Sports Fans Don’t Care About the NBA Lockout

Just after NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the league was cancelling at least the first two weeks of the regular season, an online poll indicates a lot of fans might not care....

MSN.com posted a poll tuesday asking readers to select which professional sport they would miss the LEAST if they did not play or missed a complete season (like the NFL almost did).    The league is being blasted by critics for their inability to reach an agreement to end their player lockout, made even harsher by comparisons to how the NFL was able to knuckle down and save their season with tough, brutal, but relentless negotiations.  The results of the MSN poll were (remember-which sport would you miss the LEAST):  Major League Baseball-5%;  NFL 10%; the NHL-hockey-12%;    MLS, or the latest incarnation of professional US soccer came in next at 17%, then NASCAR at 19%.  So where did the NBA fall?  24% of the nearly half million who voted in the MSN poll indicated they would NOT miss pro basketball if the season is tanked.    That is over twice the total for the other two of the "big 3" pro sports.  David Stern has to be coming unglued, because coming off one of it's best seasons in years, where the feel-good story of the Dallas Mavericks winning their first title  led to significant boosts in TV ratings, the league was poised for a great year.    It has taken several years for the NBA to polish it's tarnished image as a sport riddled with gun toting,  pouting boorish players; and had made good strides reaching out and attracting 'middle America' again.    It's early on, but this lockout, with no end in sight, is killing the NBA in little pieces day by day.