Sport Blog: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

U-20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS | COSTA RICA 1 SPAIN 4 | GROUP C

The SPANISH FOOTBALL U- 20 NATIONAL TEAM kicked off its participation in the FIFA U - 20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS being held in Colombia with 1 - 4 victory over COSTA RICA in their Group C match. Good start as a win is vital to release the nerves & be able to meet your other Group opponents with some relative "ease" in the pressure.

Rodrigo Spain U-20

The match was relatively well controlled by

FEMALE U-17 SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM WINS EUROPEAN TITLE

SPANISH FOOTBALL is having a fantastic year & a grand summer with European Champions Titles coming in all categories. Today the SPANISH FOOTBALL FEMALE U-17 TEAM proclaimed themselves EUROPEAN U-17 CHAMPIONS for the second time after defeating FRANCE 1 - 0 in the Final.

Spain Football Female U-17

Tight match that was resolved at the end when Spanish player Gema Gili back-heeled a loose ball

MALAGA FC DEFEATS FEYENOORD 0 - 2 IN FRIENDLY

SPANISH FOOTBALL has a new"player" on "the scene" & big time. MALAGA FC defeated Dutch Club FEYENOORD away 0 - 2 in a friendly pre-season game to notch up their sixth victory in the pre-season. The Spanish Club has done some big spending on new players (up to 8) & the results are showing pre-season that the Club is on the right track, gaining steam & becoming a serious rival for other Spanish

FC BARCELONA 1 - MANCHESTER UNITED 2 | USA PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY GAME

FC BARCELONA lost 1 - 2 their Friendly game against MANCHESTER UNITED this morning ( Sp time ) in some sweltering & humid conditions in Washington (USA). However this was not a replay of the last Champions League Final in which Barça won, far from it, as Barça put on the field up to nine youngsters from their lower levels. This compared to Manchester United who virtually had all their big guns on

Live today (31/07/2011)

31/07 FC Barcelona - Man U (01:00h)
31/07 Poland - Belgium (02:15h)
31/07 SC Heerenveen - Olympiacos Piraeus (13:00h)
31/07 F1 Grand Prix Hungary - Boedapest (13:10h)
31/07 Feyenoord - Malaga CF (14:30h)
31/07 Cup Paris Saint German - Boca Juniors (14:55h)
31/07 Arsenal - New York (17:15h)
31/07 Inter Milan - Manchester City (17:30h)
31/07 Club Brugge - Westerlo (20:00h)

Live today (31/07/2011)

Saturday, July 30, 2011

SPAIN DRAWN IN GROUP I WITH FRANCE | WORLD CUP 2014 EURO ZONE QUALIFIERS

The SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM, the current FIFA World Champions, has been drawn in Group I for the upcoming preliminary European WORLD CUP 2014 qualifiers. The news is that in their Group they will find themselves with a strong competitor & historical rival FRANCE. The other European Nations that make up Group I are BELARUS , GEORGIA & FINLAND.

graphic courtesy of Sportyou

As you can

REAL MADRID WIN 1 - 2 LEICESTER IN FRIENDLY GAME

REAL MADRID notched up its fith straight pre-season friendly victory 1 - 2 against English 2 º Division Club LEICESTER. Don´t know if it was just me but it seemed an odd game without the fluid movements & intensity of previous encounters. Perhaps it was the fact the Real Madrid Coach Mourinho "experimented" more in this match & that did not allow the side to fully blend together. Whatever, the

Live today (30/07/2011)

30/07 F1 Grand Prix Hungary - Boedapest (11:00h)
30/07 F1 Grand Prix Hungary - Boedapest (13:10h)
30/07 Chelsea - Aston Villa (14:30h)
30/07 Ireland - Manchester City (15:00h)
30/07 Clasica San Sebastian (15:40h)
30/07 VVV - Getafe CF (16:00h)
30/07 Arsenal - Boca Juniors (17:20h)
30/07 NEC - Valenciennes (18:00h)
30/07 Bergen - Standard (18:00h)
30/07 WK 2014 Preliminary Draw (19:50h)
30/07 Racing Genk - Beerschot (20:00h)
30/07 Ajax – Twente (20:00h)

Live today (30/07/2011)

Friday, July 29, 2011

SPAIN DEFEATS IRELAND 5 - 0 IN U-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS SEMI FINAL

SPANISH FOOTBALL again has managed to put another National Team in a European Final, this time in the U-19 Euro Championships being held in Rumania. The young Spaniards defeated IRELAND 5 - 0 in the semi final clash & now go on to meet the Czech Rep in the Final

Spanish Football player Morata Spain U-19

The Irish side managed to keep the flood gates closed until Spanish midfield-forward

Thursday, July 28, 2011

ATLETICO DE MADRID 2 - STORMGODSET 1 | EUROPA LEAGUE PRE-QUALIFIER 1º LEG RESULT

SPANISH FOOTBALL action in full & serious swing tonight as ATLETICO DE MADRID attempts to qualify for the Europa League by overcoming the pre-qualifiers that then gives the team access to the last step which is the end of August play-off. The Spanish Football Team met Norwegian Club STORMGODSET & managed to win the 1º leg match 2 - 1.

Not a result to be too happy with as the Norwegians just need

ATLETICO DE MADRID | WHO WILL REPLACE AGUERO?

With SERGIO AGUERO now gone from Spanish Football & from ATLETICO DE MADRID, the latter needs to urgently find a substitute forward. The cruelty of destiny made things worst for Atletico, as forward Diego Costa injuried his knee in training yesterday & will be operated plus out of Football for about six months. The only class forward upfront is DIEGO FORLAN who has renounced holidays after his "

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

SERGIO AGUERO SIGNS WITH MANCHESTER CITY

First off, congratulations to MANCHESTER CITY & their fans for signing what many, including myself, consider the "Best Forward" currently in World Football. SERGIO AGUERO leaves ATLETICO DE MADRID with still 23 years of age & the World at his feet to evolve & explode into a World class player - if not already.

That is his dream, his ambition, to play at a Football Club that can guarantee

Live today (28/07/2011)

28/07 Omonia Nicosia - ADO den Haag (19:30h)
28/07 BSC Young Boys - Westerlo (19:30h)
28/07 Galatasaray - Liverpool FC (20:00h)
28/07 AZ - Jablonec (20:00h)
29/07 IAAF Diamond League Stockholm (20:00h)

Live today (28/07/2011)

FC BARCELONA DEFEATS BAYERN MUNICH 0 - 2 IN FRIENDLY

FC BARCELONA won the 4 team tournament held in Munich(Germany) after defeating 0 - 2 BAYERN MUNICH in the final.In the other game Porto Alegre won AC Milan in the penalty shoot out & finished third with Milan in last position after losing both its games.

FC Barcelona - Bayern Munich 2011

After witnessing FC Barcelona & both their victories, my question is ..."does Barça really need Cesc

REAL MADRID DEFEATS HERTHA BERLIN 1 - 3 IN FRIENDLY

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club REAL MADRID has defeated 1 - 3 HERTHA BERLIN in their German pre-season friendly game. It is still summer pre-season & experimentation is part of the method as Real Coach José Mourinho moves pieces about in order to fine tune his Football "machine". Said this the good news from this match was Frenchman KARIM BENZEMA who looked sharp, in tune with the game & scored two goals.

FIFA WORLD RANKING | JULY 2011 | SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM NUMBER ONE

SPANISH FOOTBALL, via the National Team, keeps itself Nº 1 in the Football - Soccer World Rankings for another month after FIFA released today the July rankings. The novelty is Uruguay which jumps to Nº5 after winning the "Copa America", & this position for them is a historical first since FIFA began its rankings.

