Dissident Hockey Players File Complaint with NLRB

The battle over the hiring of Ted Saskin as the head of the National Hockey League Players Association has now landed in the lap of the US National Labor Relations Board. Earlier this week, a group of 28 players, including some of the biggest names in the sport, filed a complaint with the NLRB charging the union leadership with illegal activities in the manner in which Ted Saskin was selected to be the executive director of the NHLPA following the dismissal of former union leader Bob Goodenow. The dissident group includes stars such as Chris Chelios, Eric Lindros, Dominik Hasek, Ed Belfour and Brian Leetch. A discussion of the manner in which Saskin was selected can be found here.

While Saskin appears to enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of the players, that has not deterred the dissidents. Saskin tried to quell the revolt by holding a second vote on his election and ballots were sent out to all the player representatives two weeks ago. Some have been returned but far from all and the it has done little to quiet the storm.

According to Trent Klatt, a Los Angeles King and member of the NHLPA executive committee, as reported in the The Globe and Mail, the dissident group wants to "educate all of our members on the most recent illegal activities of our union. We want to 'right the wrongs' that have occurred and we want to make sure that this can never happen again."

So, where is this all going to end? That is the $1,000,000 question (Saskin makes at least that much as executive director of the NHLPA). I don't really believe that the NLRB complaint will be prosecuted to a final determination. Ultimately, cooler heads will prevail and some sort of compromise will be worked out. Probably, a full and complete secret ballot of the entire players association will be necessary to finally end this and I suspect that at this time next year, Trevor Linden will no longer be the President of the NHLPA. Will the dissidents win this fight? If winning means the ouster of Saskin, then probably not. If winning means a new transparency in an union long dogged by less than aboveboard operations, then the chances of success are high.

Angelos Won't Sell

The last words any Baltimore Orioles fans wanted to hear came out of owner Peter Angelos' mouth shortly after the O's last home game of the season. "It's not for sale", Angelos was quoted as saying in the Baltimore Sun and with that the hopes and dreams of Baltimore Oriole fans across the city and the country were crushed yet again. It has been bad enough these last few years that the team has been mired in a losing culture so entrenched that nothing any player or coach can do will break them out of it. The only hope seemed to come from the thought that Angelos had the team on the sale block.

He is too savvy a businessman to sell now. The value of baseball franchises are about to rise with the prospect of a new collective bargaining agreement and the impact of new television contracts. The deal Angelos struck with MLB over the television rights to the Washington Nationals and his ownership interest in the new network formed to hold those rights will only enhance the value of the franchise.

So Oriole fans, it is only faint hope I can give you. One day, it may not be soon but one day, Angelos will sell and then will come the dawn of a new era and with it a return to the proud past of one of baseball's best franchises.

Wie Plans Her Future

In a very interesting article on planning the future of the female version of Tiger Woods, although I'm sure that Michelle Wie and her parents would hate to hear you say that, USA Today attempts to take you inside the inner circle show how the Wie family and advisers are plotting her course.

She is expected to announce the signing of the William Morris Agency as her agents, not a firm know for representing athletes, but one known for representing actors and actresses. It may be an indication that Wie intends to promote herself as a crossover celebrity and won't restrict herself to golf and the sports world. She is also expected to sign soon with Nike and get a clothing line and her own logo, as does Tiger.

As a recognizable female star with crossover appeal, Wie has a major endorsement opportunity that male athletes and celebrities don't have - jewelry lines. Oh sure, Tiger endorses a watch, but that's so pedestian. We're talking all kinds of jewelery here, from earrings to bracelets to pendants and necklaces. Wie can have an entire line of jewelry that will appeal to her target market of young female fans and generate millions in sales around the globe.

Wie shares a mixed race heritage with Tiger that enables her to be as popular in Asia as he is. She has the added advantage of being fluent in Korean and has taken classes in both Japanese and Chinese, language skills that will serve her well in the years to come as she tours east Asia, playing in tournaments and making appearances.

The challenge for Michelle will be to concentrate on golf in the face of a marketing machine that will make incessant demands on her time. It is imperative for her long term success that she break through with victories on the ladies tour. A string of second place finishes this year shows that she is on the cusp and probably needs only one win to open the floodgates. The sooner that she grabs that first win, the better for her own self-confidence (soemthing she has never shown any evidence of lacking) and for her soon to be unleashed marketing machine. With all that is about to happen, Michelle and those around her must never lose sight of the fact that at its core, this is all about Michelle Wie, the golfer.

Checketts Signs Letter of Intent to Buy Blues

The St. Louis Blues may be about to get new owners as Dave Checketts has signed a letter of intent to purchase the team and the operating lease on the Savvis Center, according to a report in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch and later confirmed on the Blues website. Checketts is a former president of the New York Knicks who then went on to become president of Madison Square Garden, which owns both the Knicks and the New York Rangers. Last year, he bought into Major League Soccer, with the expansion Real Salt Lake.

Checketts now runs a consulting and investing service for sports teams as well as a syndicated broadcaster of college sports. His vast experience in sports should serve him in St. Louis, a market which supports the Blues but which needs to find additional sources of revenue to make the franchise viable. Blues fans should cheer this news.

Jets and Giants Agree to Share New Stadium

The New York (Jersey) Giants and the New York (Jersey ) Jets have reached agreement on the construction of a new stadium across from Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands, well sort of. Actually, according to the announcement made by New Jersey Acting Governor Richard J. Codey the two teams have just agreed to share the cost of construction with the details of design and naming rights and most other critical issues left to an arbitrator.

