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''I have seen sports future'' 4 visions The neediest By Michael Holley Sometime this month, a child will approach one of her parents and ask if the family can see a pro hockey or pro basketball game. The parent will calmly say yes and tinker with that week's family budget. Sometime in 2005, a child will approach one of his parents and ask if the family can see a pro hockey or pro basketball game. The parent will calmly say yes, wait for the child to turn away, and then begin checking funds in 401(k) plans and certificates of deposit. I am waiting to see if several million fans will eventually ask themselves the following question and give themselves a negative answer: Is it worth it? We all know pro sports tickets are expensive. So is parking. And concessions. And souvenirs. A person who buys a decent seat for a Celtics game and pays for parking, food, and a T-shirt is going to spend $100 in a night. Alone. I wish I could tell you prices will be lower in the future. They won't. But, again, consider the question: Is it worth it? Sony is currently developing a flat-screen, high-definition television. Watching TV sports will never be the same. You will be able to see everything from the sweat on a player's face to the pores from which the sweat originated. Imperfections will be cured by the completely flat screen. Today, HDTV is not affordable for the average fan; it will be in the next few years. So if watching games on TV will never be the same, I wonder if going to them will change too, especially with the staggering prices. We also know that sports and entertainment are beyond the flirting stage and are now dating seriously. Master P, a rapper, is in the sports agent business. ESPN has pulled a trifecta, combining news, sports, and entertainment in an awards event called the ESPYs. Country singer Garth Brooks tried out for the San Diego Padres. Disney owns the Anaheim Angels. The Los Angeles Dodgers are owned by Rupert Murdoch, the same man who brings you ''The X-Files'' and ''The Simpsons,'' via Fox TV. Sports fans have good reasons to hope for and against the complete merger of sports and entertainment. If it happens, it will most certainly give birth to the full-fledged crossover athlete and, simultaneously, curtail the evolution of the skilled pro athlete. Your 21st-century pro will be bigger and faster than ever, but he won't pitch as well, skate as well, or shoot as well. The good thing about the mix of sports stars and movie stars? The laws of supply and demand will be in play. The entertainment dollar is based on what is hot, unlike the sports dollar, which is based on price the previous year. The Red Sox, for example, lost one of their best players and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, but they raised their ticket prices 15 percent. Maybe we should hope for the athlete-entertainer. That way, going to the FleetCenter will cost the same as going to a movie. Eight dollars for Celtics-Knicks. That would be fair. Holley's 4 visions: [ The greediest | The neediest | The biggest | The greatest ] Michael Holley covers the Celtics and writes occasional columns for the Globe.

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