It was the most-watched Super Bowl in NFL history. More than 91 million viewers tuned in to see if Tom Brady and the New England Patriots could complete a perfect season by defeating Eli Manning and the New York Giants. The Giants entered the game as a 12 point underdog and won three road games in order to advance to the Super Bowl.

Ultimately, the Giants won the Super Bowl XLII on a pass from Manning to Plaxico Burress with less than one minute to go. The victory brought joy to Giants fans who last celebrated a championship in 1991 (Super Bowl XXV). As for Patriots fans, there’s no doubt that the loss still stings today.

Fast forward to 2012, the Giants and Patriots survived the NFL lockout and they are back in the Super Bowl to face each other in a much anticipated rematch.

Super Bowl XLVI is the clash of the owner titans. Kraft vs. Mara and Tisch – Winner Takes All.

Here’s the Tale of the Tape…

Mara and Tisch Families

If you had the chance to invest $500 ($6165 inflation adjustment) in a risky business and after 87 years of blood, sweat, and tears it would be worth $1.3 billion, would you do it? Yes, of course. That’s the story of the Tim Mara and the New York Giants.

In 1925, he took a chance and purchased the team when football operated in the shadow of other sports, and the United States was on the verge of its first economic meltdown: The Great Depression.

Mara probably had no idea that his investment would grow exponentially, and today his grandson, John Mara, is fulfilling the family legacy by serving as the President and CEO of the franchise. He’s joined by co-owners, Jonathan Tisch and Steve Tisch, who stepped into the Treasure and Chairman & Executive Vice President roles respectively in 2005 (Their father Preston Robert Tisch purchased 50% of the team in 1991).

The Giants have the second-longest tenured family in the NFL, and they have won one Super Bowl under the current Mara and Tisch ownership team. Together they constructed the $1.4 billion MetLife Stadium and weathered the “seat license” storm; groomed a QB who is no longer known as “Peyton’s little brother”; stood by their head coach countless times when fans wanted him out; and worked long hours to ensure that football would be played this season.

Robert Kraft

How do you become a sports legend without stepping foot on the field? Figure out how to turn a bad team into a good one, and save it from being moved out of town.

When Robert Kraft purchased the Patriots in 1994, he paid a record $172 million. What was once a brave business move, has transformed into a sound business investment as the team is now valued at $1.4 billion.

Since buying the Patriots, Kraft built a 68,756 capacity stadium with a $325 million price tag; hired one of the smartest and toughest coaches in the league; advanced to five Super Bowls and won three (2002, 2004, 2005); signed a 199^th draft  QB who turned out to ; and helped end the 4 ½ month lockout with class and integrity.

And The Winner Is…

It’s estimated that the NFL is a $10 billion-a-year business, and 110 million viewers will watch the game on Sunday. Just looking at those numbers alone, it’s clear that both owners will certainly win this weekend. However, we all know that professional sports isn’t just about business, there are glorious wins and defeating losses. The battle will be settled on the field Super Bowl Sunday.

Peter King, wrote a great piece about Kraft and his bold leadership, which transformed the Patriots from the laughingstock of the league into a model franchise.

Generally, I’m not superstitious but you can’t deny the fact that after gracing the cover of sports illustrated many athletes and teams have fallen victim to the SI Jinx.

This season supporting actor in the dunk of the year goes to OKC’s Kendrick Perkins. Yes, this is a nightmare for Perkins – no one wants to be on receiving end of a dunk like this. But you have to admit that dunk was amazing.

Who else is loving this dunk? Other than Clipper’s fans, I’m sure Clippers owner Donald Sterling is still smiling ear-to-ear.

Here’s footage of both dunks. Which one is best? You be the judge.

Good Night Sports Fans, 

Alana 

Yes, it was incredible and it will be on highlight reels for seasons to come. But when I saw that dunk, the first thing that popped into my head was Vince Carter’s dunk in the 2000 Olympics.

