It only sounds like a Seinfeldian comedy. Jerry vs. George in the World Series is all drama.

And only half the drama, amazingly, for Big-Spending Owner No. 1. Because ...

When he's done dueling Boss Steinbrenner in this game of checkbook baseball, Jerry Colangelo will eventually have to deal with his other risky dare.

The gamble he took by trading away Jason Kidd.

Can two NBA teams punt on Kidd and survive? The Mavericks did, but largely because Michael Finley became a better player than they dared dream when he arrived.

Now Colangelo finds himself Kidd-free, by his own choosing, which is why the future seems as uncertain in Phoenix as it once did down here. No matter what Kidd did to get traded ? and an arrest in a domestic-abuse case is about as bad as it gets ? there's a queasiness that comes with letting such a pure leader go.