Live today (01/09/2011)

01/09 World championships Daegu (10:00h & 12:00h)

01/09 Bulgaria – Belgium (14:30h)

01/09 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h CEST)

01/09 Us Open (17:00h)

01/09 Komen Eten (20:05h)

Live today (01/09/2011)

01/09 World championships Daegu (10:00h & 12:00h)

01/09 Bulgaria – Belgium (14:30h)

01/09 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h CEST)

01/09 Us Open (17:00h)

01/09 Komen Eten (20:05h)

Live today (31/08/2011)

31/08 Eurobasket: België - Georgië (14:30h)

31/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

31/08 Us Open (17:00h)

31/08 komen Eten (20:05h)

31/08 De Pedaalridders (20:05h)

Live today (31/08/2011)

31/08 Eurobasket: België - Georgië (14:30h)

31/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

31/08 Us Open (17:00h)

31/08 komen Eten (20:05h)

31/08 De Pedaalridders (20:05h)

ATLETICO DE MADRID GETS BRAZILIAN MIDFIELDER DIEGO ON LOAN | AWAITING OFFICIAL OK FROM WOLFSBURG

If we are to believe local news, ATLETICO DE MADRID has finally managed to secure the loan & services of Brazilian midfielder DIEGO RIBAS from German Club WOLFSBURG. Nothing is as yet official, but recent negotiations & the players desire to play in Spanish Football give weight to the optimism being expressed by Atletico & the Spanish Sports press this afternoon.




Brazilian midfielder Diego

REAL MADRID AGREES TO LOAN FERNANDO GAGO TO AC ROMA

According to Spanish Sports paper "As" SPANISH FOOTBALL Club REAL MADRID has Oked the Italian Club AC ROMA suggestion to loan Argentine International midfielder FERNANDO GAGO for this season with the option to buy for 6M€ if desired to continue at the Italian Club thereafter.



Gago 

The news comes from Italy, concretely "La Gazetta dello Sport" & from the Italian intermediate in the

SPANISH FOOTBALL & THE "SCOTTISH MODEL"

When one thinks about Scottish Football, one thinks Celtic Glasgow or Rangers. These two Clubs dominate & always win (with the odd exception) the Scottish Premier League. Its the typical "two horse" race that limits the chances & opportunities of the other Clubs present & active like Aberdeen, Dundee Utd, Hibernian, Motherwell ... etc..

Some Spanish Football observers & Club Presidents have

Live today (30/08/2011)

30/08 World championships Daegu (12:00h)

30/08 Us Open (17:00h)

30/08 komen Eten (20:05h)

Live today (30/08/2011)

30/08 World championships Daegu (12:00h)

30/08 Us Open (17:00h)

30/08 komen Eten (20:05h)

SPANISH FOOTBALL MONDAY NIGHT RESULT ROUND 2 - LA LIGA - FC BARCELONA 5 - VILLAREAL 0

SPANISH FOOTBALL action tonight with the last game scheduled of Round 2 of the Spanish League with FC BARCELONA defeating 5 - 0 VILLAREAL FC . Barça started with the “romantic” & past famous 3 – 4 – 3 “Dream Team” system by Cruyff & with the following 11:


Valdés; Keita, Mascherano, Busquets, Abidal; Thiago, Iniesta, Cesc;
Alexis, Pedro & Messi.


The observation was that the defence looked

ARRIVEDERCI DIEGO FORLAN - THANKYOU!

The 32 year old Uruguayan International DIEGO FORLAN has said officially goodbye to SPANISH FOOTBALL & to all the ATLETICO DE MADRID fans in a Press Conference this afternoon. The player is on the verge of shutting the final details with Italian Club INTER MILAN. As an Atletico de Madrid fan & follower I can only give publicly my sincere thanks to Forlan for the services given to the Club during 

SPANISH FOOTBALL 2011 - 2012 | SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA ROUND 2 RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL - Soccer - kicked off this weekend with Round 2 of LA LIGA - last week players striker moves Round 1 to another future date - with nine games of the Spanish League. Was great  to see the Football relaxing with a weekend break, but I am also glad to be back & posting up some results for the regular readers.


