Is Formula One Racing a Sport?

One can argue about auto racing being a sport I suppose, although it seems fairly well settled, at least among the western industrialized world. In India, however, it has proved to be a different matter altogether. It seems that Formula One racing, the world's most popular form of auto racing, is not considered to be a sport, at least by the Indian government. I've never been a big of car racing myself, but I certainly think there is more to F1 racing, as both a spectator and a driver, than there is to Nascar with its endless left turns around an oval. There is no doubt, that there is skill involved in both forms of racing, but I guess in India, where 3-5 day cricket matches are king, it just qualifies as entertainment.

NHL Bids for Coyotes

The long and winding story of the Phoenix Coyotes just got more interesting. While the group led by White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf dropped its bid for the 'Yotes, saying it couldn't reach a satisfactory agreement with the City of Glendale over a lease of Jobing,com Arena, the NHL jumped in before the bankruptcy court imposed deadline to offer a bid of its own. That bad blood between Gary Bettman and Jim Balsillie must really be something awful, because Bettman is just not going to let Balsillie have this team if there is any way under the sun to prevent it.

There is one other group now bidding for the team, a collection of Canadian-American investors. Both their bid and the NHL's is projected to be some $60 million below Balsillie's which puts the Bankruptcy Court judge in a bit of quandary. Does he go with a lower bid that the league will obviously approve or with the bid that produces the highest return for the creditors but which the league has already disapproved? In short, does the Bankruptcy Court have the power to void that section of the league bylaws? If so, that would be precedent setting across the major professional leagues landscape and wreck havoc on the ability of any league to control the relocation of franchises.

Bankruptcy courts have a great deal of leeway in setting aside contract provisions that are detrimental to maximizing the return to creditors, especially where, as here, those provisions could be seen as favoring one bidder over another to the harm of the bankruptcy estate. While that by no means should be interpreted as saying he will overrule the NHL bylaws, it does give Balsillie an argument.

Mazel Tov to the Greens; Onward and Upward in the Champions League

Maccabi Haifa took care of business today, defeating Red Bull Salzburg, the sister club to Red Bull New York, 3-0 at the National Stadium in Ramat Gan, Israel to advance to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for only the second time in the club's history. By advancing, Maccabi Haifa becomes the first Israeli club ever to reach the group stage for a second time, first reaching it in the 2003-03 season. Maccabi Tel Aviv is the only other Israeli club to advance - in the 2004-05 season.

Maccabi Haifa will be seeded fourth in its group and should expect to see some of Europe's heavyweights pay a visit to Ramat Gan. While getting out of the group will be an enormous undertaking, the opportunity to see these clubs up close and personal will be something most Israeli fans will treasure, plus the financial impact advancing this far will have on the club is immeasurable.

Court Kills Delaware Single Game Bets

A federal appeals court ruling today most likely ended Delaware's foray into single game betting on college and professional sports.  The appeals court, hearing an appeal filed by the NFL, found that the single game betting proposed  by Delaware violated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992.  The Court found that the exemption which Delaware enjoyed as a state which had sports gambling in place prior to passage of the statute applied only to the extent it conducted wagering in 1976, which in  Delaware's case consisted of only multi-game parley bets.  Whether that means Delaware is also restricted just to football is not yet clear.

The judges were originally expected to only rule on the NFL's request for a preliminary injunction to prevent Delaware from instituting the games with the start of the football season on September 1, however, to the surprise of all parties, following two hours of oral argument, the three judge panel told the attorneys that since it was evident that there was no dispute about the facts, they would be rendering their decision from the bench.  The left the courtroom, huddled for  forty minutes and returned to deliver their verdict, stunning as it was to the everyone involved.

Delaware has 14 days within which to ask the full Court of Appeals to consider the court.  The governor's office will be considering whether and to what extent to appeal - an appeal to the US Supreme Court is also a possibility.  I would be very surprised if an appeal is not filed as I think Delaware has a just as strong an argument here as does the NFL.  There is nothing in the stature itself which restricts the exemption to the gambling as it existed at the time, which Congress certainly could have done if that is what intended. I was not in the courtroom and don't know how the oral argument went, but if the lawyers thought they were arguing about a preliminary injunction and not the validity of the game itself, I'm sure that the Delaware lawyers, in particular, were taking their arguments down a different road than the one they would take if the validity of the game itself was at issue.

NCAA Vacates Memphis' Final Four Run

Stop me if you've heard this one already.  It's getting to be old hat for Memphis and John Calipari; another trip to the Final Four, another investigation by the NCAA and another visit to the Final Four wiped off the record books.  Oh, the other thing that yesterday's announcement had in common with the last time Calipari took a team to the Final Four only to see its record wiped out, nothing was pinned out Coach Cal.

