New Album & The Beginning of Basketball Season
- Thread starter Ron Party
- Start date
I think things have turned to the worse. I would have hoped that in light of the bad financial news, the players and owners would want to earn some money.
The Saber Rattling Gets Louder
August 4, 2011 · 8:40PM
Taking the posturing to a new level as the lockout begins its second month, the executive director of the players union suggested Wednesday the season is already in jeopardy, telling a conference at the National Bar Association in Baltimore that “If I had to bet on it at this moment, I would probably say” there will not be a 2011-12.
“We’re $800 million apart per year,” Billy Hunter, the head of the National Basketball Players Assn. told about 200 people during a seminar at the conference, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The NBA declined comment.
In the same Sun story, Hunter said David Stern was being limited by some owners in negotiations, insisting the commissioner take a hard line in trying to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“In the last six or seven years, there is a new group of owners to come in who paid a premium for their franchises, and what they’re doing is kind of holding his feet to the fire,” Hunter said.
So it is we have reached a new stage of the labor dispute: Stern portrayed as a puppet. That’ll get a few laughs around the league.
While Hunter’s words are ominous, they also come with the usual, if unspoken, disclaimer that these are the things people say in heated public negotiations. Same with statements from Stern and other league officials. Things get said. Things get settled.
Hunter could turn out to be right from months away – no one would be shocked if the lockout carries into the season, at which point the calendar becomes as much of an opponent as the other side at the negotiating table. But for now, it’s more gut feeling than fact. It might even be another scare tactic.
The Saber Rattling Gets Louder
August 4, 2011 · 8:40PM
Taking the posturing to a new level as the lockout begins its second month, the executive director of the players union suggested Wednesday the season is already in jeopardy, telling a conference at the National Bar Association in Baltimore that “If I had to bet on it at this moment, I would probably say” there will not be a 2011-12.
“We’re $800 million apart per year,” Billy Hunter, the head of the National Basketball Players Assn. told about 200 people during a seminar at the conference, according to the Baltimore Sun.
The NBA declined comment.
In the same Sun story, Hunter said David Stern was being limited by some owners in negotiations, insisting the commissioner take a hard line in trying to negotiate a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“In the last six or seven years, there is a new group of owners to come in who paid a premium for their franchises, and what they’re doing is kind of holding his feet to the fire,” Hunter said.
So it is we have reached a new stage of the labor dispute: Stern portrayed as a puppet. That’ll get a few laughs around the league.
While Hunter’s words are ominous, they also come with the usual, if unspoken, disclaimer that these are the things people say in heated public negotiations. Same with statements from Stern and other league officials. Things get said. Things get settled.
Hunter could turn out to be right from months away – no one would be shocked if the lockout carries into the season, at which point the calendar becomes as much of an opponent as the other side at the negotiating table. But for now, it’s more gut feeling than fact. It might even be another scare tactic.
Seems like they aren't going to work it out in time. Especially frustrating after such a great season. Here's a take on the issues:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6749669/if-ruled-nba-world
I'm a big Bill Simmons fan.
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6749669/if-ruled-nba-world
I'm a big Bill Simmons fan.
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Asan aside, Kendrick has been ruffling some feathers
Thunder's Perkins arrested for nightclub altercation
Posted Aug 14 2011 10:39AM
BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) -- Authorities have charged Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kendrick Perkins with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and public intoxication after an altercation early Saturday morning in South Texas.
A statement from police in Beaumont, Texas, said officers saw a large crowd outside The Ticket night club just after 2 a.m., and received complaints of fights and pepper spray inside.
An officer saw about 50 people inside around Perkins, who police said was attempting to fight the club's manager. The statement said the crowd pushed Perkins out the back door of the club, where he continued to yell obscenities and start other fights.
Perkins was arrested and taken to Jefferson County jail. According to KFDM-TV, which first reported the incident, he was released after posting $150 bond. The misdemeanor charges are punishable by fines.
Perkins' agent Thad Foucher declined to comment about his client's arrest.
Perkins was in the city about 90 minutes east of Houston hosting a camp that raises money for his foundation, which aims to help children learn life skills and drug awareness.
Thunder's Perkins arrested for nightclub altercation
Posted Aug 14 2011 10:39AM
BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) -- Authorities have charged Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kendrick Perkins with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and public intoxication after an altercation early Saturday morning in South Texas.
A statement from police in Beaumont, Texas, said officers saw a large crowd outside The Ticket night club just after 2 a.m., and received complaints of fights and pepper spray inside.
An officer saw about 50 people inside around Perkins, who police said was attempting to fight the club's manager. The statement said the crowd pushed Perkins out the back door of the club, where he continued to yell obscenities and start other fights.