This is the first time in the NFL that two teams have agreed to join together to build a stadium. The Jets moved to Giants Stadium after it had been built to escape Shea Stadium but always felt like second class citizens playing in a stadium named after their rivals. Now, the name on the outside will be corporate, neutral and worth millions.

The Jets had toyed with Queens, last week indicating that they might build a new stadium near the site of the Mets new stadium. However, it now seems clear that was merely negotiating posture for a better deal with the Giants and New Jersey. Whether there is any long-tern repercussions from their fans in Queens remains to be seen , but is unlikely as they have been through this before. By the time the new stadium is built, the resentment will probably fade, especially if Herm Edwards can find a quarterback who can win and stay healthy.

NCAA deniesNCAA Denies North Dakota Appeal

In the first case of the appeals panel upholding the NCAA's initial action, the appeal of the University of North Dakota for the right to continue to use the Fighting Sioux nickname and mascot was denied today. The appeals panel said UND did not have the support of the three federally recognized Sioux tribes. Two of the three filed formal opposition to the continued use of the nickname by the university.

The NCAA did allow UND to host the NCAA West Regional Hockey Championship already scheduled for this March, but it is now banned from hosting any furher NCAA tournaments. The university is permitted to appeal to the NCAA's full executive committe and in a statement released this afternoon, UND President Charles Kupchella promised to do just that.

"Obviously, we do not agree with the decision, and we will continue to press our case through all of the levels of review and beyond as necessary. Because of the harshness of the words 'hostile' and 'abusive' we have no choice but to pursue an appeal and prove, in a court of law if necessary, that this choice of words was inappropriate, and in no way describes what we do here at the University of North Dakota.

"It is not at all obvious to us why the NCAA finds the nicknames 'Chippewas,' 'Seminoles' and 'Utes' worthy of exceptions, but somehow 'Sioux' is deemed hostile and abusive. We must press our case, because to let the charge of hostile and abusive stand would have a chilling effect to prospective faculty, staff and, most importantly, prospective American Indian students we are here to serve. Even those here opposed to the use of the nickname on campus recognize that UND offers perhaps the best opportunity for many American Indian students to get an education. I would also note that the schools exempted thus far have been exempted on the basis of a 'special relationship' with American Indian tribes, yet our proportionate number of American Indian students and the number of substantive programs in support of American Indian students exceeds that of all of the exempted schools combined."

My suspicion is that President's Kupchella's appeal will meet the same fate with the executive committe as it did with the appeals panel.

Bowl Roulette - WAC Edition

The Hawai'i Bowl announced a future tie-in with Pac-10, sending the 6th place team starting in 2006 and possibly in 2008 and 2009. FOr the Pac-10, it's a return to a bowl where it had once had a less than wonderful experience, but given the geography and the local draw of Pac-10 schools, it's willing to give Aloha Stadium another chance. For the folks in Hawai'i, I'm sure that Oregon or Washington are far more attractive than Marshall or UCF.

Bowl Roulette - CUSA

CUSA's turn at bowl roulette came yesterday and the newly revamped league came up a winner. CUSA announced that it held on its bid to the upgraded Liberty Bowl, thought to be in danger of going to the Big East along with departing CUSA former members Louisville, South Florida and Cincinnati, but it now will be playing a team from the SEC rather than the Mountain West. In addition, the league kept its spot in the Ft. Worth Bowl which will now be played against a Mountain West team instead of a Big XII team as the bowl's host, TCU, has joined the MWC.

Keeping the Liberty Bowl is a huge win for Conference USA, which will get the first pick of the league's team, not necessarily the league champion. The payout of the bowl has been increased to attract the SEC and the increased exposure that will bring will almost assuredly help the league market the bowl and its teams. The matchup, which will likely be more local in flavor than in the past, will also be much more attractive to fans and advertiser.

BlogPoll Week 5

Well, it's that time of the week for my BlogPoll ballot and since it has to be in by 10:00 am tomorrow and I have a fairly busy morning scheduled, I think this will be the final ballot, unless I get some comments early tonight that change my mind. Anyway, here is what I'm thinking at this point. Sorry to say I watched all of the Northwestern-PSU and Louisville USF games and parts of the ISU-Army, Boise-Bowling Green, Utah- Air Force and overtime of Minn.-Purdue

1. Southern Cal. A small hiccup in the first half only shows how dominant the Trojans really are.

2. Texas I don't think Brad Smith poses a great threat to the Horns.

3. Virginia Tech. The Hokies special teams are the most efficient offense in the ACC

4. Florida. I think Leak is beginning to get the hang of this spread thing.

5. Florida State. I'm not sure the Noles deserve to be this high, but I'm not that confident about anybody else either.

6. Georgia. The Bulldogs are about to enter the real part of their schedule.

7. The Ohio State. The Bucks offense looked impressive in shredding Iowa, but it remains to be seen if that was as much Iowa's fault as OSU's doing.

8. Tennessee. Last night's comeback in Tiger Stadium is one for the ages, however heartbreaking it was for Tiger fans; now if Fulmer will only settle on Clausen, the Vols might keep winning.

9. Michigan State. Having shed the jinx of losing to inferior teams after knocking off top ten teams, Sparty should take care of UM this week.

10. Arizona State. The Air Devils have their work cut out for them this week as Game Day visits the Valley of the Sun to see the Trojans face what may be their toughest test of the season.

11. LSU. Maybe the Tigers will finally be able to get their season untracked now that the hurricanes have passed and the schedule may get back to normal.

12. Minnesota. It's hard to tell how good the Gophers really are since Purdue is the only decent team they've played so far.

