Wherever NBA games are played, there are thousands of people who depend on related opportunities to pay the bills, including those employed at the arena, nearby restaurants and hotels and game-day staff.
Their livelihood is not a hot topic these days, as commissioner David Stern and his cronies, billionaire owners, stage a war of words against NBA Players Association chief Billy Hunter and the players.
As predictable as a Hokkaido snowstorm in January, Stern canceled the league's entire preseason schedule. The first two weeks of the regular season were called off, too. And the lockout, which began on July 1, drags on with no end in sight.