Wake up from your hibernation

By Tony Arnoldine Sports Central Columnist

Sunday, I stayed up late to watch Game 6 of the Pistons/Nets playoff series. Fortunately for Pistons fans, Detroit came out on top and pushed the series to a deciding Game 7. Unfortunately for me and the rest of the followers of the NBA, we then had to wait four days for the next game. The boredom of a four-day break without a game, let alone a Game 7, is comparable to watching ice cubes melt.

This break is great for Jason Kidd and the Nets. Kidd, coming off an injury and still feeling rusty, and could use the break to rest up and work on some of the problems he struggled through in Game 6. Kenyon Martin is also off a recent injury and could use the break. Let's not forget Rasheed Wallace of the Pistons, who will enjoy this short rest period.

It is great for the players, the NBA when it comes to revenue, and for the television networks carrying the games. So who is it bad for? You guessed it ... the fans. Yes, those same fans that by watching, create a forum for advertisers to pour millions of dollars in commercials into our brains every five minutes of a game.

We see these relevant ads for wonderful sports-related movies such as "Thirteen Going on 30" and "Garfield" all through the game, but especially in the last two minutes of the game. You know those last two minutes ... the real-life half-hour laden with commercials and TNT/ABC self-promos of their great movies and shows.

"For the first time on television, TNT brings you 'Dumb and Dumberer.' Catch it Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday at 8."

Once again, we see something in sports that shuns the fans. When David Stern has four entities to please -- the fans, the players, the league, and the networks -- and he can only please three, he drops out the fans because we only are responsible for the success of the league and the excessive wealth of its players. No reason to thank the fans.

The best part about the playoffs is that it is almost as long as the regular season. That way, you can skip out on the whole season and just catch the playoffs, while still thinking to yourself, "man, this NBA season is long."

The first part of the problem is letting over half the league in the playoffs. Of the 29 NBA franchises, 16 make the playoffs. Only four of the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams had records above .500. The Celtics snuck into last place in the East, barely beating out the Starlight Elementary School Bobcats who only fielded a team of four, with a record of 36-46.

The second part of the problem is the obvious layoff between games, coupled with the expansion of the first-round series to seven games. The NBA needs to address this problem to keep fans interested. The hypocrisy there is that the fans have no choice. If the NBA schedules the games four days apart, the fans will have to wait four days to see their favorite team play.

Unless the ABA makes a triumphant return, all the fans can do is complain. Hey, that's what I did.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.