Last year was an epidemic for ‘flopping’ and the NBA is putting it’s foot down, finalizing a deal that will outlaw the practice and penalize a player who tries to sell a flop.

“If you continue to do this, you may you have to suffer some consequences.” Commissioner David Stern said. “What those exactly should be and what the progression is, is to be decided, because … we just want to put a stake in the ground that says this is not something that we want to be part of our game.”

However, in true NBA fashion yet again, the penalty for the flop is a fine which would be handed out at a later date upon review of the play. So if the flop occurs late in a crucial game and free throws are awarded as a result, the outcome of the game will remain the same despite the flop. The only consequence is the player being lighter in the wallet.

The post-game fine is an effort to protect the competence of the NBA referees, rather than actually stop flopping from having an impact in the game. That’s made abundantly clear by the NBA watching it’s own back rather than actually doing something about the issue. But this is David “Jabba the Hutt” Stern we’re talking about, did you really expect rationale?

Stern did mention that the official consequence for flopping is yet to be determined, but it’s believed that a post-game fine system will be put in place starting this season. While it does clean up an issue in the NBA that is a growing problem, and nips it in the behind before it grows like a fungus in the game but the solution, like all those to problems in the NBA, is half-hearted.

If the NBA was truly serious about ending this problem, they’d have an official review of all flops and award free throws accordingly. If a player flops, the other team is awarded free throws. If this type of system was implemented can you imagine how fast these flops would end? But that wouldn’t put money in the pockets of the NBA and therefore it makes little sense to Stern and the league.

The 2011 Lockout showed clearly that priority numbero uno in the NBA is money. And priorities do, tres and quatro is dinero, dinero, and more dinero.

That severely hinders the league’s ability to, ya know, function properly. Flopping is an issue that’s not going anywhere as David Stern doesn’t put on his big goy bully pants unless he’s moving a team to a more profitable market. Until Stern actually becomes his last name problems like this — no matter how big or small– aren’t going to go away.

And the animosity towards Stern will only solidify itself further than it already has.

David Stern has cancelled the first four weeks of the NBA season and proven how far the upper one percent will go to get what they want.

CHICAGO — It’s about that time of year when the leaves start changing and  the days get shorter. But when talking about basketball the same can be said for my hair; this 120 day mess is changing my hair color and making my days shorter.

Before I get insanely angry, and lash out about how the lockout is a reflection of Wall Street and the upper one percent always getting what they want and not caring about who or what they destroy to get it, I need to take a step back and ask myself a question.

With the news today that David Stern has cancelled the next two weeks of basketball effectively ending all false hope we had of a full schedule I’m left in a bit of a pickle.

Do I really care?

It’s getting to that point where it’s taking so much out of me to worry about the season starting and to wonder blindly if or if not we will see basketball anytime soon that I’m not sure I care about it anymore. I realize that has been said by people as a defense mechanisim in the past few months, I am guilty of this myself, but for the first time, I’m not really sure I care if there is a basketball season or not.

My passion for the game and for the Bulls is still there, but like the saying goes: you can only beat a dog so much before it gets mean.

The economy sucks. Politics suck. Unemployment sucks. Everything sucks.

People need sports to take their minds off the fact that they’re getting screwed by the upper one percent, but now even our escapism is being screwed and taken away from us and is reflecting the very thing we turn to it to get away from.

That’s where I am with the Lockout. Maybe I’m in a lull; the calm before the storm before I get super mad and just start ranting and raving. But the news was announced that David Stern slammed the door shut on us and our hopes of the first 4 weeks of basketball and it didn’t hurt as bad as I thought.

This is not me going soft, don’t worry. It’s most likely the adverse effect of losing a limb like bastketball from my sports body, even if it’s temporary. Have you ever accidentally sliced yourself in the workshop or making food. When it’s really bad, you don’t feel it right away, (more…)