Do you remember that? Vince stole the ball, took off just below the free throw line and then dunked one-handed over a seven foot center from France. Yes, he earned the nickname Half-Man Half-Amazing.

As nasty as LeBron’s dunk was today, I still think Vince has the crown – hands down.

Here are the videos…you be the judge.

Thoughts are running through your head about the league suffering from low attendance, TV viewership and sponsorships. Not to mention you’ve heard countless rumors about the WNBA being a drain on the NBA’s resources.

Let me stop you right there. Those thoughts are far from reality.

The truth is that during the WNBA’s 15^th season it experienced an increase in attendance and TV viewership, and the league landed a marquee sponsorship with Boost Mobile. As for resources, several WNBA owners have said that despite the economic downturn their teams are on pace to turn a profit within the next several seasons.

So, what can WNBA players teach you about business? A lot.

It’s a little-known fact that more than 90% of WNBA players are college graduates. For many reasons the concept of “one and done” doesn’t exist in the WNBA. As a result the league is full of players who are not only skilled on the court, but also in the classroom.

WNBA players are not going to college to bide their time until they are eligible for the pros. They’re going to college because they know that life on the basketball court won’t last forever.

Recently, I caught up with four WNBA players (Cappie Pondexter, Tammy Sutton-Brown,Essence Carson, and Asjha Jones) who are all “business” on and off the court.

Here are five lessons that WNBA players can teach you about business:

1. Identify Your Passion And You’ll Find Your Business

Cappie Pondexter is a two-time WNBA Champion, WNBA All-Star, one the Top 15 players in WNBA history and the New York Liberty’s franchise guard. Those who don’t follow women’s basketball regularly, probably had their first introduction to Pondexter this past summer when her pick-up game with then locked-out NBA players went viral on the internet.

She grew up in Chicago and played at Rutgers University. During those days she was accustomed to wearing comfortable athletic clothing but admits everything changed once she was drafted into the WNBA.

“When I got drafted I realized that it’s all about your image and it’s very important to have an image and to establish a brand. A lot of times coming out of college and high school, you really don’t know the importance and how marketable you can be off the court,” said Pondexter.

Now she has turned her passion for fashion and branding into full-time business.

In 2010, she co-founded 4Season Style Management, an image consulting firm, specializing in helping clients develop a strong first impression through image development. Additionally, it provides services such as personal shopping, wardrobe and fashion styling, and image management.

Pondexter believes that whether you’re an athlete or an everyday person, it’s important to establish your brand and let people know and recognize what your brand means to you.

She acknowledges that it has been challenging managing a WNBA career, an overseas basketball career (currently she’s playing in Ekat, Russia), and a full-time business, but she credits her partner, Lisa Smith Craig, for taking a lot of pressure off of her.

When asked whether she’s pursuing this second career out of necessity or choice, Pondexter responded, “For me, my second venture is by choice. I think it is important to prepare outside of playing professionally because that window is so small where you’re able to make a lump sum of money, whether male or female. And if you look at the statistics a lot of men waste money and they blow a lot of money and they don’t know what to do next. So I think not just for women. I think it’s important for all athletes period to get second careers for when basketball is over.”

Over the next five years, Pondexter wants 4Season Style Management to be known as an international brand as well as a domestic brand. Personally, she has the additional goal of being recognized not just as a great basketball player, but a stylish female who plays sports.

2. Sell What You Know And Love

When Tammy Sutton-Brown left Ontario, Canada and enrolled at Rutgers University she had plans of becoming a teacher – at that time the WNBA didn’t exist. Seasons later, Sutton-Brown found herself leading the Scarlett Knights to the 2000 NCAA Women’s Final Four and being the 18^th pick in the 2001 WNBA draft.  

Quickly, her dream of becoming a teacher was put on hold to pursue “hoop dreams” instead. Over the course of her career, she has circled the globe playing professionally in South Korea, Russia, Czech Republic, and Turkey; and has she spent the last several seasons as a veteran center for the WNBA’sIndiana Fever.

