NBA lockout blues.

• Author: Zirin, Dave
• Position: Edge of Sports

Miami Heat hoops demigod LeBron James, with his uncanny mix of size and speed, stands alone on the court. He also stands alone when it comes to his assessment of the NBA lockout.

"I'm optimistic that we will have a season this year," James says. "Very optimistic."

LeBron is also optimistic that the U.S. economy will turn around, and that he will develop a postgame.

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No one else on Earth holds optimism that the lockout will end. NBA Commissioner David Stern himself said after an August negotiating session, "I don't feel optimistic. I don't feel optimistic about the players' willingness to engage in a serious way." He accused the players of negotiating in bad faith.

I'm sure by now many NBA fans are pulling out their hair in meaty clumps. How can a league coming off a season in which it earned an all-time revenue high of 4.3 billion bucks--with the fifth-highest attendance ever and record playoff ratings--be in such a crisis? Why is this golden goose being plucked, deep fried, and sold like McNuggets? Are fans powerless to do nothing but get excited about hockey?

First things first. We need to wipe away the spin and tell the hard truth about the "financial crisis" gripping the NBA. Yes, it's true that perhaps as many as twenty-three teams lost money last year. But what isn't true is that the league lost money on the whole. If you factor in the massive television deals of big-market teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks, and the Chicago Bulls, the coffers runneth over. The problem is that while the big markets are flush with television cash, the small markets are dying a slow death. It takes Portland ten years to earn the television money that the Lakers make in one.

The answer is not, therefore, shutting down most or all of the season--as David Stern seems intent upon doing--but sharing television revenue. The NFL does this, and as a result, the Green Bay Packers feel like they have a chance every year.

Revenue sharing would set up small-market teams with intriguing talent--such as Sacramento and Memphis--to compete every year. Stern speaks often about "guaranteeing profitability" for every franchise, but he's taking...