13. Wisconsin. The Badgers played well in knocking off Michigan but we may still need convincing.

14. Miami. The Canes play host to Cardinal killer USF this week so the Orange Bowl could get interesting.

15. Notre Dame. I don't know about you, but I'm already tired of hearing about this team.

16. Cal. Who knows how good this team really is, you sure couldn't tell much from the competition last week.

17. UCLA. LA's other team is flashing almost as fancy an offense as the defending champs; the season ending game is shaping up to be a great one.

18. Alabama. The battle for the SEC West looks to be coming down to the Tide and LSU, who knew?

19. Texas Tech. The nation's number ranked Division I-AA team.

20. Louisville. The Cards are still trying to figure out what hit them in Tampa.

21. Boston College. It's always impressive to pull one out in Death Valley, especially after such a hearbreaking loss to FSU.

22. Georgia Tech. Did anybody get the number of that Hokie train?

23. Purdue. The Boilers defense showed a distinct lack of ability to stop the run last week which better get fixed quick.

24. Iowa State. Iowa State was able to dig deep enough to pull one out against Army but it had to be disturbing to the coaches to be down to the Black Knights that late in the game.

25. West Virginia. We'll find out if the Mountaineers are for real this week when they take on Virginia Tech.

MLB Advanced Media IPO Passed Up

Under what circumstances would the greedy cartel known affectionately as the Lords of Baseball pass up the chance to receive $2 to $2.5 billion? When accepting the money would force them to open the books to both their personal fortunes and their business operations in a proposed initial public offering. According to a story in today's New York Post, Major League Baseball decided not to pursue the IPO of Major League Baseball Advanced Media, the MLB arm that operates its highly successful internet operations, including MLB.TV.

The bluest of blue chip Wall Street investment banks had been pitching MLB trying to win the offering and had dangled the carrot of proceeds in the neighborhood of a couple of billion dollars before the owners. However, the prospect of upcoming union negotiations with those proceeds as additional player ammunition, not to mention the public scrutiny of their fortune and operations led MLB to take a pass.

Who's to say this idea is really dead. We all know that Wall Street will never let an opportunity for fat commissions rest for long and there is only so long the owners are likely to hold out against the prospect of that much cash. My guess is that once the latest collective bargaining agreement with the players is signed, the owners will revisit the IPO idea.

Yankees Draw 4,000,000

The New York Yankees became just the third team in Major League Baseball history to draw over 4 million fans at home in a season with one game to spare as reported by Bloomberg. Yesterday's crowd of 53,911 gave the Yankees a season attendance of 4,035,304 at Yankee Stadium, marking the seventh straight year the Yankees have exceeded 3 million. The other two teams to draw over 4 million were the Colorado Rockies in 1993 with an MLB record of 4,483,350 and the Blue Jays from 1991-1993.

Will the Jets Move to Queens?

The New York Jets told the NFL office that they may build a new stadium in Queens near Shea Stadium, according to a report in today's New York Times. Negotiations between the Jets and the Giants to share the Giants new stadium to be constructed in New Jersey close to the current location of Giants Stadium have stalled over the last several weeks.

How serious the Jets are about moving to Queens is hard to judge. When the dream of the West Side Stadium fell apart, the Jets told New Jersey officials that they had no interest in going to Queens and would join the Giants in their new stadium in New Jersey. Still, no deal has been reached and it's clear that the Jets would love nothing more than to pit New Jersey and New York against each other in a bidding war. New York Mayor Bloomberg had no comment but the Jets can expect opposition to their plans to come from Queens businesses and residents.

Stadium games in Metropolitan New York just never seem to end, do they?

NCAA Faces Antitrust Suit Over Scholarship Limits

Andy Carroll, a former walk-on at the University of Washington, together with a group of other walk-ons may be changing the face of Division I-A football. They have filed an antitrust suit against the NCAA in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. The case has survived a motion by the NCAA for a judgment on the pleadings and will proceed to trial.

The plaintiffs are alleging that the NCAA's scholarship limitations are an illegal restraint of trade adopted in the name of cost containment by an organization that illegally monopolizes "big time" college football. The plaintiffs seek an end to the limits on scholarships as well as damages for themselves as walk-ons who were subjected to financial hardship because they were denied scholarships.

The basis of the plaintiffs case is that the NCAA is a monopoly and has used that monopoly power to promulgate regulations solely for the financial benefit of its members in a manner that restrains trade. The plaintiffs will have to convince the court that the scholarship limits were adopted for business purposes and not to advance amateurism, which courts have found is an area of activity that the NCAA may engage in free of antitrust restrictions. Given the dual nature of the NCAA as both an educational association and a business association, it engages in activities that are both subject to antitrust scrutiny and free of regulation. Which category scholarship limitations fall into will be the crux of the decision in this case.

The other major issue in any antitrust case is the definition of the relevant market. Here the plaintiffs are claiming that the players constitute the input in a horizontal market and have no reasonable alternative to big time college football. That seems to me to be a claim that should stand up with the proper evidentiary presentation. It is very similar to the assistant coaches case which the NCAA lost a few years ago.

The 85 scholarship limit adopted in 1994 has led to the leveling of the playing field in college football. Even more than the adoption of the spread offense, the scholarship limits has enabled the Louisvilles, Boise States and Utahs of the world to compete at the highest level. That said, however, I believe that once again, the NCAA will lose in court if they permit this case to go to trial. The risk of having a court throw out scholarship limits altogether is far too great and I hope that the folks in Indy think about the potential downside for once and settle this case short of losing scholarship limits once and for all.

Dedicated Soccer Fans

You gotta love dedicated soccer fans. A group of Gambian soccer fans faked an emergency landing of the airplane they were on so that they would be able to watch the Gambia U-17 soccer team play Qatar in the World Under 17 tournament being held in Peru. They claimed the plane was low on fuel, causing Peruvian authorities to scramble emergency crews. The flight would have caused the fans to miss the match had it made its scheduled landing in Lima. "It truly was a scam," according to the spokeswoman for the Peruvian aviation authority. By the way, Gambia won 3-1.

