Yesterday morning, about 9 a.m. or so, you might have heard a national gasp of relief coming through the dining hall. Maybe even a shout or a cheer.

After weeks of watching baseball imbibe arsenic and hockey slit its own throat, fans all across the country were thrilled by the news that the NBA season, threatened by a lockout, was going to start on schedule November 4.

I was afraid I was going to have to occupy my currently sports-deficient midweek with watching the wire to see who was selected as the Red Sox's next pitching coach.

A week, perhaps not even that, of furious negotiating between players and management led by NBA Commissioner David Stern have succeeded in preventing this terrible fate.

As thrilled as I am with this turn of events, I am filled with trepidation for future NBA seasons.

The warning signs are all there for another crisis. The current resolution appears to be nothing more than a Band-Aid, avoiding the inevitable work stoppage.

The original problem was the lack of a collective bargaining arrangement between management and players.

Take a good look at the solution found. The players have agreed to play the season without such an agreement, and the owners in turn have agreed not to lock the players out.

Sound familiar?

It should.

It was the novel means by which the 1993 baseball season was played.

Sure, it got us through that season, but it delayed the inevitable labor confrontation that we are only beginning to realize was taking shape at least three years earlier.

The fundamental problems haven't been addressed by the NBA.

What about the salary cap? There are still suits on appeal in New York against the league and its salary cap in particular.

Decisions are pending, but the labor future of the league would be a lot brighter if they were to stay on the hard courts and stay out of the federal ones.