Friday, November 4, 2011

NBA lockout, LaRussa and Vegas Picks

Lately I don't like the person that I'm becoming on a social level. I've spent these last few days reading about Lindsay Lohan going to jail for 30 days, watching Kim Kardashian realize after 72 days that just because you play in the NBA doesn't mean you're black and watching episodes of Whitney on Hulu. These are not in my normal routine for early November.

What I should be doing is salivating over my team I just drafted in my fantasy hoops league. Blogging about how unimportant the regular season is for Lebron James. Hoping whoever the Bulls picked up as their 2 guard would be the final piece to the puzzle for a championship run. Laughing at Charles and Kenny. Depositing my Vegas wagers in a safe box waiting to collect at the end of the season. I should be riding the wave of the most entertaining season in the NBA since Jordan and Pippen, but nooooooo - I have to suffer through an NBA lockout.

This lockout is maddening cause it's just so simple to see the problem. The owners are clearly in the wrong, but they have all the leverage, and the players know that the owners are wrong so egotistically speaking, they are trying to stand their ground, even though there is no ground for them to stand on. I get it - when I'm in the right, I'm in the right, consequences be damned! It's a fault, because it's an ability on my part to put my ego in check, and that's what the players union is going through right now. They can't win, so holding out is only taking money (not the money they want) out of their pockets. I admit a slightly bigger-than-small part wants them to hold out and say, "F**K you, this deal is fair, and we will hold our ground." As a matter of fact, Derek Fisher should channel his inner William Wallace and attend the next meeting in war paint.

The question is this: why are the owners in the wrong? Let's assume that everything we hear is true, that they have come to a mutual agreement on all principles of the contract except for the revenue generated through basketball. They are fighting over roughly 2.5% of the income, which doesn't seem like a lot, but considering the length of the contract and other mathematical equations, it's about 1 to 1.2 BILLION DOLLARS. (Picture David Stern holding his pinkie up to his lip when he says that, hilarious!)

Okay, the players have willingly come down already 4.5% - that's a lot of Kardashian. (Money is sometimes called loot, and loot is sometimes called booty, ergo Kardashian. I know, I'm genius.) When you consider that and the fact that the owners are paying outlandish contracts to mediocre players, they have only themselves to blame. I knew Michael Redd wasn't worth $105 million, and I know that Joe Johnson shouldn't get paid as much as Kobe Bryant - how the hell don't they know? The longer the lockout continues, the worse the situation will get because the owners will be losing money, and since they hold all the leverage it wouldn't surprise me if they lower their offer to the players to get that money back.

Kudos to Tony LaRussa for retiring and going down as the 3rd best manager/coach in my lifetime behind Phil Jackson and Scotty Bowman. Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball and led the Cards to a second WS title, but no way the Cards should give him 200 million dollars. If Cliff Lee stayed with the Rangers, they probably win the World Series, but he leaves to go to the Phillies and then his one playoff outing probably cost the Phillies a World Series - that's crazy, boo.

Last week I went 500 on my Vegas picks, but this week is a no-brainer.

Bears +8.5 on a bye week: Lovie and the Bears are tough, and they own Vick.
Falcons-7: Atlanta is hitting a nice little stride, and the Colts, well...they are not.
Chiefs -4: Confidence and home field advantage is enough for the winless Fins.
Jets +2: The Bills can throw it, but not against the Jets.
Chargers +6: All signs point to the Packers struggling against this seemingly winnable game.

Bonus
LSU +5: That's a lot of points for a team that's going to win outright.
Arkansas -4: S. Carolina doesn't have the offense to keep up with the Razorbacks.
Nebraska-17: Northwestern will be overwhelmed in Lincoln.

If I go 8-0, I suspect that some of you will be able to go x-mas shopping - you're welcome!

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