BASKETBALL

Many NBA teams received criticism last season for resting their players during regular season games. Fans felt they paid good money to come to games and didn’t like seeing health players resting up for a more important game or for the playoffs. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he understands teams need to prevent players getting injured, but felt there should be a better balance. “There is an expectation among partners that teams are going to act in appropriate ways, (and) find, as I said, that right balance between resting on one hand and obligations to fans and partners on the other.” With that said, he’s instituted a number of other rules to benefit players in an  82 game schedule.

This summer, Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant signed a two year $51 million dollar contract. Many basketball enthusiasts are giving him a hard time, not because it’s a lot of money, but because it’s so much less than he should be making. He’s accused of giving the Warriors a “discount” so the team could afford some of its other star players. Durant told the Atltantic in a recent press conference, “Well, I’m a smart guy and I want to keep this thing going and looking at Andre and Shaun (Livingston) and Steph (Curry) — they all should make the most money that they can make and get what they deserve. Because they were all underpaid and I knew at some point they’d want to get what they deserve. So I just took a step back and let the chips fall where they may. Then I took it in my hands. I wanted to keep the team together and I thought it was going to help the ownership bring all the guys back. And on top of that, it’s my money. It’s my decision. I can do what the hell I want with it.” Durant can opt out of his contract after this season, and if all goes well, he’ll be one of the highest paid players (which, of course, will also bring criticism).

BASEBALL

Baseball fans are in awe of the Los Angeles Dodgers historic season. With a current 80 wins and only 33 losses and a 15 game lead in their division, the Dodgers hold the best record in baseball and are primed to not only advance to a World Series berth, but also make history with number of wins for the season. The current record set by the Chicago Cubs in 1906 and then later by the 2001 Seattle Mariners is 116 wins in a 162 game season. Interesting to note, neither of those teams went on to win the World Series, but this year’s Dodgers don’t seem phased by the hype or the pressure. They just keep entertaining the crowds and winning games.

FOOTBALL

After years of criticism about poor officiating, the NFL has agreed to hire full time officials to ref games this season. NFL officiating was previously a part time job and many felt the refs were not fully qualified to make crucial judgments about controversial calls during games. With a full time crew, the NFL believes the referees will be better prepared and have more consistency during games.