Basketball on strike

　　罷工中的籃球運動

　　WHEN theclock struck midnight on June 30th the number ofjobless men in America increased by 450. Few, though,will pity these idle labourers. The average among themearned around $5m last year.

　　當6月30日晚午夜鐘聲響起的一刻，美國失業男人的人數增加了450人。然而，幾乎沒有人為這些無所事事的體力勞動者惋惜。去年，他們的年平均收入在500萬美元左右。

　　Their employers had long thought that too much. Sothe owners of the National Basketball Association locked out their players after the two sides failedto reach a new collective-bargaining agreement. Withthe National Football League in a similar state ofabeyance, sports fans are becoming well-versed inAmerican labour law.

　　老板們已經就球員們的高工資想了很多。因此，當勞資雙方未達成一個新的共同商討的協議時，美國籃球職業聯賽的所有者們將球員趕出了聯盟。同時，美國美式橄欖球大聯盟也處于相似的停擺狀態中，這種狀況使得球迷們對美國勞動法變得無比熟悉。

　　As with the NFL, the NBA lockout comes at an inopportune time. The decision was taken just18 days after an exciting championship that saw the leagues most captivating villain, LeBron James of the Miami Heat, outplayed by a likeable legend, Dirk Nowitzki of thevictorious Dallas Mavericks. That capped a season in which sales of tickets and merchandise,as well as TV ratings, were up.

　　與NFL相似，NBA停擺顯得那么不適時宜。18天前，一代傳奇德克?諾維斯基領銜的達拉斯小牛擊敗聯盟最受矚目的怪獸勒布朗?詹姆士率領的邁阿密熱火，奪取了總冠軍。18天后，聯盟停擺。本賽季的門票和商品收入，以及收視率都增長，但是這些全被聯盟停擺的陰影所覆蓋。

　　We had a great year in terms of the appreciation of our fans for our game. It just wasnt aprofitable one for the owners, says David Stern, the leagues longtime commissioner. Heclaims that 22 of the NBAs 30 teams are losing money.

　　從球迷的欣賞度來講，我們度過了成功的一年。但對球隊老板們來說，這一年沒有盈利，已擔任聯盟主席很長時間的大衛?斯特恩說道。他稱，在聯盟30支球隊中，22支正在面臨虧損。

　　As a result, team owners want fundamentalchanges to the economic structure of the league. Forstarters, that means replacing the current soft capon players salaries with a hard one that will do moreto limit the contracts doled out by the wealthierclubs. They also want to see the leagues revenues,which amounted to $3.8 billion last season accordingto Forbes, split up in a way that is much morefavourable to them and less favourable to theplayers.

　　因此，球隊老板們希望對聯盟的經濟結構做出基礎性的改變。首先，這就意味著用硬工資帽來代替軟工資帽，從而對更加富有的球隊所提供的合同做出更多的限制。他們也希望聯盟收入以一種對球隊更加有利，而不是對球員更加有利的方式來分配。據福布斯披露，過去的一個賽季聯盟總收入達到38億美元。

　　The players, in turn, accuse the owners of poor teamwork. They say that more revenue-sharing between the leagues haves and have-nots could resolve the teams exaggeratedfinancial troubles. Much depends on whose numbers you believe.

　　相應地，球員們指責老板們低劣的球隊工作。他們稱，在聯盟的富人和窮人之間進行更多的收入分配可以解決球隊言過其實的財政困難。這很大程度上取決與你相信誰的數字。

　　In the end the players will probably have to make at least modest concessions on theircontracts and salaries, but they have thus far rejected the owners demanding proposals.About the only thing the two sides currently agree on is how far apart they are, raising fearsthat the next season may be cancelled altogether.

　　最終，球員們可能不得不在合同和薪水方面至少做出適度的讓步。但是他們已經拒絕了球隊老板提出的方案。雙方目前唯一達成一致的是他們的分歧是什么，這也增加了下賽季可能被整個取消的擔憂。

　　The NFL, on the other hand, looks to be moving closer to a deal that would end its four-monthwork stoppage. But that ought not to raise the hopes of NBA fans much. No NFL team appearsto be losing money and the leagues basic economic framework is not in dispute. Theincentives facing each sport are also quite different. With pre-season games only a month away,further squabbling could cost the NFL as much as $200m for each missed week of practice.Compare that with the NBA, where some owners may actually prefer to forgo anotherunprofitable season if it results in a better deal.

　　另一方面，NFL看起來即將達成一個協議，從而結束長達四個月的停擺。但是這一消息并不會給NBA球迷們帶來很大的希望。NFL球隊中無一虧損，并且聯盟的基本經濟框架也不存在爭議。每項運動所面臨的刺激千差萬別。距離季前賽只有一個月的時間了，如果繼續爭吵下去的話，每停擺一周將會使NFL損失2億美元。而在NBA，如果達不成一個更好的協議的話，一些老板實際上上會選擇放棄一個虧損的賽季。

　　Basketball on strike

　　罷工中的籃球運動

　　WHEN theclock struck midnight on June 30th the number ofjobless men in America increased by 450. Few, though,will pity these idle labourers. The average among themearned around $5m last year.