Spain Football Team shirt

The next FIFA World Ranking is scheduled for the

SPANISH U-19 TEAM LOSE 3 - 0 TO TURKEY IN GROUP EURO

The SPAIN U-19 TEAM participating in the U-19 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS in Rumania fell down hard back to Earth with a 3 - 0 defeat against TURKEY. The Spaniards had nothing to lose in this match as they had already qualified for the semis, however Turkey was playing for a spot & missed out because Serbia did not lose against Belgium.

But it was a terrible day at "the office" for the Spanish youngsters

ARSENAL CLOSE TO SIGNING VALENCIA -SPANISH FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL JUAN MATA

Spanish Football International & VALENCIA CF forward JUAN MATA is very, very close to landing at English Premier League Club ARSENAL FC. The operation is still not shut because TOTTEHHAM has made a last minute offer which has made the selling Club think along with the player. There is another English Premier League Club interested & they are LIVERPOOL FC, however it is Arsenal who is in the box

MALAGA FC SIGNS SPANISH FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL CAZORLA

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club MALAGA FC keeps on adding, building & putting together a formidable squad for the new upcoming season. The lastest incorporation is none other than Spanish International & now ex-VILLAREAL midfielder SANTIAGO CAZORLA. The player signs with Malaga for the next 5 years. Villareal find themselves in need to secure their future financially & have been forced to sell some of

FC BARCELONA WIN PORTO ALEGRE IN FRIENDLY

FC BARCELONA is presently in Munich (Germany) in a fabulous tournament with Porto Alegre, Milan & hosts Bayern Munich. Yesterday Barça won the Brazilian team PORTO ALEGRE 4- 2 in the penalty shoot out after the match finished in a exciting 2-2 draw.

Barcelona gave a run to most of its players especially the youngsters & changed the composition of the team during the match. Midfielder THIAGO

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Live vandaag (27/07/2011)

27/07 Tour de Wallonie (14:25h)
27/07 Chelsea - Kitchee (14:30h)
27/07 Hertha BSC Berlin - Real Madrid (18:00h)
27/07 NEC - RCD Mallorca (19:00h)
27/07 Standard de Liege - FC Zurich (20:15h)
27/07 Bayern Munchen - FC Barcelona (20:30h)
27/07 Lille OSC - Olympique Marseille (20:45h)
27/07 Benfica Lisbon - Trabzonspor (20:45h)

Live vandaag (27/07/2011)

Men Behaving Bradley?

A Quick Look at the Issues Raised by the Lawsuit Filed Against Junior Welterweight Champion Timothy Bradley

Earlier this year, it appeared as if a “Desert Storm” was going to wreak havoc on the junior welterweight division, as WBO/WBC Junior Welterweight Champion Timothy (Desert Storm) Bradley, 27-0 (11 KOs), began to impose his will on his division’s fellow titleholders, starting with his January 29, 2011 technical decision win over then-WBC champion Devon (The Great) Alexander. While not a scintillating performance, Bradley’s domination of Alexander was expected to lead to a more compelling unification bout with former 2004 British Olympic silver medalist and current WBA Junior Welterweight Champion Amir Khan. Khan, fresh off of his tremendous war with Marcos (El Chino) Maidana and the methodical breakdown of Paul McCloskey, was expected to give Bradley the sternest test of his professional career in a battle for three of the four major junior welterweight crowns. Another battle, however, was reportedly beginning to brew behind the scenes which pitted Bradley and his manager, Cameron Dunkin, against his soon-to-be former promoters Gary Shaw and Ken Thompson, with whom Bradley’s promotional agreement was expiring. Thus, as the negotiations for a Bradley-Khan fight languished on despite some exceptional concessions from the Khan camp, including an even split of the television money generated in Khan’s fan bases, it was widely whispered that Bradley may be looking to simply spike the ball and sit out the rest of his contract with Shaw and Thompson so that he can sign with Top Rank or another major promoter. What began was rampant speculation and rumor boiled over earlier this month into a Florida-venued lawsuit against Bradley and Dunkin in which Shaw and Thompson allege, among other claims, breach of contract and tortious interference in contractual relations in connection with their respective actions during the Khan negotiation. The inference that the lawsuit makes is that it was nothing more than bad faith and looking past their expiring promotional agreement with Shaw and Thompson that led Bradley and Dunkin to opt out of the Khan fight. But was this just a matter of Bradley behaving badly, or something less sinister? A quick look at the potential issues raised by Shaw and Thompson’s lawsuit follows...

For the full article, please go to this link.

Live vandaag (26/07/2011)

- Tour de Wallonie (14:25h)
- FC Barcelona - SC Internacional (18:15h)
- Bayern Munchen - AC Milan (20:30h)
- Belgium U19 - Serbia U19 (20:00h)
- KRC Genk - Partizan Belgrade (20:45h)
- FC Twente - FC Vaslui (20:45h)
- Malisse - Gulbis (23:00h)

Live vandaag (26/07/2011)

REAL MADRID | AGUERO - NEYMAR | TWO CASES WHICH BAFFLE

SPANISH FOOTBALL sometimes perplexes me no end. In fact Spanish Football Clubs seem to do things that confuse & go against the grain of logic. Take the lastest case of REAL MADRID & two players within their orbit, SERGIO AGUERO & NEYMAR. The first is "dying" to go to Real Madrid & the second wishes to wait another year & play for Santos. The first, according to all the Football observers, is the

Monday, July 25, 2011

NFL Lockout is (essentially) over: New Sports Illustrated column on what's next

Here's my Q/A for SI on the end of the lockout and what is now likely to happen. Speaking of SI, congrats to Gabe Feldman on being named by SI as the 100 top twitter users.

SPANISH FOOTBALL DOMINATES UEFA BEST PLAYER IN EUROPEAN FOOTBALL AWARD

Three SPANISH FOOTBALL based players ( one Spanish born ) are the final candidates for the "UEFA Best Player in European Football Award season 2010 - 2011". The three names are CRISTIANO RONALDO ( Real Madrid ) , LIONEL MESSI & XAVI HERNANDEZ ( FC Barcelona). The winner will be announced the 25th of August at Monaco were a jury of 53 European sporting journalists will hand down their decision.

DIEGO ( WOLFSBURG ) GETTING CLOSE TO ATLETICO DE MADRID

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club ATLETICO DE MADRID is rumoured from Germany to be the soon "new home" of WOLFSBURG Brazilian midfielder DIEGO RIBAS DA CUNHA (Diego). The 26 year old has already a relative long list of Clubs were he has given services as Santos, Porto, Werder Bremen, Juventus & now, Wolfsburg.

Diego

The Brazilian has been on the list of Atletico for some years, & now has the best

Sunday, July 24, 2011

SPANISH SPORTS | GOOD RESULT IN USA MOTOGP

Good day for SPANISH SPORTS & Sportsmen in the USA MOTO GRAN PRIX at the famous "Laguna Seca" race circuit. Only category MotoGP with a beautiful race between three extraordinary riders which dominated proceeding, with two Spaniards in that elite group. Aussie CASEY STONER won with a perfect performance coming from third to end up winning, ahead of current World Champ JORGE LORENZO & fellow

U - 20 EURO BASKETBALL FINAL | SPAIN CHAMPIONS

Hi guys, back from a couple of days break from Spanish Football Sports, & I find some great news in the Basketball area, with SPAIN defeating ITALY 82 - 70 to proclaim themselves U-20 Basketball European Champions.

Spanish U-20 Basketball

Details:
Spain 82 (17+25+26+14): Franch (19), Pozas (5), Sastre (-), Llovet (3), Mirotic (29) -quinteto inicial-; Simeón (-), Barrera (10), Arévalo (-),

Pine Tar: Of baseball and law

Today marks the 28th anniversary of the "Pine Tar Game." In 1983, the Royals were playing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on a Sunday afternoon. With two out in the top of ninth and the Yankees up 4-3, George Brett hit a two-run homer. But Yankee manager Billy Martin protested, saying that Brett had used an illegal bat containing pine tar more than 18 inches up the bat handle;R. 1.10(c) prohibited pine tar or any other grip-improving substance on the hitting area of the bat. The umps measured the amount of pine tar, found it higher than 18 inches, and called Brett out, giving the Yankees the win. In one of the iconic video images in baseball history, Brett came charging out of the dugout and tried to attack the umpire and had to be restrained by teammates, coaches, and other umpires. The Royals protested and the protest was upheld by AL President Lee MacPhail, who reinstated the homer and ordered the game resumed from that point.

