The NBA just <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7153136/nba-lockout-david-stern-announces-more-game-cancellations" target="_blank">cancelled games</a> through November 30. Owners and players couldn't agree to on how to <a href="http://www.nba.com/2011/news/07/22/bri-audit/index.html" target="_blank">split 3.8 billion</a> dollars, which is kind of like watching billionaire reality television.  When money is involved, people lose their mind.  David Stern makes a great point when he says:
<blockquote>"In order to have revenue sharing you have to have profit."</blockquote>
What's interesting about the logic of this lockout is that players begin with their salary and are fighting over 2% of the net revenue.  That 2% is spread out over the total of the players, with an obvious portion going towards higher salaries for the premium players.  But for the owners, that 2% is essentially their only profit.  The rest of the revenue goes towards expenses.  In other words the owners have a lot more to fight for in that 2%.  Part of the problem is that the owners (and this is true in most major sports) don't know how to stop paying players too much money. (It's why I think the NHL has the best contract in the business.  Tie salary cap to revenues.)

Under the last agreement, the NBA said <a href="http://www.nba.com/2011/news/07/01/nba-labor-lockout.ap/index.html">they lost money</a> every single year.  But after David Stern talked about some of the concessions and stipulations of the conflict, Adam Silver (NBA Deputy Commissioner) went into accounting mode and rattled off some interested statistics, one of which is jobs.  In order to make a 50/50 split work, it still means cutting huge costs. And he said:
<blockquote>"And (we) have in fact lost hundreds of jobs in other areas."</blockquote>
So as players and owners fight over billions of dollars, the average Joe is the one actually getting locked out. It's kind of sad to me that the players and owners don't realize their own greed.  Their cutting off their own noses to spite the face. The last lockout realistically took 5 years to recovery from.  What they players need to realize is the ill-will being created in the lockout. And I don't feel sorry for the players because they don't really have to hold the cost of doing business.