And now more boredom sets in, except here

Now what?

I have to admit I was caught a bit off-guard by the speed with which the NBA cancelled games; I, like many, thought there was a sense of optimism that common sense would prevail, especially with somewhat optimistic reports emanating from New York over the weekend.

And now?

Nuclear winter?

Probably.

Any momentum has been entirely lost – there is no urgency now at all – and I really think things are going to get worse before they get better.

Stern was ominous Monday night talking about further cancellations and a pullback of whatever offer was on the table and if the players truly are “united” they aren’t going to cave as quickly as they usually do.

Now, I don’t have a “side” in this thing, the owners and players are being entirely idiotic killing such a golden beast.

But the union has already given back an awful lot in percentage of BRI, they know the length of contracts will be shortened, the mid-level exception will be less valuable and the fully-guaranteed nature of their deals will be in question.

I was stunned to hear Stern talk about “concessions” the league has made because if I say you’re going to get 50 per cent less than what I’ve been giving you and then I cut that to 25 per cent, that’s not a “concession” to me. That’s simply not true and I imagine there are right-thinking fans who can see through that ruse rather easily.

But it really doesn’t matter, does it?

The game’s gone, there’s more than enough blame to go around and fans, once any sense of immediate anger is gone, will go about their lives with little or no disruption, I think.

The over-riding sense through this entire ordeal has been boredom, I believe; I can’t see it all of sudden changing now.

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This is not a shameless request to make sure the hits keep on coming but we’ve got something a little bit new in store for you today.

Details – and a shocking new bit of schtick – are coming to thestar.com today, my people tell me – and we’re sure you’re going to like it. Or at least hope a lot of you do.

Anyway, it kind of ties in to what we’re going to have to do now that we’ve got no basketball until at least the middle of November so pay attention here today.

Please.

-

Well, we are sure going to be grasping at straws every now and then, aren’t we? I guess it’s just a continuation of what we’ve been doing but it seems more, I don’t know, definite now.

Anyway …

Remember the worst TV neighbours from a week or so ago?

If these folks lived in the area, I might call a real estate agent and look to buy.

The Best

Kramer

Duh! Sure he steals borrows food and is a general pain but the hilarity makes it worth it.

Squidward

If you’re a pineapple that lives under the sea, why not have a squid buddy.

Ed Norton

Yes, this guy might be at the very top of the list. I wish the show was still in syndication.

Rhoda

Some angst but someone had to make it easy for Mary to be Mary and solve all the world’s problems. After all, Carlton The Doorman couldn’t do it all.

Barney Rubble

Second to Norton? Perhaps

-

I really wish I could cover a sport where the season opens with two games in three nights and then you get a week off.

Gotta love the pucks.

No idea how that happens – I’d presume Mr. TV has something to do with it – but doesn’t it kill any true momentum that was built up over the first two games.

I always wondered about the difference, in a usual season that is, in the schedules between the pucks and hoops.

Generally, the hockey plays exactly the same number of games, 82, in about a month’s less time; the grind over on our side seems a bit harsh in that light, on us and on the players.

-

Lions are 5-1. 5-0.

Tigers play an ALCS game at home tonight and have the most dominant pitcher in the game.

I presume the Red Wings are still good.

The Pistons aren’t playing, which means no losses to worry about.

Yes, it is renaissance time in Detroit.

But you know, when I watch the Tigers now I can’t really get into it as much. I know that new park has been there for years (not entirely sure how many) but if there was a better old ballpark than Tiger Stadium, I don’t know what it was.

I recall the first time I was there, walking up an aisle to a box seat and walking into the greenest piece of earth I’d ever seen. A crown on the field. The smell. The feel. Amazing.

Sitting in that upper deck behind the plate, where your seat might have been closer to the field than some people in the good seats because of the way it hung over the lower boxes.

Sitting in the right field bleachers watching, I believe, the 1984 World Series and escaping just before they starting lighting cars on fire.

Maybe it was my southern Ontario upbringing and the fact I didn’t get to a lot of the older stadiums because they’d been replaced by the time I was travelling around but nothing – nothing – beat that old ballyard.

-

Someone told me Cher cried watching her offspring on DWTS?

Man, I’ve got to get back to my regular TV-watching schedule somehow.

I just hope the tears didn’t crack her face.

But it does give us this, and who didn’t love the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour?