Even though her focus has been on playing basketball, she has always held a special spot in her heart for children. Last summer, Sutton-Brown was finally able to merge her love of children with her professional basketball career by becoming a published children’s book author.

She recalls speaking to a group of children and trying to explain to them where she was playing basketball overseas.  “At the time I was playing in Istanbul, Turkey, and I remember these kids had no idea where that was. And so that’s how the thought came to mind that I wanted to teach kids a little bit about geography. I know for me, basketball has taken me around the world. I think about if it wasn’t for basketball, would I be exposed to so many different cultures and customs,” said Sutton-Brown.

Sutton-Brown embarked on the two-year journey of penning The Adventures of Cree & Scooter, which tells the story of Cree, a six year old little girl (kind of a mini version of herself) and Scooter a stuffed chameleon that comes to life when Cree falls asleep.

In the first installment (launched summer 2011), Cree and Scooter hit the slopes in British Columbia; and in the second installment, they will climb the Great Wall of China. Sutton-Brown is purposefully featuring places where she has visited with the goal of educating and exposing children to the world outside of their own neighborhoods.

Sutton-Brown is steadily creating a following of her own by developing mascot characters, promoting the series in Canada and the U.S., and selling the tale onAmazon.com.

3. Learn The Business From The Ground Up

Imagine being 12 years old and wearing a size 13 shoe. Now imagine being that young and walking into store after store asking if they carry your size. How embarrassed would you feel?

That’s the story of Asjha Jones, current WNBA veteran with the Connecticut Sun and former UConn Huskie. While she’s widely known for her success on the court, it’s what’s she’s doing off the court that is making an even bigger impact.

Jones recently launched the designer shoe line,Takera, which caters to women who wear sizes 10 ½ – 15; and she is literally learning the business from the ground up.

“Being young and having everyone look at you like you’re crazy going in stores because they don’t have your size and wouldn’t even imagine someone wearing that size. I’m in the position now where I can be part of the solution to the problem. You don’t want to be embarrassed about your size and you also want to have options to look nice and have nice comfortable shoes,” said Jones.

For a long time she had the idea to develop a shoe line, but it only amounted to discussions with friends. About three years ago she decided to test the market to see if this was something people would really buy, and she determined that there was a market outside of her WNBA colleagues.

From there, Jones put her head down and ran with it. Ultimately within a two-year span the business came together, which included finding funding and locating her New York based design team.

When speaking with Jones, you can’t help but notice that she comes across as a very educated and savvy businesswoman.

I asked Jones about her business sense and she said, “I have a business management degree from UConn. I’ve never had a job where I actually worked on things that I learned in college, so for me this is all stuff that I learned pretty much hands-on. I try to keep my hands involved in everything so I can learn and not be you one of these people who has a company but are not involved in it.”

Jones has strategically chosen to gradually grow Takera. She started with a spring 2011 soft launch, and is selling her shoes via large distributors such as DesignerShoes.com and ShoeBuy.com. The spring and fall 2012 collections are already designed, but she is waiting to sell out the inventory from the soft launch before moving forward.

“Everything is there in place. We are just going to bide our time and not try to move too fast. I think that’s when people get themselves into trouble when they try to do things too quickly, and then get ahead of themselves. Things don’t happen overnight. People have to trust you and trust that if they’re spending money on the shoe that is going to be a good shoe,”said Jones.

4. Find Your Voice and Your Business Will Follow

In 2007, the nation was rocked by the derogatory comments that talk radio host Don Imus made about the Rutgers Women’s Basketball team. At a time when the team was supposed to be celebrating a successful run to the Final Four, instead they were center stage in a controversy surrounding race.

The Scarlet Knights were led by Essence Carson, who was used to leading by example on the basketball court, but soon found was herself charged with the extra duty of representing her school and teammates in front of the national media.

Looking back at the situation, she’s thankful for having the opportunity to speak up against something that was wrong. And she says that the situation really gave her what she needed to be a music artist.

