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If you've been paying attention to the NBA's labor woes, this statement should sound familiar:

"Unfortunately, we lose less money by not playing, and we know if we were to try to continue to play we would lose franchises and be in terrible, terrible shape. We are out of gas."

And you'll probably think you've heard this before, from a player involved in the collective bargaining process:

"It's interesting that we're supposed to enter into a partnership that starts with a lockout."

Sounds like any of a dozen comments made by NBA Commissioner David Stern and National Basketball Players Assn. President Derek Fisher since the NBA locked players out on July 1.

But those quotes came from the archives, not recent headlines.

They were uttered on Sept. 15, 2004, the first by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and the second by Trevor Linden, president of the NHL Players Assn., after NHL owners locked players out.

That dispute lasted 310 days and ended only after owners radically overhauled the economic system to get a salary cap for the first time, a 24% rollback on existing contracts, an escrow system and other controls. NHL owners were considered the winners but soon found loopholes in the new agreement and got themselves in trouble again. But that's another problem for another day.

We who spend much of our time in cold hockey rinks feel the pain currently afflicting basketball fans.

We saw the lockout of 1994-95 cut the season to 48 games and, 10 years later, watched the NHL make dubious history by becoming the first major professional sports league to cancel an entire season.

We've heard the rhetoric before. We've seen the pie charts illustrating how much revenue goes to players and why owners are supposedly losing buckets of money.

We heard the NHL claim 20 of its 30 teams lost money in the 2003-04 season and claim cumulative losses of $497 million in the two seasons before it shut its doors. It's eerie to hear NBA executives say nearly the same thing, claiming that 23 of their 30 teams were in the red for cumulative losses of $300 million last season.

And we've heard the cry "never" from players about accepting a rigid cap system. The main difference between the NHL in 2004 and the NBA now is that hockey had no cap then but the NBA has a soft cap and a luxury tax that owners want to turn into a hard cap.

NHL players proposed accepting a luxury tax, a rollback on entry-level salaries and an overall salary giveback that they said would total $100 million instead of adopting the dreaded cap.

"If they come back with a salary cap there probably will be no season," Ottawa Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson, a member of the NHLPA's negotiating committee, said on Dec. 9, 2004.

Three months later Steve Rucchin, a union representative and center for the then-Mighty Ducks, said of the proposed cap, "To me this is not even a proposal. It's total utopia for the owners."

Funny how that non-proposal became reality after a season's worth of missed paychecks.

When about 35 NBA players met in Las Vegas last week, they were vehemently opposed to their league's hard-cap proposal.

"That's a slap in the face," Clippers forward Ryan Gomes told FoxSports.com.

"No way will there be a hard cap," Phoenix Suns small forward Jared Dudley said.

Deja vu all over again, eh?

NBA players have apparently agreed to cut their share of basketball-related income from 57% to 53% and say they're united in not retreating on key issues. "There's not a fracture or separation in this group," Fisher told The Times' Lance Pugmire.

That's what the NHL players said too, until their union splintered and they lost the ideological war.

"We started the fight because we didn't agree with the introduction of salary caps," forward Jaromir Jagr, then with the New York Rangers, told a Czech hockey website. "Now, we'll be happy to get them. We didn't expect the owners to be so tough and persistent. It was a risk that didn't pay off."

There's no telling how this will end for the NBA. No matter who wins, just like in the NHL labor dispute, the sure losers are the fans. Been there, felt that pain.

Matthew Stafford's injury problems the past two years are well documented, and the biggest reason for pause entering the season. Stafford suffered knee and shoulder injuries as a rookie and missed 13 games last year with two right shoulder separations. He had shoulder surgery in January and has been sharp since returning.

If Stafford's healthy, the Lions have a chance to be very good. He's smart, aggressive and can make every throw in the book. Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton played well in Stafford's absence last year and are capable backups. But the offense was built with Stafford's talents in mind and needs its leader.

Running backs

The Lions suffered a huge blow to their running game when rookie Mikel Leshoure suffered a torn Achilles tendon the second week of training camp. With Leshoure done for the season, the Lions spent part of the preseason seeking a between-the-tackles complement to starter Jahvid Best.

Maurice Morris and Jerome Harrison are Best's primary backups, but Morris missed most of the preseason with a broken hand. Harrison isn't a game-breaker, but he's an adequate fill-in and just two seasons removed from the best year of his career (when he started half the season for the Browns). Keiland Williams, claimed off waivers Sunday from the Redskins, could develop into a short-yardage option.

