Tag: NFL games

SI predicts strong season but no title for Spurs

Back in the day, it was one of the two most eagerly anticipated sports journalism moments at my house each week.

In that halycon area before 24-hour sports networks and message boards, a young reader was happy to get any kind of information apart from the daily sports page. In those days, we got one college football game on television each Saturday, two NFL games on Sunday and no televised NBA games at all until Christmas Day.

So it was always a big event each Friday when the Sports Illustrated arrived with the glossy pictures and flowery writing. On Saturday, the notes and boxscores that arrived each week with the Sporting News were just as keenly awaited.

But both publications still have a special meaning for me and I typically drop what I am doing to at least glance through each publication upon arrival these days. Old habits die hard for  me, even after more than 40 years.

So it was understandable Wednesday that when the Sports Illustrated arrived with its NBA previews, it would be appointment reading.

I was amazed they were able to , which leads me to believe they were ready for a long time and just awaiting the end of the lockout for release.

But whatever. It was still interesting to read what old buddy Sam Amick had to say about the Spurs heading into the season.

Here is the Sports Illustrated preview:

SAN ANTONIO SPURS:

What they’ve got: San Antonio is hoping to get one more ring out of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. While they looked like eventual world champs during a 57-13 start last season, their six-game upset at the hands of the Grizzlies in the first round might have marked the end of an era.

What they need: The Spurs need to figure out the fate of small forward Richard Jefferson and power forward Antonio McDyess. Even if they don’t use the amnesty provision on Jefferson (three years and $30.5 million remaining), the clause makes it easier to move him; his contract would be seen as an expiring one. McDyess hinted at retirement at the end of last season, but has not said definitely what he will do. Rookie forward Kawhi Leonard, out of San Diego State, will help but not enough to offset the loss of guard George Hill, who was traded to the Pacers in June.

Bottom line: The Spurs will win on most nights, but they won’t win it all.

Amick’s observations are cogent and his bottom line is kind of a barometer about what the national media is thinking about the Spurs.

Namely, expect a strong winning season, but don’t be surprised if we see the same kind of ending for the Spurs in the playoffs that has resulted in first-round ousters in two of the last three seasons.

Mike Monroe: NFL a tough act to follow

There is only one reason to believe the end of the NFL lockout will spur the two sides in the NBA’s labor dispute toward a settlement: Pressure to preserve the momentum gathered during a remarkable 2010-11 regular season capped off by a hugely popular playoff run.

It would have been easier to cancel NBA games in November if fans didn’t have NFL games as refuge for their disappointment.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a member of the NFL Management Council Executive Committee, apologized to fans on Monday for making them focus on the business of football rather than what happens on the field.

Kraft’s league won’t miss a single regular-season game, but his apology seemed sincere.

Imagine how Spurs owner Peter Holt, who chairs the NBA Board of Governors player relations committee, will feel if he has to tell fans that the business of basketball means they won’t see a full schedule or perhaps no games at all.

Aside from the added urgency that goes with being the lone league locked out, though, there is not much for the NBA’s owners or players to take from the NFL settlement as a template for progress.

Remember: NFL owners never claimed their business model was broken. Indeed, the league never had to turn over its books to the players because it never said it wasn’t turning a profit. The ink on the league’s bottom line was set in less type, but it wasn’t red.

The NBA turned over its financial records to the National Basketball Players Association, and while the union is suspicious, it hasn’t disputed some losses were incurred.

The players steadfastly have rejected the notion they should accept enormous salary givebacks to ensure annual profitability for the teams, which is what the owners have asked them to do.

The NFL’s players settled for a deal that cut their chare of league revenue by about 3 percent. Conversely, the NBPA has been asked to swallow a double-digit dip.

Revenue sharing, the players believe, must be a bigger part of the answer to the NBA’s problem. In this instance, there is something to be learned from the NFL. All the teams in the pro football league share equally in its enormous network TV deals. In the NBA, teams like the Lakers and Knicks benefit from local media packages that simply aren’t feasible in smaller markets. Some other form of revenue sharing is required.

The NBA says it has robust changes in its revenue sharing program running on a “parallel track” with its negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The owners say that is an internal discussion, so we haven’t heard a peep about that yet.

Commissioner David Stern enjoys pointing out that you can’t revenue share your way out of a net loss.

So now football is back, and basketball has allowed an entire month to go by without a single negotiating session. The two sides won’t meet again until mid-August because of something about awaiting a ruling by the molasses-slow National Labor Relations Board.

Meanwhile, a lot of players are angling for jobs overseas. The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant has had his representatives talk with Besiktas, the Turkish team that already has signed Deron Williams of the Nets.

This is moderately tangible pressure on the NBA to get back to bargaining. Lakers owner Jerry Buss, for one, probably would prefer his star not put his shaky knees at risk playing with Besiktas.

Ultimately, the only real urgency in any labor stalemate is applied by hard economics. Just as the NFL’s talks didn’t get serious until training camps were threatened, the NBA’s talks will drag until truly meaningful dates start getting scratched — not the summer league or rookie transition program.

mikemonroe@express-news.net