I thought I was the only one who feels that way - I hate that the refs have so much influence on the games, that the calls are so subjective. And the prima dona superstars like LeBron. I only watch the Blazers for the most part as well, and wouldn't even follow the NBA if it wasn't for the 'Zers. So they're just screwing themselves . . .
Well he threw a good portion of the other owners under the bus on twitter. I'm surprised Stern didn't go for the cool one million to be honest.
Derek Fisher defends loyalty in letter By Marc Stein In his latest letter to fellow players, union president Derek Fisher strongly denied a published report over the weekend that union president Billy Hunter and other members of the union's executive board have questioned Fisher about his relationship with NBA commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver. Fisher In Monday night's letter, which was obtained by ESPN.com, Fisher responded to the Saturday report from FoxSports.com columnist Jason Whitlock by telling union members: "Usually I wouldn't even dignify absurd media reports with a comment. But before these reports go any further, let me say on the record to each of you, my loyalty has and always will be with the players. "Anyone that questions that or doubts that does not know me, my history and what I stand for. And quite frankly, how dare anyone call that into question? The Players Association is united and any reports to the contrary are false. There have been no side agreements, no side negotiations or anything close. We are united in serving you and presenting the best options and getting everyone back to work." Marc Stein is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. Follow Marc Stein on Twitter: @stein_line_HQ
http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm#Q13 60% of the luxury suite money is a very large portion of the ticket sales. BRI is not all basketball related income, far from it. A couple of weeks ago the owners put forward some split giving players 50-some percent, but with a new definition of BRI. The union didn't fall for it, but fanboys of the owners, ignorant of their tricks, quickly squawked at the union for turning it down.
How so? It sounds like the lockout hasn't affected your stance at all. You only watched Blazers games before and as long as they're in the league (they are), you'll keep watching. Nothing is changed. How are you screwing them?
Yeah, I agree my last sentence seemed inconsistent. I was agreeing with Mediocre Man who implied that the depth of support for the NBA isn't as deep as that of the NFL, that there are more casual fans and if they keep up this squabbling and the lockout, then they might permanently lose fans. They shouldn't assume everyone will be there waiting there anxiously if they keep this up.
I asked earlier about whether or not we know if the teams actually make money (and thanks for all your helpful answers). I asked because I noticed that, with all this discussion about the lockout (66 pages and counting), posters aren't particularly taking sides with either the players or the owners. We're just discussing the lockout and following the progress of the negotiations. It's just not easy to see if one side or the other is being unreasonable or greedy, when we don't even know what the owners' bottom line is. I do know the players have no expenses whatsoever, and just take a paycheck (and a pretty big paychecks). The owners have a ton of expenses but a big chunk of BRI and non-BRI. So does anybody feel strongly that one side or the other is being greedy and unreasonable?
I think they're both greedy. They should just cut everyone's salaries in half and slash ticket prices. But I get that doesn't really work in this kind of capitalist society. TMac: ouch. The custodian:
Players get none of the league income from fines, because fines are excluded from the BRI definition. But fines are incoming money to the league, so they decrease the overall deficit the league claims it has, though it strangely won't release financial statements to prove it. However, when the owner (currently under discussion, Heat owner Micky Arison) tells you how much he lost last year, he's including any fines he individually paid, so his own fines increase the mysterious deficit he claims but won't prove.
Woj The NBA and NBPA are discussing possibility of returning federal mediator George Cohen to labor talks this week, sources tell Y! Sports.
LOL. And they wonder why we hate them. These players have no fucking clue that some owners really are losing a butt load of money. All they know is they get theirs no matter what.
Those quotes, imho, show how idiotic players can be. Isn't the Miami Heat owners fine given to charity? And even if it's not, $500,000 spread over 30 teams is under 17,000. That really won't make a lot of difference amongst the teams. And his "mismanaged small market teams crying poor" crack is rather funny, considering being in a small market plays a huge role in how much money you can spend AND it means players who want HUGE contracts won't play for them. But it's mismanaged teams who are at fault... as for the custodian....again, 500K isn't a lot of money spread out. If teams were losing 500K a year, I'm sure the owners would be much happier than if they were losing millions. I guess thats why these guys are athletes and not CPAs.
I'm pro-owner and have been since the start. The fact that the players are willing to give up a substantial chunk of the BRI tells me they know that there are teams that are struggling.
Tracy MacGrady slamming small market owners is so fucking stupid I don't know even where to start. If any player should be the poster child for what's wrong with the NBA, it's MacGrady, who is 7th all-time in salary made for the NBA, yet couldn't even lead a team to a playoff series win. The guy has made ~$161 million in salary, and he's whining about fines that go to charity? http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...the-top-career-earners-in-nba-history/page/50 Brian Cardinal is an even bigger embarrassment. $38 million in salary for a limited scrub who has started only 57 games in an 11 year career?
