What Lockout?

A New York Times news alert popped up on my iPad today with a breaking story.  Normally when those pop up I get a little nervous since it’s usually bad news and I am in Afghanistan after all, the center for the media’s constant doom and gloom coverage…but that’s another story.

No, this story had to do with the National Basketball Association players union turning down a deal likely resulting in a cancelled season.  Something else written in there about it being the owners last offer, the union decertifying, blah, blah, blah.

I didn’t even realize there was a lockout, let alone an NBA season to risk for that matter.  No, my NBA-watching days died a while ago.  In the 80’s and 90’s I loved watching Magic versus Bird, then Magic versus Isaiah Thomas, then Isaiah Thomas versus Jordan…it went on until Jordan retired the first time and the leagues sort of went…well, blah. 

My interest was rekindled a bit a few years back when the Pistons started contending and had some epic battles with San Antonio.  I liked that Navy guy on their team before and they seemed pretty solid.  But then some trades and the NBA went back into the….well, blah.

So the headline popped up today and it got me thinking about why I don’t really care about basketball.  First I should clarify, I like watching the NCAA tournament every year but I haven’t watched an NBA game in years and really have no desire to, though when I was a kid I do remember really liking the league.  I spent a good bit of time trying to figure out why I sort of loathe the league and I think I figured it out.

It’s not the players or owners, it’s both…and the league. 

Watching the league story lines the last several years reads like a bad series of Dear Abby’s.  If it wasn’t Allen Iverson bitching about being punished by Coach Brown for missing…practice, it was a Kobe sex scandal, followed by Mark Cuban being fined for telling everyone the officials sucked.  Newsflash---they did, in fact one was on the take and ended up being part of a major scandal. 

The players went from being respectable role models era to the vast majority of America during the Magic – Jordan to some awful series of cover photos for a hip-hop magazine.  Just so happens I like the music but choose not to dress or act the part.  Maybe I just can’t relate given I’m almost 40 but I have little trouble rooting for guys like Curtis Granderson (even though he’s a Yankee now) or Cam Ward from the Hurricanes; good dudes.  No, can’t be that because I’ve had no trouble keeping up with baseball, football or hockey through the ages…just basketball.

About the only guy in the NBA that I can honestly say I like is Mark Cuban because the guy is about winning and calls it like he sees it even if the league is going to fine him.  The dude genuinely loves his players, the sport and his city.  Can’t for the life of me figure out why he seems to be the only one with real passion for the sport. 

Maybe they should just crack his DNA, add several inches to his height, some agility and dexterity and clone enough of him to make a new league.  That would be entertaining, exciting basketball and would probably result in a lot of give back to the fans and community, something I haven’t seen in a long time from the NBA. 

Lost season?  No, the entire league has been lost for a while now.