So, Mitch Barnhart, in light of yesterday's announcement from the NCAA, let me ask you this: exactly what joined from the time you hired Billy Clyde Gillispie, and refused to even interview Calipari because he had "baggage" and two years later when you hired him?  That's right, the now vacated Final Four run earned on the back of Derrick Rose, ineligible due to his having someone else take the SAT for him.  Uh, in the immortal words of Seth Myers and Amy Poehler, REALLY, NOW MITCH, REALLY!!

As to the NCAA's decision, once again we have witnessed the toothless tiger (no pun intended) that the NCAA has transformed itself into following the death penalty handed down to SMU way back in 1986.  Memphis was found to have played an ineligible player during the entire 2007-08 season, because Derrick Rose, unnamed in the NCAA report but widely identified, had someone else take the SAT for him.  Another violation was found involving the ineligible player's brother receiving improper travel benefits, i.e. he traveled with the team and stayed with the team at their hotel, all courtesy of the school, of course.  So, in the face of the worst possible type of academic scandal the best the NCAA can do is vacate a Final Four appearance and tell Memphis to give back the money?  How about missing some television, banning them from the postseason, limiting their scholarships - you know, punishments that actually damage a school?

Furthermore, how in the world does the man in charge of the program slide away untouched, just like he did at when the NCAA took away UMass' Final Four run in 1996 for playing an ineligible Marcus Camby.  Do you for one moment believe that Calipari did not know any of this was going on?  Do you think it is totally accidental that he has taken two teams to the Final Four and each time the school's record was later vacated for playing an ineligible player?  Does he have some hidden tape of members of the NCAA Committee on Infractions partying with Rick Pitino?  Will Calipari ever be held accountable and will it finally happen in Lexington, a program whose own history with the NCAA is not exactly stellar?  Will the Sun rise in the west? 

At least Memphis has recourse against Calipari for repayment of a portion of the bonuses paid to him for reaching the Final Four.  That will offset to some extent the $615,00 that Memphis will have to give back to the NCAA if any appeal it decides to make is denied, as expected.

One bit of irony here, which really says a lot about how the NCAA operates, the Memphis women's golf team was also part of the NCAA report.  That team will lose two scholarships as a result of providing extra benefits to athletes.  So, as fits the NCAA pattern, the bigger you are, the lesser the penalty.

Here's a video clip from the Memphis press conference in response to the release of the NCAA report:

Former Curlin Owners Sentenced in Fraud Case

Also while I was gone, a US District Judge in Kentucky pronounced sentences for the two Kentucky lawyers who formerly owned Curlin and who were convicted of defrauding their clients out of millions of dollars in the fen-phen case.  Judge Danny Reeves sentenced William Gallion to 25 years in prison and Shirley Cunningham Jr. to 20 years.  He also ordered them to more than $127 million in restitution and forfeit $30 million to the government.  Jess Jackson, owner of wonder filly Rachel Alexandra, is now the owner of Curlin.  He plans to eventually breed the two for what is hoped to be a "freak" offspring.

It is probably an appropriate sentence only insofar as there is no parole in the federal system and the 58 and 54, respectively.  However, collecting on the restitution is a different story. While Angela Ford, the attorney for most of the clients defrauded by these two said she was satisfied with the sentence, she indicated it was doubtful that she would collect even half the amount of the restitution. 

Former

What Did I Miss (Besides Tiger's Collapse)?

I'm back from travels into the land of the Wahoos, helping my daughter settle into her new apartment.  Seems like it was a weekend that was memorable in the sports world only for the epic collapse Tiger experienced on Sunday.  I guess we can expect to see a new putter in his bag the next time he steps onto a course.  Congratulations to Y.E. Yang, who played extraordinarily well for his first major win, especially in a final round pairing with Tiger.  CBS should send Yang a bonus check as it drew a 7.7/17 overnight rating, the highest for the PGA since 2002.  Don't expect Tiger's mini slump in the majors to last more than one year, as the US Open returns to Pebble Beach and the British Open returns to St. Andrews, both courses which Tiger has mastered in the past.

If you happened to bet on Tiger, don't feel too bad.  At least you weren't this Irish bookmaker. Bookmaking is legal and competitive in Ireland and this particular bookmaking uses fast payouts as its competitive edge.  I think it will probably reconsider the definition of fast after this.

Road Trippin'

POsting will probably be light to nonexistent over the weekend and on into next week as I'll be traveling with limited time and access, so you'll just have to carry on without me. Fortunately you have Tiger trying for a PGA win, Mike Vick searching for a contract and Rick Pitino saying who knows how many Hail Marys to keep occupied til I get back. In the meantime, see if you get help the Chicago PD track down the Cubs fan who beaned Vitorino, or better yet, get the names of the Mexican fans who assaulted Lando when he took a corner late in the Azteca yesterday.

