No matter how much you plan, calculate, speculate and research sometimes you just cannot avoid turmoil and it is going to affect your business. It does not matter what kind of business you're in, you are going to have surprises.

This week when I read Miami Heat forward Shawn Marion out for season with foot injury, I could not help but think how ironic. When the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball franchise traded all-star forward Shawn Marion (and guard Marcus Banks) to the Heat for Shaquille O'Neal I am quite certain that there was unanimity of thought that it was Shaq that would be more prone to injury. He had already missed many games this season and was just coming off an injury right before the trade.

After a very slow (losing) start with the Suns Shaq has done well (ignoring his pitiful free-throw shooting) and they have reversed course over the last ten games. The Suns are still in the same hunt for a Championship they were before, but now with a monster in the middle perhaps giving them greater hope for a storybook ending.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I do not own shares of the Phoenix Suns or Miami Heat , but I am saving up to buy the Los Angeles Lakers.

Maybe it was the smugness Christian Laettner displayed during my formative years, or the subtle differences between NBA and NCAA Basketball rules, but professional basketball has always been my least favorite of the major sports.

I am impressed, however, with the National Basketball Association's acknowledgment of the digital age. Today, the league announced that it has rolled out a video-download store, at which fans can purchase digital copies of playoff games for $3 a pop. Entire series are available for $13 each, with a full playoff season available for $80.

The league's vice president of interactive services was quoted by the New York Times as saying "great games and surprising results have driven the most popular downloads." Among the heaviest downloads have been the series between the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks, as well as last year's final championship-series match-up between the Mavericks and the Miami Heat.

The NBA is the first of the major sports organizations to offer such a service, though other leagues are reportedly converting game footage into digital clips in order to satiate fan demand. An executive with Major League Baseball reveals the league's plans to introduce a video-search product later this year, allowing fans to search through hundreds of clips to find specific highlights (which will likely be available for free). The National Football League is introducing a video-heavy version of its web site this summer and exploring the ramifications of offering historical video footage.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.