If I was an owner I wouldn’t like my employees telling me how much of my profits I had to fork over. To the owners, owning a sports franchise is all about business. They aim to maximize profits just like the rest of the for-profit companies in this country.

Players want to maximize how much money they can make before their bodies can no longer do what the new stud out of college can. Players also have to worry about their own player’s union. Every time a new contract is signed it sets the bar for the next contract on the table. If they don’t ask for the sky, the union puts pressure on them until they do.

What gets me are players, making millions of dollars, crying about how underpaid they are. I can see an infomercial airing on late night TV. Billy Hunter is making the rounds checking on his players. Paul Pierce has taken a night job at a Southie bowling alley. Derrick Rose is making pizzas in Northern Chicago. Our own Willie Green has been forced to collect ticket stubs at a movie theater in South Philly. Life is rough for our NBA millionaires. Without a substantial increase in revenue’s they might not make ends meet. We will hear about NBA players car pooling or riding public transportation.

I don’t see villainous robber barons like at the end of the 19th century. NBA players are not subjected to sweat shops, nor are they forced to play before they turn 19. As far as I can see, life as an NBA player is pretty good.

Assuming the players can not bear to live with a contract more like the NFL, we will have to live without watching our aerial show for some time period. Luckily there are other places to look for our sports entertainment. I hear we have a pretty good baseball team in town. The Eagles are always competitive with a justifiable reason for hope. And we now even have a pro soccer team in town.

At some point the owners might call upon the NBDL to man our teams. I will cheer on the Sixers no matter who is on the floor. The Philadelphia 76ers is my team, even if it is made up of ex-players from Temple, St. Joe’s and Drexel that couldn’t quite make it in the NBA. They might even play a little defense for us.

Until new contracts have been signed, it’s quite possible that the bragging rights this for the year in jeopardy will go to the most talented picket line. I hear Lebron James can show some mad skills carrying a picket sign.

Ready or Not!

Sixers Head Coach Doug Collins said recently that F Elton Brand has proclaimed himself “ready to go’ for the 2010-2011 season.  Collins says he has kept in touch with Brand, and is very happy with his off-season conditioning program, as well as Brand’s weight loss.

Brand never seemed to have fully recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered four years ago.  It’s been widely felt that his weight contributed to the slow recovery.  The 6′9″ power forward has competed at a playing weight in the mid-upper 260’s, and says he’s currently weighing in at 255 lbs.  Collins believes that’s an ideal weight for Brand, and will take a lot of stress off his legs.

Brand, who has 3 years and $51 million left on his contract, has averaged 19.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 37.2 minutes during his 11 year career which began with Chicago in 1999.  For the 2009-2010 season, those averages plummeted to 13.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 30.2 minutes.

A question still remains regarding where Brand fits in Coach Collins system.  However, a healthy Brand is something Sixers fans have yet to see.  Hopefully, his health remains intact over the span of 82 games.