"The gap is so significant that we just can't bridge it at this time," said Stern, who added it's doubtful a full 82-game season can be played. (via ESPN)

"Despite extensive efforts, we have not been able to reach a new agreement with the players' union that allows all 30 teams to be able to compete for a championship while fairly compensating our players," NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said. (via press release)

Union director Billy Hunter made that statement in a telephone interview with ESPN.com, saying the commissioner's assertion of the severity of the owners' financial woes "just doesn't hold water." "I'm preparing for a lockout right now and I haven't seen anything to change that notion. Hopefully I'll see something over the next several months," Hunter said. "As of this moment, it's full speed ahead for me in preparing the players for a worst-case scenario." Hunter, who also spoke Wednesday to several other news organizations, said the players do not believe the owners' claim that they lost a combined $370 million last season -- a statement Stern reiterated in public comments Monday following an owners meeting in Las Vegas. "There might not be any losses at all. It depends on what accounting procedure is used," Hunter said. "If you decide you don't count interest and depreciation, you already lop off 250 of the 370 million dollars, and everything else was predicated upon what they were projecting, which was a decline in attendance that didn't happen. Attendance was the second-highest ever." (via ESPN)

"Part of the problem with the existing system is it's based largely on revenue, not net revenue," Silver said Monday. "Although our actual revenue numbers were better than what we projected, it came at a large cost. Our teams did a spectacular job in a down economy of increasing ticket sales, but that came at the cost of additional promotions, additional marketing, additional staff."

Tim Donaghy...NBA gambling pioneer?

One part “All Star game in Las Vegas” + one part “recession” + one part “$175M loan” = Legalized Gambling?

Maybe that isn’t the NBA’s equation, but it sure does look like they’re leaning that way.  SI’s Ian Thomsen interviewed NBA commissioner David Stern, and a very candid Stern didn’t completely shut down the idea of legalized gambling on NBA games, even in light of the Tim Donaghy betting scandal.  Some excerpts,

“We used [the Donaghy revelations] as an opportunity to get better, to coordinate with law enforcement and go through a variety of processes that I don’t necessarily want to detail publicly, but you are on ready alert,” he said. “And we’re mindful of what can happen, because we’re more-than-interested bystanders in the European football scandal. Two-hundred [soccer] games are being looked at by law enforcement across the continent. It’s fascinating to see what’s happening. And we’re mindful of the cricket [2007 World Cup match-fixing] issues, of the football referees in Germany — there’s a lot going on.”

Then he made a new point. “The betting issues are actually going to become more intense as states in the U.S. and governments in the world decide that the answers to all of their monetary shortfalls are the tax that is gambling.”

I asked Stern if it is in the best interests of his league to seek legalization of sports betting. He sighed with his head down, as if to emphasize the gravity of what he was going to say.

“It has been a matter of league policy to answer that question, ‘No,’ ” he said. “But I think that that league policy was formulated at a time when gambling was far less widespread — even legally.”

What has changed, Stern acknowledged, is that the NBA can no longer oppose gambling on moral grounds.

“Considering the fact that so many state governments — probably between 40 and 50 — don’t consider it immoral, I don’t think that anyone [else] should,” Stern went on. “It may be a little immoral, because it really is a tax on the poor, the lotteries. But having said that, it’s now a matter of national policy: Gambling is good. (via CNNSi)

Wow.  That really just happened.  A high ranking person actually didn’t take the political angle, and actually played one side of the fence.  Lets just stop for a moment and take that all in…

*moment*

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, this is the part where everyone looks unsurprised.

The sports climate is ever changing.  How can you expect rules that were made 30 and 40 years ago to govern now in 2009?  When everything else about the game has changed (even look at the rule changes in the last 10 years in the NBA) who could possibly expect the business rules surrounding the NBA to remain rigid?  Its simply a matter of evolution.