By and large, though, the Lions' success running will come down to Best. He's explosive on the perimeter and a threat catching the ball out of the backfield, but he has to prove he can stay healthy and get tough yards when the game matters.

Wide receivers

Calvin Johnson made his first Pro Bowl last season, but he has been one of the game's elite receiver talents since he was drafted in 2007. He dealt with a minor shoulder injury this preseason, but was as dominant as ever when he was on the field.

Nate Burleson looks poised for a big year as well, but for the Lions to reach their potential offensively, they need rookie Titus Young to develop into a dependable downfield threat. Young missed most of camp with a hamstring injury and is playing catch-up. He might not be a factor early.

Fourth and fifth receivers Rashied Davis and Maurice Stovall will make their biggest contributions on special teams. Stovall, though, had a good preseason and at 6-feet-5 can be an extra red-zone target if needed.

Tight ends

Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan loves to use multiple-tight-end sets because of the matchup problems they create, and in Brandon Pettigrew, Tony Scheffler and Will Heller he has one of the deepest, most versatile groups in the NFL.

Pettigrew caught a career-high 71 passes last year, but also had 12 drops. He needs to be more consistent. Scheffler's role waned as last season progressed, though his 45 catches were the second most of his career. And Heller lines up occasionally in the backfield as a fullback.

Offensive line

The Lions addressed most of last year's shortcomings through the draft and free agency, but they didn't tinker with an offensive line that has been under the microscope for years. All five starters return, though right tackle Gosder Cherilus is coming off December microfracture surgery and left tackle Jeff Backus missed most of training camp with an off-season chest injury.

If Backus and Cherilus can stay healthy, the Lions could have a solid pass-protecting unit. They allowed just 27 sacks last year, though all three quarterbacks suffered injuries. Run blocking hasn't always been the line's strength, and the Lions gave top backup Corey Hilliard a look at right guard in the preseason.

The NBA lockout has made this summer depressing for all basketball fans. The players themselves believe this lockout may last the whole season as there has been talk of stars such as Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant playing in Europe, while some established players have already made the jump, including Wilson Chandler to China and Deron Williams to Turkey. To make matters worse, any news about discussions between the players and owners has either been negative or nonexistent — the two sides have met twice since the lockout began on July 1.

However, there has been one silver lining to this gloomy summer — the influx of NBA-level talent to several summer leagues across the country. Just because there is no planned training camp or preseason does not mean that NBA players have stopped playing basketball. Several players have retreated to their hometowns to play in high-level summer leagues, including the Drew League in Los Angeles, Calif. the Goodman League in Washington, D.C. and Rucker Park in Harlem, N.Y.

Despite the star power, these leagues would never be confused with the NBA. The web page for the Drew League looks more like a high school web design project than an official site. In the Goodman League, the games are held on outdoor courts in Barry Farm — one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America — with an unmistakable aroma of a certain plant on the court. An announcer roams the court throwing playful jabs and nicknames at the players over the speakers, something unimaginable in a professional environment. Speaking of professionals, the leagues do not pay the players to come play and only charge about $5 as an entrance fee for fans.

Despite the amateurish setup of these leagues, NBA players are showing up to play, with the full knowledge that this is no place to look for a million-dollar contract. So why are they coming out to play? The answer is about respect; they want to show off their talent and garner street cred in the city they were born and raised.

One of the unwritten rules of these leagues is that only locals should compete. For example, Kobe Bryant, a Los Angeles sports icon, stopping by one day to play in a Drew League game was met with some criticism from Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, a Compton, Calif. native.

“He wasn’t born and raised in L.A. You gotta be from L.A. to play for Drew. Show me a birth certificate,” Jennings said.

That’s not to say that superstars from different hometowns are not allowed; Paul and LeBron both played for the Baltimore-based Melo League while Durant made a legendary appearance at Rucker Park earlier in the summer. The Thunder forward scored 66 points in an extraordinary display, and at one point in the contest dribbled the ball up to the 3-point line on four consecutive possessions, sinking effortless 3s over triple-team defenses. Many people have argued that this display was more impressive than anything Durant has done in the NBA, showing the credibility of these summer leagues to basketball fans.