Long before John Roberts went before the Senate Judiciary Committee, this game had people talking about baseball and the law, even prompting some legal scholarship on the case as demonstrating statutory interpretation, judicial decisionmaking, and legal processes.

R. 1.10(c) called for the removal of the tainted bat from the game, but did not specify what should happen to a player who used such a bat or to a play in which such a bat was used. The home-plate umpire invoked his gap-filling power under R. 9.01(c) to "rule on any point not specifically covered in these rules" and decided that a player should be called out for using an illegal bat on a play.
In reversing that decision, McPhail made an intentionalist "spirit v. letter of the rule" decision. R. 1.10(c) was not about regulating performance, it was about economics. MLB wanted players to keep pine tar off the hitting area of the bat because if pine tar got on the ball, the ball would have to be thrown out, requiring teams to provide more balls each game. But pine tar did not affect the "performance" of the bat, in the sense of how far or hard or well the ball would travel off the bat (compared with, for example, doing something to make the bat lighter). Thus, the only appropriate sanction was removing the bat from the game, as provided in R. 1.10(c). Calling a player out was an unnecssary additional sanction, because Brett's violation of the rule did not give him an unfair competitive advantage. The umps, if you will, abused their discretion in turning to 9.01(c) for that additional sanction.

This also shows that the posture of an issue on appeal and the administrability of any ruling affects its resolution. This was one of the rare cases that a league upheld an appeal of an umpire's ruling--in fact, it was the only time in MacPhail's ten-year term as AL President that he overruled the umpires. He was able to do so, in part, given the timing of the play at issue--it was the final play of the game. This meant there were only two possiblities: game over if MacPahil affirmed or pick the game up from a known point immediately after the challenged play if he reversed.But imagine the administraive difficulties if the challenged play had come in the fifth inning. The game would have been played to a conclusion "under protest," then the challenge would have gone to the league (in essence, a Final Judgment Rule). If MacPhail makes the same ruling, what happens? Does the game resume from after the challenged play and everything that actually happened is erased from the record books? Does it depend on whether those two runs would have made a difference in the game, in essence, a harmless error analysis? Should the game resume only if it would affect the pennant races (both teams were in contention, although neither won its division), in essence a mootness analysis?

MacPhail ordered the game replayed from the point of the call--two outs in the top of ninth, Royals up 5-4. There was more conflict over when the game would be played or if it should be played. The Yankees wanted to wait until the end of the season and resume it only if it affected the penant race. The AL ordered the game to be picked up on Thursday afternoon, August 18.

Then there was some real legal wrangling. The Yankees sued to stop the resumed game, citing security and administrative burdens; a state trial court issued a preliminary injunction, which was quickly overturned on appeal. So the game resumed, with about 1200 fans in the stands. The first move by manager Billy Martin was to appeal to every base, arguing that Brett and the runner ahead of him had not touched the bases on the home run. The four umpires working the resumed game were not the same umpires who had worked the original game, but each signalled safe. They then produced an affidavit from the four original umpires swearing that both players had touched all the bases on the home run.

Finally, to see separation of powers at work: MLB amended the rules to handle the situation in the future, adding a Note to R. 1.10(c) stating that the use of a bat with too much pine tar would not be the basis for calling a player out or ejecting him from the game and a Comment that if excessive pine tar is not objected to prior to a play, it cannot be a basis for nullifying a play or protesting the game.

Umpiring--it's a lot more than calling balls and strikes.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Live

23/07 Tour de France (14:15h CET)
23/07 Roda J.C. - Club Brugge KV (19:00h)
23/07 AZ - Kayserispor (19:00h)
24/07 Formule 1: GP Germany (13:10h)
24/07 SV Zulte Waregem - Olympiacos Piraeus (19:00h)
24/07 Tour de France (14:15h CET)
24/07 FC Groningen - Hamburger SV (14:30h)
24/07 Ajax - CA Independiente (14:30h)
24/07 Uruguay - Paraguay (21:00h)
26/07 KRC Genk - Partizan Belgrade (20:45h)
26/7 FC Twente - FC Vaslui (20:45h)
27/07 Standard de Liege - FC Zurich (20:15h)
29/07 Roda J.C. - Malaga CF (19:30h)
31/07 Feyenoord - Malaga CF (14:30h)
25/07 Tour de Wallonie (14:25h)

Live

BOJAN KRKIC LEAVES FC BARCELONA FOR AC ROMA

FC BARCELONA sold its "son" to AC ROMA for 12M€ with a contract clause of a buy back in 2 years, or AC Roma can own in "property" adding 28M€ after 2 years. This leaves the door open to BOJAN KRKIC to return to his beloved Barça in the future, & the latter the chance to regain the player if he explodes in Italian Football.

As is habitual with Barça, the player left after a press conference

Friday, July 22, 2011

Winning and losing legal battles and the legacy of Curt Flood

As Nathan noted last week, HBO Sports has produced an excellent documentary (narrated, of course, by Liev Schreiber), The Curious Case of Curt Flood, examining Flood's career, unsuccessful federal-court fight to establish free agency, and life after baseball. Among the commentators is Wisconsin Prawf Brad Snyder, who wrote a fantastic book on Flood's case, A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports.

One of the subjects the movie tackles is Flood's precise legacy. The popular myth (and I use myth in both its meanings) is that Flood successfully challenged baseball's reserve system (which essentially allowed MLB Clubs to continually renew a player's one-year contract) and created free agency. But Flood did not win, losing in a 1972 decision that has become infamous for two things: 1) Justice Blackmun's otherise-pointless paen to the glory and history of baseball (which Chief Justice Burger and Justice White refused to join and which excluded Joe DiMaggio from the list of greatest players) and 2) a logical progression of, essentially, "We were wrong in our two prior precedents holding that MLB is not engaged in interstate commerce and thus not subject to the Sherman Act, but at this point it is for Congress, not us, to change it." Free agency came about three years after Flood, as a result of a labor arbitrator's decision (that may well have been legally incorrect, according to some) in a griveance filed by two other players, Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally.

So why is Flood widely spoken of, especially by the media and other professional athletes, as the person who made free agency possible? And what does that tell us about what it means to win and lose legal-reform battles?

1) Several commentators in the film argued that Flood put free agency in moral terms, something Messersmith and McNally did not and could not do. Rhetorically this is true. Flood, who had been active in the Civil Rights Movement, spoke of the reserve system as slavery and argued that "a well-paid slave is still a slave" (the quotation which gave Snyder his book title). Whether Flood was right to speak in terms of slavery, no white player could have done the same. In any event, the point was that the existing system was morally wrong and had to change.
But putting his own lawsuit in moral terms did not help Flood himself, who aroused the ire and opposition of the old guard of very conservative, largely white sports writers who were closely tied to teams and owners and were shockingly (compared with today) hostile to players who stepped out of line. And it did not help him in his lawsuit. But did the moral rhetoric ultimately affect the outcome of the legal battle? Did it influence the later resolutions in arbitration?

2) Snyder argues that Flood's case, even if ultimately unsuccessful, swung public opinion in the players' favor. Perhaps that gave the players greater leverage in labor negotiations or even influence the subsequent arbitration decisions. This becomes another instance of public opinion affecting legal decisionmaking. Of course, the change in public opinion still ahd to overcome the hostility of most sports writers, particularly columnists.