“I wasn’t that vocal person. I was the soft-spoken person. If I was still that person, I wouldn’t be able to be a music artist. I would still be able to be a producer, but I wouldn’t be an artist because I would still be afraid. It gave me the courage to get out there and express myself,” said Carson.

Music has always been a fixture in Carson’s life since she was nine years old. Growing up she wrote poetry and played multiple instruments including the piano, saxophone, bass and drums. Ultimately, she attended a performing arts high school with the goal of becoming the Quincy Jones of the hip hop generation.

Since being drafted into the WNBA in 2008 by the New York Liberty, Carson has been doing double duty learning the ropes of being a professional athlete (she’s currently playing overseas in Madrid, Spain) and studying the music business. Within the last year she has taken the big leap of launching her own music company, Pr3pE, where she has the dual role of being a producer as well as an artist.

On the artist side she has a couple album projects on the way, and on the production side she has collaborated with fellow producers in Belgium and France. Carson’s long term goal is to target publishing and possibly have her own label, which will provide a platform for getting her thoughts and creations out there.

Throughout her journey, a lot people have told Carson that she needed to focus on one thing, but she notes that all of her life she’s been doing double duty; as she puts it, “who said that you only have to have one goal or one dream?”

Carson credits her success as a businesswoman to the WNBA, for its emphasis on being prepared for the future; and to Rutgers women’s basketball head coach, C. Vivian Stringer, for her many lessons about focus, determination and perseverance.

5. Develop A Culture That Inspires Your Workforce

At the end of each interview I asked the athletes to tell me one thing Forbes’ readers would be surprised to learn about the WNBA, and without hesitation three out of the four gave me some version of the same answer.

Pondexter said, “Throughout my six years of playing professionally in the WNBA. If it is your first time ever going to a game. I guarantee that you come back and you’ll become a fan of the WNBA. It’s just a matter of getting the audience to buy and take the time to pay attention to it. Every person that I have ever invited always comes back.”

Sutton-Brown said, “I will say that I get it all the time whether its from guys, females or families, they always say that once you come to a WNBA game you get hocked. I think it’s actually getting people to come to a game. It is filled with so much entertainment.”

Carson said, “We can play basketball. We are becoming something that people enjoy to watch. Watch us and I bet you’ll come to another game. Come to a New York Liberty game and I’ll put my salary on it that you’ll come back to another game.”

And while Jones didn’t have that exact answer, later during her interview she said “I think once people really embrace us and find a player that they know and like to watch that people will get into the sport. Women are starting to watch more sports, kids and once we really get the men in our side, there’s no stopping us.”

Any employer who owns and operates a business knows how important it is to have employees who are committed to mission and values of the organization. Without a culture of faith and acceptance of the business model, it’s virtually impossible for any organization to move to the next level.

While the women that I interviewed for this story are a small sample of the WNBA, I believe that they collectively represent the voice of their colleagues who are not only committed to their individual futures, but they truly want to see the business of women’s basketball succeed.

Good Night Sports Fans, 

Alana

After swelling and three doctor’s visits later I found out that my pick-up bball days were done (at least for awhile) and I would need surgery. The first surgeon that I met with was just that – a surgeon. I left his office even more scared than when I entered. After that day I decided that I could find a surgeon who was talented and had a the kindness that I needed. Then I met Arthur Manoli.

Dr. Manoli and his staff guided me through the process and treated me and my family with patience and kindness. Later I found out that Dr. Manoli is a world renowned surgeon who performs surgeries on professional NBA athletes.

Once I had my surgery, I spent three weeks off of my feet. During this time I was encouraged by my sister to productively use my time off. I took her suggestion to heart and started blogging for Forbes.com. Well from there my entire world took off and I consciously decided that the injury would be the best thing that ever happened to me…and it was!

Since then I’ve written 18 stories for Forbes. Covered the WNBA All-Star Game, WNBA Playoffs, and WNBA Finals. Interviewed the WNBA President and three owners.

And while I was off of my feet, I learned that I’m truly blessed (health insurance is awesome) and my family/community really care about me.