NCAA Extends Mascot Ban

The NCAA on Tuesday extended the ban on "hostile and abusive" Native American mascots and nicknames to Division I bowl games. Earlier the ban had not included bowl games as the NCAA does not oversee them. It does, however, license them and effective next season the ban will become a part of the licensing process. Apparently, someone at the NCAA headquarters knows something about Ron Zook that has escaped the rest of the college football world or North Dakota State is making the leap to Division I next year. Otherwise, this extension of the ban is just another useless exercise because it won't actually apply to any school with a realistic shot at participating in a bowl game.

Vikings have deal for Blaine stadium

The Minnesota Vikings unveiled a plan for a new stadium in the suburb of Blaine today that called for total public funding in the amount of nearly $400 million with the Vikings paying $280 million of a total $675 million project. Anoka County is being asked to contribute an amount equal to the Vikings contribution with the state being asked for about $115 million in infrastructure improvements around the stadium site, according to the Star-Tribune. How the plan will fare in the state legislature is unknown, as previous Vikings' stadium proposals have all been defeated. It probably doesn't help the Vikings much that the University of Minnesota is pursuing a football stadium on campus and the Twins are also seeking a new stadium.

N.B.A. Unveils Minor-League Team Affiliations

The NBA today unveiled exactly which NBDL teams would be receiving rookies from which NBA team as affiliations were releasedfor the first time. In many cases, geography played a part, as Orlando and the Heat will be sending players to Naples Florida and the Dallas Mavericks will be able to send players just down the road to Ft. Worth. On the other hand, geography doesn't always work out, as Toronto will be affiliated with Arkansas Rimrockers, a team most Raptors fans probably can't find on a map.

Sugar Bowl to be Held in Baton Rouge or Atlanta

Sugar Bowl officials today announced that the game will be held in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge if conditions in New Orleans permit the opening of sufficient hotels to accommodate all of the fans, media and officials expected to attend the game, according to a report on SI.com . If New Orleans is not yet prepared to handle the expected crowd, and Tiger Stadium seats almost 92,000, then the game will be moved to Atlanta and will be held in the Georgia Dome. Atlanta officials have assured the Sugar Bowl that the Dome will be available despite the use by the Peach Bowl on December 30 and a Falcons home game on Sunday, January 1. The Georgia Dome is also the site of the SEC championship game and the SEC has a long history with the Sugar Bowl, having sent its champion there for decades. It is the preferred bowl for the SEC champion in the current arrangement for the Bowl Championship Series in years in which the SEC champ is not in the national title game. The title game is being held at the Rose Bowl this year.

BlogPoll Week 4

Here is my poll for week 4. No change at the top but plenty of change throughout.

1. Southern Cal
2. Texas
3.Virginia Tech
4. Florida
5. Louisiana State
6. Louisville
7. Georgia
8, Florida State
9. Purdue
10. Ohio State
11. Tennessee
12. Miami (Fla)
13. Michigan State
14. Arizona State
15. Notre Dame
16. California
17. Georgia Tech
18. Michigan
19. UCLA
20. Alabama
21. Texas Tech
22. Iowa State
23. Oregon
24. Iowa
25. Virginia

I welcome any comments.

Hornets to Play in Oklahoma City

The New Orleans Hornets have agreed with the Oklahoma City officials to play some of their home games this season in Oklahoma City at the Ford Center, according to published reports. The Ford Center seats over 19,000 when configured for basketball games. The team will establish its base of operations mostly in Oklahoma City but will keep some operations in Louisiana, as well as play some games most likely in Baton Rouge. Other cities, including Louisville and Nashville, have offered a temporary home to the Hornets and may prove a place for some games.

David vs. Goliath games have value

It's the end of non-conference football season and we will be spared many more sights like Michigan trying to recover from the beating it suffered from Notre Dame by taking it all out on its neighbor down the road at Eastern Michigan or Iowa trying to restore its instate pride by demolishing the proud Panthers of Northern Iowa. However, there is always another side to every story and this article from the Eastern Michigan student newspaper shows that even the losing end of a 55-0 score doesn't always feel like a loser. Well, the players probably did, but we're talking about the fans and the school's athletic department, which made a cool $400,000 for taking that beating in the Big House, probably twice as much as EMU will make from all of its home games this season combined. That kind of money can soothe a lot of pain.

Carnival of the Capitalists

This week's Carnival of the Captialists is up. Go check it out! Plenty of interesting posts on all manner of subjects relating to business, the economy and your financial well being.

First in Thirst, A Review

As promised, I have finished Darren Rovell's excellent book on the story of Gatorade, First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat into a Cultural Phenomenon and I can tell you that it is a book that is well worth your time to read. The book tells the fascinating story of skill, luck and circumstance that allowed Gatorade to capture 80% of the sports drink category even in the face of competition from the likes of Coke and Pepsi, before Pepsi acquired it.

While the book will appeal to sports fans for the role Gatorade plays in college and professional sports and the behind the scenes pictures that Rovell paints, its real value is as a business book. Rovell sets out a broad guideline in how to create and maintain a brand and what to do, and equally, if not more importantly, what not to do in maintaining a brand. Chapter 8 which lays out the Gatorade Rules should become required reading in first year marketing classes across the country.

