12/03/24
November 21, 2006
The NBA is quickly becoming the new No Fun League.: After disallowing challenging the refs, streets clothes, and iPods during warmups, Stern et. al. are now taking on YouTube. If they succeed, fabulous video comps such as this (warning: YouTube 8 minute + video) will be gone.
posted by Ufez Jones to basketball at 11:36 PM - 18 comments
The NHL also has a load of games on Google Video. http://video.google.com/nhl.html
posted by Drood at 12:43 AM on November 22, 2006
Stern has had his share of good times and good decisions. Now he is losing it. Dress code, whatever. No ipods, oh well. Pulling clips from youtube=same as new basketball. WTF? A new ball? Why? Does the old one cost to much? This is basically him saying, "do what I say do". If AI, Shaq, KG, or Grant HIll( well maybe not Hill) had suggested they needed a new ball, they probably would have been fined for trying to break or change tradition. Now no more highlights at youtube? I'd like to see Mark Cuban become the next commissioner, just so he could bring the old ball back, get rid of the dress code, issue mandatory ipods to all players, initiate a forum for debates after each game between players and officials (using instant replay of all questionable calls), and strike a deal with youtube to not only put highlights, but entire games on their site (in HD no less). Stern is an ass and he's getting old. Time for him to go.
posted by Bishop at 04:31 AM on November 22, 2006
Why do guys who have shown themselves to be bright fail to see the value in the 'net? It's not a fucking new pipeline to your bank account, it's a way to entertain fans who are actually hungry for your product.
posted by yerfatma at 05:39 AM on November 22, 2006
I can't stand short-sightedness like this. Yes, Dave - you're not collecting revenue through it, and yes, YouTube is through their sponsored linking and advertising program - but c'mon... Fans get to do mash-ups! It's fun and harmless. Consider it a service or a value-add at worst and a tidy third party party marketing/advertising effort that cost you nothing at best. What strikes me, though, is that obviously the NBA knows all this. There must be other reasons that involve lawyers and contracts and intractibles and whatnot.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 07:50 AM on November 22, 2006
I agree with some of the new rules that the NBA has implemented. Why would you be wearing and Ipod during warmups? You're supposed to be getting ready for the game (which includes communicating with your teammates). The dress code, I could go either way on, but they are Millionares and can afford a suit. I don't understand all of the sweatband stuff, I used to wear them in high school. But yanking clips from the net is pretty ridiculous. To blame it all on Stern is a little more ridiculous. It's like the new GEICO commercial. Some guy came to Stern and said, "Hey, if you take advantage of your monopoly on highlights , you can make an extra 500 Mil a year." What's Stern supposed to say? "No thank you, I'm quite rich enough already."
posted by yay-yo at 09:38 AM on November 22, 2006
Some guy came to Stern and said, "Hey, if you take advantage of your monopoly on highlights , you can make an extra 500 Mil a year." What's Stern supposed to say? "No thank you, I'm quite rich enough already." I'd expect him to at least ask if there would be any repercussions to such a decision. Would it piss off our fan base? Do we really want to stop fans from doing mash ups of NBA highlights? He is the Commissioner, he needs to give these things some thought.
posted by bperk at 10:08 AM on November 22, 2006
Why would you be wearing and Ipod during warmups? You're supposed to be getting ready for the game (which includes communicating with your teammates). For many players in all professional leagues, one way they get ready for a game is by listening to music. I haven't liked Stern ever since he started the dress code, and he has done nothing to change my opinion.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 10:22 AM on November 22, 2006
The case for the dress code is far stronger than the case against ipods, but they both look like no-brainers compared to this. bperk is right. The figures they quote assume that people will happily switch to (and pay for) a variation of what they were (a) already getting for free, and (b) feeling a sense of pride in ownership of themselves, through remixing and putting their own spin on the parts of the product they happened to like best, be that a series of dunks or bloopers or pass plays or a reel of one player or whatever. We've had the discussion on SpoFi a few times about how the "big-time" North American sports seem to be trying way too hard to micromanage their fans' experience, and how that turns the fans from active supporters into passive schlumps. This seems to be just another action from that shortsighted mindset by the commissioner, and it's the kind of thing that stops me from caring about the NBA the way I do about more participation-minded leagues (like, say, the NHL, or even the WNBA).
posted by chicobangs at 10:48 AM on November 22, 2006
Dress code on the bench? A so-so idea. I think the objective here was to get the image of the game away from the playgrounds. "Back in the day" the influence was the college game. The world has changed, Mr. Stern. How about modifying the dress code to allow "clean, neat, and, perhaps, conservative" attire, without being quite so restrictive. No talking back to the officials? This is a good idea. An official is entitled to be human, and blow a call now and again. He should not have to put up with a load of crap from a player on even the most obvious of calls. I place one caveat on this comment, and that is that the officials need to be graded on a game-by-game basis. Blow too many calls, get a reputation as a "homer", fail to hustle and get in position to make the calls, and you should find yourself in the NBDL. Too many officials, once they make it to the top level, seem to "relax and enjoy it". This goes for all sports, not just basketball. All of Mr. Stern's other imperial decrees? A pure exercise of power for the sake of maintaining control over the sport. They will result in a loss of popularity for the game. I much prefer watching a college game to watching the NBA. In the college game, you see coaches developing strategies to best utilize the talent available to them. Not every team has the same set of player skills, so many matchups result in unique and entertaining contests. Yes, the athleticism is there in the NBA, but there is a terrible sameness to the way offenses and defenses are run. Actual coaching at the NBA level is a dying art. I think that you could switch uniforms on teams, and you could not tell that they had been switched.
