Question of the Day

Last night's Monday Night Football contest was notable to the staff here only because it matched up the two sweetheart teams of the two best players in the NBA: LeBron and Durant. And thanks to Twitter, we found out the two gentlemen wagered on the game. Unfortunately, they didn't disclose the terms publicly. The only hint we have is one cryptic, gloating tweet from James: "I'll be expecting my package on my doorstep in the a.m @KDTrey5. Thank u sir. Nice doing business with u. Haa."

It's been bothering us all day: What the hell is in that package?

Smell Yah Later, NFL!

While the majority of sports fans in the country are getting amped for the upcoming Super Bowl two weeks from now, Association junkies are secretly smiling for our own reason. The end of football marks the start of great NBA games on Sundays from here on out.

No longer are we handcuffed by the NFL on our day of rest, forced to watch the team from whatever city we reside in rush for two-yard-gains, throw incomplete passes, and punt on 4th down for 21 straight weeks. Finally, we get to engage in a lazy Sunday we can truly enjoy.

Stern and the scheduling crew are not wasting any time either, pimping the first Sunday Showcase with two salivating fixtures. First, the Heatles visit OKC to face off against Kevin Durant and Company, followed by a rematch of last year's Finals with Beantown visiting the Lakers.

Cheers to the end of football season!

All-$tar Games

In honor of Tuesday night's MLB All-Star game, which has the exciting distinction of not being the Pro Bowl, I'm thinking about what this NBA offseason means for the League's relationship to those two inferior sports.

We all know that the NFL is supposedly the ultimate model of sports parity, with its rigid salary cap and careful scheduling. The MLB, on the other hand, is the place where owners can build dynasties by picking up the top free agents and adding them to already strong lineups, leaving teams like the Orioles to be all but forgotten.

For years, the NBA has existed as some sort of middle ground. There are salary caps that, though not as strict as the NFL's, prevent teams from building Yankees-like star magnets. But with powerful GMs and a long season that gives fewer opportunities for upset playoff teams, it has also been given to the kinds of dynasties that we think of when we think about baseball.

After this summer, we may need an entirely new category for the kind of polarity we will see in the NBA. What the Heat--as well as the Lakers, Celtics, Magic, and several other teams--have done is figure out how to overload on talent while staying within the salary cap. These teams have done so by promising incoming players the chance to win, thereby cementing their reputations and increasing their future market value. This is all well and good, I suppose. A combination of free market gluttony and individual sacrifice. Fine.

But what the hell is it all going to look like?