George Vecsey: Lockout Reminds Us To Get A Life

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

George, the New York Times columnist is Peter Vecsey's brother.
   
          November 4, 1998

          SPORTS OF THE TIMES

          The Lockout Reminds Us: Get a Life

              By GEORGE VECSEY

              NEW YORK -- Tuesday night should have been the
              opening game in Madison Square Garden, the Knicks
          against the Celtics, but the entire National Basketball
          Association has been shut down.

          I am considering it a gift from that avuncular chap
          with the beard. Commissioner David Stern and the owners
          and the players have given us at least a couple of
          months, time to take a walk in the falling leaves
          instead of watching the ball go through the hoop,
          incessantly.

          As the wisest man in pro sports, Stern knew there was
          going to be an epic season in baseball that would leave
          people around the country satiated. He sensed it was
          the right time to undo all the mischief the owners have
          done to themselves over the years by paying for what
          they claim they cannot afford. He also knew we could
          tolerate a year off, which puts huge pressure on the
          players.

          There was a century's worth of communal betrayal when
          baseball went down in 1994. There was a feeling of
          deprivation from the fervent hockey minority in 1995. I
          don't feel any of that here.

          I have seen the glazed look on fans in the Garden in
          recent years, real people who paid too much of their
          own money to watch a stagnant team in a stagnant sport
          in a stagnant league, and I have seen the faces of
          people who would not mind getting a few months' worth
          of money back rather than watch Patrick Ewing fire up
          jumpers while falling away from the basket.

          This lockout is a chance for all of us to get our lives
          together. I promise to write more about hockey and
          college hoops and women's sports, find people who still
          pursue sport for joy. Maybe I will even put up with
          Parcells' oafish sarcasm if the Jets are for real.
          <snip>
         


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