Long story short, my entire world took off and I am such a better person for it!

Here’s my foot journey from beginning to end! …

At home right after the rupture. It's swelling already.

My new boot.

Last year all I wanted for Christmas was a good surgeon.

That's my mom telling me everything would be alright. Meanwhile I'm smiling through the fear.

My post surgery cast. It was huge. I didn't go anywhere for 3 weeks.

Finally the stitches came out. Ouch!

Back on my feet again. And my first interview with a Detroit Piston!

Here's my one legged scooter. It looks funny but it is the BEST invention ever!

Fast forward...I ended the year celebrating a WNBA Championship with an old college teammate!

Yesterday, the NBA announced that its new10-year collective bargaining agreement was ratified by its Board of Governors. The league (entering its 66th year) and will begin its 66-game season on Christmas Day.

At the same time as the announcement, the basketball world was buzzing over the three-team trade deal that would have sent NBA All-Star Chris Paul ($16,359,805 million) to the Los Angeles Lakers.

(Lakers: G Chris Paul; Rockets: F/C Pau Gasol; Hornets: F Lamar Odom, F Luis Scola, G Kevin Martin, G Goran Dragic)

Last week, Paul notified Hornets General Manager, Dell Demps, that he was not interested in signing a long-term extension with the team.

What’s a GM to do?

Find a new home for your young superstar and get quality players in return. Endure a long season with an unhappy star, disrupt the continuity of your team, and probably have no choice but to trade your star anyway (i.e. Denver Nuggets and Carmelo Anthony). Or hope that your star will have second thoughts, but at the same time run the risk of losing everything during free agency (i.e. Cleveland and “The Decision”).

The Hornets front office chose to trade Paul before the start of training camp, because they know what’s coming; and by all accounts this would have been a good deal for the Hornets.

Except of one tiny detail, the NBA owns the Hornets and declined the trade.

The NBA purchased the team last December from founder George Shinn who sold due to heavy debt and wasn’t able to secure a local buyer for the team. Ironically, Shinn moved the team from its long-time home in Charlotte (founded in 1988) to New Orleans in 2002. At the time of the sale last year, the league valued the franchise at over $300 million with hopes to keep the team in New Orleans.

What happened to the trade deal?

Last night, there was speculation that other NBA owners were upset by the trade that would have put two of the top NBA superstars, Paul and Kobe Bryant, together. Although, the league issued a statement that the owners didn’t kill the deal and the trade was declined for “basketball reasons.”

Ultimately, trading Paul could have done a few things: (1) devalued the franchise because we all know that losing a franchise player has that effect; (2) impact the league’s ability to get a proper return on its invest; (3) anger the 10,000 plus season ticket holders who bought ticket not only to cheer for a team that includes Paul, but also as a commitment to keep the franchise in the Big Easy –Yes, a public relations nightmare.

While Paul probably won’t be a Hornet after this season, the league made the right move by not letting him go. In post-Katrina New Orleans there are too many economic, public relations, marketing and basketball reasons to keep Paul at “the point” another season.

Now that the season ticket mark was surpassed and a new CBA is in place, hopefully the league can find the right Bayou buyer and sell the Hornets.

Who knew that one trade could mean so much?

Good Night Sports Fans, 

Alana

Now with this new agreement, a 66 game season will begin on Christmas Day and training camp opens tomorrow!

Here’s the official overview of the deal that the NBA announced today via NBA.com…

KEY AGREEMENT POINTS

The following are the key points agreed to by the NBA and the Players Association in their new 10-year collective bargaining agreement:

• Players and owners agreed to a 50/50 split of basketball-related income (BRI). However, depending on BRI, players can receive as high as 51% or as low as 49%.

• The Salary Cap will remain soft and has been set for the 2011-12 season at $58.044 million.

• The maximum length of a player contract will be reduced by one year, from six years for a team’s own players and five years for other players, to five years and four years, respectively.

• Salaries in new player contracts may increase by up to 7.5% per year for a team’s own players and 4.5% per year for other free agents.