Here is a summary of the Spanish Football League results this weekend:

Live today (29/08/2011)

29/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

29/08 Komen Eten (20:00h)

29/09 Barcelona – Villarreal (21:00h)

29/08 Nacional – Benfica (21:45h)

29/08 Extra Time (22:05h)

Live today (29/08/2011)

29/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

29/08 Komen Eten (20:00h)

29/09 Barcelona – Villarreal (21:00h)

29/08 Nacional – Benfica (21:45h)

29/08 Extra Time (22:05h)

Live today (28/08/2011)

28/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (13:10h)

28/08 Eurohockey: Belgium - England (13:30h)

28/08 Tottenham – Manchester City (14:30h)

28/08 Club Brugge - Anderlecht (15:00h)

28/08 GP Plouay (15:20h)

28/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

28/08 Eurohockey: Netherlands - Germany (16:00h)

28/08 Manchester Utd – Arsenal (17:00h)

28/08 Moto GP van Indianapolis (19:30h)

28/08 Stadion (19:35h)

28/08 Beerschot AC - Standard (20:30h)

28/08 Lille – Marseille (21:00h)

28/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:30h)

28/08 Match of the day (23:30h)

Live today (28/08/2011)

28/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (13:10h)

28/08 Eurohockey: Belgium - England (13:30h)

28/08 Tottenham – Manchester City (14:30h)

28/08 Club Brugge - Anderlecht (15:00h)

28/08 GP Plouay (15:20h)

28/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

28/08 Eurohockey: Netherlands - Germany (16:00h)

28/08 Manchester Utd – Arsenal (17:00h)

28/08 Moto GP van Indianapolis (19:30h)

28/08 Stadion (19:35h)

28/08 Beerschot AC - Standard (20:30h)

28/08 Lille – Marseille (21:00h)

28/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:30h)

28/08 Match of the day (23:30h)

Family of L.A. Kings scout Mark Bavis won't settle Sept. 11 lawsuit

There were 2,977 people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, and 2,880 families went through the Victim Compensation Fund that was set up by the U.S. government to save the airlines from the expected deluge of lawsuits. The fund, run by special master Kenneth Feinberg, paid out more than $7 billion.

Ninety-five families gave up the chance for a quick payoff -- the fund finished up in 2004 and paid an average of $2.08 million to the survivors (and an average of $400,000 for more than 2,600 who were injured) -- and sued. Ninety-four have settled.

The remaining wrongful death lawsuit is from the family of Mark Bavis, a former Boston University hockey player and scout for the Los Angeles Kings. Here is the AP story on Bavis v. United Airlines et al, and why even after 10 years the Bavises refuse to settle.

Live today (27/08/2011)

27/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (11:00h)

27/08 Aston Villa - Wolverhampton (13:05h)

27/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (14:00h)

27/08 Athletics: World championships 2011 (14:00h)

27/08 Kaiserslautern – Bayern (15:30h)

27/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

27/08 Blackburn – Everton (16:00h)

27/08 Chelsea – Norwich (16:00h)

27/08 Racing Genk - KV Mechelen (18:00h)

27/08 AA Gent - Lierse SK (20:00h)

27/08 Westerlo - Cercle Brugge (20:00h)

27/08 Multi Live (20:00h)

27/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:05h)

27/08 Stadion (23:00h)

Live today (27/08/2011)

27/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (11:00h)

27/08 Aston Villa - Wolverhampton (13:05h)

27/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (14:00h)

27/08 Athletics: World championships 2011 (14:00h)

27/08 Kaiserslautern – Bayern (15:30h)

27/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

27/08 Blackburn – Everton (16:00h)

27/08 Chelsea – Norwich (16:00h)

27/08 Racing Genk - KV Mechelen (18:00h)

27/08 AA Gent - Lierse SK (20:00h)

27/08 Westerlo - Cercle Brugge (20:00h)

27/08 Multi Live (20:00h)

27/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:05h)

27/08 Stadion (23:00h)

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP MATCH UPS 2011 - 2012

The EUROPA LEAGUE Groups for season 2011 - 2012 were drawn this afternoon in Monaco with the following match ups. Spanish Football Clubs ATLETICO DE MADRID heads Group I & ATHLETIC DE BILBAO in Group F. 



Europa League Groups
2011-2012
courtesy as.com

Kettlebell Snatch 24kg 300 reps

Here's me last friday hitting 300 reps in the kettlebell snatch with the 24kg (not under 10 mins or any thing like that), with no put down. Total time was 14:47 and as you can see it was quite pedestrian. I'm building up endurance for my 2011 Sledghammer Challenge (I'll be putting up a post soon about it)









300 Reps 24kg Kettlebell Snatch



1-100 reps was nice and easy 101-200 and the doubt starts to set in and then 201-300 was tough mentally and physically but got through it in the end. I'm going to need some serious mental and physical toughness for my 1 hour sledgehammer task with the 25kg hammer.