Perkins was arrested and taken to Jefferson County jail. According to KFDM-TV, which first reported the incident, he was released after posting $150 bond. The misdemeanor charges are punishable by fines.
Perkins' agent Thad Foucher declined to comment about his client's arrest.
Perkins was in the city about 90 minutes east of Houston hosting a camp that raises money for his foundation, which aims to help children learn life skills and drug awareness.
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Will The Season Be Salvaged
NBA officials, union representatives meet in Manhattan
NEW YORK (AP) -- There's still time for a deal to keep the entire NBA season intact, though it's running out.
And with that in mind, owners and players realize it's time to stop talking about each other, and start talking to each other.
They returned to the bargaining table Wednesday, meeting for about six hours in just their second bargaining session since the league's lockout began on July 1.
"Everyone loses if we don't reach an agreement, that's something that I think has always been understood," union president Derek Fisher of the Lakers said. "But as we approach Sept. 1 and obviously the training camp schedule to start on Oct. 1, the urgency is just continuing to build and increase on both sides, and we're going to remain focused on finding a way to get this done."
Neither side offered any specifics or would say if progress was made, but said they plan many more meetings in hopes of having basketball begin without interruption.
"I don't see any benefit to characterizing our positions," Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said, a thought repeated frequently by both sides.
"I will say we are not apart in terms of an agreed urgency on getting a deal done and we're not apart on the need to avoid missing games and we're not apart on the agreed impact that will have, not just on our teams and our players, but the communities in which they operate in as well."
Commissioner David Stern and San Antonio owner Peter Holt, head of the labor relations committee, also represented the owners at a Manhattan hotel. Executive director Billy Hunter and attorney Ron Klempner attended from the union.
The sides hadn't met since Aug. 1, despite saying they hoped to follow that with multiple sessions before the end of the month. They are far apart on major issues, but Stern said there is "clearly enough time" to make a deal that would allow the regular season to open as scheduled on Nov. 1.
He added he has no timetable for when cancelations might be necessary. The NBA quickly shot down a report this week they would happen at an owners meeting on Sept. 15.
"We don't have any deadlines in mind," Stern said. "We just have meetings in mind and discussions in mind."
Neither side would say when or where the next meetings would take place, indicating a desire for a level of privacy that has been largely absent in the process. Stern was critical of the players while meeting with the media after the Aug. 1 session, and Fisher said "things seem to get spun out of control, either by us or by them" whenever they talk specifics in the press.
"So we're just going to focus on the deal. That's all we can do," Fisher said. "We feel it's the best way to respect the process, to just try to do a better job of staying clear of that type of situation.
"We just feel that a little bit less - or a lot less - of talking outside of the room and more talking inside of the room is better for everyone," he added.
Fisher said there were no new proposals for a new deal. The players made the last one on June 30, an offer the league said would have increased average player salaries to nearly $7 million in the sixth year.
Owners, seeking significant salary reductions from the players after losing hundreds of millions of dollars in each year of the previous CBA, imposed the lockout hours later, and nothing much has happened since.
Stern set Labor Day weekend as an unofficial deadline for when progress needed to be made during an ESPN.com podcast earlier this month.
So, is he satisfied?
"We had a meeting before Labor Day and agreed that we would continue to meet," Stern said.
Following the schedule from the 1998 lockout, the only time the NBA lost games to a work stoppage, the NBA has a couple of weeks before anything is in jeopardy. The start of camps, then scheduled for Oct. 5, were postponed on Sept. 24, and the first preseason games weren't called off until Oct. 6.
The first exhibition games this year are set for Oct. 9, and maybe they can still happen.
"It's very obvious that coming out of the lockout being July 1 and into this part of August, it's very clear both sides are feeling a sense of urgency," Fisher said. "We're very focused on getting a deal done and that's how we'll proceed from this point going forward."
NBA officials, union representatives meet in Manhattan
NEW YORK (AP) -- There's still time for a deal to keep the entire NBA season intact, though it's running out.
And with that in mind, owners and players realize it's time to stop talking about each other, and start talking to each other.
They returned to the bargaining table Wednesday, meeting for about six hours in just their second bargaining session since the league's lockout began on July 1.
"Everyone loses if we don't reach an agreement, that's something that I think has always been understood," union president Derek Fisher of the Lakers said. "But as we approach Sept. 1 and obviously the training camp schedule to start on Oct. 1, the urgency is just continuing to build and increase on both sides, and we're going to remain focused on finding a way to get this done."
Neither side offered any specifics or would say if progress was made, but said they plan many more meetings in hopes of having basketball begin without interruption.
"I don't see any benefit to characterizing our positions," Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said, a thought repeated frequently by both sides.
