nor even close to the NBA, I gotta believe the NBA will not want to piss off their fans too much. DD
I've posted this a few times, but worth saying again -- David Stern's deadlines and threats have been phony and have not carried any weight up to this point. He has consistently bent or broke them. If the two sides are negotiating today, that 5pm deadline goes out the window... they could talk until 2am tonight and agree to talk again tomorrow. The union was wise to get the public opinion on their side by saying they are willing to go 50-50, assuming they get the system changes they want. Most of the public only looks at the BRI split and the system pieces are a distant second, so this puts the pressure on the NBA/owners. On the other hand, the NBA probably doesn't care and sees only victory in that... they likely look at this like a new coin in their pocket -- they have the BRI split down to 50-50 and that's all that matters.
The NHL isn't as popular now because they lost ESPN contract...but they're profitable. For all their popularity with the ESPN deal, their system was skewed and teams were losing money - no doubt about that. It's also widely believed that they would have lost the ESPN deal, anyway. NHL owners seem very happy with the direction of that league. The NBA is more entrenched in American sports. They'll suffer ramifications, but in the long term, fans will come back...they always do.
Voted Yes because I'm still holding out hope.... However, does anybody know when the NCAA season starts. Might as well see which potential draft picks I like.
You know Max, I think one thing we can agree on is that the owners will not pass any of the savings on to us ! DD
The players have essentially bent over. All the owners have to promise is to use lube and be gentle. And all the talk about hardline owners wanting to cancel the season was nothing more than an empty threat to scare players, and it seems to have worked. In the end, it came down to missed paychecks and bills to pay. The owners knew all along that they would win, so did the media, so did the public, and so did the players. It was only a matter of how sore the players would be afterwards. Sadly, not sore enough, as I think owners should have pressed for a franchise tag, and this is a mistake I think the league will come to regret. I don't see Orlando surviving after they lose Dwight (final straw after Shaq and T-Mac) or OKC recovering from losing Durant. Fans have other options. Why should season ticket holders support a team that will obviously never be able to hold onto any superstar that they are lucky enough to draft? The answer is that they won't. They will give up and find other less expensive entertainment options.
Hey it is what it is. You can't force a player to stay on one team forever, especially if said team is run poorly and can't surround said superstar with the right players.
It works in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers isn't leaving GB no matter how much he might prefer to play in a larger market, such as NYC.
I don't think it's happening today. Union said tweeks to system isn't enough for them to come down to 50%. I'm with MadMax...none of these deals are about establishing parity. I'm very disappointed. This is about money and freedom...where is the competitive parity goals in these compromises. I'm going to hate this new CBA, after going through this lockout.
I'm proud of the players refusing the ultimatum today. Well, they could if they negotiated hard enough for the franchise tag. But, even without forcing people, you could arrange the incentives in such a way that stars are less likely to want to leave.
What's the NHL? That is the difference. The hockeyists have a fine sport, a niche sport. It was a sport missed by precious few. The NBA is pop culture, fun and excitement. Everyone knows who the NBA stars are, and cares (to some degree). KK didn't marry (sic) a hockey puck she married a hoopster. No real legit comparison between the two lock-outs except, oh yeah, except for those who own teams in both sports. Ouch.
Don't care...I can keep busy until the 2012/13 season. (damn, feel like crap for being able to type that)
