As the NBA and the Players Union continue to meet this weekend in an attempt to end the three-month-old lockout that has paralyzed the league, there has been a lot of talk about competitive balance. . In theory, it is the holy grail of professional sports to have every team begin each season with an equal shot at winning it all. Such balance invigorates the fan bases in each and every city that harbors an NBA club, which drives ticket and television revenue, and makes for utterly compelling post-season ratings every single year. Of course, true competitive balance is also nearly impossible to actually achieve. While its nice that both the league and the union are willing to pay lip service to the idea, and its commendable that there is effort being put forth to achieve it, at the end of the day, nothing that comes in the new CBA is going to bring the NBA any closer to true competitive balance than it was under the last one. The system simply cant sustain such a utopian model. First of all, you cant get away from the fact that New York and Los Angeles are New York and Los Angeles. These arent typical cities, these are aberrations. They are figurative gold mines as it pertains to professional sports. New York has a population of 8.2 million people and is the most populous city in America. It is the epicenter of so much American wealth that the Knicks have been able to sell-out Madison Square Garden, despite one of the last decades most inept runs by a professional sports organization. Likewise, Los Angeles is the second-most populous city in America at 3.8 million people, and it has become the hub of showy entitlement and expensive glamor. Lakers games have been as much a place to be seen as a place to see basketball since Magic and Showtime entered the Los Angeles lexicon. And since they are the most expensive ticket in the NBA, thats a lot of coin to pay just to be seen by a group of strangers. These two cities will always be able to financially sustain their sports teams on a level that no other city can dream of. While billionaire owners may be able to rival the payrolls of those towns for a while, the urban infrastructure does not exist in any other cities that can deliver what New York and Los Angeles can in terms of population, television revenue and nationwide appeal regardless of the ownership group currently signing the cheques. Its that financial imbalance that the league hopes revenue sharing and a hard salary cap will invalidate in the coming weeks and months. The idea is that the obvious local advantages that New York, Los Angeles and other major centres like Chicago have in terms of their revenues should be spread out evenly amongst all the leagues teams in an attempt to keep the whole league healthy, which (in theory) benefits everyone, including those teams paying out tens of millions of dollars. If you then cap their allowable spending in terms of their roster, then that should significantly level the playing field for all 30 teams, making each equally competitive. Of course, thats not the way its going to happen. No matter how much you regulate the finances of these clubs, they still have built-in advantages that no league could spread across all the leagues organizations. For instance, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando and Phoenix will always be warm weather destinations, while Toronto, Minnesota, Milwaukee and Detroit will always be frigid during the NBA season. If players are looking to decide between two financially identical offers from a team in Miami and a team in Milwaukee, which team do you think theyre going to choose? There is also the fact that teams like Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia have a rich NBA history that they can use to sell prospective players on as well as their fan bases. What does Cleveland or Sacramento have to offer? The fact that for brief moments in their teams history they were relevant entities? Ill take two tickets to The Garden, please. In fact, some teams have such a lurid history, like the Clippers or the Nets, that they actually have to try and convince players and fans to IGNORE their past in an attempt to attract them to their present and future (plus, it doesnt help either team that they are playing in the shadow of a big brother franchise in the same metropolitan area). At the end of the day, the league can try and level the playing field for everyone involved, but even they have to know that its a fools errand. Its why it sends the wrong message to be preaching competitive balance as a rationale for their demands, because no amount of CBA rejigging is going to turn Salt Lake City into Manhattan. Does the league want more financial stability for their smaller market teams? Fine. Do the players want more teams to be able to afford big salaries so that more players get paid? Fine. Dont pretend, then, that what this is all in the name of is competitive balance. The NBA, like every other major North American league, is a collection of haves and have nots, where some teams can make endless mistakes and still be rolling in the cash while others can be a Conference semifinalist one year and then be rescued by the league just three years later. There are a lot of issues at the heart of these CBA negotiations and this lockout, but competitive balance is simply not one of them. