NBA Lockout: Where Do We Go From Here?

Can we have an honest talk for a second? You see, it has been a long week for us. We’re tried. We’ve been grinding, fighting traffic to and from work, fighting deadlines, dealing with unwanted stress. You know the routine. I don’t know about you but at the end of a long week there are few things I like better than coming home, popping the top on a cold one (an over-the-top hopped Cali brewed IPA is how I roll) and watching the Lake Show.

A funny thing happened on the way to my usual Friday routine in the fall. You see on the schedule it says the Lakers are playing the Sacramento Kings tonight as part of the NBA preseason. The problem is that game has been canceled as have all other Laker games for the foreseeable future.

Seems like this NBA lockout just isn’t going to end. 16-hour sessions that produce nothing. David Stern imposed deadlines that help nothing. Bryant Gumbel rants that do nothing.

Seems like there is a whole lot of nothing going on.

So, what are we the fans supposed to do? I mean college hoops is starting and that’s something I’m always game for. Problem is that only teases my basketball jones. Don’t get me wrong. I love the college game. It just hasn’t been the same since the NBA screwed it up with this nonsense of having to play for at least one year. All that stupid rule has done is force guys like Tim Floyd to meet up with O.J. Mayo in secret at the Westside Pavilion with an envelope full of cash.

Oh well…we’ve got high school hoops too. I don’t know about you but I enjoy seeing the future stars of the game do their thing. It’s always a nice surprise to see a young baller catch your eye in such a way that his name sticks to your brain like…well…like that last loss the Lake Show suffered in 2011.

Damn! There I go drifting back to the Lakers.

I won’t lie. This whole mess has me messed up. There just really is nothing that replaces NBA hoops.

There is always international hoops. While I appreciate the game in all forms it is a little tough for me to digest too much Euro ball. Yeah, dudes over there can play. It’s just some of the rules and the style don’t do much for me.

So what are we supposed to do? You see, we’re not the real losers in this whole deal. The players and owners are the ones cutting holes in their deep pockets. My IPA drinking on Fridays will continue with or without the Lakers. Come Saturday I’m watching college football and all day Sunday it’s the NFL…but there won’t be any Sunday night Laker games to conclude the weekend…

Damn! There I go again…Always comes back to the Lake Show.

So where do we go from here? Neither side seems willing to budge. Neither side has moved with any urgency.

All this talk of barnstorming tours and exhibition games does nothing for me. I want NBA hoops.

Damn! Where do we go from here?

Wish I had an answer. Guess I’ll just go home tonight, fire up the Netflix, crack a bitter IPA and think up some way to get over my NBA withdrawal.

Damn…