Rovell traces the history of Gatorade from its beginnings in the lab of University of Florida professors who were squeezing lemons into their mixture to hide the awful taste. He tells how Stokeley van Camp made the fateful decision to pay the professors a percentage of sales instead of a flat fee, resulting in millions of dollars to them over the years. He recounts how ultimately it was the leadership of the marketers at Quaker Oats who put Gatorade into a whole new place, although even Quaker made mistakes, such as the not soon forgotten Gatorade Light. Here you will also learn about the "Be like Mike" campaign and how the Gatorade coach bath got started.

All in all, Rovell has written a very interesting and valuable book. Gatorade not only created one of the world's most recognizable brands, but a whole new category of product. After reading this book, you will never look at the sideline of a college or professional sporting event the same way again.

NCAA Katrina Transfer Ruling Update

It now seems that Myles Brand didn't issue his ruling reinforcing the NCAA transfer rule in the case of student athletes transferring from Tulane or the University of New Orleans just because someone asked. According to this article in USA Today, there were confirmed reports of schools attempting to recruit student athletes from Tulane and UNO to leave those schools within 48 hours of Hurricane Katrina smashing through New Orleans. Now I don't know about you, but personally I find that behavior to be too sleazy for words.

Roll Wave

The Tulane Green Wave, the nation's homeless Division I college football team kicks off it season tonight against Mississippi State at its temporary "home" field on the campus of Louisiana Tech. Billed as the "Big Game for the Big Easy", it will be televised nationally on the CSTV cable network and over the air on the Pax TV network. The game will also serve as a telethon to raise money to help kids in relief centers and towards rebuilding Boys & Girls Clubs damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Tune in and watch the Wave roll all over Bulldogs in what is sure to be a highly emotional game for Tulane.

Was the Hiring of the New NHLPA Boss Legal?

Shortly after the NHL lockout ended, Ted Saskin was named the Executive Director of the National Hockey League Players Association to succeed the Bob Goodenow, who resigned under pressure. In fact, it has now come out that Goodenow had been dismissed by the union's executive committee but was allowed to resign. The executive committee in a conference call then elected Saskin to take over for Goodenow. It now appears that the union violated its own bylaws in that process and may well have violated US labor law and possibly Canadian labor law as well.

The NHLPA constitution requires that the executive board nominate a successor to a fired executive director and then conduct a secret ballot, according to a report first published in the Toronto Star. Failure to follow the requirements of a union constitution in the naming of a union executive director can bring serious repercussions in the event the US Department of Labor were ever to begin an investigation.

However, Saskin now appears to have decided that discretion is the better part of valor and has requested that the executive committee conduct a secret ballot to ratify his election. That apparently will mollify at least some of his critics, as Brian McCabe, the Toronto player representative acknowledged that at "least 90%" of the players support Saskin, according to the Star . Nevertheless, some teams will take their time returning their ballots and recourse to the courts is not entirely out of the question.

ESPN Renews MLB Television Rights

ESPN has inked a new eight year deal with Major League Baseball running until 2013 and worth $2.368 billion, according to an announcement made today. This deal knocks a serious blow to Comcast's OLN, which was trying to lure away MLB in an effort to further establish itself as a legitimate sports channel competititor to ESPN.

Importantly, ESPN received rights to transmit games over new technology including broadband and video phone service, which it plans to start next year. ESPN and MLB had already reached long-term agreements covering rights across multimedia assets, including ESPN Radio; ESPN.com; ESPN Deportes.com; ESPN360, the company's growing interactive and customizable broadband service; ESPN Mobile, ESPN's recently announced mobile phone service; and the company's wireless content licensing business.

ESPN and MLB are discussing the rights to baseball's World Cup which will begin next year, but those rights were not included in this deal.

NCAA's Brand: No Looting Katrina Athletes

Myles Brand, the President of the NCAA, said yesterday that any Division I football, basketball or hockey player who wants to transfer from a school cloesed as a result of Hurricane Katrina will still have to sit out a year. While the NCAA is bending many of its rules to help athletes affected by the disaster, including allowing athletes to compete without attending classes and allowing schools and supporters to provided additional assistance, the transfer rules will stay in effect.

Brand said the decision was made because members of some teams were considering transferring together to one school. "Let me call that athletic looting. to be provocative, and we won't stand for that, Brand said.

If, indeed, entire teams or significant percentage of teams were being lured to schools together, then I think Brand may have done the right thing, as harsh as it sounds at first glance. Both Tulane and University of New Orleans intend to play basketball this season and Tulane plays its first football game this Saturday against Mississippi State. Those schools should be allowed the opportunity to rebuild and keep their teams together.

Saints to Play in Baton Rouge, San Antonio

The New Orleans Saint will be playing their seven remaining home games in Baton Rouge and San Antonio with four games to be played in Tiger Stadium on the campus of LSU in Baton Rouge, it was announced yesterday by NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. The Saints will play three of their last four home games in Baton Rouge, with the last home game, in week 16, to be played in the Alamodome. Their first home game, next weekend, will be played on the road at Giants Stadium against the Giants as part of a Monday night doubleheader, which will also be part of a NFL relief effort for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The Saints next two home games, in weeks 4 and 6 will be played in the Alamodome in San Antonio.

Inside the Big East

The Louisville Courier-Journal provided an inside look under the cover of the Big East Conference's financial books. It gives you a picture of how a BCS conference operates and what its revenue streams are. The Big East also differs significantly from several of its sister BCS conferences in the manner in which it divides revenue among its members, as it does not divide the money evenly among all members, as the ACC, Big Ten and SEC do.

In contrast, at least when it comes to football revenue, the Big East divides money based, in part, on performance. The league champion receives $600,000, while the runner-up gets $300,000 and the third=place team gets $100,000. The school which gets the BCS bowl bid, presumably the league champion, receives $1.8 million in a distribution from the league, while the Gator Bowl participant receives $1.3 million. The Insight Bowl team receives $1.2 million and the Meineke Car Care Bowl and any other schools which go to bowls get $1.1 million.

