Which greedy bastards do you support?

In the struggle between really tall millionaires and shorter, plumper millionaires, it’s hard to know for whom to root. I guess that’s kind of like the NBA in general. Also, the NFL, NHL and pretty much all professional team sports. Because there really are no teams in any sense that matters, only individual businessmen in really nice suits competing against each other. They compete athletically only to the extent that good performance influences future compensation. I hate golf, too, but it’s nice that Tiger Woods never pretends it’s about anything more than his own self-interest.

At least the players occasionally put their bodies on the line. The owners, long past the point of needing more money or nicer houses, or, God forbid, more “food on the table,” just function like crocodiles because that’s what crocodiles do: They remain inert until it’s supper time. The cancellation of an entire season won’t affect them any more than it will affect me. Even if all the players agreed to play for free, that wouldn’t affect them either. Forget basketball; the real game here is not about winning, but making sure somebody else loses.

Anyway, it’s beginning to look like the whole NBA season will be cancelled. I heard one analyst liken it to “nuclear winter,” but the prospect of a hoops-free holiday season makes me happy. I envision all those NBA stars catching up on their reading. Or working or their poetry, or spending quality time with the family. Ditto with their fans. In the runup to Thanksgiving, that’s just one more thing to be thankful for.