3) Snyder argues that the real effect of Flood's lawsuit was to accelerate free agency by accelerating the collective bargaining process between MLB and the Players' Association. MLB's argument during the Flood trial was that this was not an antitrust matter, but a matter for collective bargaining. The players and owners were negotiating what became the 1970 Basic Agreement during the trial in 1979; that agreement ultimately included a 10-and-5 rule (a player with ten years MLB experience and five with the same club could veto any trade--this would have allowed Flood to veto his trade from the Cardinals to the Phillies) and independent grievance arbitration, which ultimately produced decisions rejecting the reserve system. Snyder argues it was not a coincidence that MLB gave the players through collective bargaining the things that it insisted warranted rejecting Flood's antitrust argument. He quotes then Union head Marvin Miller as saying that the owners rejected an independent grievance process in December 1969, prior to Flood filing suit, then agreed to it six months later.
If Snyder is right, it tells us something about the need for legal movements to proceed on multiple fronts. Just as the civil rights agenda had to be pursued through both the courts and Congress, the players had to pursue free agency and higher salaries in the courts, at the collective-bargaining table, and even in Congress (where the threat of removing MLB's antitrust exemption lurked for years). Ultimately, the movement may achieve some success in each arena. Or at least the arguments made in one forum necessary influence conduct and results in another.

4) The fourth possibility is that Flood was a martyr to the cause. And successful social movements arguably always need martyrs, those people who sacrificed something but failed in their efforts to establish some change and never enjoyed the benefits or fruits of that sacrifice. Flood is like, say, John Brown or Harvey Milk. The players who successfully challenged the reserve system in arbitration got their pay days (or in McNally's case, retired following the arbitrator's decision). Flood attempted to come back in 1971, but retired after just 13 games, his skills having eroded from his year off; so, in effect, he sacrificed his career to change the system. The next two decades of his life, the movie shows, were spent in a spiral of business, financial, legal, and alcohol problems, as well as a failed stint as an announcer. He never got his payday. Morover, he was something of a late-discovered martyr. His sacrifice was not widely acknowledged until the 1994 players' strike. At that point he became the public face of challenges to MLB's power, only to contract cancer and die at age 59 in 1997. Legislation to eliminate baseball's antitrust exemption was introduced shortly after his death and named in his memory.

SERGIO AGUERO AT THE CROSSROADS | REAL SAYS NO , MANCHESTER CITY THE OPTION

The leyendary Bluesman Robert Johnson told the World in his song "Crossroads"

I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above, have mercy now, save poor Bob if you please
Standin' at the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
Whee-hee, I tried to flag a ride
Didn't nobody seem to know me, everybody pass me by

Leyend has it that

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Testing the Efficiency of Sports Gambling Markets

George Diemer and I recently completed a chapter in a forthcoming book edited by Leighton Vaughn Williams and Donald Siegel entitled The Oxford Handbook on the Economics of Gambling. The focus of our chapter was on the economics (and legal aspects) of online sports betting. As part of our research, we delved into the efficiency of online/offshore sports books vis-à-vis terrestrial sports books in Las Vegas and London. It was a fascinating inquiry, as we came across a number of studies that analyzed specific aspects of the sports betting industry. One such study was recently published in the Journal of Prediction Markets (published version here and SSRN version here). Author Jeremy Arkes investigated whether gamblers correctly price momentum in the NBA gambling market. The abstract is below:

There is little research on whether new information is correctly synthesized in prediction markets. Previous studies have found evidence consistent with, but have not proved, gambler misperceptions on the existence of momentum effects in the NBA. I use novel momentum measures that, unlike prior studies, incorporate the strengths of the opponent and the wins (or losses). With these measures, I test whether gamblers correctly synthesize information on momentum in the NBA. Contrary to previous studies, I find strong evidence for the existence of a momentum effect. Furthermore, gamblers incorporate momentum into their beliefs on the game outcomes. Gamblers, however, significantly overstate the importance of momentum. But, there is little evidence that the extent of this gambler misperception is large enough to generate market inefficiencies, or profit opportunity. Still, the gambler mis-pricing of the information has implications for how well new information is synthesized in other types of prediction markets.

FC BARCELONA ANNOUNCES THE SIGNING OF ALEXIS SANCHEZ

Finally, its over. FC BARCELONA has announced officially ( via Twitter ) the signing of Chilean International & UDINESE forward, the 22 year old ALEXIS SANCHEZ. FC Barcelona Directives & player representative passed all this morning-afternoon in a Barcelona Hotel shutting all the details.

Alexis Sanchez (photoshop by Sport.es)

The deal is 26M€ in cash to the Italian Club plus 11M€ (11.5M€

SPAIN DEFEATS BELGIUM 1 - 4 | U - 19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP | GROUP B

The SPANISH FOOTBALL U-19 TEAM defeated BELGIUM 1 - 4 in todays EUROPEAN U-19 CAHMPIONSHIP Group B match held in Rumania. The game was cancelled yesterday after severe weather conditions stopped the match in the 18th min with Spain leading 0 - 1.

Spain U-19 Football

The "re-match" started well for Spain ( bad for Belgium ) when in the 11th min the Belgium goalkeeper Casteels was sent off

BENFICA CLOSE TO SIGNNING VILLAREAL SPANISH FOOTBALL INTERNATIONAL CAPDEVILA

Portuguese Club BENFICA has "tweeted" this interesting picture. Its Benfica President Luis Felipe with Spanish International & VILLAREAL Spanish Football Player CAPDEVILA. Mates? Was in Lisbon & I thought I would drop in to say hello?

No, apparently putting the final touches to a transfer agreement were Capdevila is the chosen defender to take the place of the now Real Madrid player Fabio

REAL MADRID DEFEATS CHIVAS 0 - 3 IN FRIENDLY | CRISTIANO RONALDO HAT-TRICK

REAL MADRID played its second "friendly" pre-season game as part of their self proclaimed "US Tour", & defeated 0 - 3 Mexican Club CHIVAS DE GUADALAJARA. The game had one dominant player, CRISTIANO RONALDO, who scored a HAT TRICK. That is, in a space of 10 mins, the Portuguese player scored three goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo 2011

The game was beamed into Spain in an awkward hour - 5.00am -

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

U-19 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS 2011 | SPAIN - BELGIUM CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER

An almost "biblical" rain storm has cancelled the U-19 European Championship Group B game between the SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL team & their BELGIUM counterparts in Rumania this afternoon.

Huge rain storm : U- 19 Spain vs Belgium cancelled

The English referee decided to halt play after lighting & torrential rain covered the Football ground in the 18th min & with Spain winning 1 - 0 thanks to

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Rashard Mendenhall's Morals Clause Lawsuit against Champion

Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, who was recently dropped by Champion as a product endorser after he criticized the public's reaction to Osama bin Laden's death and questioned what happened on 9/11, is now suing Champion for breach of contract. Mendenhall alleges that the morals clause in his endorsement deal with Champion did not empower Champion to sever ties. Porcher Taylor, Jeffrey Standen, and I talk to the AP about how unlikely Mendenhall's claim is to prevail. The morals clause at issue is very inclusive and probably gave Champion authority to terminate the deal.

FC BARCELONA - CESC FABREGAS | MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

A couple of days ago I wrote a post about the Cesc Fabregas - FC Barcelona situation & how the Spanish Football player was seeing his attempt to join Barça being turned into a frustrating & almost nightmare experience. I made the point here that it looks like that FC Barcelona was not as "keen" in getting back their long "lost" son , as the long "lost" son is keen in getting back home. At least

ATLETICO DE MADRID PRESENTS ADRIAN | HAPPY ENDING TO A LONG STORY

A SPANISH FOOTBALL story with a good ending. Young Spanish U-21 International , European U-21 Champion, European U-21 Golden Boot & ex newly relegated to 2º Division Deportivo A Coruña forward ADRIAN LOPEZ has finally made his desires a reality by signing with ATLETICO DE MADRID.