In contrast to the division of bowl revenue, the Big East pools all NCAA basketball tournament credits and then divides that evenly among the members. The conference also combines revenue from television contracts and other sources and distributes it among the members. It's not clear from the article if that distrbution is done equally among the members or is on some other formula.

Hornets to Vegas?

Will the homeless New Orleans Hornets take their roadshow to Las Vegas until their home arena in New Orleans can be rebuilt and the city can once again sustain a NBA franchise, if ever? According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, team officials have made calls to Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman asking about the possibility of moving the team for the upcoming season. There are significant hurdles to overcome before that could happen, but this time it is the team that has initiated the conversations and not the flamboyant mayor.

First and foremost among the problems is the questions of finding enough available dates at the Thomas and Mack Center, the home of the UNLV Rebels. However, an even bigger problem lies with the city's sports books, which accept wagers on NBA games. The NBA has repeatedly said that it will not bring a franchise to town so long as wagers on NBA games are posted at the town's sports books.

While the Hornets owner, George Shinn has said that he has plans to return to New Orleans as soon as it is possible to do so, no one knows what type of city will be rebuilt. It is simply to early to be able to judge what the economic health of a rebuilt New Orleans will be. In the interim, it is clear that the Hornets will not play this season in New Orleans. Sentiment favors playing at least some games at LSU and both Oklahoma City and Louisville (the runner up when Shinn moved the Hornets to New Orleans from Charlotte) have made offers to host the team during this season.

Seeds of Peace

If you're like most people, you have a picture in your mind of sports agents that is probably not all that flattering. They're generally protrayed as heartless, ruthless and caring primarily for the almighty dollar - especially how many of them reside in their bank accounts. The HBO show Arlisswas only a slight parody.

Let me introduce you to the soft side of basketball super agent Arn Tellem. For the past three summers, Tellem has taken a group of NBA players to the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Otisfield, Maine. A camp which brings together teenagers from four areas of conflict, primarily in the Middle East, with a principal focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The camp tries to build leadership skills, including communication, negotiation and mutual respect among the teenagers in the hope that they will take the experience home and be able to build on it for the future of their region.

Reading about these experiences gives you hope for the future of the region. If these teens are the future leaders of the countries of the Middle East, there is indeed hope for peace. One day, when these teens are running their countries and a problem arises, instead of just shooting each other, hopefully, they will pick up the phone and work it out. For that, we will all have Seeds of Peace to thank. And for adding a touch of celebrity excitement, we should thank Arn Tellem.

Katrina Aid - Athletes Respond Update

From True Hoop comes word of an all-star game this Sunday in Houston featuring many of the NBA's biggest names to benefit the victims of Katrina. Money will be raised not only from the sale of tickets but from donations from the players. The funds raised will also go to those evacuees who have been displaced to Houston. The gamewas organized by TNT announcer Kenny Smith and will be televised on TNT at 11:00 pm Eastern time.

BlogPoll - Week 1

The College Football BlogPoll for week on is now up and USC remains number 1 which, of course, surprises absolutely no one. Notre Dame rose the most spots, jumping 9 spots to number 17; while Oklahoma fell the most, falling 13 spots to number 20.

Katrina Aid: Athletes Respond

Sports Illustrated has put together a special report on the response of athletes and coaches to Hurricane Katrina, as well as the impact of the hurricane on the lives of athletes from the New Orleans area and the schools and teams that are located there. I recommend it to you as it makes for quite interesting and, at times, inspiring reading.

A group of college basketball coaches has organized an online sports auction to benefit Habitat for Humanity's relief efforts in the Gulf coast region. the auction begins on September 14 at All Coaches Care and you can read more about it in this article from today's Los Angeles Times. Among the items up for bid will be travel with Bob Knight and Texas Tech to the Big XII tournament along with tickets to Tech's games and a stay at Tech's hotel, a similar package with Virgina Tech at the ACC tournament, and with USC at the Pac-10 tournament, autographed jerseys and many other items. Check it out and find that long awaited college basketball souvenir you always wanted.

L.A. Will Bid for 2016 Summer Games

Los Angeles will likely bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics according to a report in today's Los Angeles Times. If successful, the bid would mark the Games third appearance in Los Angeles following Games held there in 1932 and 1984. The US Olympic Committee is scheduled to select the American bid city by 2007, with the International Olympic Committee making the final selection in 2009. While it is not anticipated that New York will bid again, Los Angeles will have American competition. San Francisco, Chicago and Washington are among the cities expected to compete for the American bid designation.

IOC President Jacque Rogges has been outspoken in his desire to take the Games to a city in either South America or Africa, as neither continent has been a host. Rio de Janeiro is scheduled to host the 2007 Pan American Games which could serve as a crucial test of its ability to host the Olympics.

One count in Los Angeles favor is that almost all of the venues already exist, with many of them having been constructed since the 1984 Games. Following the experience in Athens, the IOC will look favorably on any city which will not incur significant construction expense or time.

What Next for the Saints

Earlier today I wrote about the Saints short-term plans for this season and the possibility that the Saints' owner Tom Benson would use this tragedy as a rationale to move the franchise out of New Orleans. It is becoming increasing obvious by the day that it will be years before New Orleans is rebuilt sufficiently to support a professional football franchise. The present state of the Superdome leaves one believing that the only possible solution to repairing it will be to tear it down. If so, it is hard to imagine that rebuilding it will be a top priority for taxpayer dollars in the rebuilding effort, nor should it be.