But its more than just evolution that will bring legalized sports betting to the NBA at sometime in the future; its the revenue source.  A large majority of American business are capitalistic by nature.  The NBA is no exception to this rule.  That being said, if there is a legitimate, potentially legal revenue source out there…why wouldn’t they at least explore the opportunity let alone implement it?  Even if you throw out the capitalist mindset, the NBA has another reason to look into legalized gambling.  They need the money.  “Need the money” not in a greedy sort of way, no, more along the lines of long term viability.  That $175M loan wasn’t borrowed to give the NBA a $175 million dollar surplus; teams needed it.  The Maloofs didn’t disband the Monarchs because they developed a hatred for women’s basketball…attendance was low and so was revenue.  Think of the revenue the NBA could pull in from a legalized gambling scheme that they had control over, or could take a substantial piece of the revenue from…The revenue brought in from illegal betting on NFL games has to total at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars every year.  Even if the NBA only got a portion of that, I think they’d be quite content.

Not that the NBA is in danger of folding in the next few years.  On the other hand though, they also aren’t walking around with a billion dollar surplus either.  A little extra money never hurt anything, right?

Of course, any league looking to accept the idea of legalized gambling also has to realize the threat that gambling can bring to the integrity of the game. If nothing else, the Donaghy scandal showed this. How easy is it for a rogue referee to change the outcome of a game?  And if gambling was legal, how many more people would wager on those games and run the risk of losing their money due to an unnatural outcome?  Stern’s point in the article about gambling preying on the lower classes would all too easily come to fruition.  Even with that threat though, Stern does recognize the possibilities legalized gambling could bring,

“You’re right about the threat that we perceive, and we stay on it,” said Stern of the menace of illegal gambling rings. “I think the threat is the same legal and illegal — the threat is there.

“Gambling, however it may have moved closer to the line [of becoming acceptable], is still viewed on the threat side,” he said. “Although we understand fully why, buried within that threat there may be a huge opportunity as well.”

That all being said, I can’t quite figure out if the NBA lost its morality a long time ago, and now its okay to admit it because no one was really up at arms about the Donaghy scandal, or if the recession has finally forced the league to look for other sources of revenue to ensure the NBA doesn’t live “from check-to-check”.  Who knows, maybe all of sports was excited when the FBI caught up to Donaghy because now they could gauge public reaction and potentially focused on a large untapped revenue stream?

I’ll leave that to the Conspiracy Theorists…

Someone once said, “Adversity introduces a man to himself“.  The NBA, and sports in general are going through some adverse times.  Cutbacks, layoffs, and contraction have brought new ideas to the forefront, some of which were previously taboo — practice jersey sponsorship, lenient black-out rules, on-court liquor ads…For better or for worse, the sports landscape is shifiting and is forcing leagues to look at the different weapons they can use to find streams of revenue.  Legalized gambling is one of those weapons that I predict will see a lot of usage in the not too distant future.

The NBA is headed to Mexico, for a pre-season game of EPIC proportions!  Well, maybe not epic, but two of the leagues, better than average teams, the Phoenix Suns and the Philadelphia 76ers will vie for Mexican preseason greatness, in Monterrey, on October 18th, 2009.

The game marks the NBA’s 18th trip into Mexico, and the first trip back to Monterrey since the classic Warriors/Nuggets Monterrey battle in 2006. (Yes, that one. I know you remember it. The teams were scoring baskets and stuff, and playing defense)

All jokes aside though, this idea of “basketball in Mexico” still goes back to the NBA trying to expand its market. Everyone and their mom has to realize by now that the NBA, along with every other sport, is trying to globalize itself.  In fact, a little over a year ago, there was talk about the NBA expanding into Europe,

The current idea would be to create five new teams in major markets to form a “European” division within the NBA. The teams would play the full 82-game schedule and compete for the NBA championship. But the proposal is new and many factors will influence the eventual outcome, the league source said.

Why not go to Mexico instead?  Mexico wouldn’t have one of the larger hurdles you’d encounter with a European NBA (namely, travel all the way to Europe), and it seems like a more natural fit to use American commercials/advertising propaganda with our neighbors to the south.  You also would encounter less of the politically-charged, old-world basketball federations which seem to exist all over Europe.  The issue that would still be encountered, of course, is whether or not the market can sustain an NBA franchise (remember when the Sonics were in Seattle?).  Sure, you may sell out one pre-season game, but can you sell out 40 regular season home games and 10 other preseason games as well?