Spanish Football Player Adrian Lopez

The player finished contract this year & after Deportivo gave no signs of

SPORTING DE GIJON JOSE ANGEL SIGNS FOR AC ROMA

Italian Football Club AC ROMA have got themselves a very fine SPANISH FOOTBALL player. REAL SPORTING DE GIJON has announced officially the transfer of their young defender JOSE ANGEL to AC ROMA. The deal is around 5M€ & that makes the player the highest transfer in Sporting´s history. The player joins Spanish Coach Luis Enrique who specifically requested the player & "snatched" away from FC

Statistics and Sports Law

As was the case at last year's Southern Economic Association conference, the American Statistical Association's annual meeting (July 30 to August 4 in Miami) includes a number of presentations that overlap with issues widely discussed here on the Sports Law Blog. A panel entitled "Controversies in Sports" features papers devoted to both the BCS and the effects of steroids. A basketball-focused session includes an analysis of NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament selection process. Finally, there is an entire panel devoted to the role of human nature in judging/officiating athletic contests. Jay Emerson organized the session and is presenting his paper pertaining to figure skating. Phil Birnbaum is offering new evidence regarding possible racial bias by MLB umpires. Kurt Rotthoff's paper involves various biases in gymnastics. My presentation focuses on NBA referees. In the course of attending a variety of conferences the past several years, my sense is that the interaction between sports law and statistics is growing. I will be curious if the (apparent) trend continues.

Monday, July 18, 2011

U.S.A. lost? Better change the rules

One unexpected media storyline to emerge from Sunday's Women's World Cup Final is the supposed unfairness of penalty kicks as a way to decide a winner. This is silly. Maybe penalty kicks are a fair process, maybe they aren't (I don't know or care enough about the deep structure of soccer to say). But it is conspicuous that no one said anything of the sort when the U.S. won its quarterfinal match against Brazil last Sunday on penalty kicks. And certainly no one said anything when the U.S. won the 1999 World Cup final against China the same way.

COURT OPENS WAY FOR SPANISH FOOTBALL U-21 INTERNATIONAL ADRIAN TO GO TO ATLETICO

Back on the 3rd of July Spanish Football Sports posted the situation on young U-21 Spanish Football sensation ADRIAN & his conflict with his current Club DEPORTIVO who was halting his desire to move to ATLETICO DE MADRID.

Adrian

Today the Courts , via judge Cardenal, has given the reason to Adrian over his Club Deportivo after the latter unilaterally extended his contract without the consent

WHAT ABOUT THE SPANISH FOOTBALL FEMALE NATIONAL TEAM ?

Did you know that there was a World Cup Football competition happening? Yes, the female version, with JAPAN proclaiming themselves yesterday 2011 World Champions after defeating the brave USA female team in a dramatic penalty shoot - out after the game finished 2- 2 in the regular period (+ extra time).

I am almost certain that the "Copa America" with Forlan, Aguero, Neymar & company grabbed

THE FUTURE OF SERGIO AGUERO | THIS COULD BE THE DECISIVE WEEK

SPANISH FOOTBALL promises to be interesting & agitated this week as the elimination of Brazil (Neymar) & Argentina (Aguero) will speed up transfer & signing proceedings, or at least clear up the future of some players & where they will play next season. While the case of Brazilian International looks pretty much clear, the future of Argentine & ATLETICO DE MADRID forward SERGIO AGUERO now enters

Sunday, July 17, 2011

New 2HP World Record: 120KG - Jedd Johnson

Awesome new 2 Hands Pinch World Record from Jedd Johnson.

Check out Jedd's Site at Diesel Crew

Well done Jedd!!

Take Your Fitness To Another Level with the Gymboss Interval Timer

Like father, like daughter?

I have been a sports fan since I was about six years old and as a youngster did not handle my favorite teams losing--tears, yelling, mild swearing, thrashing, shouts to the heavens, and cries of "why didn't ___ happen" were a common occurrence. When my wife and I had a daughter, I hoped that she would become a sports fan, and have been pleased that she has at a young age. She even is showing some decent five-year-old soccer skills (ironic, since that was long the sport that I just did not get).

Well, the family connection became very clear with the US loss to Japan in the Women's World Cup Final today, which precipitated a crying meltdown for the ages. Being more dramatic than I was, hers even got somewhat existential--wondering why she had been born, why she bothered watching, and threatening never to play or watch soccer again (the last part passed quickly and she is looking forward to attending FIU women's games in the fall).

It obviously hurt to see her that upset. But a small part of me felt a twinge of happiness and pride that she has developed such a passion for this.

SPANISH SPORTS | GERMAN MOTO GP 2011 | ALL THREE CATEGORIES FOR SPANISH RIDERS

SPANISH SPORTS had a magnificent day at Germany today, concretely at the Sachsenring race circuit where the German MOTO GP in all three catagories was celebrated. Spanish riders won in all the three catagories for the second time in a row, with podium places & great performance improvements all round.

Dani Pedrosa

In the GP category, Spaniard DANI PEDROSA won in grand fashion after being out

Mr Regere Stacked BUP 65kg

Nice bupping by MRrgere!

65kg

Inspiration for me to go over 70kg

Check out my 64kg Stacked BUP

Take Your Fitness To Another Level with the Gymboss Interval Timer

LA GALAXY 1 - REAL MADRID 4 | REAL MADRID PRE-SEASON 2011 US TOUR

Real Madrid
SPANISH FOOTBALL action this early morning (Sp time) with REAL MADRID playing LA GALAXY in their first Friendly game of the season. The Spanish Football Club defeated the locales Captained by David Beckham 1 - 4 in an impressive match considering Real is full of new signings & its the start of the season.

Ronaldo scores against LA Galaxy

Coach José Mourinho experimented & used

Saturday, July 16, 2011

NEYMAR UPDATE | "REAL" CLOSE

Brazilian young Football promise NEYMAR has his destiny closer & closer with SPANISH FOOTBALL via his soon incorporation - or signing - with REAL MADRID. As updated here days ago on a below post about Neymar the player had basically agreed to a 6 year contract at 5M€ per season: the transfer price 45M€. Real Madrid President Florentino Perez flew to Paris to meet Santos President to accelarated

Wirral Fitness Camp

Want to get fit and lose fat in the Wirral Area?

Check out Rob Houghton from Wirrall Fitness Camp , looks like he really is getting people into great shape and fighting fit in the Wirrall

Check out what some of Rob's clients have said

"Everyone should have a Rob Houghton in their lives - Him and the people at Wirral Fit Camp have changed my life so much!!!! Never in a million years did I think I would enjoy exercise this much. Thanks everyone!"

Awesome!

“With Rob’s patient training and extensive teaching, I lost over 24 pounds, dropped 3 dress sizes, plus gained my self confidence back. I’m finally on the right path to the body I've always dreamt of, plus I’ve learned a lot about living a healthy life and training with the right intensity.

The beauty about Robs system is that he will not only train you physically, but he will also teach you things to do outside of the gym that will accelerate your results, such as ways to eat, ways to live and ways to think mentally, which are the key ingredients and something you don’t learn anywhere else I’ve heard of.”

Get fit in the Wirral

REAL MADRID 2011 | THE WATERPOLO TEAM ?

The Real Madrid Waterpolo Squad? No, the Club hasn´t a water sports division, not yet at least. This picture was uploaded by REAL MADRID Spanish Football player ARBELOA to his Twiter account. Coach José Mourinho planned a relaxed afternoon of training at the UCLA pools for a Waterpolo game, that by the looks of things was more fun & a team building exercise.