With the backing of NBA players, these leagues have held exhibition games against each other to advertise their product and give basketball bragging rights to the winner’s city. The first example of this was when a group of Drew League all-stars flew to Washington, D.C. to battle the best of the Goodman League. The Drew League included players like Jennings, James Harden and DeMar DeRozan, while D.C.’s best included Durant, John Wall and Ty Lawson. In total, the contest involved 19 NBA players at the sold-out arena at Trinity University.

Whenever a large group of NBA players gather for an exhibition game, it is expected that the game will be sloppy and lethargic, yet this game had intensity. The Goodman League squeaked out a narrow victory, 135-134, and the D.C. natives made sure to tell their Californian friends about it.

“They talked trash, we talked trash,” Lawson said. “The debate is over — we’ve got the crown now.”

Thunder teammates Harden and Durant even exchanged barbs across Twitter, showing that no professional allegiance is stronger than their roots.

Despite the success of the game from a basketball standpoint, there were many logistical issues. Fans were in the stadium an hour before players even began warming up and thousands of fans with tickets had to be turned away because a larger arena could not be reserved.  

A similar all-star exhibition game occurred between the Melo League and Goodman League — which the Melo League won, 149-141. The Goodman League will visit Rucker Park on Oct. 1 and a rematch between the Drew and Goodman leagues is in the works.

These games are more than just an interesting look into the subculture of the basketball community. They show that NBA players are itching to get back to competitive action. Whether it is overseas or more exhibition games, players will find a way to play competitive basketball. We can only hope that there will be some sort of a viable moderator that can organize a schedule and ensure a safe environment for all the players. Oh right, the National Basketball Association.

The NBA and its players don't seem to be feeling too much urgency to get the lockout ended anytime soon. The two sides "plan to meet this week for just the second time since the lockout began on July 1," WEEI reports.
But HoopsWorld reports that folks should start feeling a little more urgent since the league has given a Sept. 15 deadline to get a deal done before preseason games begin to get canceled. "Sources have ... said that if even one preseason game is lost, the economic impact would be the same as if all the preseason games are lost," HoopsWorld reports. "It would be a trigger -- a point in which league advertisers and sponsors could and would start pulling back and season ticketholders wet-before-games-get-canceled/
The NBA, however, tells the New York Times that the report is "a complete fabrication."

While Jonathan Baldwin entered the 2011 NFL Draft as one of the top wide receivers on the board, he also carried with him the dreaded “character issues” tag. That didn’t scare away the Chiefs, who selected the wide receiver out of Pittsburgh No. 26 overall.

Kansas City coach Todd Haley immediately tried to soothe any concerns about the pick:

“We spoke to Jonathan at length at the combine, a number of us. He was one of our formal interviews and we had him in here as one of our 30 visits that were allowed and we feel like we have done our due-diligence and I am very comfortable making him a Kansas City Chief.”

You have to wonder if Haley still feels that way. A report out of Chiefs camp Friday stated that Baldwin got into a “locker room scuffle” with veteran running back Thomas Jones, which resulted in an injured wrist for Baldwin that could cost him the entire preseason.

Part of that report cited someone who described Baldwin as a “Diva, spoiled, doesn’t wanna listen.” In other words, exactly what those red flags — which included charges of indecent assault, harassment and disorderly conduct that were later dropped — warned everyone about prior to the draft.

We don’t know all the details of what supposedly went on in the Chiefs’ locker room, so it’s not fair to throw Baldwin under the bus completely. But Jones is one of the more well-respected players in the league, a 12-year veteran — so, suffice it to say, throwing down with him probably won’t earn Baldwin a lot of brownie points with his Chiefs teammates or coaches. Skirmishes occasionally break out on the field at training camps as the heat and competition shortens fuses, but they quickly die down. This incident sounds a little more serious than that.

Already prior to this, Baldwin had been struggling in camp and dealing with a hamstring injury. He made one catch for 14 yards in the Chiefs’ preseason-opening loss to Tampa Bay.

Taking aside any in-house issues that Kansas City could have after this, losing Baldwin until the regular season is a blow for the Chiefs’ offense. Baldwin was drafted with the hope that he could start opposite Dwayne Bowe in K.C.’s offense.

Now, there’s almost no shot of that happening at the start of the regular season.

Baldwin had been working hard prior to camp in an effort to prove his worth, even moving in with Matt Cassel after the draft to get extra work with his new QB. If the report about Friday’s incident is true, though, it could set Baldwin back in a number of ways.

