It's long past time for someone new to thrust themselves onto the NBA lockout stage.  As Bill Simmons points out in his Grantland piece www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7250994/business-vs-personal , David Stern has stayed too long.   On the players' side, Billy Hunter and, to a lesser extent, Derek Fisher, are being thrashed by commentators.

The press seems to believe that the owners are split in 2 camps: the small-market hardliners and the large-market doves - and the press may be right.  But I ask: where are the mid-market owners, into which I'd put MLSE, in all this lockout sturm und drang?   Is it too Canadian of me to suggest that a low-profile owner like MLSE might be the right diplomat to bring the warring owners and players back to the bargaining table in (barely) enough time to salvage a half-season?

I realize this notion is deeply flawed.  MLSE is opaque in Toronto - how can they have any profile elsewhere sufficient for anyone to even take their call?  Which MLSE suit has enough gravitas to take on the role of Honest Broker successfully?   I don't know, squared.  However, something's got to give.  Somebody has to make an effort.  MLSE, are you breathing?