Hopefully later on today I'll be completing another 10min Kettlebell Snatch test, last one I did 234 reps. So I'll be going all out to better that one.



Have a great weekend

Live today (26/08/2011)

26/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (10:00h)

26/08 Uefa Europa League Draw (12:45h)

26/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (14:00h)

26/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

26/08 Eurohockey: Belgium - Netherlands (18.30h)

26/08 Eurohockey: Germany - England (21:00h)

26/08 Hertha Berlin – Stuttgart (20:30h)

26/08 Barcelona – FC Porto (20:45h)

26/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:05h)

Live today (26/08/2011)

26/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (10:00h)

26/08 Uefa Europa League Draw (12:45h)

26/08 F1 GP Belgium Spa-Francorchamps (14:00h)

26/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

26/08 Eurohockey: Belgium - Netherlands (18.30h)

26/08 Eurohockey: Germany - England (21:00h)

26/08 Hertha Berlin – Stuttgart (20:30h)

26/08 Barcelona – FC Porto (20:45h)

26/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:05h)

TWO SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAMS MAKE IT INTO THE EUROPA LEAGUE 2011 - 2012

Two SPANISH FOOTBALL Clubs will go into tomorrows EUROPA LEAGUE 2011 - 2012 Groups draw after the preliminary games were played tonight. ATHLETIC DE BILBAO went straight through without playing their 2º leg against Turkish side Trabzonspor which was lifted into Champions League taking the place of suspended fellow Turkish Club Fernanbache for match fixing. 



At. Madrid Europa League 2011

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2011 - 2012 GROUPS DRAW | LIONEL MESSI AWARDED UEFA BEST PLAYER IN EUROPE

The Top European Football Clubs - along with the four Top Spanish Football Clubs - have been drawn in Groups for the upcoming UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE season 2011 - 2012 competition. The most notable observation is Group A where VILLAREAL has been drawn in a "killer" group which beforehand is the most difficult of all the Spanish teams. REAL MADRID is in Group D & repeats with Lyon & Ajax, while

SPANISH FOOTBALL | THREE NEW NAMES IN SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM CALL UP

Spanish National Football Team Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque has handed in his list of 24 players to make up the Spain Football Squad for the upcoming International matches. The first is a Friendly International against CHILE on the 2nd of September in Geneva (Switzerland), followed by a European Championship Group qualifier against LEICHTENSTEIN the 6th of September in the Spanish city of

MESSI - RONALDO - XAVI CANDIDATES FOR THE UEFA BEST PLAYER IN EUROPE 2010-2011 AWARD

Three names are down as candidates for the first & new "UEFA Best Player in Europe" Award 2010 - 2011. The names are LIONEL MESSI (FC Barcelona) , CRISTIANO RONALDO ( Real Madrid) & XAVI HERNANDEZ (FC Barcelona). Thus Spanish Football has the honour of having all three play in its Football League (LA LIGA) & a Spanish born representative in Xavi Hernandez.



Messi, Ronaldo & Xavi Hernandez

Fantasy Football Season is Coming. Is Your League Legally Prepared?

Mike has reported extensively on the Tom Brady settlement and anticipated 10 years of labor peace in the NFL. For more than 20 million Americans,this means a return of their favorite pastime: fantasy football. Nevertheless, even as fantasy football has become a multi-billion dollar industry, few seem to understand how federal and state laws apply to fantasy sports.

With great pleasure, I thus introduce my newest law review article: A Short Treatise on Fantasy Sports and the Law: How America Regulates it New National Pastime. This article, which will be published in the upcoming edition of the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, explains how federal and state laws regulate the fantasy sports industry (including fantasy sports host sites, fantasy sports advisory sites, fantasy sports treasury sites, fantasy dispute resolution sites).

Upon conducting my research for this article, here are five interesting tidbits that I learned:

(1) Fantasy sports can be traced back to the early 1960s and a game known as "The Baseball Seminar," which was played by distinguished professors from Harvard University and the University of Michigan.

