Tag: National Basketball Association

Talks turn cold, more games canceled

After all the excitement that came out of Thursday’s bargaining sessions, some pundits were excited that an 82-game NBA schedule potentially could be saved.

Unfortunately, Friday’s breakdown in the talks has killed those ideas along with adding another round of cancellations.

All of the November games have now been cancelled as we’ve passed the 120-day mark of the lockout.

The tripping point in Friday’s talks was how the percentage of basketball-related income would be divvied up. Owners aren’t budging on a 50 percent split. Players, who had a 57 percent split in the last contract, aren’t willing to dip below 52.5 percent.

That leaves a $100 million gap that apparently can’t be bridged – at least at this time.

After making some movement in other issues, David Stern and Billy Hunter attacked the biggest obstacle Friday. Neither side is willing to budge.

There is no day set for a resumption of talks.

Prepare for more games than the ones in November to be missed.

Shaq vows to ‘handle’ Barkley on upcoming NBA broadcasts

Shaquille O’Neal is as anxious to see the end of the NBA lockout as anybody else.

O’Neal will move on to his new career as analyst for TNT after his retirement earlier this year from the Boston Celtics.

In his new role, O’Neal told the New York Times he will be able to snatch airtime in the broadcasts from the bombastic Charles Barkley.

“I’m going to get all the airtime,” O’Neal told the Times. “I’m going to handle him like I’ve always handled him. I’m going to knock him out if I have to.”

We think that O’Neal is jesting, but considering his spirited rivalry with “The Round Mound of Rebound” earlier in his career we can’t be sure.

Here’s a You Tube video of one of Barkley’s confrontations when he was playing with Houston Rockets and O’Neal was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.

NBA expected to cancel more regular-season games on Tuesday

By Houston Chronicle

According to the , the NBA plans to cancel two more weeks of the regular season on Tuesday.

The latest cancellation would run through Nov. 28 and total at least 102 games.

The lockout began July 1 and there appears to be no end in sight as talks between the owners and players union broke down late last week. No talks have been scheduled for this week.