While We’re Waiting… Browns O-Line Play, The Hillis Issue and B10 Family Portrait
October 6, 2011Ranking Sports Towns: Columbus and Cleveland Come in at 36 and 45
October 6, 2011In case you have been living under a rock, you know that the NBA is currently in the middle of a lockout. The system is broken, neither the overpaid players nor the greedy owners want to budge. The powerful player agents have their own stake in this process and are muddying the waters. We are settling in for a long lockout. To be honest, I hope it lasts two years.
It’s Day 98 and I’ve come to a decision. I am done with the NBA.
Last summer, I had to sit in limbo until July, while the ego-maniacal wunderkind LeBron James played us all like a fiddle, then went on National TV and disgraced our city and our organization. Then the media ran with the video of two buffoon Cavs “fans” who burned a LeBron jersey minutes after he made his “Decision.” The season was brutal to watch, though I tried to support the team for Dan Gilbert, the best owner in Cleveland sports by leaps and bounds, who I felt I owed it to. He tries everything he can to make his team successful. But the reality of the situation was the team was built to be all in for LeBron and without him…..well, we all know how that worked out. I mean, who didn’t enjoy watching Alonzo Gee and Christian Eyenga regularly?
But hey! We won the lottery this summer! Wahoo!!!! Naturally, it was in the year that the draft was perhaps the worst in NBA History, mainly because so many of the top prospects were scared off by the threat of the lockout.
I should be excited about the 2011-12 season, right? The Cavs have two top four picks to build on in Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson and will be able to shed the big contract of Antawn Jamison after the season. Byron Scott is a coach everyone can get behind. From a league perspective, everyone was loving last year’s playoffs with so many good series and a ready-made villain (LeBron James and The Heat) choking in the Finals. The league had so much momentum.
It all doesn’t matter. I’m done with the NBA.
The greed on both sides bothers me to no end. Neither side wants to give, yet it is blatantly obvious that major changes to the system are needed. Commissioner David Stern is such a loathable character, who rules with an iron fist and comes off as a complete arrogant, my-way-or-the-highway dictator. The way he talks to the media is deplorable to me. No matter who he is speaking to, he lets off an “I’m much smarter than you” vibe that is unbecoming.
Who’s side are the fans supposed to take here anyways? Everyone involved is unlikeable.
The NBA has become a star driven league, but outside of Kevin Durant (who I love), Derrick Rose, and Dirk Nowitzki, what star player do you enjoy? LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh (not a star) essentially had a plan hatched years in advance and forced their way together (a major flaw in the system that has to be corrected). Wade, once a guy I enjoyed, is now just another whining superstar. Do you enjoy Carmelo Anthony, who handled himself like a teenager in forcing his way to the place he wanted to be, New York? Kevin Garnett? Perhaps the most despicable jerk in all of pro sports? He makes Albert Belle seem like Santa Clause. Don’t believe me? Ask any ballboy or locker room attendant who has ever dealt with him. Dwight Howard? If he isn’t whining about the officiating, he is worrying about his next endorsement deal instead of working on any semblance of a low post pet move, which he should have by now. Kobe Bryant I can at least respect – he is a cold blooder killer on the court who has stayed consistent with who he is. Like him or not, at least he doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.
What about the live experience? Is the NBA product in the majority of NBA cities worth attending? Ticket prices are outrageously high for the quality of product on the floor. It was one thing to charge $160 for a lower bowl seat to watch LeBron James 41 times a year. It’s quite another to pay those prices for the Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison show. Outside of your top 8-10 teams, the Mo/Antawn situation is prevalent.  There’s nothing like dropping $400 to see a Cavs/Wizards tilt on a Tuesday night in February.
The regular games themselves are a bore and it’s more about the atmosphere throughout the arena these days. Notice at every timeout there is some sort of schitck going on? Something is needed to keep the fans of the middle of the road and bottom feeding teams interested.
