CBA Bars NBA Players Under Contract from Playing

A pretty large piece of news on the NBA lockout front today. The Chinese Basketball Association has barred any player in the NBA still under contract. The league will allow free agents to play, but only if they play for an entire season.

This means that players such as Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony will not be allowed to play for the Chinese Basketball Association. The season starts on November 20.

This will be a decent bargaining chip for the NBA owners. Just like in the NFL, some players haven't saved up enough for the lockout. Delonte West has posted on his Twitter that he has applied for a job at Home Depot (although I doubt his qualifications).

(via ESPN)

Sports Update- NFL is Back

In keeping with the theme of this blog, I have decided to report on the NFL's lockout situation days after the news broke about a deal being made. Months of back and forth between owners and players (that have caused me personal grief) has finally culminated with a new CBA. What does this mean? Not much. If you are so inclined, google it, but I will give you some highlights.

• $120 million salary cap- This is slightly less, but nothing too substantial.
• No more two-a-days. This is big for the older players looking to avoid unnecessary injuries, but this may cause the younger players to have a bigger learning curve. 
• New rookie pay scale- This means the top draft picks will not get an ungodly amount of money before ever seeing the field.
• Minimum salary increases- Longsnappers rejoice! This is big for undrafted free agents and second-teamers who get nowhere near the amount of money their bigger named peers earn. 

All this means for you, the loyal football fan, is football is back. Not the Women's World Cup, but actual pigskin football. Enjoy your Sundays and keep posted because I will preview this season in the upcoming weeks.

(via ESPN)