Hoya Academics F Worthy?

Did Georgetown sacrifice its sterling academic reputation in an effort to revitalize its athletic fortunes? The Hoyas have made the Final Four for the first time since 1985 in JT III third season at the helm, but at what cost?

According to this article in today's New York Times, it may have been at the price of academic integrity. Former Hoya Marc Egerson had a gpa of 1.33 in core courses during his four years of high school in Delaware, recording a grade of F in 12 courses. So he did what many others in his situation did, he signed up for a year of remedial coursework at an acadmic factory now out of business in Philadelphia, Lutheran Christian Academy. Lutheran Christian was one of the notorious diploma mills that the NCAA took action against earlier this year, but not before Georgetown admitted Egerson during Thompson's first full recruiting season. Egerson, a part-time starter, left the Hoyas in January for personal reasons, transferring to the University of Delaware. No one will confirm his academic standing at the time of his transfer.

The priceless quote in the story, however, comes from the AD at SUNY Binghamton, which has hired the Georgetown assistant who recruited Egerson:

"Georgetown accepted a kid like that? Wow. I guess I’m an idealist. There’s just no place for that at Binghamton. Binghamton has never engaged in that type of behavior. If there’s a history of that, it certainly won’t be the case here. I can guarantee that. We just don’t want to win that badly.”

Note the last sentence. You wouldn't think that an institution with the reputation of Georgetown would want to win that badly either. You would be wrong.

NCAA Womens Tourney - Is Anyone Watching?

The NCAA Women's' Tournament has so far been a rousing success. The Final Four features a couple of teams expected to be there in Tennessee and North Carolina and two teams that are a bit of a surprise in Rutgers and LSU. The games have been, for the most part, exciting, although there have been more than the usual share of outright blowouts. Perennial powerhouse UConn and pretourney favorite Duke both got knocked out, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

However, attendance is a whole different story. It has been sparse at best in most of the sites and downright embarrassing at some venues. In fact, only 878 fans attended the first session of games played in the first round at Los Angeles, which has to be some kind of all time low. One possible problem is that three years ago, the NCAA went to predetermined sites and it may be that the women's game just isn't ready for that, no matter how much we may wish it to be.

Another factor is how teams are allocated to sites. I don't believe the women's selection committee uses the same care as the men's does in placing teams, at least seeded teams, close to their homes. As a result, seeded teams are sent across the country and their fan base is just not strong enough to expect tremendous numbers to travel those distances.

It may be that the NCAA has to go back to playing at the home campus of high seeds and concede that they are just not ready to play at neutral sites. Let's face it, these crowds are just too embarrassing to continue, not to mention bad for business.

Man U: World's Most Valuable Club

Who needs to win Champions Leagues or Premier Leagues? Apparently not Manchester United, as it returns to the top of Forbes list of the world's most valuable soccer clubs, with an estimated value of a little over $1.4 billion, well ahead of Real Madrid's value of just over $1.o billion. Current European holder Barcelona was ninth at $535 million, while Premiership holder Chelsea was eighth at $537 million. Buoyed by new television contracts, ten of the top 25 clubs were members of the English Premier League.

Ronaldinho overtook David Beckham as the top earning player this year, with earnings of $29.5 million. Becks came in second with earnings of a mere $29.1 million. He was followed by Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Michael Ballack.

Book Review: Cinderella (No, Not that One)

I was recently sent a new college basketball book to review and I have to confess to being more than a little dilatory in getting it done. A combination of real world work commitments and family issues have combined to putting me way behind in my pleasure and blog related reading - especially of books, magazines and any other long-from, non digital copy.

That said, I'm about half-way through this very interesting take of the once in a lifetime season George Mason experienced last year. The book, George Mason Inside the Rise of Mid Major College Basketball chronicles the dream season of the George Mason Patriots and the Colonial Athletic Association. The author does a really nice job of placing George Mason's accomplishments in the context of the Mid Majors' dream season as well as detailing the struggle for recognition that is a constant battle for the mid major leagues. The book is well written although the play by play details of games tends to all run together. In short, I recommend the book to anyone interested in the struggle of mid majors for their piece of the $6 billion NCAA pie.

Germnan Tennis Federation Sues ATP on Antitrust Grounds

The German tennis federation today filed suit in US District Court in Delaware accusing the Association of Tennis Professional of antitrust violations and acting like a cartel. The case arose out of the ATP's plan to restructure the men's tour in 2009, which will result in stripping the Hamburg Open of its Masters title, relegating it to a "minor league" status. The German Federation claims that:


"The ATP has artificially taken control of the supply of men's professional tennis players and of men's professional tennis tournaments. It has done so to establish a favored class of tournaments, in which the ATP has a significant proprietary interest, while relegating all of the ATP's other member tournaments to a disfavored status.''