In the NFL, there are only eight home games a year, so the cost of games, while expensive, is at least negligible and worthwhile. Say what you want about Major League baseball, but I can take my family of four to a regular season game on a sunny Sunday afternoon and pay between $8-16 dollars a piece and still sit in the upper deck right behind home plate. No matter what the state of the team is on the field, you can always enjoy yourself with your kids at a baseball game. At least you are outside and it’s the summer.
Full disclosure here – I have always been more of a college basketball guy. I know its second tier and many view the quality of play as a step below European Basketball, but you still have the college atmosphere, passionate fan bases, a shorter game, a shorter season, and the building momentum of the NCAA Tournament – the best event in all of sports. (This would be dwarfed if College Football ever went to a playoff, but that’s another topic that has been talked about ad nauseum)
Go to a regular season game at Kansas or Kentucky or Duke or Indiana or any of the blue blood programs. It doesn’t matter if they are playing Coppin State or UNC-Asheville, the atmosphere is just so much better. There are no bells and whistles or fans playing dizzy sticks for a chance at a free pizza during timeouts. The band is playing and the fans are talking about their team.
While the Cavs were floundering last year, I took my son to a few Cleveland State games at the Wolstein Center. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Vikings program under Gary Waters leadership has become fun to watch and relevant again. Not to mention, its affordable and a great product for your buck.
I’m sure you NBA Hoop-heads will be jonesing for some basketball while this long lockout drones on into the months of November and December. Why not watch some college hoops? This season should be great, with stars like UNC’s Harrison Barnes, OSU’s Jared Sullinger, Kentucky’s Terrance Jones, and Baylor’s Perry Jones all are unexpectedly back for another year on campus. North Carolina is loaded, as is Kentucky. For you Buckeye fans, your club will be a top 10 team all year long as well.
There will be some great, passionately played basketball on display this winter that I will engulf myself in. It’s with the college kids. Or you can waste your time reading more quotes from millionaire athletes, billionaire owners, and their arrogant commissioner fighting over how to slice up ridiculous sums of money. I don’t feel the least bit sorry for anyone involved, except for the fans.
So this is me, signing off from the NBA for good.
Remember, Midnight Madness for the college kids is just a week away and the regular season starts on 11-11-11. Michigan State and North Carolina will play in the first ever “Carrier Classic” on the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego Harbor. This is the same aircraft carrier used to transport the body of Osama bin Laden to sea after he was killed in May. Four days later, the first annual “Champions Classic” will follow to kick off the season in style at Madison Square Garden. The doubleheader which is set for the three seasons in round-robin form, will feature four perennial title contenders. Duke will take on Michigan State in the opener and Kentucky will face Kansas in the nightcap.
That should be appointment viewing for all Basketball fans.
photo via Getty Images
32 Comments
Well said.
Slam dunk. Great post. See you at the college game. Until David Stern is gone. The NBA is just another WWE to me.
I love the ‘day 98’ stuff that gets bandied about just like with the NFL during it’s lockout. While technically correct, the lockout doesn’t really affect fans until it affects the season. The NFL showed how even the FA period could be fun in a shortened timeline (that was a fun week of craziness).
Yes, we are getting to the point that at least a portion of the season will be missed. The good news is that most people do not get fully engaged with the NBA until around XMAS when the NFL and College Football are winding down. So, they realize that as long as they start up the season around then (or just into January) that most people will not truly care. I think that is the reason there does not seem to be much of a pressure point on the negotiations yet.
I am trying to do the same thing with the NBA negotiations that I did with the NFL ones. Not to pay much mind to them. Read up occasionally to see where they are, but not put too much thought into it. It’ll get done when it gets done and then I’ll be able to go back to enjoying the product. As a basketball fan, I will miss the NBA season if it is cancelled (and no, college bball cannot fill that void as there are not enough ‘good matchups’), but as a Cavs fan I also understand the inherent advantages to it (another high draft pick w/o suffering through a losing season, another year of LeBron’s prime w/o a championship).