• Three Mid-Level exceptions now exist:

- For non-taxpayers: Mid-Level exception set at $5 million in 2011-12 and 2012-13, growing 3% annually thereafter; maximum contract length is four years.

- For taxpayers: Mid-Level exception set at $3 million, growing 3% annually thereafter; maximum contract length of two years.

- For teams operating with salary cap room: Mid-Level exception set at $2.5 million, growing 3% annually thereafter; maximum contract length of two years.

- For the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, the tax rate is $1 for every $1 in salary over the tax level.

-Beginning with the 2013-14 season, tax rates for incremental spending above the tax level will increase as follows: $0-5 million over tax level – $1.50 for $1; $5-10 million over tax level – $1.75 for $1; $10-15 million over tax level – $2.50 for $1; $15-20 million over tax level – $3.25 for $1.

- Rates increase by $0.50 for each additional $5 million above tax level.

• The amount of money that can be withheld from player salaries under the “escrow” system is 10%; if escrow funds are insufficient to reduce salaries and benefits to 50%, 1% benefit fund is available to make up shortfall.

• Traded Player Exception for non-taxpayers increased to the lesser of 150% of salaries of players being traded or the salaries of players being traded plus $5 million. For trades in which the salaries being traded exceed $20 million in total, the Traded Player Exception for non-taxpayers will be 125% of such salaries plus $100,000.

• Traded Player Exception for taxpayers remains at 125% of the salaries of players being traded plus $100,000.

• Except during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, teams are prohibited from using a sign-and-trade if their team salary post-transaction would exceed the tax level by more than $4 million. Sign-and-trade contracts will have a maximum length of four years and receive 4.5% annual increases.

• For the first five years of the CBA, each team will be permitted to waive one of its player contracts that was in effect prior to the 2011-12 season and have 100% of the player’s salary removed from the team’s salary for Salary Cap and Tax purposes. Each team may use this provision only once over the life of the agreement.

• The NBA’s drug testing program has been strengthened to include up to two offseason tests for performance-enhancing drugs per year, increased penalties for performance-enhancing drugs and blood testing for HGH once the test is validated by a neutral panel of scientific experts.

• Veteran NBA players can be assigned to their team’s NBA D-League affiliate for rehabilitation assignments with the players’ consent. Beginning in 2012-13, players in their first three seasons in the NBA may be assigned to the D-League an unlimited number of times each year.

• The NBA and NBPA will create a committee to discuss issues related to the NBA Draft and NBA D-League, including Draft eligibility rules and rules related to the assignment of NBA players to the D-League.

• Non-discrimination language was added into the agreement that protects players from discrimination, including based on sexual orientation.

• Term of the contract is 10 years, with both the NBA and NBPA holding the ability to opt out after the sixth year.

Now that the deal is done, let the 2011-2012 games begin!

Good Night Sports Fans, 

Alana 

(Forbes SportsMoney 12/2/11)

We can all agree that the NBA Lockout didn’t shed the greatest light on professional basketball; and in a perfect world I imagine that NBA Commissioner David Stern and NBAPA Executive Director Billy Hunter would have preferred an uneventful labor negotiation.

Instead, we endured a five-month roller coaster; and in the United States where the median household income is $49,445 per year, it was extremely difficult for most NBA fans to sympathize with millionaires and billionaires arguing over money.

Nevertheless, just when we thought the “Nuclear Winter” was coming and bringing with it irreparable damage to the sport we all love, cooler heads prevailed and the NBA saved Christmas. Now that basketball is here to stay (at least for the next 6-10 years), when I look back at the Lockout I realize that it wasn’t so bad after all.

Here’s why…

Rest and Recovery Does a Body Good.

Does the term “year-round hoops” mean anything to you? The greatest professional basketball athletes work just as hard during the off-season as they do during the season. As talented as Magic, Jordan, and Bird are – they didn’t become basketball icons by sitting out the off-season. Luckily, during off-season workouts athletes can taper their workouts to include rest and recover, which is nearly impossible during the season. Yes, playing basketball is job and it’s what they’re paid to do; but money can’t heal a fatigued body.

