Latest word is that the upcoming season will likely be shortened. I think this is optimistic and that there likely won't be a season at all.

Unlike the NFL, where the owners and players would be walking away from countless millions if there was no season, there is no urgency whatsoever in the NBA. A lot of teams are losing money, there is discord between small-market teams and the larger markets in terms of which revenue is shared and the players are finding no shortage of other, foreign leagues to play in while their representatives and the owners figure out a way to get a deal done.

Basketball is my favorite sport, but, I can't say that I'll miss the pro game as I've grown increasingly disenchanted with the NBA over the last several years. Big market teams have too many advantages, the refs are corrupt at worse and incompetent at best, the season is too long, back-to-back scheduling diminishes the competitiveness of the sport and, finally, as a fan, sometimes the game itself seems like a sideshow to the encroaching celebrity-driven, reality TV aspect of the game.

I think it would be best for them to just cancel the season and have the owners and players sit in their respective corners and think about how rotten they are before coming to the table to revive the professional game of basketball. Also: let's hope David Stern retires or is held for ransom by some Mexican drug cartel.This is