kajo wrote:
David Stern stumbles again in his failed culture war against the Spurs, fines franchise $250K-Adrian Wojnarowski
..And yet, once more, Stern's tossed a temper tantrum that left everyone around him embarrassed, humiliated and wondering why he insisted on staying until February of 2014.
All these years, Stern and his underlings privately complained and moaned that no one wanted to watch the Spurs, that they destroyed his TV ratings, that they were uninteresting, unappealing and impossible to market to the masses.And now, this act of condemnation for Popovich – which resulted in a $250,000 fine for San Antonio handed down by the league office Friday evening – would be bathed in the ultimate of twisted irony: Without the Spurs' stars, Stern was selling that the NBA logo had been desecrated, that a public trust had been betrayed.
Suddenly, Stern had to issue an apology to NBA fans because Popovich sent his stars home to San Antonio at the end of a long road trip.
No one in Miami bought a ticket to watch Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, because those players are relevant to no one in Miami. Mostly, they come to watch LeBron and D-Wade, or they don't come at all. Few people watch the Spurs on national television – unless they're playing the Heat or the Los Angeles Lakers – and that's because the Spurs never deliver the dysfunction and self-destructive bents that fuel the sport's storylines.
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The emperor of the NBA wasn't standing up for the fan on Thursday night, but settling an old score on his way out of office, on his way to a February 1, 2014, retirement date that suddenly seems so far away. Even within a league that would've never imagined the core of the Spurs dynasty could stay on top longer than the commissioner who wished them away, the expiration date on the emperor still feels so far away.
Nevertheless, make no mistake: David Stern wanted these players gone all the way until Thursday night, all the way until they became convenient devices for his failed culture war on the San Antonio Spurs.http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--david ... 28970.html_____________________________________________________________________________
A very good piece by Woj.
Details David Stern's hatred on Pop and the Spurs.
What an egotistic old biatch!
There are at least four points of view to consider. First, Stern is protecting an investment, a long personal one that he has made in the NBA. When he became commissioner 28 years ago, the NBA was just rising out of a dark age where ratings were low, revenue was poor and the league’s image was far from pristine. It’s understandable that he would be very protective of his product, which is the most credible basketball league in the world and worth billions of dollars.
The second point of view to consider is the ordinary Joe, the guy who works two jobs and for whom watching the NBA is a luxury. Imagine driving all the way to the coliseum, paying parking, walking a long way to the venue, buying expensive snacks and drinks, then finding out the stars aren’t playing. You don’t go to Broadway to watch the understudy. You go to a restaurant to order the special, not the side dish. Obviously, there was a lot of interest in a Spurs-Heat rematch. Granted the Spurs almost pulled it off, but the fact is they weren’t the same team, period.
The third point of view is the league’s partners: sponsors, TV rights holders, media and so on. The league has to guarantee them a consistent product, or else the season isn’t worth the billions of dollars they are pouring into it. Basic marketing studies show it takes as much as five times the effort and cost to acquire a new client as it does to keep an existing one. The NBA wants to maintain its good standing with clients.
Last but not the least, is the team’s perspective. You can’t argue with the fact that Gregg Popovich has been able to maximize his team’s abilities and age. Even I thought they would win a fifth championship under him last season. Their only concern is winning a championship. If they have to sit their players down a few times a season to get that done, it seems worth it to them.
A thorny issue
bill velascohttp://ph.nba.com/writers-content/630/a ... LwAp-Ta-aZ