Man vs. Nature....NBA Outdoors?

Oh how obscure the beauty of the outdoors has become. We find ourselves scurrying home after a long day of whatever it is we do. Only to land our bottoms on the couch to watch our favorite people on television. Well at least the stars are beginning to enjoy the outdoors a tad bit more.

I am talking about professional sports. On the first of January, the National Hockey League played a successful outdoor game in Buffalo, New York. And so others must follow suit. As did the NBA being inspired by such an idea.

It will be more than 35 years since the last outdoor NBA game when the Phoenix Suns take on the Denver Nuggets in the 2008-09 preseason. The last outdoor game was on Sept. 24, 1972, where the Suns beat the Bucks in a preseason game.

That one was in a baseball stadium and this one will be at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Oct. 11. Make sure you tune in to TNT for this one. Yahoo! Sports said that if in the unlikely event it is rained out, they will play the next day and maybe again the next year.

"In October, the Suns brought in a basketball floor to test the facility and found it suitable. Depending on ticket sales, Heckmann said an outdoor preseason game could be an annual event."

"The Suns feature megastars Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal. The team picked the Nuggets because of their marquee players, Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony, and because there are direct flights from Denver to Palm Springs. "

So I know I want to see this game. It's just too bad they can't play a couple of regular season games outdoors. And another thing. Make them play in the rain if it ends up that way. Everybody else does, like the NFL. The NHL plays on ice for Pete's sake. Don't tell me in all the hours these ball players have racked up on the court that they haven't played in the rain. Plus, it would make for good TV.