"I will say we are not apart in terms of an agreed urgency on getting a deal done and we're not apart on the need to avoid missing games and we're not apart on the agreed impact that will have, not just on our teams and our players, but the communities in which they operate in as well."
Commissioner David Stern and San Antonio owner Peter Holt, head of the labor relations committee, also represented the owners at a Manhattan hotel. Executive director Billy Hunter and attorney Ron Klempner attended from the union.
The sides hadn't met since Aug. 1, despite saying they hoped to follow that with multiple sessions before the end of the month. They are far apart on major issues, but Stern said there is "clearly enough time" to make a deal that would allow the regular season to open as scheduled on Nov. 1.
He added he has no timetable for when cancelations might be necessary. The NBA quickly shot down a report this week they would happen at an owners meeting on Sept. 15.
"We don't have any deadlines in mind," Stern said. "We just have meetings in mind and discussions in mind."
Neither side would say when or where the next meetings would take place, indicating a desire for a level of privacy that has been largely absent in the process. Stern was critical of the players while meeting with the media after the Aug. 1 session, and Fisher said "things seem to get spun out of control, either by us or by them" whenever they talk specifics in the press.
"So we're just going to focus on the deal. That's all we can do," Fisher said. "We feel it's the best way to respect the process, to just try to do a better job of staying clear of that type of situation.
"We just feel that a little bit less - or a lot less - of talking outside of the room and more talking inside of the room is better for everyone," he added.
Fisher said there were no new proposals for a new deal. The players made the last one on June 30, an offer the league said would have increased average player salaries to nearly $7 million in the sixth year.
Owners, seeking significant salary reductions from the players after losing hundreds of millions of dollars in each year of the previous CBA, imposed the lockout hours later, and nothing much has happened since.
Stern set Labor Day weekend as an unofficial deadline for when progress needed to be made during an ESPN.com podcast earlier this month.
So, is he satisfied?
"We had a meeting before Labor Day and agreed that we would continue to meet," Stern said.
Following the schedule from the 1998 lockout, the only time the NBA lost games to a work stoppage, the NBA has a couple of weeks before anything is in jeopardy. The start of camps, then scheduled for Oct. 5, were postponed on Sept. 24, and the first preseason games weren't called off until Oct. 6.
The first exhibition games this year are set for Oct. 9, and maybe they can still happen.
"It's very obvious that coming out of the lockout being July 1 and into this part of August, it's very clear both sides are feeling a sense of urgency," Fisher said. "We're very focused on getting a deal done and that's how we'll proceed from this point going forward."
Time is running out and it is disheartening for NBA fans after coming off an exhilarating season. I feel strange not reading trades, player acquisitions via free agency and pre-season talk. Something is missing.
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Darn
still no progress and it's Sept 13
Phil you and I by now should be talking about all things NBA rather than commenting on movie reviews
still no progress and it's Sept 13
Phil you and I by now should be talking about all things NBA rather than commenting on movie reviews
Right, Steve. We should be talking bout line-up changes and rookies and trades and pre-season. But I guess the players are ready for an off-season, it now appears. Sigh...
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
I think what will determine that is the upcoming meeting between players and owners
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Labor standoff all about hard cap vs. soft cap
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/featur...bor-update-tuesday/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1
If what the league and owners claim that so many teams are losing money, I feel their desires here are well founded
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/featur...bor-update-tuesday/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1
If what the league and owners claim that so many teams are losing money, I feel their desires here are well founded
Well, I feel that way too, Steve. While I do not know entirely the nitty gritty details of the negotiations, one thing that has struck me was that the players had a 57/43 split leverage already in the old and expired CBA which was a fantastic deal for them to start. That CBA was done prior to the Lehman collapse that brought down and changed the economic structure of the US and the world. Time for the players to move closer a meet the owners in a more realistic economic perspective, imo.
Steve Williams
Site Founder, Site Co-Owner, Administrator
I think he is the most unsung star in the NBA who always goes about business in a quiet fashion but at the end of the night he has 66 points after which there is no chest thumping a la LBJ
Its sad, although I am a Lebron fan, I think KD is the future of the NBA. He has infinite potential and checks his ego at the door. Ohh yeah, you might want to put a hand in his face when he runs to his spot and hits 3 three's in a row!!
I feel sad for you Seattle folk. You've had some all time greats up there. That team with Gus & Downtown was one of my favorites, to state nothing of the class act Lenny always was. Well, ok, you also had Shawn.
The real kind in the behind is that the fans were incredibly supportive, even through the lean years. I know that Key Arena stunk for the owners, but it was an extremely fan friendly place to watch a game. On a personal level, going to the games provided some of the best father son time I've ever had and it is sadly missed. We continue to root for the Thunder, but it is with a bit of a heavy heart. The politicians up here really screwed the pooch on this one...
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