schillingouttheks

I think that look was that he had to come out in this specific situation

That really sucks

Wtf happened to Lester... why is Albers warming up

Give him July... the weather has finally seemed to be consistently warmer too instead of sporadically, and too commonly, rainy. He's from Texas.... who knows?

Thunder, and whoever else is interested in the details, it is not a simple situation, so bear with me... this may become an essay. It's not at all like the NFL really, it kind of reminds me of the NHL a couple years ago. The problem in the NFL was what to do with the profits - the league is still making a killing every season and owners can still expect to see profits regardless of how they're split. The NBA's franchises, most of them at least, have been losing money for the past 5+ years and the outlook with the current system in place is gloomy for both profitability and parity, according to the owners. The owners and players are trying to figure out what's best to turnaround the NBA's financial situation, and are clashing over how revenues are to be split (revenues as a whole, including profits or lack thereof and the total level of owners' expenses paid out to players). The NBA's situation is far worse than the NFL's and could legitimately shorten the upcoming season because the sides are that much farther apart. Basically, right now the players get 57% of all "basketball-related income" revenues. This includes TV deals, ticket sales, jersey sales, etc. The players have agreed to shave down to around 53-54%, but the owners want them down into the low-to-mid 40% range. This is because the league has drastically lost money over the past 5 years. For this reason, the owners want to completely abandon the current system they're working with. The players and owners also can't agree what necessarily constitutes basketball-related income, so they're extremely far apart. What's interesting, however, is that I would propose basketball, despite losing money, is currently in a much better position than it was 5 years ago. I believe the NBA has lost money due much more to the current economic stresses than a loss of interest in the league - I actually think interest is booming, it's just that basketball, for a majority of fans, will not overtake the MLB or NFL in terms of popularity anytime soon. To get the nitty gritty details down, the owners want to impose a hard cap at around $62 million, to be exceeded only when a team is trying to re-sign its own players, and even then there will be a second-figure only a few million dollars higher that absolutely cannot be exceeded. This will mean the luxury tax will be nullified because it won't be necessary to have one - teams can't spend as much as would be needed for the luxury tax to be imposed. They also want this cap to be in effect for nearly a decade, so that even when the NBA's revenues start rising again the players' gross, cumulative salaries are locked in at that cap. This next piece is a bit ridiculous, because essentially it sounds like the owners want insurance against their own bad decision-making: they want the lengths of contracts given out to be shaved down by 2 years when they're signed to avoid the contracts that have royally screwed teams over. I think this last point is outlandish and they won't be able to maintain that stance. Essentially, the owners are trying to sell parity throughout the league to the fans. The players feel that they've essentially been told to take a substantial pay cut despite being told to expect a large amount of growth in the coming years - in this scenario, essentially, the players are cut out of the growth in revenues that they've been told is in the near future. I wouldn't be happy if I were a player in this situation, especially because I'm the reason the owners are able to sell tickets to begin with. The players like the "soft cap" that is currently in place that allows for the mid-level exception, veterans' exception, etc. and also that allows for teams to spend over the cap to keep their own players. They also want a hike in revenue sharing - right now about 25% of league revenues are shared and they point to the NFL model where almost 70% is shared; they fail to recognize though that this large figure is mainly due to the monstrous television deals the NFL is able to pull off that the NBA simply cannot. Again, they're willing to give back 3% of "basketball-related income", which is approximately $100 million per year. I think it's an interesting situation... the issues that need to be rectified in the NBA are much more important than the NFL.

My favorite memory of Gom was all the pointless fantasy trades he always sent me... and then harassed me via AIM about them

This is the best news I've heard all week. I freaking love Liverpool, so the Sox buying them makes it even better. Henry will take care of Liverpool just fine. He will hire those who he trusts to run the soccer-related affairs but keep a watch over it. He will take a big role in PR and maintaining good positive team image. He definitely has the ability to bring Liverpool back to prominence... I want to see Gerrard hoist another Champions League trophy!

I would stand by a claim that stated UNC has the best defense in college football this year. They almost beat LSU without 7 defensive starters (and another 6 players, bringing the total to 13). I still think UNC is a better team than LSU. I also thought UNC could definitely make some noise as a national title contender, but that ship has sailed with the loss to LSU. I think anything less than an ACC Championship is a disappointment for that squad, and they should definitely be thinking BCS bowl this season as an at large or the auto bid into the Orange Bowl.

I still think BC could have beaten USC in the Emerald Bowl last year too.

Prior to the SEC's Golden Age of BCS championships and berths, the ACC was in its own. Miami, FSU, VT were consistently top 10 teams, including the VT-FSU national title game. It has been a down time for the ACC, but to suggest that it is a "cupcake" is a little extreme. Try the Big East and its auto-bid into the (normally) Orange Bowl. North Carolina, Miami, FSU, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Virginia Tech (minus the start of this year) are all teams to which anyone can lose. UNC was missing 8 of its starters and came 2 dropped passes in the end zone from beating LSU.

Aaron Schobel needs to un-retire.

It's a non-capped year, so the Patriots should pay him. They should also sign Aaron Schobel.. the fact that he's possibly willing to take a one-year deal is almost too good to be true.