NaBloPoMo Day 28 : Lockout
NBA Lockout is over. 66 game season that kicks off on Christmas Day. At least they all came to their senses. Part of a season is much better than losing an entire year. Then you really lose fans. MLB strike in 1994 was the end for the Expos. They were battling for the best record in the majors that season and fanbase never recovered.
Not getting the NBA Broadband Pass like last season. Unless they make it very cheap. One bright spot in this economy would be incentives to bring fans back. I lived in Toronto in 2002 and never been to the Air Canada Centre. So if things work out I might make a quick trip to Toronto for a game. Raps are going to be bad so it’s more just being there and getting to see a game in person. Although last year they had a few games where they surprised teams. Close game vs the Lakers in LA. And beating the future NBA champion Mavericks in Dallas. As we’ve seen the NFL Lockout strange things happen when the off-season is royally messed up. ‘Dream Team’ Eagles being terrible and the Bengals looking to be in the playoffs with a rookie QB.
NBL Canada almost had a basketball team in Kingston but local council screwed that up. [See earlier blog posts in the summer for that story]
One interesting thing about the schedule. Unbalanced which means some will have harder schedule then others. And every team will have at least one back-to-back-to-back and some teams might have three. Which is where I think I can maybe grab a cheap ticket.
When life gives you lemons make lemonade. When the Bruins got swept by the Flyers in 2010 I did that. I thought ‘I should search eBay for a Bruins jersey since not many Boston fans will be in the mood’. Got a Bobby Orr jersey for 40 bucks. One that looks like the 1974 era team that no one had worn.
Good news is Eric Smith/Paul Jones will get to cover the Raptors again. They’ve been filling in on afternoons at FAN590 in Toronto until Sid Seixeiro and Tim Micallef come over from The Score. That is the worst kept secret in sports media today. Tim and Sid’s podcast ended at The Score, and their contracts ended. Tim stuck around to finish the OUA Football season. They’ll be coming over to FAN590 and most likely the TV side at Sportsnet as well in December. Yates Cup was the end of his time at the station as they did a video package on his leaving.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a99AAZhoDM
If you saw the Yates Cup then you heard Tim sign off at the end and thank The Score for all the years he’s been there. Only drawback of going to Rogers is he won’t be doing the weekly OUA games. Sportsnet doesn’t have any football properties either. Too bad.
Almost done this exercise in daily blog posts for the month. I can see the finish line. Whew.
Salt Water Music 