Some of the known players visible

Friday, July 15, 2011

ATLETICO DE MADRID MATCHED WITH STROMSGODSET OF NORWAY | PRE - EUROPA LEAGUE QUALIFIER

Spanish Football & Atletico de Madrid has a starting date with the new Football - Soccer season & the Europa League pre-qualifiers after the draw was held this afternoon at UEFA headquarters in Nyon (Switzerland). Atletico will meet Norway Club Stromsgodset in the third round of the pre - qualifying phase. The first away date is the 28th of July at Madrid with the return the 4th of August at

CESC FABRAGAS - FC BARCELONA | LOVE IS BLIND

This SPANISH FOOTBALL transfer story is beginning to stink. Its a "love story" that has hit the wall of reality with full heart wrenching consequences. FC Barcelona player Xavi Hernandez mentioned it the other day ..."Cesc is suffering", reminding me of Romeo yelling his heart out for Juliette.

The negotiations between ARSENAL & FC BARCELONA for Spanish Football International CESC FABREGAS are

Thursday, July 14, 2011

New SI Column on Roger Clemens Mistrial

Be sure to read Howard's excellent post and then I hope you have a chance to check out my column for Sports Illustrated.

Mistrial in Clements case

Judge Reggie Walton declared a mistrial in the perjury prosecution of Roger Clemens, after prosecutors presented evidence that the judge previously had excluded in limine. The evidence at issue was a mention of a statement by Andy Pettitte's wife that Andy had told her that Clemens had admitted to him that he had used HGH, apparently in response to Clemens' defense that Pettitte had either misheard or "misremembered" what Clemens told him. The exclusion of the evidence seems like the correct call, particularly if Clemens' defense is that Pettitte misheard; Pettitte repeating what he misheard does not rebut the possibility that he, in fact, misheard. On the other hand, if Clemens' defense was that Pettitte's memory failed, this evidence may have become relevant later in the trial. So there is a nice question whether a mistrial was appropriate at this point over a fairly small piece of credibility evidence that might even have become relevant later

The government now must decide whether to retry the case and Judge Walton has scheduled hearings for later this month and next month to decide whether it can or whether jeopardy has attached (sometimes the case when the government's misconduct causes the mistrial). And perhaps the government will consider whether this all is worth the candle in any event.

Line of the hearing from Judge Walton (who apparently raised his voice throughout): "I think that a first-year law student would know that you can't bolster the credibility of one witness with clearly inadmissible evidence." First-year law students, take note.

Update: Nina Totenberg talked about the ruling on NPR's All Things Considered. From her description, it sounds as if three things triggered the mistrial: 1) Pettitte is a key witness, so this was vouching for a key witness; 2) this is the second time the government had ignored a prior ruling; and 3) when the parties conferred with the judge right after the inadmissible material came out (on the video of the congressional hearing), the government left the video frozen on the improper point showing the hearing and a transcript of what was being said. In other words, during a several-minute sidebar conference, the jurors were staring at the objectionable evidence. Number 3 strikes me as the big one--it's not just that the jury heard inadmissible evidence, but that they were staring at it for several minutes.

Further Update: Last night, I was interviewed about the case on Seattle's KJR Sports Radio.

REAL MADRID 2011 - NEYMAR | AN UPDATE

Spanish Football Sports has received several e-mails today from readers, especially from the Asian region, asking what's the current situation between Brazilian young 19 year old sensation NEYMAR & REAL MADRID. Good question, the situation is full of gossip although the consensus from the Spanish Sports media is that the deal is almost done.

Neymar (efe)

A couple of days back I posted here

Here We Go, Again: Home Runs and Taxes.

Christian Lopez, the fan who recently caught Derek Jeter’s record setting home run baseball, which constituted Jeter’s 3,000^th hit, joins a small group of fans who have caught historic home run baseballs only to find there may be tax consequences. First, there was the groundskeeper who retrieved Mark McGwire’s 62^nd home run baseball in 1998, only to give it to McGwire. Most recently, there was Matt Murphy, who caught Barry Bonds’ record setting 756th career home run in 2007.

In 1998, the Service issued conflicting statements regarding the tax treatment of a fan who caught a historic home run ball and returned it to the player. The Service ultimately issued a press release stating that the fan would not have taxable income or gift tax issues upon catching the ball or relinquishing the ball to the player, absent a situation where the fan sold the ball. In 2007, the Service was more cautious, declining to comment on the possible tax treatment of the fan who caught Bonds’ record setting home run ball. Based on the belief that merely obtaining the ball constituted gross income, Murphy sold the baseball to create liquidity with which to pay the resulting tax liability.

With that background, what are the tax consequences for Lopez? Lopez gave the ball to Jeter, voluntarily. He was given season tickets and other items by the New York Yankees. Many are positing that the only tax issue in this scenario revolves around Lopez’s receipt of the tickets and items from the Yankees. Given the Service’s track record in handling these situations, this may be the end result.

I suggest there are other results possible. Among these other results, it could be asserted that the ball constituted an accession to wealth (i.e., gross income) to Lopez, to the extent of its fair market value. Lopez’s subsequent transfer of the ball to Jeter, coupled with his receipt of items from the Yankees, could be construed as a sale to the Yankees, perhaps at a loss. As the ball did not belong to Jeter prior to the hit, Jeter’s receipt of the ball from Lopez could be seen as compensation from the Yankees, which allowed the ball to pass to Jeter.

Determining the proper resolution of these situations is vexing. Attempting to develop ways to avoid the uncertainty, a number of articles have been written proposing non-recognition be afforded to fans who catch such baseballs, including an article I co-authored with Adam J. Poe entitled Home Run Baseballs and Taxation, an Open Stance: How a H.R. can be I.R.D., 3 Est. Plan. & Community Prop. L.J. 79 (2010) (available on Westlaw).

SERGIO AGUERO | SPANISH FOOTBALL ´S SHAKESPEARIAN TRAGEDY

spain football
SPANISH FOOTBALL has its own Shakespearian play underway with two stories full of drama, changing destiny, backstabbing, betrayal, rumour, lies & human suffering. One is Cesc Fabregas & his endevour to leave Arsenal & get to FC Barcelona, the other which is todays post, SERGIO AGUERO & his desire to leave ATLETICO DE MADRID for rival REAL MADRID.

One day someone may decide to

The Curious Case of Curt Flood

Sports law history aficionados will want to be sure to watch the new documentary, The Curious Case of Curt Flood, airing this month on HBO. The documentary, which premiered last night, chronicles Curt Flood's historic legal challenge to baseball's reserve clause and antitrust exemption, culminating in the United States Supreme Court's 1972 decision of Flood v. Kuhn. The New York Times' preview of the documentary is available here.

Meanwhile, those interested in the history of the Flood suit should also check out Professor Brad Snyder's excellent history of the case, A Well-Paid Slave.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

SPANISH FOOTBALL | REAL MADRID Nº 6 IN FORBES TOP 50 MOST VALUABLE TEAM LIST

SPANISH FOOTBALL is dominated by REAL MADRID. At least in the economic & financial league according to the prestigious Financial magazine Forbes . The American source published its "TOP 50 World Most Valuable Teams" List for 2011. Although the list highlights Teams from all types of Sports around the globe, a Football Club dominates the list at Number 1, that is English Football Club MANCHESTER

FC BARCELONA | ALEXIS SANCHEZ OK - CESC FABREGAS STILL WATING

FC Barcelona
The news hit hard last night & is doing the rounds across the Spanish Sports newspapers this morning. The signing by FC BARCELONA of Chilean 23 year old International & UDINESE player ALEXIS SANCHEZ is imminent with a full announcement in hours.

Alexis Sanchez

The final transfer number dances from source to source but the most talked about figure is around 43M€ with Italian Club

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Latest Update on NBA Lockout on NBA TV

I discuss the latest developments in the NBA Lockout on NBA TV. I appreciate the shout-out from Dennis Scott!

Who Say Big Guys Can't Do Aerobics?