(2) Not all states agree that fantasy sports leagues are legal. Just ask Randy Bramos: a Florida firefighter who was arrested in 1991 for running a fantasy baseball league (all charges against him were ultimately dropped).

(3) Of all states, Montana has the most complex, and perhaps most insightful, way of regulating fantasy sports leagues. Under the Montana statute, fantasy sports host sites are only allowed to charge up to 15% of league entry fees as administrative fees for running a league. This rule may place certain CBS Sports fantasy games on the wrong side of Montana state law.

(4) Certain scoring systems in fantasy sports games are patentable. Indeed, there was an 2002 case in the Federal Circuit involving alleged patent infringement in the fantasy sports industry.

(5) If your employer does not allow you to solicit fantasy sports membership, it may be for good reason. A 2000 Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals case found it to be discriminatory for an employer to allow workplace solicitation during the workday of fantasy sports membership, but not union membership. Thus, if an employer wants to prevent employees from soliciting union membership, the employer should also prevent employees from soliciting fantasy football membership.

For those interested in reading my full article about fantasy sports and the law, again, it is available for download here.

REAL MADRID 2 GALATASARAY 1 | 2011 SANTIAGO BERNABEU TROPHY

REAL MADRID celebrated its "Santiago Bernabeu Trophy" tonight which showcases the team to their members & fan-base before the real business of the new season kicks off. The invited Club this year was Turkish team GALATASARAY which the home team defeated 2 -1.



Karim Benzema

Both teams used the occasion to give all their players a run & some extra playing time as both continue improving

Upcoming Boston sports law panel: Understanding the NFL and NBA Labor Disputes and Their Economic Impact

I'm looking forward to being a panelist on this upcoming panel on NBA and NFL labor issues hosted by the Boston Chapter of Women in Sports and Events.  If you would like to attend the Wednesday September 21 event, which will be held in the Boston office of Nixon Peabody (100 Summer Street) between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m and which is open to those interested in sports law, please e-mail info@wiseinboston.com.

SPANISH FOOTBALL | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA - MOURINHO - DESTRUCTION - BUSINESS - BABOONS

The e-mail account of Spanish Football Sports is almost collapsed by readers around the World asking why I am not posting on the after shock-wave effects,  or stating an opinion about the FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID brawl & Mourinho "eye-poke" incident during the Spanish Super Cup last week. Why? Because everyone has already voiced an opinion, the majority from their own "coloured" glasses

REAL MADRID TRANSFERS LASS DIARRA TO TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS FOR 12M€

Spanish Sports paper "Marca" has published in its online section that REAL MADRID & English Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS have come to an agreement to transfer French International midfielder LASS DIARRA



Lass Diarra

The Clubs are said to be finishing now a few "minor" technical details before making an official announcement at a price speculated to be around 12M€. Real Madrid put

FIFA WORLD RANKINGS | SPAIN LOSES Nº 1 SPOT TO HOLLAND

The SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM has "suffered" the effects of being defeated  2 - 1 by Italy in their last Friendly International match by losing the Nº1 FIFA World Ranking position. The current FIFA World Champions have dropped to the Nº 2 position to see HOLLAND now be ranked as the "Best National Team" ( Nº1 ) for the month of August. 



Spain vs Holland 2010

Here are the Top 10

ATLETICO DE MADRID | DIEGO FORLAN LOOKS INTER MILAN BOUND WHILE THE DIEGO OPTION COMES TO LIFE AGAIN

ATLETICO DE MADRID has excluded this morning from the squad that will be travelling to Portugal for their 2º leg Europa League preliminary game against Vitoria Guimaraes forward DIEGO FORLAN at personal request. The Uruguayan International is negotiating with INTER MILAN at this moment his transfer, which suggests that it could be made official in the next hours.



Diego Forlan

Staying with

Live today (25/08/2011)

25/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

25/08 Uefa Champions League Draw (17:45h)

25/08 PSV - SV Ried (18:45h)

25/08 Helsingborgs IF - Standard (20:15h)

25/08 Club Brugge - FC Zestafoni (20:30h)

25/08 Anderlecht - Bursaspor (20:30h)

25/08 AZ - Aalesunds FK (20:45h)

25/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:05h)

Live today (25/08/2011)

25/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

25/08 Uefa Champions League Draw (17:45h)

25/08 PSV - SV Ried (18:45h)

25/08 Helsingborgs IF - Standard (20:15h)

