Interesting Somethings:

The Yankees and Red Sox have gone down in payroll
The Phillies are actually the #2 payroll.
I think most fans would have guessed the Red Sox.
The Dodgers went up 9.3%
Texas went up 67%.
Pit, SD, Oak, SF, Tex, LAA, Tex, Phi all went up over 20%.
CWS went up 19%.
The Royals went down 50%.

This has a lot to do with trading Grienke. Their minor league system is very strong but their payroll is slightly higher than Arod’s salary.

Besides the Rays and Royals (maybe Astros and Indians too), it seems that the league overall is going up significantly. Which is a good sign. The gap between highest and lowest has closed a little, that could just be a one year thing though. We will see.

Deck the Halls with Balls & Hoopshorts - Fa la la la la, la la la la.
The Best Possible Christmas Present Ever? …. G'Damn Right.. The Lock will soon be a thing of the past. Wash that bad No-Basketball taste out your mouth with 5 noteworthy games to put some real Holiday Cheer in your hanging stockings, even if it’s sitting next to some coal…

Boston Celtics at New York Knicks - 12 Noon on TNT

Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks - 2:30pm on ABC

Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers - 5pm on ABC

Orlando Magic at Oklahoma City Thunder - 8 p.m. on ESPN

Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors - 10:30 p.m. on ESPN

TNT will televise the opener. ABC gets the NBA finals rematch, & the match-up between MVP Derrick Rose & Kobe Bryant, whose Lakers will be playing their first game under former Cleveland coach Mike Brown. The final two contests will air on ESPN.

“It’s a different opening day than has ever happened in the past and Christmas Day games have always been a big day for the NBA,”

“This unique situation combined with the unveiling of a championship banner for the Mavericks in a finals rematch, and then to see the Lakers and the debut of Mike Brown as head coach, those things are all going to be very compelling.” - Jeff Van Gundy