Irish Selling Football Tickets

For the first time in more than thirty years, Notre Dame is putting 5,000 season tickets on sale. The tickets are being made available first to donors, alumni and others affiliated with ND before going on sale to the general public. The proceeds will be used to fund repairs and improvements to Notre Dame Stadium. Within hours of the announcement , more than 750 of the tickets had been sold, so you had better make your call soon.

Basketball Summit

As you may have heard by now, there was a so-called basketball summit meeting held earlier this week in Indianapolis to discuss how to fix youth basketball in the US. the good news, perhaps the only good news, is that the people involved actually recognized that there was a problem that needed to be fixed. When you look at the roster of attendees, you will see what I mean. The attendees included such luminaries as NCAA president Myles Brand, NBA Commissioner David Stern, Nike CEO Phil Knight, C.M.Newton of USA Basketball as well as representatives from AAU Basketball, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, and the National Federation of High School Coaches. Listening to this group talk about the problems of youth basketball must have been like being George Bush sitting in the General Assembly of the United Nations. At least you know they sure what they were talking about.

Of course, nothing truly substantive came out of the meeting. There is talk about a basketball academy similar to IMG Academy now being run in Florida. However, Sonny Vacaro, the dark prince of youth basketball has been pushing this idea for some time now. That can't be good. It may sound good on paper, but if Sonny has his fingers around it, then surely dirt will follow as night follows day.

Apparently, there is some bit of light at the end of the tunnel. According to Andy Katz of ESPN, Adidas announced at the summit that it would end it elite summer in Atlanta and Nike may soon follow suit. Chances are good that corporate pressure may end Reebok's camp as well, which is run by the aforementioned dark prince, Sonny Vacarro. Vacarro has intimated on many occasions that should Reebok end his camp, he would just pick it up and move it somewhere else under the sponsorship of some other entity. However, if all three shoe companies get out of the camp business, the landscape may not be so friendly.

Restoration of some control over the summer to high school and college coaches can only be a good thing. Too much influence by the shoe companies and the AAU coaches is good for neither skill development nor the development of the academics and character of the kids. The more that the schools are involved, the more likely there will be an academic component. As for skill development, the summer camps are all about individual performance and making a name for yourself, not exactly what is needed to develop a complete basketball player. Anything that shifts the emphasis to team play even slightly is bound to be better.

Blogpoll Is Now Out

This week's Blogpoll has now been released and is available here

ESPN Can't Take a Joke

You know, it seems that the boys in Bristol just don't have much of a sense of humor for a group that tries to pass itself off as brash, witty and, well, always just seemingly so ironic. We've commented before about some of the foibles of ESPN; they have always taken themselves much too seriously for their own good. Yet another example of that comes to us Tuesday from an excellent sportswriter and former ESPN contributor Jason Whitlock. In his Kansas City Star column, Jason explains his departure from ESPN as necessitated by his desire to preserve his journalistic integrity and his unwillingness to toe the company line.

Whitlock refused to stop making comments critical of the WWLS or personalities it chose to inflict on the rest of us and for that the boys in Bristol sought fit to fire him. Jason didn't even make those comments on air or on espn.com. He made them in a blog interview at www.biglead.com. The suits are so thin skinned that they can't take criticism from a real journalist on a blog that probably no more than a few thousand people saw before they went and made a scene out of it. Go and read the whole interview thought - it's well worth your time. It will show you what a good sportswriter is as opposed to what you can see on "The Sports Reporters", if you are on of the few folks who watches that crap on Sunday morning.

Cardinals Land Naming Rights Deal

The Arizona Cardinals new stadium in Glendale finally has a name. In an ironic twist, after spending 17 years playing in an university owned stadium, the Cardinals will now play in a stadium named after a university. The University of Phoenix Stadium will be the new name of the architectural gem that is the home of the Cardinals, the Fiesta Bowl and the site of this years BCS Championship Game. The Cardinals landed the second most lucrative naming rights deal in the NFL, signing the for-profit subsidiary of the Apollo Group to a 20 year, $154 million deal, that ranks second only to the Texans' 30 year, $300 million deal with Reliant Group.

It marks the first time the University of Phoenix has engaged in any type of sports sponsorship in a significant way and marks a major shift in its typical marketing. University of Phoenix traditionally is a heavy online marketer and is well known for banner and occasional pop-up ads. The school is the largest higher educational institution in the world, serving over 250,000 students, most of whom are adults over the age of 23. As the name implies, it is headquartered in Phoenix, although it has branches throughout the country and a very large online operation. The Cardinals' stadium is the first NFL stadium to be named for an educational institution.

