Sports Without the NBA

For me, the end of the NBA season has always been a sad time for me. Obviously a major reason for that is because I have been a basketball player since I was a young child, but its also because I am an avid basketball fan. I'm even beginning to see myself as a coach once my playing career is over. My favorite sports are basketball and football at both the college and pro levels. So when the NBA season ends, I don't get excited about sports until the NBA Draft and the NBA summer league starts. I support the San Francisco Giants, San Jose Sharks, Tiger Woods, and the Williams sisters, but I have never been able to sit down and watch the PGA Tour, Tennis, the NHL or the MLB. You can probably imagine that NFL going on lockout was a big blow to me because until they resolve their issues, I'm left with just one pro sport to watch. Being that basketball is my favorite, coping with nothing but the NBA was not going to be difficult at all. However, a blow bigger than the NFL lockout has been dealt to me and other fellow basketball fans; the NBA has joined the NFL and gone on strike. Its been going on for about a week now and its one of the most terrible things I've ever seen. Although there wouldn't normally be anything to watch at this time of the year in NBA, the uncertainty of not knowing if the league will return after such a wonderful season is killing me and its killing thousands if not millions around the world. Sports is just not the same with this lingering uncertainty. Have you watched SportsCenter, Around the horn or Pardon the Interuption lately? They have nothing to talk about. I don't even think a baseball fan could watch show after show of nothing but baseball, because other than the status of the two lockouts, they only talk about baseball. Suddenly, SportsCenter is not so exciting anymore. Kornheizer and Wilbon aren't so enlightening when they talk day after day about Cliff Lee and Pablo Sandoval. Even they will tell you, Sports just does not have its usual kick without the NBA being active. Athletes from the other sports, come to NBA games when they are not participating in their own sports. They too know that there is nothing like the game of basketball and it isn't played better anywhere else than it is in the NBA. Owners and players of the National Basketball Association, you both are blessed to be able to make millions of dollars and live life styles that so few ever get to live. This should implore you to get a deal done so that fan like myself and others don't suffer. You should all be ashamed that you're all rich and yet you still find a way to argue about money. I'm not going to voice whose side I'm on or who's right and who's wrong in all of this. If I was David Stern, I'd get Obama to step in and end this foolishness by either forcing everyone to deal with what was the collective bargaining agreement or kicking everyone out of the NBA who has a problem and bringing in athletes and owners who actually appreciate the blessings of being in the league. The president would surely agree that millionaires arguing over money is ridiculous. End the lockout!