Still waiting for the salary cap's ship to come in

Published 4/2/98

Random shots from a loose cannon...

° Now that the Academy Awards have come and gone, with its 11 awards can it be safe to say "Titanic" sunk the rest of the movie pool? I think so. Anyway, it's interesting to see all the hype and bandwagon jumping going on about a boat that sunk to the Atlantic Ocean bottom.

I remember not too long ago (It was this past summer) people were expecting this multi-multi-multi-million dollar feature to flop. Isn't it amazing what a little special effects and an annoying soundtrack can do for a picture?

° Speaking of movies, this is in response to all those people who complain about $7 movie tickets and $5 popcorn barrels: If you want to see state-of-the-art visual effects on a large screen with surround sound, then you'll have to pay $7 for a ticket and $5 for a barrel full of popcorn, half of which you probably won't finish anyway.

If you want to watch a movie for less money, get a television set and wait for it to come out on video or pay-per-view. But remember this: You spill a drink at a movie theater, you can just leave it there for the next patron to wallow in. You spill a drink at home, you have to mop it up.

° With baseball season around the corner, the talk will again be about the embarrassing amount of money ball players make, and the subject of the salary cap will probably grace a few headlines. Some food for thought. The NBA, which is the pioneer of capping players' salaries, has several athletes signed onto teams for more than $100 million. In fact, there's talk that in the offseason that Orlando Magic guard, and unrestricted free agent, Anfernee Hardaway will be seeking out a $200 million guaranteed contract.

And for those who say a salary cap promotes equality between large and small market teams, check this out. Since 1990, the NBA has had only three different teams claim the crown. The Detroit Pistons in '90, the Chicago Bulls in '91, '92, '93, '96 and '97, and the Houston Rockets in '94 and '95.

Meanwhile, Major League Baseball has had six different title changes in its past seven World Series matchups. The Cincinnati Reds won it in '90, the Minnesota Twins won in '91, the Toronto Blue Jays won it in '92 and '93. There was no World Series in 1994 due to a season-ending labor strike that we, the fans, vowed never to return to baseball again. In '95, the Atlanta Braves took it all, in '96 the New York Yankees won and last year the title went to the Florida Marlins.

Even though most of these World Series titles were won with teams amassing the league's higher payrolls, it's still more enjoyable to watch a different millionaire owner win the championship than to see Michael Jordan kiss the same trophy year-in and year-out.

° For $3 million, I would have had Mike Tyson do just a little bit more than knock out Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania XIV last Sunday.

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