The NBA owners have always been from Venus

The NBA owners have always been from Venus and the players from Mars.

But now its legal.

With the NBA locking out its players, the clock is officially ticking toward the 2011-12 season.

Or the lack there of.

NBA LOCKOUT: Midnight comes quickly

The question now is who do the fans blame.

"Now maybe we can begin the negotiations," said NBA union chief Billy Hunter.

But with the owners and players billions of dollars apart, and being polar opposites on a hard salary cap, where do you begin to bargain?

When the players raise an eyebrow to the owners claim that they losing money, where is the starting point? The owners, seeing what happened in the NHL, seem content to boot away a season to get everything they want.

"We told the players and they told us that we're looking forward to scheduling additional meetings and have discussions to see whether there's a more imaginative way that neither side has currently come up with to close the gap," commissioner David Stern.

Said Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant: "No matter how long the lockout's going to take, we're going to stand up. We're not going to give in."

The sides are dug in. Which side are you taking?

While we wait on a locksmith, here is some good work by some good people that we might have missed while sleeping or wondering if we are any closer to getting pro football on the schedule.

The Huddle: Terrelle Pryor just wants to live his life.

USA TODAY columnist Christine Brennan finds Maria Sharapova back where she belongs.

John McEnroe believes that tennis matches should include no warm-ups.

Basketball Jones has the 40 worst moments of the past NBA season.

Tiger's niece Cheyenne continues to tear it up on the course.

Producers are shocked, shocked that there was fallout over "The Decision" by LeBron.

Fantasy Corner: Steve Gardner rearranges the top MLB stars.

Andy Murray's mum continues to tweet.

Michael Jordan was passing love notes during chem class.

Tests show Macho Man died of heart disease.

Roger Clemens wants George Mitchell in his corner.

See photos of: Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Roger Clemens, Maria Sharapova, David Stern, Kevin Durant, Andy Murray, Derek Fisher, John McEnroe, Terrelle Pryor
Tags:
Tiger Woods LeBron James Kobe Bryant Michael Jordan Roger Clemens Maria Sharapova David Stern Kevin Durant Andy Murray Derek Fisher John McEnroe Terrelle Pryor Cheyenne Woods

You might also be interested in:
Inside ESPN book: The bitter feuds, the ego trips and 'The Decision' (USATODAY.com in Game On)
Eye-opener: How will LeBron James do in Game 5? - Game On!: Covering the Latest Sports News (USATODAY.com in Game On)
Obama gets wish -- Senate cancels recess (USATODAY.com in The Oval)
Reporter apologizes for calling Obama a (bleep) (USATODAY.com in The Oval)

Selected for you by a sponsor:
Tiger Woods No Longer Invincible (CBS Chicago)



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About Reid and Tom

Reid Cherner and Tom Weir have been with USA TODAY since 1982 and they have written Game On! since March 2008.

Reid has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

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Both have covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY. Both have tackled the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.

But they usually come at things from different directions, and it's no wonder. Hiestand is an Oregon native who went to Stanford while McCarthy is a native New Yorker who went to St. John's.
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