In the end, I suspect the players and owners will resolve their differences sometime before Thanksgiving and start the season around New Year’s. Hopefully, it will be in a system that helps the Cavaliers in the long run, but I am not going to worry about it until things get sifted through.
amen.
I’ve gotten much more jaded with my sports lately, in the past few years. Where the NBA lockout in the late-90s had me tuned to SportsCenter (I need a bath after admitting that, now knowing what ESPN has become) to know just how soon it was going to end, nowadays I know they’ll get it done when they get it done. In retrospect, I think it was that same lockout that was a cold splash of water on my face regarding pro athletes. I still remember Patrick Ewing saying, “We make a lot of money, but we spend a lot of money, too.” ANY sympathy I may have had flew the coop with that statement.
Agreed on the NBA hate. Confused by the Gilbert love.
I’m not saying he’s a bad owner because I just don’t follow the NBA, but what succes has he had? Mostly buying a franchise that had Lebron James on the roster? He couldn’t put together a front office to acquire the talent to win nor could he appease his number one asset into staying with the team (which might have been impossible). He has basically milked the Lebron Love for every penny he can, which is fine. But, again, no rings.
He also constantly flaps his gums and says things that, in my opinion, embarrassed the city far more than two palukas burning a #23 jersey. And don’t even get me started on Quicken Loans and the whole casino thing.
I’m the first to admit that I’m a shameless Dolan supporter, but I just don’t objectively see how this low rent Mark Cuban is the best owner in Cleveland by leaps and bounds.
Solid stuff TD, and I completely understand your position. Bill Simmons drives me insane sometimes, but his take on the lockout (and solution) is spot on: 50/50 BRI, 4-year max deals, no sign-&-trades, slightly harder cap. Why it’s taken them so long is ridiculous…but right now, the players are being split by the agents, who are the main point of contention in this whole ordeal. The agents want theirs, and will hold this process hostage as long as they can, because this directly affects their income levels and standard of living, even moreso than the players. I’m not necessarily a David Stern apologist, but if this lockout is what it takes to help the Cavaliers be more competitive (unlike baseball), then I’m all for it…no matter how long it takes. Especially if it screws agents.
O, and Euroleague is awesome.
Great article. Right on.
Amen! I was done with the NBA/Hornets a year before. I got tired of the 15 Million dollar bench player, unfair advantage of larger revenue teams, and the Hornets conitnually holding the citizens of New Orleans ransome to support the team. $25,000 in season tickets later, they still wanted me to save the Hornets from leaving…call me when a new CBA is done with a hard salary cap and non-garunteed contracts; a new owner for the Hornets and a long-term lease to stay in my city…until then I quit too!
Kevin Garnett makes Albert Belle seem like Tim Allen?
It’s funny to me that the one player you respect was accused of rape and acted like a crybaby on a public radio broadcast stating he wanted a trade when he wasn’t getting his way. Say what you want about his “killer instinct” on the court he’s still a scumbag.
/allegedly
@christopher – right on. hate how the Lakers get Pau as a ‘gift’ from Jerry West and all of a sudden all the bad things Kobe did are forgotten.
like how he decided to quit on his team in a game7 vs. the Suns because he was scolded for not playing team ball during halftime.
The sad comment on this is that if our squad was anywhere near being good we’d be clamoring for the NBA to come back. He who shall not be named took that joy away and now I, like most of you have lost interest in a league that has never been built on parity. That is the central issue that should be addressed and never will be. The NFL flourishes becuase 32 tteams all feel they can make the playoffs coming into a season (what Browns fan didn’t in the back of their minds see the schedule and say, hey, at least we got an easy schedule to start…I give them a 30% shot at making the playoffs). You can never say that about all the teams in the NBA. Fact is we as Cavs fans are tired of always climbing uphill. We know we had our best shot and in retrospect it was fool’s gold anyway. At this point leaving the NBA makes sense. Why invest in something that literally will never pay out? Don’t we root for that one magical year? Why do so when you see it will never happen?