Pitino Admits to Sex with Extortionist

In an admission that I'm sure came as no surprise to anyone, Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitio had admitted to police investigators that he had consensual sex with Linda Sypher, the woman now indicted for extorting money from him. In addition, Pitino told police that he paid her $3,000 to have an abortion. His account, as related by the Courier-Journal, which obtained the Louisville Metro police records under an Open Records Act request, is consistent with the facts that had previously been made public, sketchy has they might have been.

Too much about Sypher's claims of rape and sexual assault rang false from the beginning and as the details of Pitino's account are unveiled, Sypher's story is even more inconsistent and unbelievable. You can see for yourself at the C-J's story here. What is perhaps most surprising is the casual nature of the original sexual encounter and the choice of partner Pitino made. Make your own judgement about that from the pictures accompanying this post. While I would not have thought the revelations would affect Pitino's status at the University, and ultimately I don't think it will, UofL President, Dr. James Ramsey, a long-time Pitino supporter, issued a carefully worded and not totally supportive statement:

"Several months ago Coach Pitino informed me about the alleged extortion attempt. I've now been informed that there may be other details which, if true, I find surprising. My thoughts are with Coach Pitino and his family.”

The door has clearly been left open to further action by UofL against Pitino either disciplinary or worse. AD Tom Jurich was unavailable for comment but issued a statement that said: “Coach Pitino has been truthful with us about this matter all along and we stand by him and his family during this process.”

Clearly this bizarre story will continue to be with us well into the opening of basketball season, much to Pitino's chagrin.

Jeremy Tyler Heads to Isreal

Jeremy Tyler, the high school phenom basketball player who is skipping not only his first year in college but also his last year in high school, will likely begin his professional basketball career in Israel. The New York Times is reporting that Tyler is very close to an agreement with Maccabi Haifa, runners up in the Israeli top division last season to perpetual power Maccabi Tel Aviv. Unlike Brandon Jennings, who became the first player to skip college to play in Europe to meet the NBA's draft age requirement and went in the first round this year to Minnesota, Tyler will have to play two years before he will be eligible for the draft, as he is only 17.

Televiso, Azteca and Univision Need El Tri Win on Wednesday

When the US and Mexico kick of in Estadio Azteca on Wednesday afternoon, there will be more riding on the game than a berth in World Cup 2010. That's not to say that World Cup qualifying isn't the most important thing at stake in the game, because there is no doubt about that - particularly for the home squad. The US can probably afford a loss as it sits comfortably in second place only two points behind Costa Rica, who visits third place Honduras in a game with political and qualifying implications. Mexico is not so fortunate. El Tri currently sit in fourth place one point back of Honduras, having lost all of its away matches. There are only three automatic qualifiers with fourth place having to play the fifth place team from South America. Nothing like a little pressure on the home squad in front of 100,000 raving lunatic fans to make for a tight team when ti takes the field.

However, Mexico and its fans aren't the only ones with a lot riding on this game. Should El Tri lose to the US for the first time ever, both of Mexico's largest media comglomerates, Grupo Televisa (NYSE:TV) and TV Azteca would both experience sharp drops in ratings and ad revenue in the event Mexico failed to reach South Africa for the first time since 1990. As reported by Bloomberg:

Mexico’s absence would reduce ratings during the tournament by 30 percent for Televisa, the world’s largest Spanish-language broadcaster, cutting advertising sales by $16.5 million, or 12 percent of the company’s total estimated growth in sales in 2010, according to BBVA Bancomer SA. TV Azteca, Mexico’s second- biggest broadcaster, would see a 15 percent drop in total sales growth, BBVA analyst Andres Coello said in a report.

Mexico's absence from the World Cup could damage the ratings that the Spanish language broadcast receives in the US. Univision holds the exclusive Spanish language rights to the US and will televise all 64 games on one its networks. While the US is certainly a significant, if not the main draw, Mexico would run a close second, if not outdraw the US. Its absence would significantly and adversely affect the ratings and ultimately the revenue Univision is able to garner from the World Cup, probably the most expensive rights license on its calendar.

The End of the Moneyball Era

If you look at the standings in Major League Baseball's divisional and wildcard races across all divisional lines and in both leagues, one item pops right out at you - there are almost no small teams.  The only small payroll teams still in serious contention are the Rockies and the Giants in the NL wildcard, and neither of those is truly a small market club. So, is the era of Moneyball dead?

Joe Posnanski, formerly of the Kansas City Star and now a member of the SI staff, posits thatits not so much that Moneyball is dead but that the large market, large payroll teams have adopted the same mindset and tactics so that any advantage that small market teams used to get from the Moneyball strategy are now gone.  Since it was never so much about obtaining the data, as analyzing and using the data  more successfully than others, once the large market teams adopted the same mindset and hired their own data experts, the advantage was lost. Billy Beane is going to have to dream up something else this time, because whatever the A's are doing now isn't working.

