Oh Brother

Thanksgiving is a day for gratitude, gobbling and gridiron. In keeping with family togetherness Thursday, it just so happened that the brothers Harbaugh went face to face as head coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens. How's that for sibling rivalry? Who do Mom and Dad cheer for? Well, Rafael Nadal, for one, could have used a little support as he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in an attempt to advance to the ATP World Tour Semifinals. After already suffering a really bad loss to Roger Federer, Nadal is questioning his heart for the game and thinks it might be beginning to look a lot like retirement. Over on a different court, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. There are clandestine talks taking place between NBA player reps and owners to salvage the season just in time for Santa. The latest proposal is a 50/50 profit split between players and owners, down from the original 57% going to the players. Meeting halfway sounds fair. Isn't that what relationships are about? Give and take---and take a wee bit more?