I actually applauded this article while sitting here at my desk. The NBA has not been the same since the late 90s, and it’s become a bad parody of itself in the last 5-7 years. Outside of the Cavs, a team I follow because they’ve been my team all my life, I have not a single interest in the rest of it. Durant seems like a gifted player and a good guy, sure. But it’s not even so much the overabundance of less-than-likeable characters that is the league’s problem. The style of pro play is what makes it almost impossible for me to tolerate. One-on-five is not basketball (not even if LeBron is on your team). Players barreling toward the hoop hoping for a bailout call by a ref conditioned to play favorites instead of calling it by the rules is not basketball. Jordan, Bird, Magic–they were stars. And yet they managed to star while playing a team-style game. The college game is vastly superior, even if the number of “elite” athletes is less by comparison. At least you know you’ll see effort, pride, and intensity. If you enjoy basketball, then it’s not hard to find games worth watching nearly every night during the college season. Folks in NEO have a variety of choices for a live experience, with teams like Kent State, CSU, and even Akron that are among the best their respective conferences have to offer. The MAC Tourney at the Q in March. Take advantage, please. Personally, I’ll take a SWAC vs. Ohio Valley showdown over just about any NBA matchup out there.
This lockout could be a chance to level the playing field and improve the NBA overall. I’m all for it lasting as long as it takes to make things better. Hopefully money isn’t the only thing that gets addressed.
Agreed but pffffft I gave up on the NBA a long time ago. They will never get a single dollar of mine ever again.
And the timeout/halftime antics are second only to minor league hockey. Ever been to a Monsters game? What – you say there’s a hockey game wedged in between all this schtick? I didn’t notice!
Cmon now. The NBA can never have NFL-style parity. Basketball is more focused on the individual (5on5 players play both O&D) and there are only a handful of elite individuals to go around.
Yes, there can be measures put in place to limit the conglomeration of these elite players. However, that will merely make 8-12 teams viably competing for a championship instead of 6-10.
Take a look at last year. In the West, SA was the best regular season team and was taken out by the upcoming Grizzlies. The Vegas West favorite Lakers were swept by the forgotten Mavericks. The Thunder made it to the WCF despite being thought to be at least a year away. There is as much parity in the West right now as there has been in basketball for a long time.
we see the other side of the storm as the Cavs are in the East where there is a more significant talent gap between the top teams (Heat, Bulls, Celtics), mid-tier teams (Hawks, Magic, 76ers) and everyone else. There can be alot of shuffle between the everyone else and the mid-tier, but it is extremely hard to even think about breaking into the top tier in the East (easier to fall out of it as the Magic and Cavs have recently and the Celtics look to do soon).
@B-bo – you apparently skipped all the UConn(Kemba) and BYU(Jimmer) games last season if you think college basketball doesn’t go 1on5 🙂
@mgbode careful, that sounds like a possibly negative sentiment about Jimmer. If Dickie V finds out, you’re gonna find him POUNDING DOWN YOUR DOOR, BABY!!!!!!!!
The NBA has offered me a position every year, and every year I have declined to accept – thereby negating my need to quit. Otherwise, I would have long ago.
@10 – glad I wasn’t the only one to ask myself that question.
Amen on the post.
I’ve been getting more and more bored with the NBA for years. Even with LeBron, it just wasn’t that fun – the playoffs are dragged out for months, the game isn’t a team game but a series of isolation plays… etc.
My favorite example is when I was 19 or 20, crashing at my sister’s apartment in Baltimore for a few days, watching sports because I was bored. I don’t follow college hoops, but it was the Tourney, and the Tourney is awesome, so I was watching it. At a commercial, I flipped to a Wizards game, with Jordan. I almost fell asleep after 30 seconds or so, it was so boring. It was dribble down, isolation, dribble, shoot. Repeat. I had never before been struck by how unexciting the NBA had become, but it’s never left me since: Even when it’s exciting, it’s only moderately so.