posted by Howard_T at 10:52 AM on November 22, 2006
I'd expect him to at least ask if there would be any repercussions to such a decision. Would it piss off our fan base? Are you really going to stop watching the NBA because you can't get the highlights on YouTube? I highly doubt it. I would bet that the financial repercussions related to this move are miniscule compared to the revenues that it will generate.
posted by yay-yo at 11:05 AM on November 22, 2006
No talking back to the officials? This is a good idea. Except that it has been taken to the extreme. There is a reason many call it the no tolerance rule. It seems only natural for players to occasionally get frustrated, slapping them with a technical and a fine seems over the top.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 11:54 AM on November 22, 2006
yay-yo, I only barely follow the NBA. Any exposure I can get to the game is the only thing that keeps me interested at all. I understand that the NBA feels it has enough hardcore fans that it can start charging for stuff that it used to give away, but that's not (and has never been) a solid long-term business plan. It's a short-term cash grab, which is fine, but Stern had the option of growing the fanbase of the game for free, and instead he chose to install a new bottleneck for pay. Frankly, I've been eager to be sold on the NBA for years, but up to now, I'm not interested, and if they're going to start charging for highlights, I won't be bothered.
posted by chicobangs at 12:00 PM on November 22, 2006
I'd like to see Mark Cuban become the next commissioner, just so he could bring the old ball back, get rid of the dress code, issue mandatory ipods to all players, initiate a forum for debates after each game between players and officials (using instant replay of all questionable calls), and strike a deal with youtube to not only put highlights, but entire games on their site (in HD no less). Not a bad idea, bishop (I honestly think it'd be good for the NBA as a whole), but you'll see commissioner Cuban sworn in around the same time President Nader and Vice President Hilton get sworn in. Cuban's written a lot on his blog about YouTube (and the Google acquisition), so I'll be interested to see what his take on this is. It's really a pity that he and Stern butt heads all the time. If they could partner up, Cuban would be a great hand to reach out to the corporate world from the NBA for stuff like this, and I'm pretty sure he'd do it right.
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:55 PM on November 22, 2006
The NBA is a business. And like any other business if rules, regulations, and policies were put into place then Players should follow. Do they or do they not have representatives who VI for them and their opinions in a forum. I know they do actually. Besides the fact that they can 'afford' to wear a suit does not underline the truth. If a boss, manager, supervisor, or president gives direction, maps a plan or generate the new corporate standards then they are subject to implementation. Same thing goes for clips. All of us over the years have heard the same disclosure referencing that “... all telecast, reproductions blah blah... are the soul ownership of the NBA and can not be replayed without strict notification..." Of course, my quote has holes and lots of them but you get the point. Some may feel that I need to say more on this but I don't... It's pretty simple... I must mention that I do not feel the 'Sternster' is trying to exacerbate the issue by enforcing the rules. I understand that (and I'm not sure that some of you do) the NBA is predominantly full of you men who were pulled from a no win environment (poor communities), given and million dollars or so and ask to know how to mange their monies, time and professionalism without any guidance, mentorship, or any other tools needed to survive the long haul. This is where I feel the NBA has let the Players down... Reminder. The NBA Historically (for what it's worth and being an advent player myself; didn't say I was good) was held in high regard as a gentlemen’s sport. For a long time, there was prestige in playing the game. Now. I know opinions are formulating around how the NBA has taken a turn and you are more than welcomed to share them. (Sounds like an interesting post. hmmm.) But realize that's not the point. What is the point is that 'Sterneruny' is not the only one responsible for the decisions made on all the rules. "Pointing fingers can be dangerous. Look in the mirror and do it." Officials... One trend I have noticed in watching NBA or whatever basketball is that the refs will slack up after a time. It usually happens after the All-Star break like clock work. Before I give my 2 cents on this, I'll wait till then... But their probably following rules and regs set forth by some entity as well. I personally think they suck but I'm big enough to look at the whole truth and not partial.
posted by fengzi at 05:38 PM on November 22, 2006
Oh and Cuban Rocks!!!
posted by fengzi at 05:39 PM on November 22, 2006
God knows the only time I'll watch basketball is on fan made compilations like those on YouTube. About the only chance the NBA have of me ever becoming a fan is stuff like that. If they're too stupid... Fuck 'em. Keep their damn stupid sport.
posted by Drood at 06:06 PM on November 22, 2006
Part of me thinks Stern is losing it, but another part of me thinks that while this looks like a poor short-term move, Stern is four or five steps ahead. If he's thinking global, gotta lay the rules down ahead of time -- even if that means alienating some of the league's fan base now. Who cares about pissing off a few thousand North American fans who have a pissy sense of entitlement when there are millions, hundred millions or even a billion more out there (I'm talking about a few decades from now)?
posted by forrestv at 05:15 PM on November 23, 2006
On the other hand, the NHL has an agreement with YouTube. Hmmm.