The Hamburg tournament has been played for 100 years and is a clay court tune-up for the French Open. It is usually held one to two weeks in advance of the French; this year it is scheduled for the week before the French Open.

If the decisions made by the ATP are made solely on the basis of which tournaments it has a proprietary interest in, then indeed there may be a sustainable claim. Otherwise, I think it may be hard for the German federation to make a case that the ATP is not free to designate whatever tournaments it chooses.

Divorce Shakes Up Yankees

When you marry the boss' daughter and then go to work for the company, often good things happen to your career. Such was the state of Steve Swindal's career. He was a very successful baseball executive, rising through the ranks of the a front office a big league club in a major metropolitan area to the point that he was the anointed successor to the chief executive officer of the club who is now 76 and in failing health. Swindal had, in fact, taken on so much responsibility that he was a member of MLB's ownership committee.

Now, it has all come crashing down around him. Arrested last month for DUI, his wife filed for divorce on Tuesday in Hillsborough County Circuit Court, in Tampa, Florida. By now, you probably have guessed that Swindal is George Steinbrenner's soon to be former son-in-law. Who the Boss' future successor will be now is anybody's guess. What is clear, is that it will not be Swindal, who will be leaving his position's with club in the near future. He does own a piece of the Yankees and how that plays out will be interesting, but rest assured that he will no longer hold any executive positions. Steinbrenner will not allow him to hang around.

Starbury II Coming and So Is Big Ben

The Starbury Revolution is growing. The $14.95 basketball show developed by Stephon Marbury in conjunction with retailer Steve & Barry's' has taken off beyond the wildest imaginations of the those involved in its launch. It has proven to be extraordinarily popular - Steve & Barry's sold out a couple of months of shoes in three days and has sold at least 3 million pairs according to Marbury, mostly by word of mouth. The retailer doesn't release figures and doesn't really spend much on advertising.

On April 1, the Starbury II launches, with the model here pictured looking something like a retro ABA model. Other models can be seen on starbury.com. Also, Starbury has signed its first endorser other than Marbury with the announcement that Chicago Bulls star center Ben Wallace will be joining the team as of April 1. The Wallace signature shoe will debut next season, but he will begin wearing the Starbury II on April 1.

It's likely that the new shoes will sell even faster than the originals. By all reports, the original Starburys have performed just as well as the high priced spread. With the possible exception of a need to use insole cushions for outdoor play, most wearers have noticed little difference in wear or how well the shoes have held up. Experts have said there is little difference in construction so the wear and durability should have been comparable and anecdotally that seems to be the case. Buy the new ones, save big bucks on comparable Nikes or Adidas and enjoy.

Midnight Bullets

For an interesting look at how baseball has adopted airline style ticketing in which perhaps no two tickets will be sold for the same price again.

A truly bizarre incident at a race track in Hong Kong. Was it an aborted case of race-fixing? A thwarted terrorist plot? A pre-Olympic test by bad guys unknown?

The battle over baseball's decision to award Extra Innings exclusively to Direct TV reaches the United States Senate - will Senator Kerry be more effective with baseball than he was on the 2004 campaign trail?

FIFA had a pretty fair year last year - helped in great part by a very successful World Cup, but FIFA chief Blatter still worried for game's future.

Speaking of soccer, in a welcome change from year's past and due in part no doubt to the "Becks effect", ESPN has nearly sold out its entire season ad inventory of MLS broadcasts.

Saints In NOLA To 2010

The New Orleans Saints are coming off the best season in the club's history and have sold out their season ticket inventory, including the box seats and luxury suites for the first time ever. None of that, however, had been enough to quiet the talk that owner Tom Benson, not a fan favorite anyway, was still looking for a way to move the team to San Antonio or Los Angeles. Well, yesterday, the club's short term future in New Orleans was secured as the team and officials from the state signed an agreement to keep the club playing in the Superdome until 2010.

Both the state and the Saints had early opt out clauses in the Saints lease of the state owned Superdome, with the Saints being able to break the lease this year and relocate by paying back $70 million and the state having an opt out in 2008. Both sides agreed to drop their opt out clauses and work together towards a new and restructured long term deal. The state committed to maintain its annual payments to the Saints through 2010, while a new long term is being negotiated.

That deal better get done in the next two years because, as Times-Picayune article points out, the state only has a revenue source for the payments for the next two years. The bed tax is simply not going to cover it as hotel rooms are not being rented in sufficient numbers post Katrina and that is not likely to change any time soon. Nevertheless, it is a great thing to see the Saints committed to New Orleans. Nola may not be able to support two pro teams any longer, which I believe to be the case, in which case it will be the Saints who survive as New Orleans' team. The Saints have always been in the heart of New Orleans and that was never more evident than in the past year. It's good to know they will be around a bit longer

UPDATE: For an interesting insight into the Hornets situation, see this story (it's free) from Chris Sheridan on espn.com. It will help you understand why the Hornets are probably not long for New Orleans no matter what George Shinn may say.