New PB - 24kg Kettlebell Snatch Test

Hit 234 reps in 10 mins with the 24kg kettlebell last Saturday Evening

This was the first time doing 10 mins without putting the kettlebell down (pleased with that)

Kettlebell Snatch Test

Also, note the new blog title. As I prefer to post most of my training stuff on this blog I though a name change may be apt especially as my focus is somewhere between kettlebell and grip training rihgt now

Take Your Fitness To Another Level with the Gymboss Interval Timer

Monday, July 11, 2011

REAL MADRID PRE - SEASON 2011 SUMMER WORLD TOUR

Real Madrid 2011
SPANISH FOOTBALL Club REAL MADRID started on Monday ( yesterday ) their pre-season & flew off immediately to Los Angeles (USA) to begin their training sessions . Four players stayed back in Madrid that indicate the Coach Jose Mourinho does not count with them for 2011-2012; Pedro Leon, Sergio Canales (also with U-20 Spain duties), Drenthe & Lass Diarra.

Said this what it also

Sunday, July 10, 2011

SPANISH FOOTBALL FLASHBACK | SPAIN WINS THE FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP A YEAR AGO

Spanish Football
Today is exactly 1 year ago when SPANISH FOOTBALL reached its highest level in World Football & Sports history, recognition, prestige & winning its first ever FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. The SPAIN FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM defeated 1 - 0 HOLLAND in the FIFA WORLD CUP Final in SOUTH AFRICA thanks to the ANDRES INIESTA extra-time (116 min) goal the 11th of June 2010.

Spain today via all

FORMULA 1 | FERNANDO ALONSO WINS 2011 BRITISH GRAN PRIX

Great day for SPANISH SPORTS with the victory of Spanish two time F1 World Champion FERNANDO ALONSO adding the 2011 British F1 GP title at Silverstone. Long time since the driver got back in the top of the podium as the Spaniard got his first win of the season & finally managed to break the domination of current World Champ Vettel & the Red Bull cars.

Fernando Alonso

Awkward race with all

Catching up with Links (Belated)

First off, our apologies for the lack of posts. With the 4th of July, vacations, moves, summer weather (and not being on-line as much) and other life events, things have been really slow around here of late. We'll resume regular posting soon, with original content as opposed to merely linking to stuff, as I'm about to do.

Here are some links from the last week or so:

* Paul Doyle's advice for Roger Clemens? Don't talk.

* Geoffrey Rapp talks to CBS Sportsline about the NFL lockout.

* Rick Karcher talks to the Columbus Dispatch about the Ohio State mess.

* Ohio State law professor Douglas Berman, on Sentencing Law and Policy, comments on possible sentencing of Clemens and my prediction of 15 to 21 months if convicted on all counts.

* As always, two of the best sports law blogs around are Connecticut Sports Law Blog and Sports Agent Blog. Be sure to check them out. Tons of good stuff.

* My SI column on the Eighth Circuit's decision in favor of the NFL. Not good news for NFL players, though it seems like they will reach a deal in the next few weeks.

* My SI column on Dr. Anthony Galea's guilty plea and what it could mean for his former clients/patients, who include Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez. Be sure to also see my SI colleague Will Carroll's column on implications for A-Rod.

* My SI column explaining the NFL retired players' lawsuit against both the NFL and NFLPA. Shouldn't retired players have a seat at the bargaining table?

* My SI preview of the Roger Clemens trial. David Epstein and I also co-author several articles for SI on the trial -- "Strategies change in Clemens trial" and "Arguments over audio tapes"

* I've joined NBA TV as an On-Air Legal Analyst. I was in Atlanta last week to talk with Kenny Smith and Antonio Davis about lockout in studio. Here is a link to one of the clips.

* For SI I compare the NBA and NFL lockouts. Here's the video:

REAL MADRID - NEYMAR | IT IS ONLY A QUESTION OF WHEN

spain football
SPANISH FOOTBALL will soon receive SANTOS Brazilian International & promise NEYMAR via his incorporation into the REAL MADRID squad. The agreement with player is solid & practically shut with an agreement to receive 5M€ per season (net) for the next 6 years. The rumours that FC Barcelona was also in the picture lost weight quickly because the Spanish Football Champs do not have

Friday, July 8, 2011

SPANISH HANDBALL | CIUDAD REAL BECOMES BALONMANO ATLETICO DE MADRID

spanish sports
SPANISH SPORTS mantains alive one of the best teams in the sport of HANDBALL, in Spain & in all Europe, thanks to an agreement that saves CIUDAD REAL Handball Team. The current Spanish Cup champions, the 5 time ASOBAL Winners, World Club Champions twice, three times European Champions ...etc & etc, has been saved by economic bankruptcy & from disappearing totally from the

REAL MADRID 2011 | NEYMAR CLOSE - MOURINHO HAPPY - AGUERO FURTHER

Real Madrid
SPANISH FOOTBALL SPORTS paper "Marca" run a front cover story today that basically says that the REAL MADRID Football Manager & Coach José Mourinho, who is back at work, has expressed to Club President Florentino Perez that he is satisfied & happy with the all the new signings.

Marca cover

In fact, according to the Sports paper, Mourinho believes that squad has been compensated,

Thursday, July 7, 2011

SPANISH FOOTBALL CLUB MALAGA FC TARGETS WESLEY SNEIJDER ?

soccer spanish
Spanish Football Club MALAGA is turning out to be the big spender this summer in terms of signings putting the usual big buyers like Real Madrid , FC Barcelona, Atletico de Madrid, Valencia CF ...etc on a second & third level. Malaga was bought last season by Arab Sheik & multi - millionaire Abdullah Al Thani who saw initially how his newly acquired Club went through some terrible

REAL MADRID 2011 | ZINEDINE ZIDANE NEW FOOTBALL DIRECTOR OF THE A-TEAM

Real Madrid
One of World Football greats, ex Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus & REAL MADRID player, Frenchman ZINEDINE ZIDANE made the public announcement today that he will be the new FOOTBALL DIRECTOR of the REAL MADRID first team as off next Monday. The Frenchman was up till now personal advisor to Club President Florentino Perez & will now add to his responsibilities the Football "matters" of the

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

VALENCIA CF SIGNS PABLO PIATTI FROM ALMERIA | PRESENTS GOALIE ALVES

spanish soccer valencia
Football Club ALMERIA, recently relegated to the Spanish 2º Division League, has announced today that they have transferred Argentine Forward PABLO PIATTI to Liga Club VALENCIA CF. Valencia pays approximately 7.5M€ for a fine class player that they will have for the next 5 years.

New Valencia CF player PIATTI

Another winner in this operation is Argentine Club

SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2011 - 2012 SCHEDULE-CALENDAR

spanish football
Full SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE Schedule/Calendar ( image ) for season 2011 - 2012. Click the image to get a larger size that should satisfy most requests coming in via e-mail of punters wishing to get all the matches at a glance. Its in Spanish, but its all very intuitive to figure out & to follow. Up to Round 19 is the first cycle that repeats from Round 20 to Round 38 with home

FC BARCELONA SIGNS YOUNG PROMISE KIKO FEMENIA FROM HERCULES

SPANISH FOOTBALL has a new name to its long list of future young up & coming Football stars, KIKO FEMENIA, 20 year old Spain International just signed by FC BARCELONA from Club HERCULES. Many will not know the name or the player but the "kid" has already played 33 matches for Hercules that has been recently relegated to the 2º Division after playing in all last season in La Liga.

New FC

SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE SEASON 2011 - 2012 SCHEDULE | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA GAMES DATES 2011-2012

Spanish Sports
The SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE celebrated the teams match-up schedule/draw today for LA LIGA ( all games from Round 1 until Round 38) season 2011 - 2012. Here is a summary of the important dates & the dates down for the "Clasico" - Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona matches.