If David Stern is hell-bent on expansion, and he is, why not spend the marketing and advertising dollars on Mexico first, instead of immediately crossing the ocean to get to Europe or China?  Doesn’t it just make more sense to build a successful model in your back yard before you travel down the street to your friend’s house to try to impress him with something that may or may not work?  And, on the other hand, if the experiment fails…why not fail close to home, in an effort to possibly save some money?

The NBA…where expansion happens. Well, maybe…if we can get people to come to the games on a regular basis and spend their money….then, yeah, expansion all the way.

(It’s amazing…so amazing…so amazing…so amazing…)

Sports Business Digest — 2014 NBA All Star Game to be held in Frankfurt, Germany

In the NBA’s never ending quest to expand its league and enhance its brand on a global level, the NBA has partnered with the China Mengniu Dairy Co. and Shandong Satellite TV, to create the NBA’s first reality show, called ‘Mengniu NBA Basketball Disciple’ (because if nothing else, subtle stereo-types involving Asians and martial arts disciplines always work!).  More info from Ad Age,

The show will follow a three-month basketball competition starting with public tryouts in 64 cities in China. The players will compete in a variety of skills competitions and be awarded points based on performance in four rounds.

Following a final all-star game in the last round, the player with the most cumulative points will be crowned the most valuable player of the competition and win an all-expenses-paid trip to the U.S. for a tryout with a team from the NBA’s minor league.

Former NBA players such as Darryl Dawkins, who played with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets, scouts and a coach will appear throughout the series to run competitions, evaluate players, award points and determine which competitors advance to the next round. An NBA mascot and dance team will also be on-site to provide entertainment for NBA fans.

Basketball in China...yes, I like it.

This may just be “Stern-ian” logic at its finest.  One of the hurdles facing Stern with any attempts to expand the NBA league, or to create sub-leagues overseas, is ensuring a basketball economy/marketplace exists in the areas he is seeking expansion.  China already has a large NBA marketplace (Thanks Yao Ming!), but why not try to bolster that marketplace before bringing an NBA team there?  Or, better point, why not put this sort of TV vehicle in a spot where you know it will thrive, so that you can use it as selling point in venues that may not be as receptive to the NBA product (i.e. countries in Europe).  This reality show kills both of those birds with one stone, because if nothing else…people love to follow reality shows with a winner at the end (see any season of American Idol), and the NBA will obviously have its brand plastered all over the show, so they get the brand enhancement and recognition they crave at the same time.

Even if that logic inexplicably fails, and I would be surprised if it would, the show will also help to increase the NBA’s foreign fan base (or bolster it).  The winner gets a shot with a D-League team?  Does anyone else think that a Chinese player who won an American Idol-type competition who now plays on a D-League squad would maybe garner some attention for the D-League?  And with the potentially large number of Chinese people who would follow a Chinese player, could we potentially see the NBA contracting with ESPN or some provider to show D-League games on their network?  Sure, Americans would probably not be that interested, but if you had a few million Chinese people that would definitely tune in to see that one winner of the show…how could the networks pass that up?  The NBA has the ability to create what is possibly a lucrative revenue stream in an area where I’m assuming little revenue is currently being generated…all by expanding their audience on a global scale.

That all being said, how can you argue that sports shouldn’t go global?  And even if you did argue that, how would your argument not fall on deaf ears?  I don’t know if David Stern is going to be able to hear you while he’s diving into his Scrooge McDuck money-swimming pool.

Ad Age — NBA creates its first reality show in China

But enough of that!  There are loose ties to make between the president and sports that must be made before the day ends!

In all seriousness though, everyone knows by now that our new president is a huge basketball fan, even taking to playing pick up games routinely before big events (i.e. election day).  Many of you are probably also aware that the White House does not have an indoor basketball court….but it does have the bowling alley installed under Richard Nixon’s presidency.  Obama, in his ever loving need to “Shoot the J, Shoot it!” (c) Prince is thinking about razing the bowling alley and replacing it with a B-ball court.  Of course, that has put the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of Americas’ “balls” in an uproar.    WSJ has more,

The bowling lobby is concerned that talk of removing the White House lane — which was built under the north driveway — will have a negative impact on their sport. In an effort to change the president’s mind, top bowling associations have offered to refurbish the lane with a state-of-the-art scoring system, high-tech bowling balls designed to grip the lane and a digital surround-sound system.