Coack K and Team USA

I was watching the end of the UCLA - Kansas game tonight with a friend and we were discussing coaches. I noted how I would much prefer to have Howland on my bench than Self but it got me thinking about a little later about Duke's problems this year. I know all of the excuses that were thrown out but there is one reason that I think is present this year and will be there next year if Coach K doesn't do something about it: his responsibilities as head coach of Team USA.

I think perhaps he is finally being pulled in too many different directions and just doesn't have the focus he needs to give Duke the direction and attention required. Or else, it is Team USA that will suffer. The evidence for the latter was starting to show at last year's World Championship. Duke has always been known for tenacious defense and it was expected that the Americans would reflect that but there was Team USA unable to defend a simple Greek pick and roll.

If the Americans are to truly contend for the gold medal in Beijing, not to mention the Americas next summer, it is time for Coach K to take another leave of absence from Duke. This could be invigorating for him and for the Blue Devils. After all, Coach K is not going to coach forever and most Blue Devil fans have long accepted the idea that long-time assistant Johnny Dawkins is the heir apparent. Well, why not give him the team for the year and let him get his feet wet. He needs it, the Blue Devils need it, Team USA needs it and most of all, Coach K needs it.

NU Women Lax Raise Money and Spirits

We hear a lot about the problems in collegiate athletics and many of them have been well documented in this space time and time again. What doesn't get discussed nearly as often as it should is the good things that do go on in college sports from the thousands of athletes who excel in their chosen sports and in the classroom, to those same athletes who devote countless hours to community service activities in schedules so chock full of practices, games and classes that you wonder when they have time to sleep much less help others.

This is one of those other stories that deserves wider recognition. It's 2005, and Jaclyn Murphy, a 10 year old girl of Yorktown, New York is diagnosed with a form of brain cancer. Her lacrosse coach reaches out to a fellow Yorktown nanive then assistant Northwestern lacrosse coach Alexis Venechanos who arranges for the team to send an autographed media guide and Wildcats paraphernelia. The story doesn't end there as the relationship grows between Jaclyn and the entire Northwestern women's team. That was a dream season for the Cats, inspired in great part by Jaclyn, the Cats went undefeated meeting Virginia in the national championship game.
In a scene Disney couldn't script, during a halftime interview on national television while at the game, Jaclyn predicts the exact final score, 13-10, as NU goes on to win its first national championship.

Still inspired by Jaclyn, Northwestern repeats last season. The Wildcats make a concerted effort to pass down to the underclassmen the lessons learned from the relationship with Jaclyn and to ensure that relationship continued. This season, coach Venechanos has moved on to become the head coach at the University of Massachusetts and tomorrow, UMass and NU are playing the first Annual Brain Tumor Awareness College Lax Challenge at Yorktown High School in Yorktown Heights New York. Yes, this time, the Cats have come to Jaclyn to honor her and raise money for research to help all kids with brain tumors. It's a good story to tell and I just wanted to make sure you had a chance to read about it.

UPDATE: Playing before a crowd of 3,075, the number 2 ranked Northwestern Wildcats defeated UMass 18-4 last night behind the scoring of Meredith Frank, Aly Josephs and Hilary Bowen, who each scored three goals. However, more important than the final result of the goal was the fund raising total as the game and pregame banquet raised an estimated $38,500 for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation.

The Ever Wacky ABA

The latest news from the ever wacky ABA reminds us that we can never underestimate the depths to which that wild and crazy league can sink. It's not every league whose defending champion quits the league - in the middle of the playoffs no less. Now the playoffs in the ABA are an enormously complicated undertaking that commenced with 24 teams. As the playoffs wore on, unlike normal leagues, teams were not only defeated but clubs just dropped out, you know, quit, refused to play. The latest, the defending champion Rochester Razorsharks, not only dropped out of the playoffs but dropped out of the league altogether only days before their semifinal contest against the Wilmington SeaDawgs. To make more matters insulting, the Razorsharks dropped out to join the so far non-existent Premier Basketball League. An extensive internet search on the PBL turned up nothing - the league so far exists only in Rochester's announcement.

This is of course only the latest in a long list of strange tales out of a league plagued with ownership disputes, franchise failures, legal problems and a whole host of other problems. In fact, the ABA could be a Harvard Business School casebook study in how not to run a professional sports organization. Just this year alone, the league has had the following: lawsuits were filed against the league CEO, he was voted out of office, but because of legal issues, he is still running the league; the Toledo, Ohio franchise started the year, folded, came back under another name, folded again, came back a third time and folded again; another franchise moved in mid-season, several franchises folded; six teams dropped out of the playoffs once they began; and of course Rochester bolts for a non-existent league.