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Comments

[Juan]

Hi Doug
I also got the sense there was some reason for optimism when they met on Sunday and Monday. It's a shame as you say, and frankly it's a huge turnoff for me and the league that showcases the game that I love. I'm not sure why I feel differently this time around but I do, and I think it will be a long time, if ever, before players and owners receive the kind of support from me that they once had. I hope all fans can figure out a way to protest this ridiculousness. Hey, maybe there's a potential list in there?
Thanks for the continued daily entertainment.

[Gene]

Good Morning Doug,

Now that the NBA has cancelled the first 2 weeks of the season and I expect more to come. Is there any chance you may take up some of your blog to cover college basketball. I know the sentiment around the people I know is that now I can really focus on college hoops (NCAA and to a certain extent CIAU).

Blogger's note: I suppose there's a good chance, we'll see

[sam]

I'm not totally surprized by the decision to cancel the first 2 weeks of the season. It adds to the drama, doesn't it?
I'm sure there's more to come.

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

The Lions are 5 - 0.

marc in panama

[John Bastedo]

Doug,

Minor thing, and I bet you've seen a bunch of these, but I think you meant the Pucks play 82 games in a months MORE time - their season is just under a month longer.

I'm guessing from your list you wouldn't want to live next to Ned Flanders? Super annoying, yes, but then again he does take great care of his yard.

[ET]

I don't understand how both the union and owners do not comprehend the lasting financial effects of dragging this on.. What they are fighting over will get smaller and smaller so everyone loses... owners, players, fans and probably most important are those that are employed in some direct or indirect way because of the NBA (like the people who work at the arena)

It's like two people fighting over that last piece of pumpkin pie while some is slowly nibbling away at it...once it is gone, its gone...

who knows or can quantify the lasting effects of the 94-95 NHL season or the 98-99 NBA season...

these guys need a reality check...millionaires and billionaires fighting over money... like it will make a lifestyle difference to anyone one of them...but the guy who works in the arena and will be working a few less shifts because of this, it will have a much more impact..

like you Doug, I am getting very bored of it too.

[Dadeo]

Gotta agree with Juan, this contract fiasco has turned me off the NBA somewhat but not the sport. Guess I will have to check out a few of the local CIS games, no where near the same level but you know they are playing for the love of the game.

[Lorie]

Doug!
You're still here! You still look the same! I was sooo afraid you were going to go all "Miss Congeniality" on us and get scrubbed, waxed, exfoliated and be forced to wear 4" heals (ahhh...you can toss those pumps my way...) but you've not been altered one smidge! Hoo and Ray!!! Totally agree about old Tiger Stadium, but if you've got a hankering for something old and wonderful you've GOT to plan a trip to London's own Labatt Park, which was recently named by Baseball Canada as Canada's Favourite Ballpark! Best TV Neighbours? Give me Howard Borden any day: sweet-natured, frequently out of town and could get you discount airline tickets to anyplace you wanted to go!!! Cheers!
http://youtu.be/IBydrUQUf18

[Nick M]

I don't have kids, but if/when I do, I hope for neighbour kids to be Bud and Peter from the Cosby's.
-
And now that a lockout is in effect, maybe a list of 5 current NBAers most likely to 'Shawn Kemp' during the their time-off, would be apropos. Just to clarify, I don't mean the 'baby-making' Shawn Kemp, I mean the 'get fat during the lockout' Shawn Kemp!

[gdr]

Doug, LIONS are actually 5-0! First time since 1956.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Morning Doug,
Could have been an even better Thanksgiving than it was but for those turkeys in New York...
@Juan, we've voted in the polls, now it's time to start voting with our wallets. That's the only form of protest – the only statement at all – they'd ever pay attention to.
Could it be that Don Cherry has finally shot his mouth off one duh time too many? I'd far prefer to not tune in to hear him on Wrestling Night in Canada than to continue not tuning in to hear him blathering on pucks. Windbag.
Cheers.

[Lindsay]

Those Lions would be 5 and 0 Mr. Smith.

Blogger's note: They would be; and fixed. Thanks

[Adam]

Lions are 5-0 actually. First time since 1956 from what I've been hearing. Love seeing teams become relevant and good again.

[Dave]

Doug:

I think it is a sad day for the NBA. I am not sure which side I am on. I understand the players don't want to give anything up. I also understand that the owners are the employers (the players are the employees) and should be able to make money as they are the people taking the risks.

