Stern going back to the old ball

[Chuck~Taylor]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2694335

The leather ball will be back on Jan. 1st

 

[heyabbott]

I thought this thread was about Howard Stern finally coming out of the closet

 

[bigpern23]

My question is this: If he's decided to can the new ball, why wait three weeks? You're telling me the NBA can't get enough balls into the arenas in a week?

If he feels they're a big enough detriment to the game to go back to the old balls, he should be switching ASAP. Not waiting for a pretty date like Jan. 1 to make the change.

It's not an earth-shattering matter, of course, but it just seems silly to wait.

 

[dawgpounddiehard]

Hope my Secret Santa person is OK with getting the New Coke version of a basketball.

Wow you spent $99 on your Secret Santa? The other week, I went to NBA.com to see how much these balls were to pick one up for my rec league team. Needless to say when I saw the price tag I quickly closed the Internet browser.

Maybe they'll be on sale now? :)

 

[Second Thoughts]

He can't kill them off before the Christmas spending on the new ball becomes obsolete.

(As an aside, this is stunning backtracking by the true Great Decider).

 

[poindexter]

Props for recognizing a disaster and making changes relatively early. I wish other leaders would follow suit.

 

[poindexter]

My question is this: If he's decided to can the new ball, why wait three weeks? You're telling me the NBA can't get enough balls into the arenas in a week?

If he feels they're a big enough detriment to the game to go back to the old balls, he should be switching ASAP. Not waiting for a pretty date like Jan. 1 to make the change.

It's not an earth-shattering matter, of course, but it just seems silly to wait.

Since there seemed to be a "period of adjustment" to get used to these new balls, perhaps they would need another period of adjustment to get used to the old ones.

 

[dog428]

That's some lede on the ESPN story:

NBA commissioner David Stern, in a stunning reversal ...

A "stunning" reversal? Really?

 

[BYH]

NBA TO BALL: We're with you, leather.

 

[playthrough]

I'm stunned (relatively speaking). In every interview I heard with Stern he was defending the ball like it was his first-born kid, and even his "statement" was dubious:

"Our players' response to this particular composite ball has been consistently negative and we are acting accordingly. Although testing performed by Spalding and the NBA demonstrated that the new composite basketball was more consistent than leather, and statistically there has been an improvement in shooting, scoring, and ball-related turnovers, the most important statistic is the view of our players."

Riiiiight Commish. The players told you from Day 1 that they hated it.

 

[Boom_70]

Just another example of the NBA being about marketing instead of sport.

I mean why **** with the rock. There was just 0 upside.

 

[RokSki]

That's some lede on the ESPN story:

NBA commissioner David Stern, in a stunning reversal ...

A "stunning" reversal? Really?

I agree that it is a large 'loss' for the league offices. Stern is notoriously resolute when he takes a position, and he did not want to have to pull the plug on the new ball. He must have gotten a huge amount of blowback to take this step.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

NBA TO BALL: We're with you, leather.

That's quality.

 

[CitizenTino]

I thought they'd eventually go with some sort of compromise... Like making the new two-panel ball with actual leather instead of that microfiber. You'd have the feel of the old ball so players wouldn't complain, but it would actually be a new ball that they could market.

 

[Boom_70]

RIP

 

[Chuck~Taylor]

15 years from now, we're gonna look back at this and laugh.

 

[RokSki]

RIP

One word: Wal-Mart

 

[outofplace]

15 years from now, we're gonna look back at this and laugh.

As if we're not laughing now?

 

[Gomer]

Headline suggestion time...

NBA: Microfiber is so last month

 

[Boom_70]

Maybe they should keep the ball and get rid of most of the players instead.