In all, since the league was created in 2000, 49 franchises have folded. Franchises will be awarded to anyone whose market reservation check will clear. It appears that minimal, if any, due diligence is done on prospective franchise owners so there is no determination as to the ability of owners to financially bear the costs of running a club. So, if you ever had a notion about owning a professional sports franchise and you can scrap together a few thousand dollars (they're not advertising the market price on the web site these days), well, give the ABA a call. There are always markets available, but the dictum buyer beware has never been more true than with this bunch, because there sure is no telling what you are getting into.

Trouble for Bengals? NFL To Toughen Conduct Policy

The NFL is about to announce a significant upgrade to its policy on personal conduct, which could be bad news for fans of the Cincinnati Bengals, Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones. Commissioner Roger Goodell in one of his first real policy initiatives since taking office last year, plans to announce the new policy at league meetings next week. While the details of the new policy have not been released, it is apparent that it will allow the Commissioner to impose penalties of up to a year suspension before all steps in the legal system have run their course, as is the case now. That could have significant impact on cases like those of the nine, that's right nine, Bengals arrested in less than a year this past season. Perhaps not surprisingly, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis is in full support of the proposed new policy:

"I think the biggest thing everybody is looking for is that on the way in, you let guys know this is the way it's going to be. And if you cross this line, this is what's going to happen."

The first example of the new policy may well be Pacman Jones, who, according to Don Banks of SI.com may be suspended for up to one year:

"We can't tell the Titans that he won't play for them ever again, because the Titans, at the end of the day, will determine his long-term future. But the league will determine his short-term future. You should see something within a two or three-week time frame, and I would think you could expect a multiple-game suspension, or as much as a year or beyond.''

And that pretty well sums up where the Commissioner's office is on the new policy.

Battle of the Titans: Ma Bell Sues NASCAR

NASCAR stands out among professional sports in this country for its relentless promotion of its sponsors. Its cars are plastered with sponsors' logos over seemingly every square inch of surface visible to a television camera and the drivers' jumpsuits are covered head to toe in stickers that sponsors pay heavily for prime location. It should come as no surprise I suppose that sponsors should carry their corporate battles onto the speedway or that those battles should on occasion carry beyond the pits.

On Friday, the latest evidence that NASCAR is now a multimillion dollar business presented itself as AT&T filed suit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta against NASCAR concerning the right to change the sponsor decal on car 31 driven by Jeff Burton. For all of you non-NASCAR fans, that is the Cingular car, which AT&T would like to change to AT&T, due to a corporate rebranding. AT&T, following its purchase of BellSouth, has acquired 100% ownership of Cingular and has decided to rebrand it as AT&T. It does not want Burton driving a car festooned with a logo for a brand it no longer promotes.

On the other hand, NASCAR is trying to protect a $700 million title sponsorship with SprintNextel for the Nextel Cup. In that contract, Nextel was granted exclusivity over wireless communication carriers, with Cingular being grandfathered. However, Cingualar was limited to what was existing and NASCAR contends that it was not allowed to change the brand name. AT&T contends it is only restricted to size and location.

The larger question to be resolved is who ultimately controls sponsorships in NASCAR? For a variety of reasons integral to NASCAR's business model, MASCAR has contended for years, that the car owners and drivers are independent contractors. If that is so, just how much control over the lifeblood of their operations - sponsorship revenue - can NASCAR reasonably hope to maintain? As is so often the case, this case is about far more than the stakes at hand and really may go to the very heart of the business dynamic of NASCAR. As such, it certainly bears watching. For that reason, it is also just as likely that it will be settled.

Instant Replay Coming to Soccer - Sort of

It looks like instant replay will be making its debut in professional soccer in the near future. The English Premier League is making plans to introduce electronic goal line technology for use in the 2008-2009 season. It will be modeled on the technology now in use in tennis. The FIFA board recently approved the implementation of goal-line technology experiments and the EPL is ready to be the first in line. Based on the results so far from the tennis tour, I would expect the experiments to meet with good reports from even the harshest critics. I recently watched a match in the Pacific Life Classic using this technology and it was really quite amazing to watch the ball's flight and landing. It was also reassuring to see how often the umpire was right. I don't think I saw a single call overturned by the replay. It also didn't significantly add any time to the match, unlike college football or the NFL, as the computer replays the shot almost instantaneously.

In Georgia, an Upscale RV Parking Lot for UGa Fans

In SEC country, the RV isn't just a redneck symbol (which I'm linking to despite Warren's lack of a link to me) it's a way of life and real estate developers in Athens, Georgia believe it may just be the ticket to the next great thing. Parking in this small town on game day is a nightmare, especially so for those traveling in RVs and campers who just can't park in any old parking lot and set out a tailgate. So, in true American spirit, where there is a problem, there is always a high priced solution.

