I’m bugging out right now.
While most of us are suffering from that love hangover, this is the time I start looking at baseball spring training. All of the holidays are over until April so I start looking into what the hometown Yankees are putting on the field for the upcoming season. The NCAA tourney is near, pro basketball heats up when the last two weeks of the season are around, baseball is starting.
And while glancing at the headlines I start to see the stuff about the collective bargaining agreement. Then I remember that NBA Commissioner Stern was just talking about the collective bargaining agreement at the All-Star Game. THEN I said to myself “weren’t they talking about the collective bargaining agreement during the Super Bowl?
Everybody is gonna strike at the same time? I do a little research, and the NFL would be this coming season but the NBA & MLB would be the same year, 2012 (I kid you not).
And I’m not going there with that.
What I’m saying is that the circumstances are different than when baseball and basketball & football (scab games are awful BTW) went on strike years ago. The owners’ pockets were being filled and the players wanted a raise. Franchises are hurting now because of many over-inflated player contracts and low gate revenues (the fans are broke). Would those owners out there who are bleeding red welcome a closure of the doors for a year or two? I think so. The Yankees can turn to the YES network and keep selling fitteds, the Braves have TBS, The Kansas City Royals and The Cincinnati Reds are stuck. The economic recession allows the owners to maintain their firm stance on lowering payroll, and winning that argument too. Now what employee do you know that wants a pay cut?
Personally I think the leagues should contract, those booty butt franchises need to close up shop and send them bench warming, pine riding weed carriers home, shuffle up the rest of the players and keep it moving, but I also know that thought will take some change of address requirements for teams still standing. Some teams will need to move to larger markets for their ultimate survival. Where is all of this money coming from to do this?
Nowhere. All of the leagues are at their peak. ALL of them have struggling franchises and terrible organizations that bleed like a hemophiliac. But once you get the employees to take a pay cut you can start the power moves. I used to work for this company some years ago and before it was up for sale, executive management locked us in on wages to report no growth in payroll, hence less taxes and expenses, but same incoming revenue, and the company was sold within a year's time while we were locked in for 2. You figure the new company would give it a year anyway, try to see if they can make it work right? Just remember you have that one year left while you collect those paychecks, (peep the jewel 9-5 ers) if that. They will want their people with them and fresh faces for cheaper pay.
I can’t imagine there being no NFL til 2011, but they may play one more year and renegotiate in 2012! Then the MLB may fall back while the NBA decides they ain’t gonna roll either? No sports at all in 2012 except the London Olympics?
Told y’all I was bugging…
