If we were all able to put egos and greed aside, I think this situation is a no-brainer.

In a nutshell, the AVERAGE NBA player currently earns around $5.5m per year. This new collective bargaining agreement would have seen the AVERAGE NBA player earning around $8.5m per year by 2021 – with incremental increases along the way.

Now, I just need to know, how much does someone really need to be paid in order to have the privilege of living the dream they – and every other child – dreamed from the day they were old enough to dream.

Is being granted the opportunity to live your dream, really such a burden that you need more than $8.5m per year to live it? Come on.

I am objective enough to understand that the players have financial commitments, for which they expected a greater pay rise – via a greater share of the total BRI (Basketball Related Income) – but considering the current global economic situation, the players are displaying an extraordinary amount of greed.

Tiger's last victory was at the 2009 Australian Masters, here in Melbourne.

I am a golf tragic. I am the  guy who gets up early every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning throughout the USPGA tour season to watch Australia’s coverage. I play Yahoo Fantasy Golf with some mates here in Australia and North America, and every chance I get I hit a course in Melbourne to hone my limited skills.

Like all other golf fans, I am asking the questions… When will Tiger start winning again? What  changes need to occur before this can happen? Will he ever win another major? Is he THAT much worse than he was, or is everyone else THAT much better?

I’m no technical golf expert, so I am not going to insult my readers’ intelligence by attempting to describe the subtle differences I have noticed in his swing over the past 18 months.

I believe that Tiger has to stop apologising.

3 weeks ago in Dubai he was fined for spitting on the course after missing a putt. He apologised to the press, the Euro tour and even offered a rare tweet to apologise to all of his fans.

Last week he was terrible in his first round loss at the Accenture Match Play, he apologised for losing his temper.

Why go to such an effort to let us all know how sorry he is? Does he want to salvage some respect from the world between now and the end of his pro career? Does he want sponsors to love him again?

Newsflash… none of this matters if he start winning again!

Tiger, just do whatever makes you feel invincible, like you used to. Superheroes don’t spend their days apologising, treading lightly, kissing babies or helping old ladies across the street! At least Tiger Woods the superhero didn’t.

I’d like to see Tiger grit his teeth, thump his chest, give his haters the finger and kiss a blonde porn star before teeing off on the 1st tee next week… WE DON’T CARE! If it will make him feel invincible and larger than life like he used to… then I want to see him DO IT!

Bottom line, I believe that a lot of his issues are in his head. He has lost the feeling of being the invincible man of steel, and until he believes he is a winner again, he won’t be.

Regardless of the team, the state of play, the consequences of the game or the popularity (or lack thereof) of the players involved, he brings an unconditional state of enthusiasm to everything he calls.

In round 22 this year came a classic Bruce moment.

The lowly placed Richmond was taking on the – also lowly placed – Port Adelaide Power in a game that had no consequence on the outcome of the season for either team. It was Ben Cousins’ last game of AFL footy and his mighty Tigers were getting one of the all time floggings.

Down by 10+ goals in the second quarter, there seemed to be no way back… however, as the signs of a famous comeback started to emerge, Bruce got very excited.

Unbelievable goal… They’re roaring now the tigers!

Even this alone was classic Bruce enthusiasm in a match that not many people cared too much about… then came an almighty…

Rooooaaaarrrr!!!

Great stuff Bruce! Keep it up!

I have just used this tool on the AFL website to predict the end of the season. If my precisely calculated predictions are correct – which they will be – the top 15 teams should have a very happy ending.

Four teams are probably playing badly enough – at this stage of the season – to take home the wooden spoon;

• Brisbane – luckily they won a bunch of games early in the season. Oh, and Jonathon Brown would never let it happen
• Port Adelaide – A few home games late in the season and a new coach should help them avoid it
• West Coast – Probably a 50-50 chance with the Bombers, but I think they’ll win a couple of games at home late in the season and avoid it.
• Essendon – I can’t see any upside to their current situation. Their morale is lower than I’ve ever seen and I reckon they’re a genuine chance to snatch the spoon from the Eagles.

Once again, my apologies to anyone that was looking forward to the end of the season, at least now you won’t have to worry about watching it. Just take my word for it.

As a marketer I’m tempted to analyze the ins and outs of this publicity fest that will send his already unprecedented endorsement deals to a level that many of us never dreamed possible… but I’m a basketball fan first and foremost, so I’d rather explore what this means for the league I follow so closely.

Will Miami win a championship with James, Wade and Bosh?

Simply put, yes.

Will Miami win the Championship in this upcoming 2010-2011 season?

My answer is no.

I’ve thought about this for the past 10 hours since ‘The King’ made his announcement, and once all the hype is put to one side, we are left with some facts that cannot be ignored.

1. They’re unproven. If basketball was a sport in which results were decided by the combined individual brilliance of a team’s best players, then yeah pencil them in for the next 7 or so rings… but it’s not. Success or failure is realised on the back of the ability of 10 players to work together with greater fluency and effectiveness than the other team’s 10 players. Statistics tell us that when a team makes such significant changes to the top end of their roster, success just doesn’t happen immediately.
2. The Lakers are a very well balanced, proven team, with an exceptional leader and a coach that makes 3-peat championships look easy. How can we forget these guys so quickly! They are young, talented, motivated, experienced and very well positioned for a long-term dynasty of their own.
3. The great unknown of this team is the rest of the roster. Unless they can attract  some quality young talent willing to play for peanuts – a measly few million dollars worth of peanuts – then the efforts of the three superstars will go unrewarded. The Bulls had their superstars, but they wouldn’t have won their rings without a John Paxson/Steve Kerr/BJ Armstrong… Horace Grant/Dennis Rodman/Toni Kuko?… Cartwright/Longley.

I believe that Miami will be be able to attract some great raw talent to fill the roster and possibly even one or two former stars looking to end their careers with a ring or two. They’ll refine their game-style and develop a disciplined winning culture over the course of the next twelve months and then in the 2011-2012 we’ll see the beginning of one of the great dynasties.

But then again, what do I know… After his strong debut in 2004, I said Andrew Walker would have two Brownlow Medals by this time!