In Athens, the solution is a $30,000 parking space in Bulldog Park, a 250 space, 18 acre lot due to open next fall about four miles from Sanford Stadium. The spaces, which will be sold to RV owners, entitle the space owner to park an RV or van for up to 30 days at a time, to avoid problems with a local ordinance regarding trailer parks. The owners get access to amenities including televisions, live music, picnic pavilions and most importantly restrooms and shuttles to the stadium. Sounds to me like it should be a big success and is something that could be replicated near stadiums across the South.

PS. I know it's a scene of a Texas tailgate - I just couldn't find a good picture from Georgia.

Potential Hitch in Penguins Arena Funding

The Pittsburgh Penguins new arena funding plan is an intricate web of state, local and private money stitched together with revenue derived from new casinos being built in Pittsburgh and throughout the state. Because of the central role being played by casino funds in the arena funding plan, any delay in the building of those casinos could have a significant adverse impact on the arena. License challenges are currently pending in court for license in Pittsburgh and several other areas in the state. The owner of the Majestic Star, Don Barden, has committed $7.5 million a year to the arena from gaming proceeds.

The appeals are slated to be heard by the state Supreme Court in May under an expedited hearing schedule. In the interim, no payments are flowing and construction on the casinos whose licenses are being challenged is at a standstill. The delays are estimated to cost have the state hundreds of millions of dollars, five percent of which was to go into the fund being used to finance the state's contribution to the Pens' arena. Should the appeals be decided in May and should Majestic Star keep its license, it is likely that no real delay in the arena construction timetable will occur. However, what happens if Majestic Star loses its license is unknown. The exact nature of the Supreme Court's ruling is of course hard to predict and whether it would order a new round of bidding, with the consequent delay and unknown result, or award the license to one of the other bidders, is just speculation at this stage. Any decision other than affirming Barden's license would, at this point, adversely affect the arena' s construction timetable.

This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse

It appears that there is nothing beneath ESPN in its desperate search to fill up the ever expanding universe of programming hours of its multiple channel universe. The latest evidence of that is news that is has agreed to broadcast the USA Rock Paper Scissors League Championship. Fascinating television to be sure.

CBS Update

I complained about CBS leaving me with an analog broadcast of the Louisville-Stanford game yesterday (which was followed by the same with the Kentucky-Villanova game tonight). A reader pointed me to this official explanation of the reasons why CBS was unable to send an HD signal on the "constant" broadcast.

March Madness Day One

One of the great joys of watching the first two days of the tournament is constantly bouncing from one game to the next -especially if the game you're watching turns into a blowout. I sat down today to watch Louisville take on Stanford, expecting to enjoy the game on a big screen set in all of its HD glory and without any of CBS' most obnoxious announcers, since Packer had been assigned elsewhere. Much to my surprise, the game was not in HD as the local station had chosen to keep the game without switches and CBS decided to send it an analog signal only. Now, I imagine there is some major technical reason for this, but it sure didn't make me or any of the other HD set owners happy. I understand keeping the game in a Cardinals market, but CBS should have kept an HD signal here as well. Immediately after the Stanford blowout was complete, HD returned. If anyone knows the technical reason for CBS decision, I'm curious, but mostly, I'm just pissed, although the Cards big win helped out immensely

CBS and March Madne$$

CBS announced several weeks ago that it had sold over 95% of its advertising inventory for the entire broadcast of the upcoming NCAA tournament. That means that the tournament is essentially sold out in the eyes of the network brass. Equally, or perhaps more importantly, the ad rates being commanded by CBS are second only to the Super Bowl. The ad spend for this year's tournament is expected to exceed $500 million for the network telecasts alone. A 30 second spot cost an average $1.1 million during the 2006 Championship game and you can assume that the price has increased for this year's final. By comparison, a 30 second spot for the Super Bowl cost an average $2.5 million.

CBS has found another revenue stream this year through March Madness On Demand. As it was last year, all of the games in the first three rounds that are not being telecast in your home market are available for free video streaming on your broadband connection. CBS is selling separate ad inventory for the video streaming this year and expects to net at least $9 million. March Madness On Demand was such a success last year that CBS has increased server capacity from 270,000 simultaneous streams to 400,000 simultaneous streams this year.

In addition, CBS cut a long term deal with Direct TV to provide Mega March Madness which is the satellite package offered by Direct TV. This is basically the satellite TV version of March Madness On Demand. It is part of a larger deal between Direct TV and CBS, which covers a variety of sports programming including CSTV, so it's hard to break out the numbers but it's a nice little extra boost.

