Townes,
I respect your opinions and have supported them numerous times. But we must agree to disagree here.
The issue is the rectification of a mistake by the owners, which they now acknowledge. They were warned by several owners that the last collective agreement was too rich in favor of the players.
Just like the past several agreements were too rich by the automakers vice the UAW. Thee result was that the cars they could afford to manufacture were price and feature uncompetitive with their competition, and the consumers chose not to buy enough of these inferior products. The result: bankruptcy and an eventual resetting of the wage and benefits levels,plus lots of suffering on all sides.
No matter "who shot John first", the owners have said player pay and benefit levels need a readjustment, downward. Whether they are "correct" or "incorrect" in any body else's measure or opinion, is wholly irrelevant.
It is what the people who write the paychecks, the owners, believe to be true, and that is what will happen sooner or later, courts or no courts.
Naturally the players resist, they liked getting overpaid. But that is posturing and posing. Sooner or later and it appears later, that is what will happen.
Courts and fans are irrelevant in establishing what the pay and benefit levels will eventually be. There is plenty of proof, that there are lots of would be-players who will work for levels the owners are willing to pay. There are currently no owners petitioning to buy a franchise, and who are willing to step in place of current owners and to spend more. Even if there were owners who were willing to sellout, it is a lengthy process, including the acceptance and approval of all current owners.