NCAA Bans Championships From States with Gambling

The NCAA was the first professional sports organization to react to the US District Court Judge's refusal to issue an injunction barring the implementation of single game wagering in Delaware. One day after the judge in Delaware issued his decision, the presidents of all three divisions of the NCAA voted to ban all rounds of championship events from being held in any state that permits gambling on individual games.  The ban expressly does not apply to pools, parley betting, pool tabs and lotteries.  Once again, the NCAA was quick to act and once again the NCAA was quick to expose its utter hypocrisy for all to see.  

Why oppose the gambling proposed in Delaware just because it involves wagering on a single game, when it readily permits football pools and parleys which tend toward much larger payoffs and would, if the concern really is about inducing student athletes to fix games, offer gamblers greater opportunity for profit?   The difference between the two forms of gambling have little to do with the impact on student athletes or the opportunity for corruption.  It really relates to where the NCAA gets sponsorship money. Take a look at how many lotteries and casinos have relationships with NCAA institutions and how few, if any,  of those offer individual game wagers. As with all things relating to the NCAA, don't ever forget the words of the immortal Deep Throat of Watergate fame (No, not Linda Lovelace) "Always, follow the money).

Texas A&M Nets Punter From Trademark Fight with Seahawks

Remember the battle between Texas A&M and the Seattle Seahawks three years ago over the trademark to the "12th Man"?.  Well, that fight, which got huge press throughout the Pacific Northwest and resulted in the Seahawks paying a license fee to A&M which had trademarked the term years earlier, paid other dividends for the Aggies.

Redshirt sophomore Ken Wood, a transfer from the University of Montana is the Aggies potential starting punter this fall.  He first became aware of A&M as a result of all the publicity around the 12th Man fight and may be the first player ever recruited as the result of a trademark dispute. Wood averaged 41 yards per punt as a freshman for the Grizzlies.

HT: Wiz of Odds

Thursday Tidbits

l
Below are a few links to get your Thursday off to a good start. However, before we get to the links I have to talk about one thing I saw last night. I turned on the Barcelona - Seattle Sounders soccer game, only to find a real assault to the visual senses. Here was Seattle in its usual home bright sea green unis playing Barca who was in their new road kit. Now, I understand that European soccer clubs make no attempt to have road kits that match the clubs' colors, but Barca's bright neon peach jerseys and socks were just a little too much - especially in high definition. Now, ESPN chose to call it orange but it sure looked like neon peach to me, as you can see in this picture of Messi from tonight's game. So, now on with the links.

In keeping with the soccer spirit, Manchester United may have lost to Barcelona in the European Champions League Final, but still managed to take home more money from UEFA's Champions League distributions. (Sports Business News)

It's good to be a Manning, Giants sign Eli to a six-year, $97 million extension, with $35 million guaranteed, making him the highest paid player in the NFL (and his family) (NY Times)

Florida voters may be able to give the rest of the country a real blessing, Lou Holtz considers a race for Congress from Central Florida (Orlando Sentinel)

US District Court Judge in Delaware opens the way for betting to begin when football season opens as he denies request for preliminary injunction, says he'll rule on NFL's summary judgement motion in November (ESPN)

NBC agrees to allow free distribution of its mun2 channel for showing of US-Mexico World Cup Qualifier, so it will at least be available on satellite and in sports bars. I thought I saw during the game tonight ESPN2 tout that it would be on ESPN as well, but it was only on for a minute and I'm not sure positive about it. I could not confirm the ESPN showing on ESPN.com (US Soccer)

Cablevision to Spin Off MSG

At long last the long suffering shareholders of  Cablevision will see Madison Square Garden, the Knicks and the Rangers depart from the Cablevision balance sheet and operating statement.  Cablevision announced last week the intent to spin off MSG into a stand-alone company.

Now before all you Knicks and Rangers fans get too happy, the Dolans still intend to control the new company, with Jimmy Dolan, the CEO of Cablevision taking on the additional duties of Executive Chairman of MSG.  The spin off boost Cablevision's free cash flow by putting the  renovation cost of the Garden,estimated $500 million over the next few years, onto the new company.  It had been speculated that Cablevision would load MSG up with existing debt but the company said no existing debt is expected to be transferred to MSG.

The market liked the move, with Cablevision up 9.4% following the announcement on Thursday and holding on to almost all of that gain, closing essentially flat on Friday.

Buy a Soccer Club on Ebay

Up until last Thursday you had a chance to buy a League 1 English soccer club on Ebay if you were the highest bidder.  Bidding for Tranmere Rovers, in what appears to have been a genuine listing,  began at $10,000,000.  Peter Johnson, the club's majority owner had engaged Domoch Capital of the US to sell his interest in the club.  Unbeknownst to him, the investment bank decided that the most efficient way to sell the club was to put it on Ebay.  The listing was on the site for a day before it was taken down.