“It would be a sad, sad day” if Mr. Obama scrapped the bowling lane, says Jim Sturm, president of the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America and owner of two bowling centers in Charleston, W.Va. “I think his political analysts ought to take a long look at removing [it]. It could have a long-term impact on his political prospects.”

Pure comedy.  Did Jim Sturm really just imply that the BPAA has power like a union? or the teamsters?  Were the candidates out trying to pull the Bowling Vote during the primaries and I just missed it?  And was their also an implication that bowling will be negatively impacted because Obama took the bowling alley out?  Did interest in (insert Bush’s favorite sport here, because I don’t know what it is) increase because Bush liked it?  Is the White House bowling alley the difference between Bowling being equivalent to baseball or miniature golf?  I don’t think so.  Hilarious try, nonetheless, Mr. Sturm.  Well played.

As for the basketball court?  You better believe that David Stern sees it as a potential publicity opportunity for the NBA…

National Basketball Association officials have reached out to members of the transition team to offer their services in installing a regulation court at the White House.

If “there is an upgrading of the basketball facilities at the White House, you can be assured that the NBA and the players will be there,” says NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Good marketing for the NBA, obviously, I just hope that Mr. Stern doesn’t feel compelled to use Wizards players, just cause they’re close by.  That definitely sounds like a job for LeBron, Kobe, Shaq, D-Wade, etc.

So, sure, the president can make claims of ending the war in Iraq, finding new energy sources, and lowering unemployment, but can he keep the all important “10-pin” vote if he decides to run for re-election?

That still remains to be seen.

Wall Street Journal — Obama’s basketball-playing cabinet

…NBA officials are pledging to consider changes to the playoff format — ranging from small to radical — that could be implemented in time for next season’s playoffs.

But the most likely scenario, according to various league sources, is no change to the current format.

NBA commissioner David Stern echoed that view Friday night when speaking to reporters in Philadelphia before the 76ers played Detroit, saying: “Although I think it’s unlikely anything will happen, I think we’re going to explore it fully.”

Potential playoff changes include, re-seeding after each series is over or allowing the best 16 teams into the playoffs regardless of conference. The likely problems include being able to work with the NBA’s television partners (i.e. ESPN & TNT) if a “re-seeding” format occurred, and the obvious gripes that the Eastern Conference would have if only the best 16 teams were taken (because half of the eastern conference would never make the playoffs)

So…it seems unlikely that we’ll see a new playoff format anytime soon, but a better question is, “Do we need a new playoff format?” I think the answer to that question is a resounding “Yes”. The NBA has always been built individual star-power moreso than fundamental team basketball. Therefore, it would seemingly behoove the NBA to include as many exciting superstars in the playoffs as possible. Now, I’m not specifically saying that the Hawks shouldn’t be in the playoffs and the Warriors should (especially when the Hawks just beat the C’s to tie the series at 2), but it does seem unfair and not necessarily profitable to exclude Baron Davis and the run n’ gun team which seemingly brought the most excitement to last years’ playoffs, especially when the NBA is struggling with their Post-season broadcast ratings.

ESPN: While ‘unlikely’, NBA to discuss possible changes to playoff format

• This obsession with Allison Stokke is quickly getting out of control, yes? Better question…does it bother you?

• So…Is Jake Long the #1 Pick in the 2008 NFL Draft?

• Its the one year anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech…and people are still healing. (via The Big Lead)

• I know you’ve been waiting on news about the Independent Womens Football League…Joe Favorito delivers, of course.

• David Stern’s never-ending quest to make basketball a global sport took him to the Philippines and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

We go first to Las Vegas, where REI Neon has just picked up a 30 day extension to negotiate with the city to bring a sports complex to downtown Las Vegas. Negotiations were seemingly at a stand-still previously, but are now looking up due to the possible inclusion of the Cordish Company, who’s projects include two Hard Rock Cafe casinos in Florida and St. Louis. More info from the Las Vegas Review Journal,

[Las Vegas Mayor, Oscar] Goodman said Cordish representatives have met twice with him and principals from REI Neon, that he had a “very positive conversation” with those involved Thursday afternoon and another meeting is scheduled Tuesday.