Real Madrid - FC Barcelona

Spanish Super Cup
Real Madrid - FC Barcelona
1º leg - 14 August 2011 - 23.00 Hrs
2º

REAL MADRID 2011 - 2012 | REARMING THE TEAM

spanish football
Spanish Football Sports newspaper "Marca" publish an interesting article that highlights the way REAL MADRID is "rearming" itself for season 2011 - 2012. The Club has already signed Callejón (RCD Espanyol), Varane (Lens), Coentrao (Benfica), Sahin (Borrusia) & Altintop (Bayern). There are two names still in the air as possible further signings like Neymar (Santos) & /or Sergio

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

REAL MADRID SIGNS FABIO COENTRAO FOR 30M€ (20€)

News circulating locally & awaiting an final official announcement from REAL MADRID indicates that 23 year old Portuguese International & BENFICA player FABIO COENTRAO will be signed at any moment. In fact, media announce total agreement from all parts as the player passed the obligatory medical exam this morning. Benefica has also informed the Portuguese Stock Exchange that they have an

Monday, July 4, 2011

REAL MADRID 2011 | MOURINHO THINKING IN MAKING TEAM CAPTAIN AN ON-FIELD PLAYER ?

Real Madrid
Spanish Football Sports paper "Marca" publish today an interesting article that should interest REAL MADRID fans & no doubt people within the Clubs dressing-room. According to the Sports paper Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho is planning to make a strategic decison for next season by allocating the "Captains armband" away from current Captain goalkeeper IKER CASILLAS onto an on-field

JUVENTUS RAISES ITS OFFER TO 40M€ FOR ATLETICO DE MADRID SERGIO AGUERO

spanish football
Italian Club JUVENTUS really puts their money where their mouth is, something admirable in the rumour & gossip Football World. The Italian Football Club announced weeks back that ATLETICO DE MADRID Argentine forward SERGIO AGUERO was their "Top Priority" for the new upcoming season & they are not taking a NO for an answer. According to Italian Sports paper "La Gazzetta dello

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Time for University of North Dakota to Drop The Fighting Sioux Nickname

Originally posted on Big Sky Basketball.

The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux are set to join the Big Sky officially on July 1, 2012, but that may be in jeopardy.

For as long as I can remember (I am a UND graduate), there has been an intense nickname debate raging at North Dakota. The current nickname is the Fighting Sioux, and that has drawn angst from the NCAA. They have placed sanctions on the athletic programs, forced them to change their names, and it has had some affect on scheduling.

For a while, it looked like the issue was settled. Then the North Dakota legislature stepped in, telling the University to continue to use the nickname. It was seen as a short-term stopgap as they tried to continue to battle the NCAA on the issue.

All of this has come to a head though, as the Big Sky has told UND that continued use of the nickname could be an issue for the school joining the conference:

UND President Robert Kelley was told last week that continued use of the Fighting Sioux name and logo as mandated by a new state law has become a "concern" for them and could jeopardize UND's joining the conference next year.

As an alum, I love the nickname, and the history and tradition that goes along with it. But it is time for it to change. At best, keeping the nickname would keep the situation contentious and would probably still cause some scheduling issues. At worst, it could keep UND out of the Big Sky, which would be disastrous for the athletic program.

President Robert Kelley is doing what he can to change the nickname, let's hope the legislature follows suit. Otherwise, we could have one less team joining the Big Sky in July 2012.

TENNIS | RAFAEL NADAL LOSES TO DJOKOVIC IN THE WIMBLEDON 2011 FINAL

Tennis
Spanish Sportsman & Tennis ace RAFAEL NADAL was defeated this afternoon in the Final of WIMBLEDON 2011 by Serbian & new World Tennis Nº 1 ranked player NOVAK DJOKOVIC 6 - 4, 6 - 1, 1- 6 , 6- 3. Djokovic wins his first ever Wimbledon Tournament & defeats Nadal for the 5th straight time in a final. The Serb is having a superb season which kicked off with the Australian Open & has basically

SPANISH SPORTS | SPANIARDS WIN ALL THREE CATEGORIES IN ITALIAN MOTO GRAN PRIX

spanish sports
SPANISH SPORT lived spectacular moments in Italy today in the ITALIAN MOTO Gran Prix with Spaniards winning in all three categories. The races were as expected emotional & with exciting comebacks in 125 cc & MotoGp that will be remembered this season.

Jorge Lorenzo wins Italian MotoGp

Spanish rider & the current MOTOGP World Champion JORGE LORENZO managed to pull back a 2

DEPORTIVO vs ATLETICO DE MADRID FOR U- 21 EURO CHAMP ADRIAN

football spain
English paper sources like the "Daily Mirror" publish that ASTON VILLA is preparing to "swoop" down on Spanish Football International ADRIAN , recently proclaimed the U-21 European "Golden Boot" & Euro U-21 Champ. The youngster is in limbo at the moment while his Club Deportivo A Coruña recently relegated to 2º Division are in a legal battle with ATLETICO DE MADRID over a

REAL MADRID TRANSFER GOSSIP | CHELSEA FC WANTS COENTRAO - PEPE

spain football
A " visual surf" through the local Spanish Football Sports press this morning brings out this story that originally hit the headlines last Friday & today gets a more detailed analysis. According to Portugues Sports paper "Record" BENFICA defender COENTRAO had a heavy verbal debate with his Coach & stormed off the training session last Thursday. This has been interpreted as an act

Saturday, July 2, 2011

SPANISH FOOTBALL FLASHBACK | THE MIGHTY ATHLETIC DE BILBAO TEAM SEASON 1983 - 84 | SPANISH LEAGUE - CUP WINNERS

spanish football sports
Great reception from the REAL SOCIEDAD fans to the post here on the the Clubs 1980 - 1981 Spanish Football League title. The "Basque Region" domination of Spanish Football would continue seasons later but this time with rival ATHLETIC DE BILBAO winning the Spanish League title in season 1982 - 83 & again in season 1983-84 their last with the added glory of also winning the

ATLETICO DE MADRID OFFERS 30M€ TO VILLAREAL FOR ROSSI - DIEGO LOPEZ

spanish football sports
Seems like ATLETICO DE MADRID is finally accepting the inevitable, that their star forward Sergio Aguero will be leaving the Club. Things are not all bad, if an alternative Club comes along & pays 45M€ imagine what "goodies" you can buy in the transfer market to cover the absense.

Villareal player Rossi

Atletico are apparently working on how to best invest a possible

FC BARCELONA - CESC FABREGAS | AN NEVER ENDING STORY

spanish football sports
Watching a popular late night SPANISH FOOTBALL TV programme the other night one of the journalists invited said: ..."the Cesc Fabregas operation isn´t so shut case as it seems". In fact, the journo went further & said ..."It is all taking longer than expected to shut the transfer of Cesc to Barcelona".

Food for thought, especially as one reads a few headlines in todays

FC BARCELONA | FULHAM OFFERS 8M€ FROM JEFFREN

Some Spanish Football media observers claim one of the reasons that Chilean Alexis Sanchez is not yet a Barça player is because young JEFFREN refused to be part of the signing package operation that would have taken him to Italian Club Udinense. The U-21 Spanish International player does have alternative offers & especially from England.

FC Barcelona player Jeffren : photo Paco Lago

The last

Friday, July 1, 2011

ARSENAL MEETS REAL MADRID ABOUT BENZEMA | SO WHAT?

spanish football sports
Another SPANISH FOOTBALL lazy summer day lack of news story coiming out of England, thats being picked up by some online blogs & finally has landed in Spanish Sports online editions.

The latest "tickle" is the reported meeting between ARSENAL FC officials & REAL MADRID over the possibility of landing KARIM BENZEMA over to London. In fact the news was first reported as a

A QUIET DAY FOR SPANISH FOOTBALL | ANDRES INIESTA

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When SPANISH FOOTBALL goes into summer slow mode, the whole industry that is dragged by it also suffers. The media see how their newspapers sell less & TV Sports shows even that the time to go on holidays. The real creativity over the summer-break in Sports media departments is to figure out what the hell to publish or talk about the following day to get people