Take a look at the Miami Heat’s “Big Three” versus the Boston Celtics’. Miami has three 8-year superstars (LeBron James $16.02 million, Dwayne Wade $15.5 million, and Chris Bosh $16.02 million) who are in the prime of their careers; and if they can get it together in the fourth quarter, they are destined to make another legitimate run at an NBA Championship. The Celtics on the other hand, have three 15/16 year veterans (Kevin Garnett $21.2 million, Ray Allen $10 million, and Paul Pierce $15.3 million) who are in the sunset of their careers. We all know that Doc Rivers is one of the best the league has to offer, and these guys still “got game.” But can they stay healthy? Now with the extra rest, maybe they can.

Aside from aging players, several players (Rudy Gay, David West, and Caron Butler) suffered season-ending shoulder and knee injuries; and thanks to the Lockout countless players received the extended rest and rehab that they needed

Who Needs 82 Games When You Can Have 66?

Sports enthusiasts have debated for years about the length of the NBA season. Is an 82-game season too long?  We know that 50-game season is too short, and most fans still have an “asterisk” next to the Spurs’ 1999 NBA Championship. A 66-game season with 990 total games just might be the right length.  The good news for fans is that every game will count, and there won’t be any nights off. We will see true competitive basketball and NBA action at its best. As for the owners, yes they lost 16 games so supply is down; but maybe demand for tickets will go up. Who knows, we might see more sellouts after all.

New Economy. New Owners. New Players. Why Not?

During the last NBA Lockout we were “partying like it was 1999.” The US economy saw “strong profits, low interest rates, and solid consumer spending.” After a 204-day standoff and millions in lost profits, the owners left the bargaining table with new controls over salaries and the players gained a significant share of the league’s revenue.

So what changed?

Let’s face it. The economy isn’t what it used to be. In 2008, the US suffered a devastating financial crisis and the country has been trying to recover ever since. Industries around the world recognized that it wasn’t “business as usual anymore” and implemented necessary changes to thrive/survive the new economy. I think the league office and its owners accepted that adjustments needed to be made during the 2011 labor negotiations.

And speaking of owners, there are 15 new owners since the 1998-1999 lockout; and seven of those owners (including the NBA owned New Orleans Hornets) purchased their teams within the last year. The good news is that prosperous entrepreneurs recognize that owning an NBA franchise is still a sound investment. Additionally, I think this new generation of owners doesn’t view their franchise as a hobby, but rather a true business venture where they’re determined to make a profit.

Last, the average age of an NBA player is roughly 27 years old. That means about 55 of the current 450 players were in league during the last lockout, and the rest of the players were teenagers.

My point for bringing this up is to say that the league has many fresh new faces since 1999. Is it realistic for the players and owners to operate under a CBA that was instituted and negotiated by their predecessors under a different set of economic circumstances? In my opinion, it’s not.

I’ll stop short of saying that the Lockout was a good thing, because many NBA and non-NBA personnel were adversely impacted. However, I will say that times have changed; and both sides needed the opportunity to to argue their points, go through the process and get the deal done.

Was it really that bad after all? Time will tell.

Good Night Sports Fans,

Alana 

If you’ve been watching ESPN during the last few days, you’ve probably noticed that it’s Jimmy V Week For Cancer Research.

Just who was Jimmy V and what is the Jimmy V Foundation? 

Jimmy V was a dynamic men’s basketball coach. In 1983, his NC State team shocked the basketball world (and the University of Houston) by winning the NCAA Men’s Championship. Most people don’t remember Jimmy V for his coaching, but for his 1993 ESPY award speech when he inspired the audience to support cancer research.

Today, there are 28 million cancer survivors around the world. The Jimmy V Foundations strives each and everyday to raise money and find a cure for cancer. Donating is easy and every little bit helps. Visit www.JimmyV.org 

Good Night Sports Fans, 

Alana