When did the owners offer 51%? Maybe he is thinking if the union offered it, the owners would meet them?
Why does this feel so much like the last lock out. I'm fully expecting to hear that league play wil start in January witha shorten season of 55 games (or whatever it was). Fans will come back, players will be arrogant, owners will bitch about making money while raising ticket prices and TV will pay big bucks to telivise the games. The game saves itself because the NBA is doing everything possible to fuck it up.
The Economy in 1999 wasn't in the toilet the way it is now ... I get the feeling advertisers, ticket paying fans and viewers are going to be a long time coming back after this one.
Factor in not only the economy, but all of the other entertainment options available now. Then again, what do I know. I still cannot understand the Kardashian phenomena.
My wife asked me yesterday who the hell that Kardashian broad is and why is she so famous? I have no idea.
well, i'm sure if pet rocks made a video where some guy was fucking their brains out, they'd be famous too. it worked for Paris Hilton. Speaking of that, whatever happened to that cum dumpster? Has she dropped off the planet?
It's not just the economy, or the other entertainment options, but I believe we are at the birth of a whole new way to enjoy activities because of the interactive and pervasive nature of technology. 5 years from now, many people who love basketball, and have plenty of money to go to the games, will opt to stay home and join a more shared network and interactive structure of viewership while sitting while watching their 72 inch screen. This does not mean less money for the NBA, it just means different revenue streams (if managed well, revenue could increase, if managed poorly, revenue could plummet). I'm not sure exactly how it will work, but imagine a Facebook TV where all of your personal friends that are blazer fans join to watch together from their own houses. The game is shown over 80% of the screen while side conversations or xbox games are in the other areas, with friend text scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Each viewer could toggle between group voice, announcer voice, ipod, one-on-one conversations, and so on. Each individual could set up their screen to include multiple games in differing sizes, friend video, foe video, and all sorts of other personalized treats. The days of 20,000+ fans at a stadium are coming to an end.
NBPA board will meet Thur in NY. Some hope that talks w/NBA could resume Fri or Sat, tho nothing set yet.
Player vs League Twitter wars........ http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/11/2/2533997/nazr-mohammed-nba-lockout-2011-twitter
@Julius There are plenty of women that have made sex tapes that "mysteriously" get stolen and released to the public. Few make the money the Kardashians do. [withholding the Mrs. HCP joke because someone probably had a wittier response] @GOD Great points. I did that same exercise when the UFC was at the Rose Garden. For a pair of ringside seats at face value, I could have gotten an HDTV to watch it on PPV, keg of beer, a couple of those huge Subway sandwiches, and still had money left over. Ended up waiting till someone could not get rid of a ticket on the secondary market and went for $150. My thinking is that it is still hard to replace the live experience, but the demand is lower knowing that other spectacular options are available.
You are describing a geek world that is very disturbing to me. There has to be 20,000 people in every city that desire to leave their house and be with real live girls and watch sports. How depressing.
High-Tension N.B.A. Talks Resume, but They’re Between Union Officials By HOWARD BECK Published: November 2, 2011 Another tense meeting to address the N.B.A. lockout will take place Thursday in Manhattan — only this time without owners or league officials and without a prospect for a deal. If a consensus emerges, it will be solely between the leaders of the players association. The union’s executive board is holding its first in-person meeting since labor talks collapsed last Friday, and its first since reports of a rift in leadership began circulating. If there are political or philosophical gaps between Derek Fisher, the union’s elected president, and Billy Hunter, its longtime executive director, they will try to close them, in full view of the union’s staff members and the eight other players on the board. From there, union leaders hope to turn their focus back to their collective bargaining strategy, and toward re-engaging the N.B.A. at the bargaining table. There is hope that talks could resume Friday or Saturday. But first, the union must address an internecine battle that for five days has overshadowed the lockout itself and threatened to derail the bargaining process. Fisher and Hunter are said to be at odds, and one published report said Fisher was trying to cut a secret deal with the N.B.A. Fisher and Hunter have spent the week issuing statements and letters affirming their unity, while trying to calm a 430-person constituency that is antsy over the imminent loss of paychecks. The damage-control