You can order Mega March Madness through the following offer:

Save over $250 - HD special from DIRECTV! 195 channels + the best in HD only $59.99/mo. for 12 mos. Mail-in redemption required. Here

Penguins Stay Put

The Pittsburgh Penguins are staying in Pittsburgh. Owners Mario Lemieux and Forbes billionaire Ron Burckle have reached an agreement with the different government entities with which they have been negotiating for the financing of a new arena to replace the ancient Igloo - Mellon Arena. The team will sign a 30 year lease on the arena which will be owned by a city-county arena authority. The deal will be announced later today before the Penguins home game against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Penguins' contribution will be $3.8 million a year toward construction costs and an additional $400,000 per year in capital improvements. the team will get all revenue from the arena and will pay all operating costs. The total construction costs are estimated to be $290 million, with completion targeted for fall of 2009. The team will have the option of paying $500,000 to build a parking garage on land near the arena that will be owned by the city-county arena authority that will own the arena.

In addition to the Penguins contribution, the deal calls for the state to pay $7.5 million annually from economic development funds and slot machine revenue. In addition, Dan Barde, the owner of Majestic Star Casino LLC, the winner of the slot machine license in Pittsburgh will pay $7.5 million.

The final agreement was apparently mediated by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in talks among the Penguins co-owners, Lemieux and Burckle, Governor Rendell, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

This is good news for Pittsburgh and for the NHL. This is a deal that needed to get done. The Pens are a team with a great future; filled with bright,young stars led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The team has received strong support and really did not to move. It would not have been a good thing for the already struggling NHL to see a team with a loyal fan base in a strong American hockey city pack up and leave town when the team and the government officials were not that far apart. I'm glad to see everyone come to their sense, make a deal and do what is in the best interests of the league and the Pittsburgh fans. Kansas City will eventually find a tenant for that arena, I'm sure.

Are Jaguars For Sale?

This week's Sports Business Journal is reporting that Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver has turned down two bids to purchase the club for about $750 million. The bids came through Galatioto Sports Partners, an investment bank the Jags hired last month to analyze the team's debt and seek potential limited partners. The team has about $110 million in high interest rate debt that it would like to retire and an infusion from new limited partners could be used to do that.

Weaver owns 48.5% of the team while the rest is controlled by several Jacksonville businessmen. It's not entirely clear whether he really wants to sell the team or is just seeking investors to clear the debt.

Nevertheless, what is striking is the price. The Jags are a small market team saddled with a bad lease by NFL standards and struggles to fill seats. It demonstrates the economic power of the NFL when even a small market team is worth $750 million. Large market clubs are all worth well north of a billion dollars. This is one business that is almost impossible for an owner to totally screw up. At the end of the day, when the time comes to sell the team, there will still be a profit.

Lobbying the Selection Committee

Appalachian State is the classic bubble team when ti comes to this afternoon's selection for the NCAA tournament. It had a wonderful season which wound up with an upset loss in its conference tournament. The Mountaineers play in the low major Southern Conference, usually a one bid league and the odds don't favor their chances.

That hasn't stopped the creative thinkers in Boone, NC. On Friday, the school took out a full page ad in the Indianapolis Star touting its case to the selection committee, at the cost of $10,000. To anyone's knowledge, it's the first time anyone has publicly tried to lobby the committee with paid media advertising, as opposed to ESPN announcers or Billy Packer, that is. You have to hand it to the Appy State athletic department for at least giving it their all. I have been in favor of giving more at large bids to mid and low major teams instead of the 6th and 7th place teams from the power conferences and this is just another reason to give the Mountaineers a third or fourth look.

The Divergent Paths of a 16 Seed

Another excellent article in today's New York Times about the divergent paths taken by the head coach and assistant coach of the 16th seed Western Carolina team that lost to number 1 Purdue in 1996 on two missed shots in the closing seconds. The assistant coach of that squad was Thad Matta, he of the soon to be number 1 seed Ohio State, and of the Thad Five. The head coach of the Western Carolina Catamounts, Phil Hopkins stayed in Cullowhee for another three years, resisting the temptation to leave for greener and perhaps more lucrative pastures. He was later fired and is now, well, read the article - it's worth your time.

Chargers Unveil New Unis: Blow it Again

The San Diego Chargers unveiled their new uniforms today, earlier than they wanted to after a computer error allowed them to be posted on a fan forum of the San Diego newspaper for three minutes earlier in the day. As you can see, the Chargers failed once again to take the opportunity to return to the best uniform in sports, and the overwhelming fan favorite powder blue uniforms. The new uniforms make a nod to the powders blues by outlining the lightning bolt in powder blue. The other big change is a laudable return to white helmets. The Chargers will continue to wear the powder blues twice a year. HT to Sports by Brooks

Life Imitates Art: Major League in Minnesota

Rememer the movie Major League? The owner of the Cleveland Indians deliberately puts together a bad team so they'll lose and she can move the team. Is there a case of life imitating art brewing in Minnesota? Conspiracy theorists are spinning the theory that the Vikings are systematically and deliberately self-destructing to make it easier for owner Zygi Wilf to move the team When Zilf, an east coast real estate developer, bought the team in 2005, no one had ever heard of him, and all he has done since has
done little to burnish his reputation.

