Suggestions to improve the NBA

OK, I have two suggestions to improve the NBA- one to fix the strike issues, the other to make the game itself more interesting.

1)  Financial Solution:  HARD CAP + FRANCHISE PLAYER

Understand- I'm not in favor of the players or the owners.  I honestly don't care who 'wins' or 'loses' the strike.  But while I want pro basketball back, I don't want it at the expense of the small market teams.  I'm a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, and I want the hope that they have the same chance to put together a winning franchise as the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls or Heat.  If that doesn't happen- if basketball becomes like baseball, with haves and have-nots- then the league can just fold, for all I care.

So here's my solution- institute a hard cap (both overall and per player)... but also allow one "Franchise Player" per franchise.  The normal players can be signed for at most four years and at most $X dollars (where X is based on a 50/50 split). 

The franchise player can be signed for ANY amount of money, and that money does not apply to the cap.  So if the Lakers want to pay Kobe Bryant $75 million a year, they can. 

Why the owners go for it- they reign in the costs of the mid-sized players. 

Why the players go for it- The 50/50 sounds like a bad deal for them- until they realize that the top 30 salaries won't be part of that deal.  The owners would probably need to give up on other issues to make it more palatable, but the players lose in the long haul- and the agents of the best players would love this deal.

As a fan, I know the best players are going to the major markets.  But this means that the major markets can't monopolize the best players.  The Lakers might get Kobe, or Dwight Howard; but they can't get BOTH players.  Not unless one wants to take a major league cut.

2)  Quality of play improvement:  INDIVIDUAL COURTS

Every NBA court is the exact same dimension- same court size; same height of the basket, same three point line.

Why?

One of baseball's best charms is that each stadium is individual and unique, and clubs design their teams around various styles.  Baseball is best when different styles win- the speed of the 85 Cardinals, the power of the 86 Mets, the pitching of the early 90's Braves.

When one style dominates to the point that every team copies it, the game becomes boring.  Both in baseball and basketball.

Here's my solution- allow a range of dimensions for the court, the height of the basket, and the width of the three point line.  Better yet, allow teams to decide if they want a three point shot at all.  Say that you can only change in between seasons, and that you have to keep those dimensions for three years at a minimum.

When a team goes to a NBA court, they play by that team's rules. 

For example:  Indiana has a narrow court and no three point line, so they build around rebounders and slashers.  The Rockets have a wide court and a short three point line, so they build around fast gunners.  The game between the teams looks a lot different in Indiana than in Houston.

Here's the advantages:

1)  Increase the number of successful styles
2)  Makes home court advantage that much more important
3)  Greater use of the entire roster- even teams that don't have three point shooters need them for certain stadiums
4)  More strategies
5)  Makes the teams more unique

I think implementing both ideas would make the gamer much better.  And well... I'm right. 

My feline problem...

Permit me to vent here.  I'm getting near my wit's end, and not sure what the best solution is.

I've had a cat, Smokey, for almost a dozen years.  My brother and I got her from the Cleveland APL, and she's been a great pet.  Generally quiet, occasionally snippy, but always part of the house.

When I first met Katie, I warned her that Smokey was shy and generally hid from people.  An hour later, Smokey was purring on Katie's lap.  I took that as a good sign.

Smokey's getting up in years.  She doesn't run much and climbs the stairs slowly, but the vet confirms she's in good health.

The problem is Pippin.

A month ago, some friends of ours had a problem- they had two cats, but after moving and having a baby, one of the cats (Pippin) was reacting badly, spaying the house.  They needed to either find Pippin a new home or put him down.  And I volunteered to bring Pippin over and see if we could take him in, hoping that without a baby, Pippin would calm down.

To be honest, it's worked out better than I should have hoped.  Pippin is a huge adult cat, but extremely friendly.  Unlike Smokey, who likes to hide, Pippin is always walking around and rubbing against people.  He likes to be petted, and there has been no spaying problem with him at all.

But Smokey is absolutely terrified of him.

In retrospect, I should have realized it.  Both are adult cats, but Pippin is twice her size.  Both Pippin and Smokey are fixed and have their front paws declawed.  I was told that cats take a few weeks to get used to each other, but we're on three weeks now.  Smokey is always either hiding from Pippin or hissing and attempting to strike Pippin.  Twice we've heard a 'yelp' and seen Smokey run and hide under the bed, but weren't able to see what happened exactly.  And now I'm worried Pippin is starting to use Smokey's litter box instead of his own.

I'm at my wit's end here.  I'm open to suggestions here on getting the cats to get along.  We've already bought a diffuser to try and calm Smokey down (Pippin always seems calm), but every day it seems like a case of "one step forward, two steps back" with the cats reacting to each other.  For my own sanity's sake, I can't have the cats being this neurotic around each other.

I've talked to Scott, and taking Pippin to the APL is a possibility.  Since we know Pippin doesn't spay, he can be adopted.  But I really hate the idea of taking an adult cat to the APL- it's too easy for him not to be adopted at his age.

I'm asking my facebook friends if anyone would be interested in adopting Pippin.  He's a fantastic cat, and can make a wonderful pet.  I don't want to get rid of him, and if I do I want to make sure he's going to a good home. 

Volunteers and suggestions welcomed.

Profit from the NHL!

I'd like too announce my new income-generating plan.

It's well-known that I, Mike Sonby, am a walking sports curse. My resume:

* Longtime Chicago Cubs fan

* Current Cleveland Indians fan

* Current Cleveland Browns fan

* Current Cleveland Cavaliers fan

* University of Cincinnati Alumni

Last year, I followed NHL hockey, and picked the Colorado Avalanche to follow. Injuries quickly obliterated this team, and a promising contender didn't even make the playoffs. So my Sports Curse DOES carry over to the NHL.

Now- I'm open minded. I can root for ANY NHL team. Even yours.

　

I'll let that sink in for a bit before continuing...

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HOWEVER, for a small fee, I can be convinced to follow a different team than the one you support. My 25+ years of bad luck can be channeled elsewhere, and now towards your team.

I think we can all agree that this money would be well spent. After all, you have a very nice NHL team. It'd be a shame if something bad happened to it...