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Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts

NBA: Why Amare Stoudemire's Unmovable Contract Signed the New York Knicks Out of Championship Contention

Amare Stoudmire and New York Knicks. Photo credit NBA 
by Mattman

There are almost 100 million reasons why the New York Knicks signed themselves out of a foreseeable NBA Championship when they picked up Amare' Stoudemire in the 2010 NBA offseason, and it all starts with his famously "unmovable" contract.

Although the Knicks' 5-year, 99.7 million dollar (uninsured) investment in Amare' Stoudemire sounded like a great start for an NBA franchise that was looking to streamline their squad into an NBA

Jets Flight Plan Episode 2

Tonight, Tyler Moore and Eric Garment did Episode 2 of Jets Flight Plan, where they discussed and broke down all things New York Jets. They discussed the previous game against the Buffalo Bills, as well as the upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They also discussed more of the Tim Tebow project. Appearing on the show as guests were Dave Bryan from Steelers Depot and Erik Manassey from Jets Twit. Click here to go to the show page to check out this episode and past ones, although this episode is embedded below as well.

 

Live Show: NFL Season Preview Special, Truth about NFL Referee Lockout, and Cowboys vs Giants

10:30pm CST: NFL Season Preview Special! Plus Ryan Henry gives us the real truth about the referee lockout and we preview Cowboys vs Giants.

CLICK HERE TO BE APART OF THE SHOW


Everybody Lies - The NFL Referee Holdout


by Ryan Henry

A well-renown, pill-popping, New Jersey-based, television doctor had a saying: “Everyone lies.” While this may not be perfectly true, it certainly holds whenever people are talking about labor disputes or contract holdouts. It is the reason why when Maurice Jones-Drew said that his contract holdout wasn’t entirely about the money, nobody believed him. It is also why when the NFL and their referees say that it is only about the money we should be skeptical.

First down! Source: nfl.com

Right now, referees get paid about $3000 per game with the some of the referees making up to $140,000 per year. The NFL wants to increase the number of available NFL-approved referees and replace the pension that was part of the CBA the negotiated back in 2006 and put in place a defined contribution 401(k) valued somewhere between $16,000 and $22,000, according to ESPN.com. The league is citing a downturning “economic environment,” which is the same argument they used against the players.
These numbers should seem low. In 2011, the NFL grossed $9 billion in revenue. That’s billion…with a “b.” Why then are they arguing about what would amount to less than 1% of their revenue? Because it isn’t about the money.

Instead, what this holdout is really about is the NFL telling the referees that they are a dime a dozen, and if they don’t want to work, then they will find someone who will. The NFL wants their referees to feel replaceable. They want them to know their place.

The referees on the other hand want to show the NFL that without their expertise, the quality of the product that the NFL produces will decline. And it will. If you watched a preseason game, then you got to see some of this in action. There were questionable calls (more so than in a normal NFL game); there were more challenges; and the pace of the game felt a lot slower. In week one of the preseason in the game between Green Bay and San Diego, there was an unsportsmanlike penalty called for after a rookie scored his first NFL sack and flexed. The ref said that that constituted unnecessary celebration. Granted, that was the first week of the preseason and many refs weren’t used to the NFL rules, but the preseason represents a much slower game. Players simply don’t care that much about the preseason.

NFL referees discussing. Source: nfl.com

When the regular season comes around (Wednesday September 5, 2012, Dallas at New York Giants), calls will be missed. The NFL is hoping that these calls aren’t too egregious. The referees currently embroiled in a holdout hope they are.

Best case scenario? We have replacement referees on Wednesday, but they reach a deal and are able to work on Sunday. However, this remains unlikely. Once a deal is met, each NFL referee must undergo a fitness test and a recertification. Basically, the referee equivalent of a checkup. It is far more likely that the NFL will wait until after the Monday night game to determine what kind of leverage it has. If the replacement refs do well, then you can be sure the NFL will force the Union to agree to its terms. If they do poorly, then it becomes a much more interesting story. It boils down to how much the NFL wants to taint its product with poor officiating.

This is especially excruciating for the coaches and players. After all, at the end of the day they are the ones that have to play under these circumstances. With poor officiating, players are able to get away with more, which in turn leads to more injuries. Coaches on the “hot seat” could also lose their jobs. The NFL is a league of inches, and poor officiating can be the difference in a potential playoff appearance or being on the outside looking in.

No matter what happens with the end of this holdout, remember this. Everybody lies, and when they say it is about the money…then it definitely isn’t. 

Playing in the Red: The New NBA

As a Dallas Maverick fan, I have to wonder why teams like L.A., Miami, New York, and even Brooklyn can acquire the players that they have under the new collective bargaining agreement, yet a team that has operated well above the salary cap since Mark Cuban took over can not. Those teams have made a decision to operate in the red and a NBA championship is worth it.

The new agreement was supposed to level the playing field by requiring a much higher luxury tax for teams over the salary cap. What has happened is the plane between contender and non-contender has grown exponentially. At the start of the 2012-13 season, the number of teams with a legitimate chance of winning it all is few and far between. Struggling franchises are finding it hard to attract top free agents and additional revenue streams to compensate for increasing their payroll. The original thought that low salary cap teams will be the go-to destination if a superstar wants to make big money was totally wrong. Lebron is not going back to Cleveland, Dwight is not going to Charlotte, and Chris Paul is not requesting a trade to Milwaukee. The NBAPA forgot that teams have low salaries for a reason; the owners don't want to spend the money.

The league on the other hand is different situation. David Stern and company have decided to help the big market teams get bigger. Recently, the league office allowed teams to place advertisements on game jerseys. An ad on a Knicks or Lakers jersey will be quadruple the price of an ad on a Timberwolves jersey. The Knicks and Lakers also have local TV deals that help balance financial spreadsheets. They also have merchandise sales blow smaller market teams out of the water. The bigger the market, the bigger luxury tax you can afford to pay.

To Mark Cuban's credit he knew this was going to happen before the new agreement was signed. There are reports that he wanted to have a hard cap, meaning that a team can't go over the cap and pay a luxury tax. Imagine the parity of the NBA if that was true. Instead of 5 teams with a chance to win, there would be 20. Cuban has made a good decision to let the dust settle. For the first time his franchise will operate under the cap which gives him great flexibility to do anything. His new challenge is to play the cap game and win another title using the flexibility to his advantage. He already has proven the other way works.