The Next Step For The NBA Is To Just Let Vince McMahon Take Over And Call It A Night

There I was, sitting at my computer, getting nice and ready to write an article detailing the ridiculousness of the Rockets resigning the human cancer that is Steve Francis... I would have berated the team for thinking that this egomaniacal midget could finally get along with Yao and not suck the life out of Tracy McGrady. I would have revealed how this is all a part of The Franchise's twisted revenge plot to get back at the city that spurned him with the trade that eventually led to his break up with man-mate Cuttino Mobley.

And then, I turned on the television... It's no secret that the NBA has had its share of problems lately and its Barnum & Bailey level circus acts. Between the waffling antics of Kobe Bryant, the gondola loving Stephon Marbury, and whatever caricature of himself Ron Artest has become, there's been no lack of drama. The league was nearly saved this year, with the reemergence of the run and gun, the splendidly quirky Gilbert Arenas, and a wildly entertaining beginning to the playoffs. Then Agent Zero went down. Then Amare got suspended. Then the finals happened.

A now... now we have a referee who allegedly bet on games, including ones he called, in some strange conspiracy with the Mob. I guarantee someone had to clean a big brown stain out of David Stern's pants this morning. This latest development will validate in fans' minds what they've already been saying for years. Every time there's been a questionable call in this league, someone has cried that the fix was in... and now, maybe it was. Clearly the fix was in when Boston tanked this season, and clearly it was in again when the ping pong balls screwed them out of Oden. Furthermore, I would also bet that more people tuned in to see those balls then did for the Spurs vs. Cavs.

Can a sport where watching these ping pong balls get picked is more exciting then the game itself survive this latest scandal? I say yes, precisely because the off-season has become so engrossing and because the off-the-court scandal is so ridiculous. If all sports have become reality TV, the NBA is the American Idol of them all. Baseball has Bonds, and the NFL has Ron Mexico and TO, but the entire core of the NBA is now the circus, and everybody will show up for the clowns and elephants.