Blogpoll Ballot

After an absence of a couple of weeks due to technical circumstances beyond our control, I am returning to the blogpoll this week. Here is my ballot for the week, at least provisionally - if I receive enough comments convincing me that it's stupid, I'll reconsider. Ignore the delta as it doesn't apply.

Rank	Team	Delta
1	Ohio State	25
2	Auburn	24
3	West Virginia	23
4	Southern Cal	22
5	Michigan	21
6	Florida	20
7	Louisville	19
8	Texas	18
9	Georgia	17
10	Louisiana State	16
11	Virginia Tech	15
12	Iowa	14
13	Oregon	13
14	Oklahoma	12
15	TCU	11
16	Notre Dame	10
17	Clemson	9
18	Cal	8
19	Boise State	7
20	Florida State	6
21	Rutgers	5
22	Nebraska	4
23	Georgia Tech	3
24	Missouri	2

Dropped Out:

The Saints Return to the Superdome

On Monday night the Saints return to the Superdome amid hype reminiscent of Superbowl. The ESPN all media hype machine has been in full throttle for a week trumpeting the return as if the lords of Bristol were trying to get their billion dollar payment for Monday Night Football back in one shot. There is little denying that the reopening of the Superdome and the return of the Saints is a landmark in the recovery and rebirth of the Crescent City, but it's true meaning is yet to be revealed.

Will this be the beginning of the Saints return to a full-time, long-term presence in New Orleans or is this, as some suspect, the opening night of the final season of Saints football? Is the reopening of New Orleans' landmark building the signature moment of the reconstruction of one of America's most important cities, or will this be a night, like so many others, in which America will focus attention on New Orleans for a night and then ignore it?

The odds of the Saints remaining in New Orleans on a long-term basis can't be good. Owner Tom Benson was looking to move the team before Katrina hit because the market was small and business support was significantly below the league average. He was shackled with an unfavorable lease at the Superdome which was then a below average facility by current NFL standards. All in all, it was a recipe for relocation.

In the aftermath of Katrina, then commissioner Paul Tagliabue exerted all of his influence to ensure that the team did not abandon New Orleans. Whether that was the wise thing to do is certainly debatable. In one sense, there is little doubt that it was correct. The Saints are a part of the fabric of the city in a way that the Hornets, who had only been in town a couple of years, could not have been . The city wanted to keep the Saints in the worst way and that may well have been what happened. The Superdome was reconstructed on a fast track to prevent the Saints, that is Benson, from being able to use the lack of the dome as an excuse to leave. It took $185 million to do it.

Still, at the end of the day the city is a shadow of its former self. It remains half built and many neighborhoods are still full of houses in that have not been rebuilt, stores that are empty, streetlights that don't work and are devoid of people. It is estimated that the population of New Orleans will be at best two-thirds of its former size and it was the smallest market in the league next to Green Bay. In the end, the simple economic fact may be that the new New Orleans may not be able to support the Saints and that $185 million will have been spent for what?

As you read about this Monday night's reopening, please check out this story on the man who runs the Superdome. It is the people like this and the actions they took during Katrina that can never get enough publicity. As you read it, remember the travesty of the governments' failure to deliver for its people. I don't mean just the feds, but look at what the mayor and the police chief told Thornton. The complete dereliction of duty of these officials is criminal. The true crimes committed during Katina were committed by officials like the Mayor and police chief who failed to act to save people and responded to rumor and innuendo instead of facts. Heroes like Doug Thornton don't' get recognized enough.

Baseball Shakes Up the AAA Lineup

The baseball season is over at the minor league level and it's time for the annual game of musical chairs. Every year at this time, teams change their major league affiliations. Usually, a couple of lower level teams change affiliations and maybe one or two AAA teams. This year, however, wholesale change is taking place at the highest level of minor league ball. Five teams are changing their affiliations, including such longstanding relationships as the Yankees and Columbus and the Phillies and Wilkes-Barre Scranton. What is driving this sudden shake-up? Money, what else?

