Ugh...

a rant for a second about the NBA lockout:

the owners are saying they'll go no higher than 50/50, but that's only for the Basketball-Related Income (BRI), which is the only money from which the players get paid. but the OWNERS still make money off the luxury boxes, and the additional rake from concessions and every other use for the arena, none of which the players get any share. so the players SHOULD get more than 50% because they're more than equally important to the success of the league.

it's not the owners who are exciting the fans, it's the owners who are willfully overpaying Sam Dalembert and Charlie Villanueva. it's not the players' fault the owners are idiots. they shouldn't have to pay for someone else's mistakes. it's ridiculous and befuddles me. if someone hires you and is willing to pay you a certain amount and the reserve from which they're paying you is only a fraction of the total amount of money they're making, wouldn't it make more sense to analyze the way the other fractions are being spent?

they should recognize the country's economic struggles and LOWER TICKET PRICES. then more butts are in the seats AND more money comes in. would you rather have one $10 or three $5's? it's simple, but the owners are too greedy to make a prudent decision that might, oh, SAVE their franchise because they're too afraid that people still won't show if the cost goes down. but the fans aren't going because they can't afford the freaking tickets, not because of disinterest, as evidenced by all the high TV ratings last season. those ratings, btw, were because of all the new PLAYER news, not because Mark Cuban was wearing a new extra medium tee or because Jim Dolan got some new Just For Men for his goatee.

i don't care if his beard is weird. i don't care how involved Cuban gets during the games. i watch to see the players and no one else. more than any other sport, they are the reasons people watch, the characters in the drama, exposed for all to see.

yes, the players are going to make a lot of money regardless. but, if you offered to give up about $160 million in negotiations, wouldn't you want the other side of the table to at least try to meet you some where in the middle of those concessions?