Howard Bloom, of the Sports Business News offers a very intelligent and well-reasoned three step plan for the future of the Saints and professional football in New Orleans in an article in today's edition of the Sports Business Daily. Essentially, he suggests that the Saints play as semi-nomads this year, move next year but with a promise from the NFL that an expansion team will return to New Orleans in 10-15 years when the city is once again ready to receive it. In addition, the expansion fee would be used to pay for the construction of a new stadium to house the team at no cost to the city. I recommend you read the article as it is a plan that the NFL brass should take a close look at before Benson goes off and leaves New Orleans in the lurch.

Open Letter to President Bush

I don't generally delve into politics on this blog - at least not what most people think of when you hear the word politics. We may discuss the politics of a city paying millions to attract a franchise to town or build a new arena but not about whether to elect someone to office. However, Hurrican Katrina and its aftermath is an extraordinary event and one that for everyone's sake, I hope is never repeated. For the aftermath of the flooding to not be repeated, we must all learn from our mistakes. For that reason, I am reprinting here in its entirety an extraordinary letter from the editors of the New Orleans Times-Picayune to President Bush, which ran on their website yesterday at NOLA.com. I also encourage all of you to visit this site to see the truly superlative coverage the Times-Picayune has been able to put together under the most unusual journalism conditions.



OUR OPINIONS: An open letter to the President
Dear Mr. President:

We heard you loud and clear Friday when you visited our devastated city and the Gulf Coast and said, "What is not working, we’re going to make it right."

Please forgive us if we wait to see proof of your promise before believing you. But we have good reason for our skepticism.

Bienville built New Orleans where he built it for one main reason: It’s accessible. The city between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain was easy to reach in 1718.

How much easier it is to access in 2005 now that there are interstates and bridges, airports and helipads, cruise ships, barges, buses and diesel-powered trucks.

Despite the city’s multiple points of entry, our nation’s bureaucrats spent days after last week’s hurricane wringing their hands, lamenting the fact that they could neither rescue the city’s stranded victims nor bring them food, water and medical supplies.

Meanwhile there were journalists, including some who work for The Times-Picayune, going in and out of the city via the Crescent City Connection. On Thursday morning, that crew saw a caravan of 13 Wal-Mart tractor trailers headed into town to bring food, water and supplies to a dying city.

Television reporters were doing live reports from downtown New Orleans streets. Harry Connick Jr. brought in some aid Thursday, and his efforts were the focus of a "Today" show story Friday morning.

Yet, the people trained to protect our nation, the people whose job it is to quickly bring in aid were absent. Those who should have been deploying troops were singing a sad song about how our city was impossible to reach.

We’re angry, Mr. President, and we’ll be angry long after our beloved city and surrounding parishes have been pumped dry. Our people deserved rescuing. Many who could have been were not. That’s to the government’s shame.

Mayor Ray Nagin did the right thing Sunday when he allowed those with no other alternative to seek shelter from the storm inside the Louisiana Superdome. We still don’t know what the death toll is, but one thing is certain: Had the Superdome not been opened, the city’s death toll would have been higher. The toll may even have been exponentially higher.

It was clear to us by late morning Monday that many people inside the Superdome would not be returning home. It should have been clear to our government, Mr. President. So why weren’t they evacuated out of the city immediately? We learned seven years ago, when Hurricane Georges threatened, that the Dome isn’t suitable as a long-term shelter. So what did state and national officials think would happen to tens of thousands of people trapped inside with no air conditioning, overflowing toilets and dwindling amounts of food, water and other essentials?

State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn’t have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!" Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially.

In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn’t known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, "We’ve provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they’ve gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day."

Lies don’t get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.

Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, "You’re doing a heck of a job."

That’s unbelievable.

There were thousands of people at the Convention Center because the riverfront is high ground. The fact that so many people had reached there on foot is proof that rescue vehicles could have gotten there, too.

We, who are from New Orleans, are no less American than those who live on the Great Plains or along the Atlantic Seaboard. We’re no less important than those from the Pacific Northwest or Appalachia. Our people deserved to be rescued.

No expense should have been spared. No excuses should have been voiced. Especially not one as preposterous as the claim that New Orleans couldn’t be reached.

Mr. President, we sincerely hope you fulfill your promise to make our beloved communities work right once again.

When you do, we will be the first to applaud.

Saints May Use Two Sites

According to a story in today's Washington Post the New Orleans Saints may split their future home games between San Antonio and Baton Rouge. The Saints current temporary location is San Antonio and the owner has a home there. Tom Benson made his fortune from car dealerships in San Antonio and the Alamodome is available for Saints games. It is said to be Benson's preferred site.

However, the final decision will probably rest with the NFL commissioner and there will be strong public pressure to play at least some games in Baton Rouge at LSU's Tiger Stadium, assuming that Katrina recovery efforts permit the use of the stadium. It seats approximately 90,000 and with date flexibility so that there would be no conflict with LSU home games, that would allow area Saints fans to attend games.

With the state of the Superdome, it is likely that it will have to be torn down, leaving open the question of whether the Saints will ever return to New Orleans. possible relocation of the franchise permanently to San Antonio or Los Angeles was being discussed even before the Hurricane as the Saints lease expired at the end of this season.

Tulane Football Copes With Katrina

While certainly not the most important story to come out Hurricane Katrina - on a scale of 1 to 10, it's a whole lot closer to 1 than it is to 10 - Ivan Maisel does a real nice job portraying what the Tulane football team is going through as they attempt to "carry the torch,face and name" of Tulane and New Orleans, as Tulane President Scott Cowen said when announcing that the team would play this season at the same time as he announced that there would be no school this semester.