Attendance has been soaring in the minors over the last several years and teams have been generating great cash flow for their owners. That cash flow has allowed them to achieve a greater degree of independence from their MLB overlords than ever before. In addition, the minor league owners have taken cues from their major league counterparts and have engaged in a burst of stadium building. Well, they have convinced the cities they play in to build stadia for them, that is. And if those cities won't build stadiums, then those minor league teams are just as quick as their major league counterparts to threaten, or in many cases, carry out the threats, to pack up and move to a city that will.

Witness the case of the Phillies top farm club which is decamping to Allentown after 18 years in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Now, the team didn't leave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, just the affiliation with the Phillies. The city will continue to have a franchise, in fact the Yankees will be moving over from Columbus after spending 28 years in Ohio. No, the Phillies top farm team will be spending a lame duck year in Ottawa while the city of Allentown constructs a new stadium. The team will move there for the 2008 season. The ripple effect sees the Nationals move to Columbus while the Mets terminated their affiliation with Norfolk and moved to New Orleans. Baltimore moved from Ottawa to Norfolk.

So, aside from the termination of decades old relationships, what is to be made of all of this? The Yankees, Phillies, Orioles and Nationals all end up with affiliations that are geographically closer and, with the exception of the Nationals, in their natural fan base. The Mets appear to be the big loser. They wanted to stay with Norfolk but the Tides wanted Baltimore. By being stuck in New Orleans, the Mets are now in the Pacific Coast League with games on the west coast forcing them to bring players cross country at times for call-ups. New Orleans is hardly within the Mets natural fan base and the Zephyrs are not that strong a fan supported team anyway.

Action Sport Stars and High School

Good article in today's New York Times about the difficulty that many of the new action sports stars have combining high school and the demands of their sport and sponsors. Well worth your time.

Barca's Jersey Now Has a Name

I've been meaning to write about this for a couple of weeks, ever since the European soccer season began in earnest, but, well, things got in the way, and, well, better late than never. For those of you who don't follow European soccer closely and may not have seen the first rounds of the Champions League, you failed to see an historic occasion. For the first time in its 107 year history, reigning European champion FC Barcelona is now sporting the name of a sponsor on the front of its jersey. However, it's not just any sponsor and since it's Barca, it's not the usual sponsorship deal. No, as you can see from the picture, the sponsor is UNICEF, the United Nations children's relief agency. What makes the deal unusual is that Barca is paying UNICEF for the privilege. That's right, what is arguably the most valuable jersey space in European sport is not being auctioned off to the highest bidder, but the club is paying a charity for the right to display its name and logo.

Barcelona has long prided itself on being, as it says, "more than a club" and this deal is just another demonstration of that. As Barca's President, Joan Laporta said in announcing the deal at the United Nations, "FC Barcelona is not only a football club, but a club with a soul". Barcelona has seen the worldwide appeal of its club and its players, who are a veritable United Nations of soccer anyway, and has decided to do some good with that appeal. Barca will make an annual contribution of $1.9 million but will also make substantial in-kind contributions by the club, its players, promoters and members. This is a truly unique and historic agreement in world sport that deserves greater recognition in the United States, something it has lacked because Barca is a soccer club first and foremost.

Nets Still Heading to Brooklyn, But Renew in Jersey First

The Nets, soon to be of Brooklyn, extended their lease in New Jersey to through the 2012-13 season. The Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, of which the new arena is to be the centerpiece, has been delayed and the Nets didn't want to take any chances on problems in New Jersey, according to Nets offcicials. The club still maintains that the they will be playing in Brooklyn in 2009-10.

The new lease agreement with New Jersey allows the team to move to Brooklyn when the project is complete without penalty. However, if for some reason, the Brooklyn porject falls through and the team wants to move somewhere else, it could be assessed penalties as high as $12.1 million.

The Dome is Back

For those of you who watched television while the flood waters ravaged the once great city of New Orleans, you saw thousands of people seek shelter in the Superdome. Then, the roof winds tore a hole in the roof and what was supposed to be the last refuge for people whom the government forgot became a place that no one wanted to remember.

If you saw the images of the inside of the Superdome during those frightful days you could never imagine that a little over a year later it would be ready to host a football game. I know that I sure didn't. But, now, just a little less than 13 months after Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Superdome, the Saints, are ready to host Falcons, September 25, on Monday Night Football. It's hard for me to believe as I've seen the Dome, from the outside, three times since Katrina and I have to tell you that I thought these guys were smoking something when they said it would be ready.

Who Knew Tonya Harding Played Football?