“We believe there’s probably going to be an announcement at the meeting of another partner in the deal,” said Scott Adams, the city’s director of business development.

While the two sides seem to still be haggling over money (about $200 million dollars worth of financing are still unaccounted for), things seem to be moving in the right direction. My question is, “What kind of sports team will Las Vegas get?” David Stern seems to have his hands full with his European League and the Seattle Oklahoma City Seattle SuperSonics, so he may be a little too busy to work on moving an NBA team to Vegas…that and he’s afraid that Vegas provides too much of a distraction for his players (David Stern does not want the NBA’s version of Pacman Jones). The other viable “major” sport option is a hockey team. Hockey’s problems have been well documented on this blog already, and I honestly don’t think they could handle another team right now without raising ticket prices to astronomical heights. In short, Vegas will have a new stadium soon. I don’t know who’s going to play in it, but, its always nice to say you have a stadium, right?

In other stadium news it looks like the Marlins 8 year search for a long term home has finally ended. Yesterday, the team and the Miami-Dade County commission reached a tentative agreement for a new stadium. Although there are still some details to work out; namely the formula to determine whether/when county or city security personnel will be used, the Marlins should be playing in their new home by 2011. From MLB.com,

Construction is scheduled to start by November, with the stadium ready for the opening of the 2011 season. The Marlins’ Dolphin Stadium lease, long a problem because the club did not share in parking or concession revenues, expires after the 2010 season.

The stadium cost is estimated at $525 million, and the city has agreed to build an on-site, 6,000-space parking lot at an additional approximate cost of $94 million.

The county’s tab adds up to $347 million, all but $50 million to be derived from tourist-tax revenues. The Marlins, who will contribute $155 million, will get $120 million in loans, and the other $35 million will be fronted by the county and paid back through yearly rent payments of $2.3 million.

In addition to building the parking garage, the city picks up $23 million, including $10 million for the demolition and cleanup of the Orange Bowl, the site of the new stadium.

The stadium, which the county will own, is slated to have 37,000 seats, including 3,000 club seats and 60 suites. It also will have a retractable roof, as it often rains — or threatens to — in the late afternoon during South Florida summers.

Under the agreement, the Marlins would have to change their name to the Miami Marlins by 2011. Sarah Talalay, over at the Sun Sentinel, is reporting that the locals aren’t too happy about this decision. The rest of Florida though? They’re probably ready to give the Marlins back to Miami.

Finally, in what right definitely looks like the coolest, and I at least hope functional stadium, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have made a proposal for a new stadium which if approved would be completed by 2012. The $450 million dollar stadium would allow Rays hitters (or opposing hitters) to “hit the ball into the bay” ala the Giants AT&T ballpark. The best part though? The stadium roof will consist of a retractable sail-like material. From Mop Up Duty,

The new stadium would be open to the elements but could be covered with sail-like material on a cabling system when necessary. Fans or other devices would provide cooling, and some seating areas would have air-conditioning.

The stadium would be built on the site of the longtime spring training facility the team is leaving next year. But the new field would be shifted so that balls hit over the rightfield fence would splash into the water.

The design is expected to beretro-style, popular among recent ballparks. The smaller capacity (approximately 35,000)also reflects the recent trend in ballpark design. The proposed site of Al Lang stadium is only about 10 acres, which would mean no more free parking to which Tampa fans have grown accustomed.

Yes, its the Rays. Yes, they’re horrible…but if their new stadium looks like this proposed artists rendition (from Mop Up Duty), then I will go down to at least one game…

So, as I said earlier…new stadiums, they’re all the rage. Obviously, I don’t foresee these stadiums boosting attendance for too long, and with Vegas, I’m still not sure what team they’re going to attract, but at least they have (hopefully) shiny new stadiums, right? New Stadiums…it always cures what ails you. For a little while

Las Vegas Review Journal: Developers Could Get New Partner

Sports Business Digest: 2014 NBA All-Star Game to be held in Frankfurt, Germany

Sports Business Digest: Sonics in Seattle in 2009? What happened?

Sports Business Digest: Hockey corporate sponsorship…now on goalies!

Major League Baseball: Marlins ballpark plan approved

Mop Up Duty: New stadium for the Rays?