Charlie Pierce: Will There Be Basketball?

A resolution to the NBA lockout seems light years away; Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol has decided to play in Barcelona while the lockout is being ironed out, Kobe Bryant will play at least one game in Italy, and Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs packed his bags for France where he will play for minimum wage — $2,000 per month — until the dispute is settled. Only A Game analyst Charlie Pierce comments this week on the NBA talks, the growing feud between two fiery college basketball coaches, and the Florida Marlins reliever who recently revealed he adopted the identity of a friend in order to maximize his salary. Also, Charlie weighs in on the end to the partnership between ESPN and Hank Williams Jr. and the golfer who brought home the bacon — correction, the ham — at the Madrid Masters.