efforts have supplanted any attempt to break the 125-day stalemate with the league, which has already canceled a month of games. That is why players, agents and even N.B.A. officials are eager to see what message emerges from the union Thursday. “I think there will be a lot of clarity coming out of the meeting on Thursday,” said one person aligned with the players, who has communicated with both league and union officials this week. The first agenda item, the person said, is “to hash out the Derek Fisher situation.” Two people with ties to the union said the issue was mostly resolved in a Tuesday conference call involving Fisher, Hunter and the board. But one person said it was important for everyone to speak face to face before the matter is put behind them. The controversy began Saturday, when FoxSports.com, citing an anonymous source, reported that Fisher was trying to broker a deal with Commissioner David Stern without the union’s knowledge. According to the report, Fisher “promised” the union would agree to the N.B.A.’s proposed 50-50 split of revenues. Hunter has vowed not to accept less than 52.5 percent, a stance that contributed to the breakdown in talks last week. Fisher reaffirmed his loyalty to the union in a letter to players. He also issued a statement decrying the FoxSports.com article — which accused him of making deals for personal gain — as “disgusting, defamatory and a flat-out lie.” Hunter restated his support for Fisher in a letter to players. Although a fractured union might seem advantageous to the N.B.A., league officials privately are alarmed; there is little hope for a labor deal if union leaders have conflicting agendas. Until now, the relationship between Hunter and Fisher has generally been solid, according to people who have worked with them. But there are some tensions. According to a person with ties to both men, Fisher believes that a 50-50 deal should at least be considered, if it would salvage more of the season. Hunter is more adamant about holding firm, believing the long-term gain justifies the short-term losses. In general, Fisher has assumed a far more hands-on role than the typical player-president — issuing memos, scheduling meetings and becoming the union’s primary face and voice during the lockout. Hunter, who does not relish the role of spokesman, has welcomed and even encouraged Fisher to take the lead at news conferences. But Hunter has sometimes bristled at Fisher’s assertiveness in setting the agenda — sometimes without Hunter’s input — according to people who have worked with them. “It just created a little sore spot,” one person said. The picture is also muddled at the bargaining table, where Jeffrey Kessler, the union’s outside counsel, serves as the lead negotiator. According to people involved in the talks, Kessler does 80 percent of the speaking, while Hunter, who has a reputation for not being detail-oriented, takes a secondary role. One person involved on the N.B.A.’s side said the negotiations had been difficult, in part, because it was unclear who was in charge of the union. The intensity, stress and protracted nature of the labor talks have inflamed nerves and heightened everyone’s concern about the outcome. The union has already made huge concessions, and no one wants to be blamed for a bad deal. The stakes are higher for Hunter, who earns $2.5 million a year as executive director, than for Fisher, whose role is temporary. This is also probably Hunter’s last labor deal; he turns 69 on Saturday. While union leaders try to repair the cracks, antsy players are sending out warning flares on Twitter. “Take the 51% man and let’s play,” Glen Davis, the Boston Celtics forward, wrote Wednesday. Cleveland’s Samardo Samuels wrote last Friday that a 50-50 deal would be fine. “It’s church money away,” Samuels wrote. Impatience is the most prominent theme, however. As Terrence Williams, a Houston Rockets guard, wrote on Wednesday, “Hey @TheNBPA Let’s play BALL enough with the stare off.”
I don't see it a total replacement, but someone like me, I might go to half the games i would have gone to otherwise. Also, I would be more likely to not go to games during the regular season, and just enjoy the live experience during the playoffs. Some people would go 100% as much as they do now, while others would never go to a live game again. Most people however, will, over time, go to live games less often in the future. One thing that I think is interesting, I think that Football will not have the live fan drop-off that basketball will. Football has a longer standing tradition of being a live experience with the tailgating, the food, the drink and most importantly, the limited schedule, not having 82 games like in the NBA. I can't remember where I was reading or listening to a conversation about this very topic, but whoever it was, suggested that the next round of stadiums to be built will be much smaller, perhaps around 13,000 seats. We will see, but I expect the downturn to start in 5 to 10 years and be in full swing shortly after that.
@God I think baseball is suffering in the same way. Seems like on TV they are always playing to an empty stadium. Not just the Mariners either.
