Losing Early NBA Games Won't Hurt

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

  Losing early NBA games wouldn't hurt                 

                                                       
  Thoughts while waiting for my cold to go        
  away ...                                                  
  [Image] The NBA canceled its preseason schedule           
  this week because of its labor problems, which               
  suggests that a few games at the start of the
  season will also be cancelled.
  [Image] Not a great loss. In fact, the beginning       
  of the NBA season might be better off being
  cancelled.                                            
  [Image] It's tough to choose sides in a labor             
  conflict when everyone seems to be doing great,          
  but I have to go with the owners.
  [Image] As much as I feel that athletes should be         
  able to make as much money as the market allows,         
  the NBA is going to be in for some serious                 
  financial trouble when these $100 million
  contracts kick in.                                     
  [Image] In fact, the huge deals are already
                                                           
  turning fans off, for whatever reason, and that's       
  also cause for concern.                                  
  [Image] David Stern has proven to be one of the
                                                             
  shrewdest commissioners in sports history, and he
  sees the writing on the wall. An NBA without               
  Michael Jordan is going to struggle unless it has         
  competitive balance, and competitive balance is           
  impossible without a hard salary cap.                    
  [Image] The NFL has had great success with the            
  hard cap, maintaining equal competition like no          
  other sport has been able to. Top salaries are            
  capped at about $6 or $7 million, and fewer
  contracts are guaranteed.                            
  [Image] Unlike the NBA, a couple of bad moves in
  the NFL aren't going to handcuff teams for years         
  to come. The NBA instituted the three-year rookie      
  salary cap to try and tone things down, but that     
  just made things worse -- now teams have to
  decide whether to spend $100 million on a             
  22-year-old or just give him up.                            
  Silly.                                        
  The hard salary cap isn't really fair,          
                                                          
  but the NBA could be in serious trouble without
  it. And I'm sure players would rather make a     
  little less money than none at all.                   
                 ------------------

  Has Mo Vaughn played his last game in Boston?                                                
  I hope not, but as long as Nomar
                                                          
  Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez stay put I think         
  everything's going to be all right.                      
  [Image] Nomar is just one of those special
  players who mixes class and ability with ease. He       
  is one of the three best all-around shortstops
  baseball, and has a nice flair for the dramatic.
  [Image] As for Pedro, he's just a phenomenal       
                                                         
  pitcher, whose presence as a starting ace will be        
  felt for a long time with the Boston pitching
  staff. And he's likable, to boot.
  [Image] As for Vaughn, it would be great to see          
  No. 42 playing first again next year. But if he           
  doesn't return, be sure that Dan Duquette will         
  fill that spot with a big-money bat.                        
  Will it be as big as Mo's? Only time will tell.                                                     [personals]
                 ------------------

  I'm not going to try and pretend like           
  I've got a handle on the NHL scene, or pretend
  that I will be following early-season hockey
  much.
  But I will offer a few predictions.
  The Bruins will finish second in the
  new five-team Northeast Division, behind
  Montreal. The Sabres will lose Dominik Hasek to
  injury and finish fourth. The Maple Leafs will
  finish last and like it.
  The Nashville Predators will not win
  the Stanley Cup.
  Mark Messier will retire at the end of
  the year after the Vancouver Canucks lose in the
  first round of the playoffs.
  The Islanders and Mighty Ducks will be
  the season's two big surprises.
  [Image] 5. The Red Wings will win the Stanley Cup
  -- again. Ho hum.
                 ------------------

  It would be a tremendous disappointment
  if anyone but the New York Yankees wins the World
  Series this year, but I don't think we're going
  to have to worry about it too much.
  Of the major sports, baseball is the
  hardest to really dominate, yet the Yankees have
  done it. This team is as close to invincible as
  it gets, with winners at every spot on the field
  and an answer to every question.
  And although a lot of these Yankees are
  store-bought, there are also more than a few
  home-grown stars (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera,
  Shane Spencer) and reclamation projects (Scott
  Brosius, David Cone) to go around.
  Enjoy this team, because we might never
  see a better one.
  Jonathan Comey is a staff writer for The
  Standard-Times.


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