Last we checked, Tonya Harding was both female and a boxer, not attending college in Colorado and trying to make the football team as a punter. Then how do you explain this story? How stupid can you be to ask your teammates to alibi for you before you go and do the job? Show a little imagination in setting up your alibi and you might have a chance to pull it off, but taking the tape off your license plate in a well-lit parking lot doesn't show a whole lot of sense either. It's no wonder this dumb ass is going to be doing time. He deserves it for both the idiotic attack he pulled and the incredibly stupid way he did it.

The End of the Marlins?

Check out this report from Howard Bloom on the eerie parallels from the reign of terror inflicted by Jeffrey Luria on Montreal while he owned the Expos and the current situation in South Florida. You may recall that Loria's ownership of the Expos led to the death of baseball in Montreal and the ultimately to the birth of the Nationals. As events unfold in South Florida, it sure looks like he may be well be presiding over the death of baseball in yet another market.

The Marlins are playing well and contending for the National League wild card after becoming the first team since the Louisville Colonels in the late 1890s to come from 20 games under 500 to go over 500 in the same season. Yet, they are last in the majors in attendance, filling only 38.1% of Dolphins Stadium, admittedly not a great place to watch baseball, but we're not talking about the Royals here. The Marlins are one of, if not the, largest recipients of revenue sharing yet consistently prune the roster of anyone with the ability to earn a decent salary. The team is the poster child for the MLB players association demand for a salary floor in the ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations.

Will Loria bungle or deliberately sabotage negotiations with South Florida politicians for financing a new stadium? Will MLB allow him to kill the chances for baseball in South Florida? Stay tuned for round two of the soap opera and sad tale that is Jeffrey Loria's ownership of a baseball team.

Does Gibraltar Deserve to Join UEFA?

Are you spending nights worrying that the new clocks rules in college football detract from the game and make it tougher on underdogs? (they do) Do you wonder how in the world Marion Jones "B" sample came back clean and does this mean she really isn't a drug user (it doesn't, well beyond one time anyway) Do you wonder when the NFL will ever start testing for HGH? (don't hold your breath)

If these and other pressing sports issues of the day are interfering with your sleeping habits and keeping you from getting all of your in box cleaned out in time to satisfy your boss, I have just the solution. Quit worrying about problems you can't actually do anything about and devote all that mental energy to one of the great sports issues of our time: does Gibraltar (you know, as in Rock of...) deserve to be a member of UEFA, the European governing body of soccer. It seems that the Gibraltar Football Association has applied for member status to UEFA and that has touched off quite a battle. Spain has opposed the bid on political grounds since it has been trying to get Gibraltar back for years, even though in 1713, it gave it to Great Britain "in perpetuity".

Now, the matter is also tied up in European soccer politics as there is great debate raging about whether to continue to have the European Championships played in the current format. As it is now, qualifying all of Europe is divided into groups with everyone playing everyone else in the group home and home. This leads to matches such as this past weekend when Germany beat San Marino 13-0 and England beat Andorra 5-0. There is great debate now about conducting a preliminary tournament for the so-called "minnows", with the winners moving on to play with the bigger nations. The argument goes that this would help free up a congested match calendar.

Allowing Gibraltar into UEFA only adds another "minnow" to the mix and may give rise to a claim by the Basques and Catalans for recognition. After all, Gibraltar is not a sovereign nation, which heretofore, had been a UEFA requirement, well, other than the grandfathered teams from the founding lands of Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. So, what of Gibraltar? The Court of Arbitration for Sport has ruled, wrongly it seems to me, that Gibraltar is to be admitted to UEFA at its next congress in January. So, apparently, it is done as CAS is the only court in the world recognized by UEFA. Interesting times may lie ahead in European soccer pushed by the men from the Rock.

The Most Hated Athletes

I was visiting my doctor today and like at many doctor's offices the magazine selection in the waiting room was neither extensive nor particularly current. I found myself leafing through February, 2006 issue of GQ, not my usual reading material. One of the features in this particular issue was the 10 most hated athletes. You might be able to guess at several of the athletes selected as they were not aprticularly surprising. However, there were a couple that made the list that not only surprised me, but in at least one case, I had never heard of before.