There’s some uncertainty in DeMarcus Cousins’ life these days.
The former University of Kentucky center, who just completed his rookie year with the Sacramento Kings, doesn’t know if his second NBA season will be impacted by a lockout.
He’s not sure how much longer his team will remain in its current city, though the Kings are staying put for at least one more year.
And Cousins — who’s had a driver’s license for only about a year — still isn’t positive he has the driving thing down.
But if there’s one thing the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Cousins knows, it’s what current Wildcats Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones and DeAndre Liggins are about to go through if they remain in the NBA draft.
“I’ve talked to them,” he said Wednesday before an autograph signing at Lexington Sports Cards. “I basically just told them which was the toughest part, and that’s basically what they’re going through right now. You kill yourself trying to do everything right and trying to impress those (NBA) coaches, but I told them, ‘You’ll never impress them, so just go out there, relax and do your thing.’ ”
Though Cousins has offered that guidance to Knight, Jones and Liggins, he said he hasn’t provided any input on their stay-or-go decisions.
“Not at all,” he said. “That’s a decision they’ve got to make themselves.”
On Wednesday it appeared Knight had all but made it. UK coach John Calipari told ESPN.com the freshman guard “got the confirmation he wanted” that he should remain in the draft during this week’s Kentucky combine, in which NBA personnel came to campus to evaluate the three underclassmen and senior Josh Harrellson.
Knight is projected as a lottery pick by draft analysts.
It’s less clear which way Liggins and Jones are leaning. Calipari said Monday that Liggins plans to attend an NBA workout in New Jersey this weekend before making his decision. He said Jones has yet to tip his hand but received a range of advice from NBA personnel at the combine.
“You had some guys tell him he’s a 1-2-3-4 pick in the draft next year, and there were some telling him you should go back, and there were others saying he should stay in the draft,” Calipari told ESPN.com.
f the current Cats opt for the NBA, they could learn a thing or two about life in the league from Cousins. He reportedly was kicked out of a practice in November. In December he was fined and benched for taunting the Golden State Warriors’ Reggie Williams with a “choke” sign after Williams missed a free throw.
In February the Kings fined Cousins for an altercation with a teammate, and though the club didn’t call it a suspension, he missed one game.
Though he said he doesn’t regret his actions, he called it “a big learning year for me.”
“It’s just not about putting the ball in the basket,” said Cousins, who finished third behind Blake Griffin and former UK teammate John Wall in NBA Rookie of the Year voting. “I found out this season how to be a professional on and off the floor and just learned a lot. There’s a lot to it. The process wasn’t tough. It just took longer than you wanted it to.”
Cousins averaged 14.1 points, third among rookies, and was second at 8.6 rebounds. He’s hoping for bigger things next season — if there is one.
The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement expires this summer, and it’s expected that a lockout will go into effect July 1. That could prevent the season from starting on time and would keep players from being paid.
“My support group, we’re always prepared for the worst,” Cousins said. “I’m not much of a big spender anyway. The veterans on my team tell me, ‘Don’t spend too much money, don’t go crazy,’ because this is usually when people go crazy with their money, because you’ve got so much time off.”

Keith Smart was dumped as coach of the NBA Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, two weeks after the team completed a 36-46 season and missed the playoffs.
Smart served seven seasons as an assistant to former Warriors coach Don Nelson and was moved into the coaching job just before the start of training camp on a one-year deal with the team having an option to retain him.
While he helped guide the club to 10 more triumphs than a season ago, that was not enough for new club owners Peter Guber and Joe Lacob to keep him on the job for a team that has reached the playoffs only once since 1994.
“It’s never easy to make difficult decisions, especially when it involves someone that we have a great deal of respect for like Keith Smart,” Lacob said.
“We came to the conclusion that a change was necessary at this particular time. I think Keith did an admirable job this season and he should be commended for many of the positive things that transpired both on and off the floor.
“The team showed improvement and their effort was never in question. However we’ve elected to pursue a new path.”
No timetable has been set for naming a replacement.

Tyron Smith, OT, USC
Hear me out on this one.
The Cleveland Browns need a wide receiver. And there is very little separating Julio Jones and A.J. Green. But if Green is gone, I can’t see the Browns spending that sixth overall choice on Jones, who would then be considered the “second best” receiver: two receivers never go that high.
(If they can trade down a few places, that will certainly change: taking Jones at 10 or 11 would give them the player they need and a second or third rounder as well.)

