Hours after the NBA took away the keys and locked out the players, Atlanta Hawks and Philips Arena president Bob Williams was hard at work trying to mollify the dozens of disgruntled Hawks fans that weren't already pissed off at his employer for kiting the Atlanta Thrashers out of town.
And as almost in lock step with the NBA Commissioner David Stern -- Williams (and not less-than-loved Spirit owners Bruce Levenson and Michael Gearon) regurgitated the same tired and partially untrue talking points that will be ingrained in basketball fan's collective brains for the next six, eight or twelve months.
Williams' letter to the fans stated:
"The ultimate goal is to find a sustainable business model that enables all 30 teams to compete for a championship, fairly compensates players, and ensures a world-class experience for our fans and the NBA will continue to work to reach that goal so that the 2011-2012 season can resume without missing games.
Blah, blah, blah.
Of course, the Hawks prez (not to be confused with the former Thrashers president that is working to sell the basketball team, too), went on to mention how the Hawks are the greatest thing since sliced bread as one of the few teams to make it to the second round the past few years.
Ok, Mr. Williams, Good luck with that next year without Jamal Crawford. That is -- if there is a next year in the NBA.