His initial comments about the Vikings home in the dump that passes for a stadium, the Metrodome, were accurate then, but are they still: "We're stuck in the Metrodome. But we'll be here in the Twin Cities area forever. (Moving) is not an option." It's two years later and the Vikings are no closer to a stadium, while the his co-tenants, the Twins and the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, both have stadiums under construction. Don't' you think that bothers Wilf just a little bit?

The question is, do you get a stadium faster by winning and cooperating with the legislature or by ruining a team and fighting the state every inch of the way? I guess we're going to find out soon enough.

Carnival of the NBA

The latest edition of the Carnival of the NBA is now up. So get over there.

Internet Radio Face the End

I know that this topic is not really sports but it is important and I want to bring it to your attention. A recent decision by the Copyright Royalty Board has imperiled the future of Internet radio. This panel of judges set up by Congress has ruled that Internet radio stations must now pay royalties that would more than double by 2010. It's enough to cause most, if not all, Internet radio stations, including streaming of over the air stations, to shut down. If you want the complete details of the decision and its full implications, go here. Suffice it to say, without extensive lobbying of Congress to overturn this decision, we can all say goodbye to webcasting.

Will the Penguins Burst Vegas' Cherry

With the talks between government and the Pittsburgh Penguins now at an impasse, the focus turns to what will the Pens do next. First on the agenda is meeting with Kansas City as it is the city most likely to be the target of relocation efforts. The brand new Sprint Center opens for business next year and AEG, the manager of the arena has already offered the Penguins free rent, no construction costs and an even split of building revenues.

The second contender is Houston, which has been looking for a hockey to co-tenant with the Rockets in Toyota Center, since it opened in 2003. There are a number of groups willing to purchase the team and it remains an attractive option, but probably not as attractive as Kansas City.

The newcomer to the scene and potentially the most interesting is Las Vegas. Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burckle are heading to Sin City to meet with officials there to discuss options. Interestingly, AEG could be involved there as well, as the arena giant is said to be the leading contender to develop a new arena in Las Vegas. AEG would not be involved in any ownership of the team, however, as it already owns the Kings.

Monday TidBits

It's the beginning of the week and since posting was light last week, I have a collection of links for you tonight that don't require a lot of additional discussion. So, without further ado, let's get on with it:

The NBA should be concerned about the sinking television ratings so far this season; luckily for the league, the contracts were just renewed but this news can't please the Commissioner.

The Penguins have issued a letter to government officials declaring an impasse in negotiations and indicating that they will begin to explore relocation aggressively. This is good news, presumably, for Kansas City. By the way, could the demise of the Penguins in Pittsburgh really be on bill and Hillary Clinton?

The NFL has designs on China as does every pro league in the US and has decided to conduct a preseason game there between the Patriots and the Seahawks on August 9. However, more than any other American pro sport, football is foreign to the Chinese so the NFL is training three Chinese kickers to become place kickers with the idea of placing one of them on each of the Hawks and Pats for the exhibition games to give the Chinese a rooting interest.

In stadium news, apparently the University of Miami is engaged in talks with the Dolphins about moving from the Orange Bowl to Dolphins Stadium. The distance from campus and the 70 years of history are concerns, but apparently not as much as the $84 million in renovations that the OB needs and for which the City doesn't seem to pay.

Cotton Bowl Moves to Jerry Dome

The Cotton Bowl Athletic Association decided last week that it would become the third bowl association to sever its ties to the facility of the same name when it announced that it would move the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic to the new Cowboys Stadium (to be henceforth known as the Jerry Dome until the naming rights are sold for a gazillion dollars) in 2010, after 71 years in its current home. Only a true sentimentalist can blame them for moving out of a stadium in desperate need of renovation.

The move to the Jerry Dome is not just about a bigger, brighter stadium for the Cotton Bowl. The organizers of the game are clear that this move is about convincing the organizers of the BCS that the Cotton Bowl belongs in the rotation. My guess is that it won't take much convincing. I don't think that Fox or ESPN, the contract is up for renewal in 2009 so it's not clear who will be making the decision, will be able to resist a 100,000 seat stadium in the heart of football country. Especially not when there will be continuing questions about the ability of New Orleans and the Superdome to host big time events. A simple substitution of Dallas for New Orleans seems an ideal answer on the surface. However, it might not be the easy as the SEC would lose its anchor bowl in that arrangement and the Big XII would gain two anchors - the Fiesta and the Cotton.