But they Browns can also land a speedy wide out in the second round: Leonard Hankerson has Green-like size and ran a faster 40-time and should be on the board when Cleveland picks 37th.
It’s also a good bet that both Robert Quinn and Von Miller have come off the board when the Browns choose sixth. So should they have to turn to a fourth or even fifth option, I think Tyron Smith would be a perfect choice instead of reaching on a pass rusher like J.J. Watt or a defensive tackle (Nick Fairley) who isn’t ideal a 3-4 scheme.
Now they have Joe Thomas to anchor the left side, but there is no one to step in at right tackle now that they’ve let John St. Clair go. Smith was mostly a right tackle at USC and would give the Browns arguably the best offensive tackle tandem in the NFL, one that should be in place by the end of this decade.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson told the head of the NBA’s relocation committee that he’s secured $9.2 million in corporate commitment for suites, season tickets and other support to be determined in the city’s ongoing effort to keep the Sacramento Kings in town.
Johnson met with relocation committee chairman Clay Bennett, owner of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and an NBA attorney Thursday in sessions that included regional business leaders, but not Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle.
Last week, Burkle’s group expressed interest to invest in an NBA team in Sacramento and to help build a new arena in town.
The NBA Board of Governors then agreed to extend the Kings’ deadline to apply for relocation to Anaheim’s Honda Center from Monday until May 2 to let Bennett conduct “fact-finding” visits to Sacramento and Anaheim.
Bennett also met with an arena builder in Sacramento to assess the “feasibility study” that’s in progress.
“At the end of the day, we want our commitment and passion to be palpable,” mayor spokesman Joaquin McPeek said. “Sacramento put its best foot forward today.”
The Board of Governors can approve the request to move by owners Joe and Gavin Maloof by a simple majority.

Call it good fortune, or perhaps the fruits of a dismal 4-12 season, but one of the Broncos’ biggest roster needs also happens to one of the positions where this NFL draft is the strongest — at defensive tackle.And sure, the Broncos like Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. And they like Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley.Why not? Everybody else likes them as well.It’s just a matter of whether the Broncos pick either of them when push comes to shove next Thursday. If the Panthers take one of them in the No. 1 spot, or the Broncos come to the decision that they have another player at No. 2 on their board, it won’t change the fact they will still have significant issues to address in the interior of their defensive line.Down the board from Dareus and Fairley, the Broncos have visited with others in recent weeks to try to get to the bottom of some character questions. The group includes North Carolina’s Marvin Austin, Hampton’s Kenrick Ellis and Baylor’s Phil Taylor, all defensive tackles.Ellis is the biggest at 6-4, 346 pounds. He was the biggest player at the position at this year’s scouting combine. He has some off-the-field baggage, having been kicked off the team at South Carolina for multiple rules violations before playing at Hampton for three seasons.He’s considered a mid-rounder by most teams, perhaps a third-round pick.Taylor, at 6-foot-3 1/4, 334 pounds, is another of the biggest tackles on the board. He also has some off-the-field flags, but some teams see him as a late first- or early second-round pick.Teams have been fairly aggressive in asking Taylor about a 2007 fight — he was first charged with aggravated assault, a felony, but that charge was dismissed during a preliminary hearing and he was charged with simple assault — that eventually cost him his scholarship with the Nittany Lions.And there is Austin. The 6-foot-1 1/2, 309-pounder did not play this past season because of an NCAA-imposed suspension.Austin was one of several Tar Heels players who were questioned about accepting improper benefits from a person identified by the NCAA as an agent. It was a Twitter post by Austin from a party in Miami that many believe caught the NCAA’s attention to begin the investigation.Though they were not on the Broncos’ list of visitors to their Dove Valley complex, other defensive tackles are getting long looks from scouts.That includes Illinois’ Corey Liuget, a disruptive rusher who has risen on draft boards, as well as Muhammad Wilkerson of Temple. Wilkerson may not last until the second round because of his athleticism (he was once an AAU basketball player).And there is Oregon State’s Stephen Paea, who set the bench press record at the scouting combine even as he was recovering from a knee injury he suffered at the Senior Bowl.All have gotten long looks by the Broncos, and all would fill a need if the Broncos go another direction at No. 2.