It took quite a while, but MLB owners have finally found an excuse for allowing collusion to re-enter baseball. Blame it on the economy. Granted, the economy is bad, and there's no question that the struggles of the economy will hurt many people. But how much of an effect will it have on MLB?

The remaining free agents are "struggling" to find a deal. Is it because of the economy? Many will tell you that that is the reason. I believe this is simply a way for the owners to drive down the price of player contracts. The poor economy is the perfect excuse for owners to begin the process of lowering player salaries.

There will be some fans affected by the poor economy, and some will not be able to attend games they otherwise would attend, but the stadiums will still be packed, just as they were this past football season, and just as they are now at NBA games across the country. NFL players are still getting their large contracts. The NBA hasn't seen any change in salary structures. Have we hear anything about the economy having an adverse effect on the NFL or NBA...or even the NHL? NBA attendance is roughly the same as it was last season.

Does MLB think that attendance will be hurt by the economy? Will it really affect attendance for people who live in New York, or Boston, or LA? Attendance will be based on team performance, which is usually the number one dictator of attendance. Will fans stop paying $15 a month to watch the MLBtv package due to the current recession?

The local bowling alley in my hometown has seen a 20% increase in business over the past four months. That's on a much smaller scale, but customers are not scaling back as much as "experts" think when it comes to entertainment. The movie business is as strong as it's ever been. That's because the product has been good. Movies have been good. If the product is good, people will spend the money. It will be easy to blame poor attendance in Pittsburgh or San Diego on the economy, but it's the team performance that will dictate sales. But owners will blame it on the sagging economy. The truth is, many turn to sports and recreation as a way to forget their troubles. Many will turn to baseball when all else is going wrong, and that includes financial troubles.

Owners can also point to the steroid scandal as being a factor is declining ticket sales, but they won't take responsibility for that, so they'll blame it on the economy. When Ken Griffey recently signed in Seattle, ticket sales immediately spiked. Customers pushed their economy troubles aside to purchase tickets. Why? Because the Mariners gave the fans a product they wanted.

So when ticket sales are low, it will be because of the team's poor performance, not because of the economy. When the sales of a player's jersey declines, it will be because of suspected wrong doing, not because of the economy. When a player struggles to find a decent salary with a log term deal to go with it, it will be because of collusion, not the economy. When players like Bobby Abreu, Orlando Cabrera, Manny Ramirez, and Jim Edmonda have trouble finding an employer, it's because of collusion, not the economy. The owners were looking for an excuse, and they found one in the slow economy. Do we really believe the Angels or Yankees, or Mets, or Red Sox will lose fans this season because of the economy? I don't think so. MLB owners were looking for a reason to revitalize collusion. They found it in the economy. I guess President Bush did his former fellow owners a favor before leaving the White House.

Court Adjourned!