You may ask why are Tulane teams still playing when the university is not holding classes and that is a reasonable question. It is probably for the same reason that the Saints are continuing to play. I think Cowen probably answered it in the statement above. He wanted the teams to carry the name of Tulane to the country at large so that the Tulane and New Orleans community, now scattered to the countryside, would have a rallying point, would have something positive to cheer about. Tulane in particular needed something for its students to hold onto as they are now enrolled temporarily in schools all over the country. If the team can win a few games, get on TV a few times, make a few newspaper stories and a few Sportscenter highlights, the students, faculty and staff will have that much more connection to Tulane throughout this ordeal. Is it the right thing to do? I'm not sure, but I certainly understand the logic.

Katrina Aid: You Know You Want to Help

So you know you want to help, you just don't know. They are a number of organizations that make it their lives' work to be prepared for disasters and emergencies like this, so that when it hits they have the infrastructure and the organization to go to work. What they need now more than anything is money, so I'll provide list of organizations to which you can donate along with my urgent plea to do so.

United Jewish Communities
Red Cross
Mercy Corps
Second Harvest
Mazon
Salvation Army
Catholic Charities

If you are particularly concerned about animals:

Humane Society
Noah's Wish
AKC Canine Relief Fund

For other ideas or if you're looking for people who might still be missing, check out craigslist's Hurricane Katrina site or the Times-Picayune site.

That is about it for now. I'll be back with more later.

Top Doubles Players Sue ATP

The leading men's doubles tennis players filed an antitrust suit last week against the ATP alleging that the change of scoring and qualifying rules was a violation of antitrust rules, according to Bloomberg.com. Among the rule changes is one eliminating past success as a doubles entry requirement and a new rule requiring doubles players to qualify for singles play in order to be eligible to compete in ATP doubles play.

The plaintiff are charging that the ATP is attempting to eliminate a separate doubles competition and essentially turn doubles into an exhibition for singles players in a restraint of trade. It may be a difficult argument to make, but one that I think the plaintiffs should have a good chance of sustaining. The rule changes have no obvious intent if not to eliminate doubles competition as another tour. That, to me is the essence of restraint of trade and I think the ATP is using its monopolistic power to set the tour rules to prohibit the doubles players from developing a viable competition and earn a living. It will be worth our time to follow this one.

NCAA Pardons Utah and Central Michigan

hours before the Utah football team was to take the field in its nationally televised opening game, the NCAA granted the University of Utah's appeal permitting it to continue to use the Utes as its nickname. The NCAA also granted the appeal of Central Michigan University to continue to use theits nickname of Chippewas. Both schools demonstrated the support of. and a continuing realtionship with, the local Native American tribes which carry the names from which the schools' nicknames were derived.

Tulane Plans to Play On

In a just released statement from Tulane President Scott Cowen, Tulane announced the cancellation of the fall semester at the university as a result of Hurricane Katrina and the resulting devastation in New Orleans. However, he also announced that all Tulane Green Wave fall sports teams would play their regular seasons, albeit using practice facilities and home fields extending to them from fellow Conference USA members. The Green Wave could prove to be a rallying point for evacuated New Orleanians around the country.

NCAA bending Rules as a Result of Katrina

The NCAA has moved quickly, surpisingly for them, to give the colleges, universities and conferences affected by Hurrican Katrina lattitude to make decisions in the best of student athletes and not necessarily in strict accordance with NCAA rules according to this release. The NCAA has shown welcome flexibility in bending the rules on extra benefits allowing schools to attend to the needs of their student-athletes and their families for food, clothing and shelter and medical assistance as well as travel. They will allow teams to compete even if school is not in session and if schools choose not to play, that won't be counted against them. Recruiting rules were relaxed, as were personnel rules. All in all, a very prompt and appropriate response from the NCAA.

Carnival of the NBA #15

The latest edition of the Carnival of the NBA is now up at the SACKINGSblog. Be sure to check it out.

Katrina Aid

The scale of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina is so massive as to be of Biblical proportions and it is difficult for those of us who are not there to actually get a real sense of the how bad the situation really is. We may stare slack-jawed at the television for hours on end, almost afraid to look away. Now, however, is an opportunity to help those who need your help the most the most. Today is Hurricane Katrina Blog Relief Day, and bloggers across the world are joining together to urge our readers to contribute to relief for the victims of the hurricane by donating to our favorite relief charity. I plan on contributing through United Jewsih Charities but there are any number of other worthy charities working on relief efforts. Here is FEMA's list of recommended charities. If youwould like to see a list of the other bloggers participating in this campaign, please go here or here.

Most importantly, whatever you do, whether it be a contribution of money or a creative solution to the problems faced by people evacuated from New Orleans or left homeless in the Gulf communities, please do something. These people are our a part of our community and they need our help.


flood aid
Hurricane Katrina

N.B.A. Prepares to Relocate Hornets

With the situation becoming more dire by the day in New Orleans, every business has begun making contingency plans and sports organizations are no different. As I wrote yesterday, the football teams have already begun implementing their plans with the Saints relocating to San Antonio for practice and trying to determine where they will play their home games and Tulane relocating to the campus of SMU and not sure of where, or even if, they will be playing.

Meanwhile, the NBA has quietly begun planning for the Hornets 2005-2006 season, realizing that even under the best of circumstances, games will not be played in New Orleans. The league would prefer to keep the team close to New Orleans but at this point don't know if that is realistic or feasible. The closest facility that might be usable is in Baton Rouge at LSU, which seats a bit over 14,000, small by NBA standards but about what the Hornets have been drawing. It is now in use as a shelter and medical staging area and may not be available. If not, then the Hornets may not be able to stay close to New Orleans and the league may decide to test potential future markets by moving the Hornets there for the season.