Perhaps the most apt comparison is how baseball is dull when it’s dragged out: It’s just a mostly 1-on-1 game that is usually dull, with occasional exciting moments… except baseball is a lot cheaper, and that’s how it’s designed to be, going from pitch to pitch, whereas the NBA is meant to be a constantly moving game.
One of the biggest things that grates about this lockout is we just went through this about 10 years ago.
That lockout was supposed to solve the problems of owners giving out bad contracts, etc., but here we are again.
Even if/when the two sides agree, why should we believe any “solution” will actually fix the problem?
March Madness is all that’s left for me when it comes to basketball. Congrats to Stern and his players for what they’ve done to the sport of basketball.
One thing that bothers me TO NO END about the NBA is the inconsistent effort night in, night out. I live in Denver now, but would always splurge for nice seats when the Cavs came to town. 2 years ago (last year with LBJ) I did this, and it was obvious in the first 5 minutes that the Cavs were not into the game and didn’t really care. It’s disheartening when you get to see your team once a year, shell out big bucks, and mentally they are already on the plane.
This doesn’t happen in College ball.
“I love this game.” Anyone else remember that? I used to love it as well, until the players and owners killed it. I agree with TD, thank goodness for college ball.
It’s precisely because of this lockout that the NBA opens up an opportunity to address it’s many issues. On the other hand, the MLB will continue to be unable to look beyond the nose on it’s face. I doubt the payroll disparity that long ago turned pro baseball into a complete farce will be addressed in the near future. Have fun watching the Yankees and the Red Sox duke it out for the AL for the vast majority of every season the MLB continues on it’s never ending downward popularity spiral. Then again you’re apparently not only used to that, you seem to be content with it.
Couldnt care less about the NBA. LeBron gets one more year older, the selfish, money-hungry players and owners get a season’s less pay, and I dont have to listen to Stephen A. Smith nearly as much. Sounds like a win all the way around.
Additionally, while college hoops are great, lets give some love to the NHL for once. My God. Every year I want to get into the NHL and become a TRUE fan, but if I only get to see 3 goals a night on ESPN with only Crosby, Ovechkin, and the Sedins mentioned, its sort of hard to learn the cast of characters. Personally Im hoping for the rejuvenation of the NHL in the lockout. The NBA could be gone for 10 years as far as Im concerned. Lets give some love to some truly bad-ass athletes who get beat up as bad as football players and play about 5-6 times as many games per season as an average NFL player does.
YES, Foghorn Leghorn. I absolutely agree with your point about the NHL. If the NBA season does get postponed or cancelled, this would be an incredible opportunity for the NHL to grow. Like you, I’ve been wanting to get more into hockey for years, but it’s so hard with so little media coverage (and as a result, so few people around here to watch games with or discuss hockey with). I’ve been a casual Blue Jackets fan, watching a handful of games a year and reading a couple of articles a month, but I’m really going to try to be a bigger fan this year. I just hope that the powers that be see this opportunity and make it easier for new fans to get on board. It’s really pretty dumb if they don’t.
Dear NBA,
I still love you, and think you have the greatest athletes in the world particpating in your league. Please someone say “52/48”, and put this thing to rest. I am ready for the Kyrie era.
love,
Chuck Browm
allright Chucky. glad to have ya. looks like we have to take the rest of ’em on by ourselves. back to back and keep the elbows up and the chin down.
amen brutha
I quit the NBA about 25 seconds after “The Decision” (even though I didn’t watch it). Seriously. My wife thought I was nuts, as a lifetime Cavs fan. But enought was enough. If she wanted to watch a game, particularly Miami (she likes Wade and we lived in Miami during their championship run), I would just leave the room.
Now, I give the NBA about as much attention as I do golf or hockey. I read enough for talking points at the barbershop, and that’s it.
Plus, Joe Tait’s gone, so why bother?