The owners of the various pro leagues called a meeting. They invited the unions, the tv execs and left the media to cool their heels in the lobby. One of the pro guys got the meeting of with a direct statement.

"There is too much money around that we're not getting. The pie can be bigger. We need to stop competing and start working to increase revenues. We'd each get a smaller slice but it would be a much bigger pie".

The rest of the owners nodded their heads. They looked like a bunch of bobbleheads during a major earthquake.

They decided that one big problem was overlapping seasons and overlapping loyalties. Someone might have to choose between, say, a baseball game and a football game. If his baseball team was in the running he just might choose the baseball game. That helped the ratings for baseball but hurt the ratings for football.

One of the execs offered a solution.

"Let's have just one game. Start the season January first. run it until June 30th. Then start the playoffs. Run them until the end of the year".

Another exec questioned how many teams would be in the playoffs.

"Well, there are enough teams that I'd say we'd make it the top 88", the first exec answered.

Bobbleheads again.

"But, we all play different games. How do we do it?", a baseball exec asked.

"Well, we make it one game", the original exec replied.

"Oh, okay. It's going to look a little odd with you guys doing your stuff with a puck", the hockey guy said.

"Puck? There ain't going to be no puck. It's going to be a ball", a football man said.

"Oh. okay, but we keep the sticks and the skates", the hockey guy answered.

"Skates? Like the dickens you will. You're not roller-skating on my new hardwood floors", a basketball rep told him.

"Hardwood? We skate on ice". There was a long, heated arguement over a lot of things. They did decide to use a ball. Then, unable to reach a consensus on the size or shape, picked one from a hat. The 12 inch square ball won out.

"I guess we'll have to use a square bat", the baseball guy told the meeting.

"Are you nuts?!", a football owner screamed. "Most of our players should be locked in a cage in between games and you want them on the field with a lethal weapon? Are you nuts?!"

One of the tv account reps added something at this point.

"It might help the ratings. The higher the rating the more we can charge. Hence, the more we can pay".

Bobbleheads were bobbling all over.

"What about the fans?", John Q. Public asked.

All the bobbleheads stopped bobbling. Who let this guy slip in here?

A sports owner finally answered John Q. Public.

"What do the fans have to do with anything?"