I also think the players are completely out of touch with reality. Last night Sonny tweeted from Lithuania, "When was the last time someone seen an air conditioner in the window!! #lol". I think you could walk in many neighborhoods in Canada and the USA and see window air conditioners. Where had Sonny been for the past few years?

I really think it is the most overpaid players (James, Wade, Bryant, Anthony, etc.) are the stumbling blocks in reaching a deal. Also twitter makes it more difficult to get a deal in place. It makes it too easy to get the players riled up over what is happening and they start to believe their own headlines.

I am afraid there won't be any games for a long time as people dig in for the long term.

[Matt M]

Unless the Lions have lost a game since yesterday they are 5-0. They look like a good young team right now. Should be fun to watch for the next couple of years.

Blogger's note: Got it fixed, thanks

[Jacques]

Doug,

If the NBA calls the season, do you see the Toronto fans pulling back, just like they did when baseball went of strike.

Blogger's note: I'm sure some will

[joeu]

For me, the most distressing thing about the strike is the thought of a strike-shortened season with the league jamming way too many games into a shorter than usual schedule.

If they cancel 2 weeks of games, those games should stay off the schedule, and if the NBA ends up with a 30 game season, so be it.

Offhand I can't think of a major league that has performed well in a shortened season. The low-water mark has to be the MLB split season (81 ?).

[TLI]

I dunno, Doug -- I think you maybe you shortchanged Barney Rubble. Since Barney IS Norton, he should have ranked right next to him!

Off to see what the Lions schedule is like...

[john]

If the players lose $350 million a month, and the two sides are only 3% apart, the break-even point for the players to stay out is around the middle of December for when they start losing more money that they are holding out for which leads me to believe that the biggest stumbling block in this whole thing is how players can move around.

We all watched the one hour Lebron 'decision' and had to listen all year about Melo making his decision. It was all legit under the then current CBA but was an embarrassment to the league and stunk to fans of the game. I dont seem to remember one person who actually thought it was great TV. Players were even planning their next move while the season was on and their team in a playoff race. The team owners were basically held hostage for almost two years as their star players decided who they wanted to play with and where.

The last CBA had a hard salary cap, the players could only get 57% of the league income. Period. That’s a hard cap. So the players had a hard cap for last CBA and they will have a hardd cap in this CBA as well and they know within 3% what that cap will be. What the players don’t want is the type of restriction of movement that the league wants to instil after the last couple seasons of shenanigans. The players are labelling that restriction a 'hard cap' to make it sound financial and greedy on the owners part, but in reality a hard cap just makes it harder for them to pick their location of work, the team mates who they want to play with, while still raking in the maximum amount of salary available to them. The players on whole have the same amount of money in the pot.

I would bet that everyone would love a job where you could pick your city of employment and who your fellow employees were and were all guaranteed the absolute maximum salary available to anyone in your profession. It would be awesome. I think this negotiation is all about the owners making it a bit more difficult for the players to have this ability.

[Peter]

Holy Crap you're on facebook!

[Peter]

I just noticed the video! CLASSIC!!! Best line "Holy F___ I just got poked!!"

[doug]

omg I just don't get how people blame the players at all...in fact I read a article a while ago which I agree with totally...a argument could be made that the top players in the league aren't paid enough and I agree..if i was the union president I would be negotiating a contract that people think radical but I think it is looking outside the box....if the cap whether it is a hard cap or a tax dollars is 70 million i would stipulate that 50 5 of it be given to the top 2 players on each team..it would be win , win a team would be allowed 2 sign 2 type A free agents, it would limit teams loading up and guarantee those 2 players the majority of the team payroll...and the rational for this is simple, the NBA is a star driven league plain and simple.....in baseball 22/25 players according to payroll are no longer playing, in football there are 55 men rosters and defenses and offenses, in hockey the same...let's say if the Raps signed LeBron how much would we improve???....b-ball is a star driven league the best players are heads and shoulders above the next best and they have a immediate impact....I think the union should ask for a contract that stipulates type A,B andf c players....I am glad the players have unity, and please people quit buying this constant Stern drivel, it's no different then a old day snake oil salesman...

[doug]

I meant 50% in the last post..I sometimes don't hit the shift key long enough...and i agree with you, the old Tiger stadium is the best I actually liked it better then Wrigley or Fenway..yes there were obstructed views but it just had something about it, also great hot dogs....I saw Mark Fidrych there, he was one of a kind...good memories...