　　當6月30日晚午夜鐘聲響起的一刻，美國失業男人的人數增加了450人。然而，幾乎沒有人為這些無所事事的體力勞動者惋惜。去年，他們的年平均收入在500萬美元左右。

　　Their employers had long thought that too much. Sothe owners of the National Basketball Association locked out their players after the two sides failedto reach a new collective-bargaining agreement. Withthe National Football League in a similar state ofabeyance, sports fans are becoming well-versed inAmerican labour law.

　　老板們已經就球員們的高工資想了很多。因此，當勞資雙方未達成一個新的共同商討的協議時，美國籃球職業聯賽的所有者們將球員趕出了聯盟。同時，美國美式橄欖球大聯盟也處于相似的停擺狀態中，這種狀況使得球迷們對美國勞動法變得無比熟悉。

　　As with the NFL, the NBA lockout comes at an inopportune time. The decision was taken just18 days after an exciting championship that saw the leagues most captivating villain, LeBron James of the Miami Heat, outplayed by a likeable legend, Dirk Nowitzki of thevictorious Dallas Mavericks. That capped a season in which sales of tickets and merchandise,as well as TV ratings, were up.

　　與NFL相似，NBA停擺顯得那么不適時宜。18天前，一代傳奇德克?諾維斯基領銜的達拉斯小牛擊敗聯盟最受矚目的怪獸勒布朗?詹姆士率領的邁阿密熱火，奪取了總冠軍。18天后，聯盟停擺。本賽季的門票和商品收入，以及收視率都增長，但是這些全被聯盟停擺的陰影所覆蓋。

　　We had a great year in terms of the appreciation of our fans for our game. It just wasnt aprofitable one for the owners, says David Stern, the leagues longtime commissioner. Heclaims that 22 of the NBAs 30 teams are losing money.

　　從球迷的欣賞度來講，我們度過了成功的一年。但對球隊老板們來說，這一年沒有盈利，已擔任聯盟主席很長時間的大衛?斯特恩說道。他稱，在聯盟30支球隊中，22支正在面臨虧損。

　　As a result, team owners want fundamentalchanges to the economic structure of the league. Forstarters, that means replacing the current soft capon players salaries with a hard one that will do moreto limit the contracts doled out by the wealthierclubs. They also want to see the leagues revenues,which amounted to $3.8 billion last season accordingto Forbes, split up in a way that is much morefavourable to them and less favourable to theplayers.

　　因此，球隊老板們希望對聯盟的經濟結構做出基礎性的改變。首先，這就意味著用硬工資帽來代替軟工資帽，從而對更加富有的球隊所提供的合同做出更多的限制。他們也希望聯盟收入以一種對球隊更加有利，而不是對球員更加有利的方式來分配。據福布斯披露，過去的一個賽季聯盟總收入達到38億美元。

　　The players, in turn, accuse the owners of poor teamwork. They say that more revenue-sharing between the leagues haves and have-nots could resolve the teams exaggeratedfinancial troubles. Much depends on whose numbers you believe.

　　相應地，球員們指責老板們低劣的球隊工作。他們稱，在聯盟的富人和窮人之間進行更多的收入分配可以解決球隊言過其實的財政困難。這很大程度上取決與你相信誰的數字。

　　In the end the players will probably have to make at least modest concessions on theircontracts and salaries, but they have thus far rejected the owners demanding proposals.About the only thing the two sides currently agree on is how far apart they are, raising fearsthat the next season may be cancelled altogether.

　　最終，球員們可能不得不在合同和薪水方面至少做出適度的讓步。但是他們已經拒絕了球隊老板提出的方案。雙方目前唯一達成一致的是他們的分歧是什么，這也增加了下賽季可能被整個取消的擔憂。

　　The NFL, on the other hand, looks to be moving closer to a deal that would end its four-monthwork stoppage. But that ought not to raise the hopes of NBA fans much. No NFL team appearsto be losing money and the leagues basic economic framework is not in dispute. Theincentives facing each sport are also quite different. With pre-season games only a month away,further squabbling could cost the NFL as much as $200m for each missed week of practice.Compare that with the NBA, where some owners may actually prefer to forgo anotherunprofitable season if it results in a better deal.

　　另一方面，NFL看起來即將達成一個協議，從而結束長達四個月的停擺。但是這一消息并不會給NBA球迷們帶來很大的希望。NFL球隊中無一虧損，并且聯盟的基本經濟框架也不存在爭議。每項運動所面臨的刺激千差萬別。距離季前賽只有一個月的時間了，如果繼續爭吵下去的話，每停擺一周將會使NFL損失2億美元。而在NBA，如果達不成一個更好的協議的話，一些老板實際上上會選擇放棄一個虧損的賽季。