So, without further ado, here is GQ's somewhat old and idiosyncratic list of the 10 most hated athletes in pro sports, in reverse order:

10. Lleyton Hewitt
9. A.J. Pierzynski
8. Phil Mickelson
7. Bonzi Wells
6. Michael Ionelli
5. Kobe Bryant
4. Curt Schilling
3. Kurt Busch
2. Barry Bonds
1. Terrell Owens

Now, how many of you have ever heard of Michael Ionelli? Well, he is a bass fisherman. Now, he may be obnoxious for all I know. Hell, he may be the most hated man on the entire BASS tour, but how in the world does that get him on this list. I mean, first of all, who the hell cares about bass fishing and who knows or cares if he is hated. It's like being the most despised man on Dancing with the Stars - does that get him on the list? If it's going to be the 10 most hated pro athletes, then you have to be an athlete and I'm sorry but a bass fisherman is not an athlete.

Reggie Won't Get Fined This Week

Reggie Bush wore his signature gold cleats in his NFL debut yesterday, but it won't cost Adidas a fine this time. Adidas and the NFL agreed to a licensing deal last week allowing players to wear shoes and gloves in games. Sure beats paying fines every week.

OSU v. Texas: Battle of the Top War Chests Too

Tomorrow's battle in Austin between the Buckeyes and the Longhorns isn't just a game between the nation's top football teams but also between the two highest grossing college athletic programs in the country. That's probably not just a coincidence. In 2005-06, OSU became the first school ever to gross over $100 million in athletic department receipts, but the Bucks didn't edge Texas by much. The Longhorns, on the strength of that national championship in football, grossed over $95 million.

Each of these two powerhouses are propelled by the great engine of athletic departments across the country that is big-time football. OSU brought in about $51.8 million from football in 2004-05, but that doesn't count unallocated donations that may not have been received but for some alums' soft spot for the football program's success. Texas is equally dependent on football, having grossed over $53 million in the same year. Football not only grosses significant revenue but its profit supports the rest of the athletic department's activities in both schools. For that same school year, OSU netted $26 million in football, while Texas netted over $39 million.

So no matter who wins the titanic match-up tomorrow night, one thing is certain, both athletic directors will be smiling as they look around a full stadium and see the ABC cameras. For both athletic directors know that the results on the field are important, but equally important are the results on the financial statement, and by that measure, Texas and Ohio State still lead the country.

Weekly Blogpoll

This week's full Blogpoll is now up here and you can find it here. It too features this weekend's battle in Austin as a match-up of the nations' best but the bloggers see OSU as number 1 with Texas as number 2, followed by USC, Auburn and LSU.

QB Still the Glamour Position and Peyton's the One

Sports Business Daily is out with its list of the most marketable players in the NFL and one thing is perfectly clear from a quick look at the list: quarterback is still the glamor position of the NFL. Four out of the top five members of the list, and six out of the top ten, are QBs led by Peyton Manning in an overwhelming vote. Manning received nearly 52% of the first place votes to Tom Brady's 34%. The third place finisher and only non-Qb in the top five is rookie running back Reggie Bush.

The most surprising member of the top 10 list to me was the inimitable, bad boy of the NFL Terrell Owens. I am truly surprised that this group of marketers would be willing to risk placing their company's assets in the hands of the mercurial Owens. Sure, everybody is always talking about him, but that is not always a good thing. Right now, all the talk is negative and until he gets his head on straight, that negative influence is going to be felt by whatever products he is associated with. I just think the risk is too great there for most companies to take.

The other big surprise to me is Reggie Bush. Oh, I'm not surprised he made the list, but number three? and he hasn't played a down? and he plays in New Orleans? What a testament to both his playing ability and style and the very smart moves he has made to ingratiate himself to the New Orleans community. Bush is the ultimate "did you see that" athlete and I think he probably will be deserving of this high marketability ranking. I was just surprised to see him attain so soon.

Carnival of the Capitalists

This week's Carnival of the Capitalists is now up at The Business of America is Business. Get over there

Blogpoll

The following is what I intend to submit for this week's blogpoll. If you don't know what the blogpoll is, a good explanation of it can be found here. Basically, it is the blogosphere's answer to the weekly media polls. I am one of the participants and will be posting my ballot here each week. So on to this week's ballot:

1 Texas
2 Ohio State
3 West Virginia
4 Tennessee
5 Auburn
6 Southern Cal
7 Louisville
8 Iowa
9 Florida
10 Louisiana State
11 Notre Dame
12 Michigan
13 Florida State
14 Georgia
15 Oklahoma
16 Nebraska
17 Oregon
18 Miami (Florida)
19 Clemson
20 Penn State
21 Cal
22 UCLA
23 Virginia Tech
24 Georgia Tech
25 Pittsburgh


Comments and snarky remarks about my ballot are welcome.

