Locked Out Of All Things

So file this one away under the heading of Pro Hoop's Gonna Die; the NBA not only locked out the players, but also removed all of the players from the Web site. It's the first lockout in 13 years, the last of which resulted in the 50-game abort-a-season in which the Spurs beat the Knicks in the Finals and dozens of players showed that they didn't have the ability to keep it together without constant coaching and supervision. (Yes, we're looking at you, Shawn Kemp. With unfathomable sadness.)

Put it bluntly, there's no way that the Association was going to have a site dump of all video and photography of current players without pre-planning. So instead of a site filled with action shots, dunks, blocked shots, steals and the like... we get mascots, cheerleaders, grainy old shots of guys who hooped before most of the site's visitors were born, and Stern David Stern. Lots and lots of Stern David Stern. Woo hoo!

The Association said that the decision was tactical, and not legal. But if you are involved with the players' union, doesn't this make you have to think that the lockout has been planned for months, if not years? Beyond the fact that the Web site is going to crash and burn, traffic-wise, and that there is no way to spin this as anything but war. Long term, no prisoners, months and months and maybe more of No Ball. Hope everyone's OK with that.