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Arizona-Cardinals-John-Carlson-Je... Carlson Cyber Monday Jersey .500 both on the road and on the season; it was the Jets 22nd one-goal game this season (9-8-5). .Y. -- A person familiar with discussions has told The Associated Press that the Buffalo Bills and potential free-agent receiver Stevie Johnson have exchanged contract offers and plan to meet again at the NFL combine in Indianapolis next week. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Green-Bay-Packers-Paul-Hornung-Je... . That focus kept him right in step when it counted. Arrieta pitched eight innings of five-hit ball Wednesday night, and the Baltimore Orioles ended Ivan Novas 15-game winning streak with a 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-Green-Bay-Packers-Paul-Hornung-Je... Hornung Black Friday Jersey . Louis Blues forward Chris Stewart was recognized Monday as the NHLs top performer for the week ending Dec. cheap jerseys . 19 Syracuse advanced to the Big East championship game with a 58-55 victory over No.EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 4 Ohio State took Northwesterns best shot on a wet and raucous night at Ryan Field, and the Buckeyes perfect record is still standing. They can thank Carlos Hyde for that. Hyde ran for a career-high 168 yards and three touchdowns, and Ohio State rallied to beat No. 16 Northwestern 40-30 Saturday and extend the nations longest win streak to 18 games. The Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) remained undefeated since Urban Meyer took over as coach last year. On a rain-soaked field and with a prime-time audience watching, they rallied from 10 down in the third quarter to take out a team aiming to show it could beat the best in the conference. Hyde, who was suspended for the first three games after an alleged conflict with a female in a bar this summer, prevented that. He scored on a 4-yard run late in the third and added two more touchdowns in the final quarter to lift the Buckeyes. "I go out every game with the mindset that I have to make up for those three games," Hyde said. And when he was asked what he would think about when he goes to bed, he cleared his throat a few times and placed his fingers on his eyes as he teared up. "First Ill give thanks to God. That suspension. That ... that suspension really hurt. Being out there with my brothers is the greatest thing," Hyde said, his voice cracking. He was credited with a 2-yard touchdown after a replay review early in the fourth to put Ohio State ahead 26-23. Then, after Northwesterns Trevor Siemian connected with Cameron Dickerson on a 12-yard score, Hyde ran it in from the 7 with 5:22 left in the game. That made it 34-30. "We all make mistakes," Meyer said. "I think this is a game changer for him." The Wildcats Kain Colter got stopped on fourth-and-1 at the Ohio State 34 with 2:43 left after he picked up his own fumble, wiping out a late threat. The game ended with Northwestern (4-1, 0-1) lateralling and the Buckeyes recovering the loose ball in the end zone. Hyde came up big Jordan Hall nursing a knee injury, and Ohio State pulled this one out even though Braxton Miller had a rough night. He threw for 203 yards but had an interception and fumbled twice after matching a career-high with four touchddown passes against Wisconsin last week. [url=http://www.shopnflonline.net/Black-Friday-New-York-Jets-Curtis-Martin-Jerse... Martin Black Friday Jersey[/url]. He also ran for 68 yards. Corey Brown added 127 yards receiving, and the defence delivered five sacks, sending the Buckeyes to their 29th win in their past 30 games with the Wildcats. Northwestern hasnt beaten a Top-five team since it opened the 1959 season with wins over No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 5 Iowa. "Theres a team getting on the bus going back to Columbus that just got into a fight with (our) football team," coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "Thats what Ill take from this game." And theres a team staying in Evanston that has the Buckeyes respect. "Very, very good players. Borderline great players," Meyer said. "And a scheme thats hard to defend." Siemian threw 245 yards and two touchdowns against a defence missing one of its leaders in safety Christian Bryant. He broke his left ankle late in last weeks game and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. Kain Colter completed all 12 passes for 98 yards and had a touchdown catch early in the game. Rashad Lawrence had 149 yards receiving. Venric Mark ran for 60 yards after missing three games with a lower body injury, but instead of a signature victory, Northwestern came away with a tight loss. "If we play a complete game, I dont care who were going up against, were going to go out there and get that win," linebacker Damien Proby said. "We didnt get to that point, playing all three phases." Northwestern was leading 23-20 early in the fourth when Doran Grant stepped in front of Rashad Lawrence to pick off a pass by Siemian at the 23. He returned it 7 yards to the Northwestern 16, and on third-and-goal at the 2, Hyde reached across the goal line and was credited with the touchdown after a replay review. That delighted the Buckeyes fans, but the Northwestern crowd had plenty to cheer moments later. Siemian connected with Lawrence on a 67-yard slant to the 7. Then, with the ball at the 12, a scrambling Siemian found Dickerson in the end zone on third down. Just like that, the Wildcats were back on top, 30-27, but in the end, it was Ohio States night. "Everybody got their mind right in the second half," Hyde said. ' ' '