Branch Charges Pats with Bad Faith

After the Patriots self-imposed Friday afternoon trade deadline passed without deal, unhappy wide receiver Deion Branch remained a member of the New England Patriots. However, on Friday, Branch filed two grievances seeking to arbitrate claims that New England failed to negotiate a contract extension in good faith and broke a verbal contract to Branch for "fair and reasonable" compensation after contract talks broke down.

If you have been following the Branch contract talks saga, then you know that he has been holding out this pre-season, believing that the Patriots had agreed to negotiate a new contract with him this season but had failed to make any reasonable attempt to do so. He has not reported to camp and little progress has been made in contract discussions. Last week, the Pats gave him permission to seek a trade setting a deadline of 4 PM Friday to reach a deal. Branch reached acceptable contract terms with each of the Jets and Seahawks. When trade offers, that were that were believed to be for a second round draft choice and an current player, were presented to the Pats, they were rejected outright, with no counter. At that point, the grievances were filed.

The question for the arbitrator hearing the trade grievance will be if the Patriots were presented with "fair and reasonable" value for Branch. I think it's unlikely that he will substitute his decision for that of the Patriots front office. Nor do I think he will allow a player to use the arbitration/grievance process to force a team to trade him and then dictate the terms of that trade. It is entirely unprecedented, as far as I know, to put a sports arbitrator in that position. As the Seahawks have expressed an interest in pursuing Branch, hopefully a deal can be worked out before any hearing takes place.

UPDATE: Apparently, my opinion that Branch is likely to lose his arbitration is shared by at least three experts consulted by the Boston Globe.

USA Grabs Bronze

In an important rebound game, Team USA put in a strong performance, led by its tri-captains, in putting down Argentina 96-81 this morning in the bronze medal game. The Americans pulled away from a close game in the fourth quarter behind a strong game from Dwyane Wade, who scored 18 of his game high 32 points in the fourth quarter. Fellow captain Lebron James added 22 points and nine rebounds. It was important that the Americans did not come out and put in an uninspired effort after the disappointing loss to Greece. They didn't, showing the intensity and effort of worthy of a NBA final. This game will serve them well going into the next two years.

Greeks Pick High and Roll Over Team USA

As you probably know by now, despite the difficulty in watching the World Championships, Greece picked and rolled their way to a 101-95 victory over Team USA in the semifinals early this morning ( and I do mean early.) There will be a lot of handwringing about this game and how this demonstrates yet again that the new Jerry Colangelo experiment has failed and this version of the USA team is no better than its predecessors. The handwringers would be wrong.

Oh, this team did nothing in this game to distinguish itself. Greece had been scoring at an average clip of about 82 points a game for the tournament and promptly broke the century mark. Team USA couldn't stop the pick and roll no matter how many opportunities Greece gave them, and they gave them an opportunity almost every time down the floor in the third quarter. To put it simply, USA got outplayed and out coached. Coach K and the Americans made no adjustments that were visible to me but then I only watched the second half. The Americans were not helped by incredibly poor free throw shooting and an offense that consisted of standing around and jump shooting. There were precious little ball movement.

This game points out starkly the importance of Colangelo's three year plan. It is important to remember that the goal is to win the gold medal in Beijing in 2008. Sure, it would have been nice to win this year, but this was to acclimate the team to the international game and the teams they would be facing in two years. This was one step on the road, not the end of the road. This game showed the importance of keeping a team together instead of the old American model of throwing one together every year in a few weeks and then sending them out to challenge the world. Defending the pick and roll and takes familiarity with each other and that is what this team lacked. That is what this team will gain between now and Beijing and that is the key to Colangelo's plan. So, when you think about the beating Greece inflicted today, remember the goal - Beijing, not Tokyo.

Kansas City Wizards Sold Finally

The long rumored and much discussed sale of the Kansas City Wizards was announced today along with the announcement of a soccer specific stadium in suburban Johnson County. The team will be sold to a group headed by Cerner Corp. co-founders Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig. The new ownership group will take over operations of the team immediately. A video from the press conference announcing the sale can be viewed here. Lamar Hunt will retain ownership of the Columbus Crew and FC Dallas.