Perhaps the entire system will be realigned in 2010, following the expiration of the television contract in 2009, although hoping for a true playoff is too much to expect. I would anticipate the addition of a bowl to the BCS mix in replacement of the Plus One hosting we have now. If the Sugar Bowl is demoted, expect the Gator, Capital One and Houston Bowls all to make strong pitches to join the Cotton as the additional bowl. Look for one from Florida as the new SEC anchor to join with the Cotton.

LifeLock

You'll notice a new ad on the right side of the page as I've added LifeLock to the blog. LifeLock offers identity theft protection at an affordable price, something we all need in today's environment. It is the only proactive identity theft prevention solution that, to my knowledge, offers a $1,000,000 guarantee. So, do yourself a favor and click on the link on the right and check out the LifeLock service for yourself. I think you'll be glad that you did. Okay, end of commercial and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

AFL on ESPN - SportsCenter Goes Minor League

With the start of the current Arena League season ESPN begins its coverage of football's premier minor league. It has struck a deal with the fast growing league to televise a package of games in return for a rights fee and an equity interest, which it has a right to put back to the league at the end of the five year term of the deal. It is a very nice deal for the league, which has struggled for television time, despite a NBC contract in the last couple of years.

I don't begrudge the AFL its television deal nor do I particularly care if ESPN fill up time with Arena games once college basketball is over. However, let's not forget that Arena football is minor league ball, even if somewhat entertaining. When the Bristol boys hype it like it is the NFL on ESPN and devote precious SportsCenter minutes to AFL highlights, they are placing the corporate interests of ESPN ahead of the journalistic interests of SportsCenter. No other minor league sport gets or deserves that attention and neither does Arena Football. So, ESPN, quit trying to foist it off on us as something its not. Televise it if you want but keep it off SportsCenter and don't hype it anymore than the BASS Championships.

Is There More Than One Big Game in Football?

The NFL is the most successful and lucrative professional sports organization on Planet Earth and it didn't get there by allowing others to encroach on its marketing territory. That's why whenever it sees companies engaging in ambush marketing of the Super Bowl, it springs into action by sending legions of lawyers, armed with cease and desist letters, into battle. The No Fun League has taken the battle onto a new front now, claiming rights to what would be a generic description for the championship game.

Apparently, the NFL wants to protect its sponsors from the guerrilla advertising that starts in December with "Get your big screen in time for the Big Game", because it is now attempting to trademark the term "Big Game" in reference to the Super Bowl. Only there's a problem, in case the folks running the league haven't heard, there already is a Big Game in football and it's been played annually for a lot longer than the NFL has been around. In fact, it's been played since MDCCCXCII and called the Big Game since MCMII. Granted, it's on the West Coast and rotates between Berkeley and Palo Alto but the football game between Stanford and California has been called the Big Game for over 100 years. Following word that the NFL was trying to steal the trademark, the schools are investigating trademarking themselves, in the same collective manner that Alabama and Auburn trademarked the "Iron Bowl."

To refresh your memories, here is the greatest moment in the Big Game's proud history, and one of the greatest plays in college football history:

Marlins Close to Stadium Deal Downtown

March has dawned and with it comes Spring Training. With Spring Training comes not just the renewal of baseball and the annual expectation in the hearts of every baseball fan, except perhaps those few hardy souls who are still fans of the Devil Rays, that this is the year his or her team will make the playoffs, win the pennant or if you happen to dream big, win the World Series. If you live in South Florida, it's time for the now annual rite of Spring known as the Marlins Stadium Announcement.

Seemingly every Spring since the Marlins first arrived, the scene has played out with the same haunting familiarity. Marlins' officials and various collections of local and state officeholders and bureaucrats stand before cameras and announce a new plan for a baseball only stadium for the Marlins. This year really does appear to be different - it actually does appear that a workable plan is on the table and has a reasonable chance of success. Miami-Dade County officials unveiled the plan yesterday.

The stadium would be on the small side - seating only 37,000, while having 60 suites. It would be located in downtown Miami, near the Miami Arena. It would cost $490 million with a retractable roof being responsible for a good chunk of that. The Marlins would contribute about $200 million, with $45 million coming up front and the balance in rent payments. The plan hinges on the state legislature approving $60 million in sales tax rebates, an action which has proved problematic in the past. Miami-Dade County officials are optimistic, but, of course, it's Spring. However, I should note that two bills providing for the rebate were passed by a state Senate committee last week, so there is some tangible reason for optimism. Let's hope the optimism is not misplaced since a new stadium is an imperative for baseball to succeed in South Florida. It would be a shame for the Marlins to move, since baseball is one sport that should succeed in South Florida given the right infrastructure and management.