25/08 Club Brugge - FC Zestafoni (20:30h)

25/08 Anderlecht - Bursaspor (20:30h)

25/08 AZ - Aalesunds FK (20:45h)

25/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (22:05h)

VILLAREAL WINS ODENSE 3 - 0 TO SECURE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLACE

SPANISH FOOTBALL will have four Clubs in CHAMPIONS LEAGUE this season after VILLAREAL defeated 3 - 0  ODENSE ( 3 - 1 agg) in tonights 2º leg preliminary Champions League qualifier. The Spanish Club joins FC Barcelona , Real Madrid & Valencia CF, & its the third time in their history that they are part of the maximum level in European Football.



Villareal 

Odense came to Villareal with a

SPANISH FOOTBALL | JOAN GAMPER TROPHY | FC BARCELONA 5 - NAPOLES 0

Video highlights of yesterdays 5 - 0 victory by FC BARCELONA over Italian Club NAPOLES. The match was for the "Gamper Trophy", Cup that opens officially the Barça season along with their members & in remembrance to the Club founder - Joan Gamper.

Live today (23/08/2011)

23/08 hockey:Germany - Belgium (15:00h)

23/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

23/08 hockey:Azerbaijan - Belgium (17:00h)

23/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (20:05h)

23/08 Racing Genk - Maccabi Haifa (20:45h)

23/08 FC Zürich - Bayern München (20:45h)

Live today (23/08/2011)

23/08 hockey:Germany - Belgium (15:00h)

23/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:00h)

23/08 hockey:Azerbaijan - Belgium (17:00h)

23/08 USA Pro Cycling Challenge (20:05h)

23/08 Racing Genk - Maccabi Haifa (20:45h)

23/08 FC Zürich - Bayern München (20:45h)

INTER MILAN BACK FOR KAKA?

Nine days left of the transfer "window" market & the situation has heated up with "last moment" operations & player movements. One Club that is experiencing the "last minute" rush is Italian Club INTER MILAN who is about to lose forward Eto´o to Russian Football & will needed to find a substitute forward & a World name to excite the fans.


Spanish Sports paper "Marca" opens today's edition with

Dan LeBatard never took Evidence

Dan LeBatard of the Miami Herald is not a lawyer. But I often complain that when the mainstream media tries to talk about law, they invariably get it wrong. Today,  LeBatard tried to urge patience as allegations swirl around UM's football team, with some genuinely incoherent comments about law.

First, he says that "Circumstantial evidence is not actual evidence." Umm, yes, it is. We know that, because, as a blogger for The Big Lead says, it says "evidence" right there in the phrase. And in any event, the evidence against UM is not circumstantial. Someone with firsthand knowledge (Shapiro) is stating the things he did (giving players money and other gifts, etc.) and those things violate NCAA rules. That is as direct as evidence can get.

Later, LeBatard says "precious little of what we’ve seen amid this noise so far can be considered truth, evidence, facts." Again, this is wrong on many levels. What we have been hearing are, indeed, facts--assertions or propositions about events that have happened in the world (e.g., "I gave money to UM football players"). And it is evidence--information by someone with knowledge offered to establish the truth of those assertions or propositions. Is it truth? That we do not know (although each of us is free to reach our own conclusions for now) and that ultimately will be for some fact-finder, whoever it turns out to be. But doubting the truth of facts does not mean they are not facts; disbelieving some evidence does not mean it is not evidence.

CHELSEA FC SIGNS VALENCIA CF PLAYER JUAN MATA

Got back from a couple of days off & find that VALENCIA CF & CHELSEA FC have come to an agreement to transfer Spanish International midfielder JUAN MATA. The official announcement was made on the Valencia FC web page this afternoon.



Spanish Football Player Juan Mata


The Spanish Football player has been signed for close to 30M€ & for a contract of 5 years with the "Blues". Local rumours

Two New Sports Illustrated Columns: NFL concussion lawsuit and Mike Jacobs testing postive for HGH

I have a couple of new SI columns.  Yesterday I wrote about the first class action lawsuit brought by retired NFL players against the league for concussions and related neurological problems; on Thursday I wrote about the impact of minor leaguer Mike Jacobs becoming the first player in pro baseball, basketball, hockey or football to test positive for Human Growth Hormone.  Here are the links:

• Concussion lawsuit could cost NFL, whether settled in or out of court

• Ripple effect in wake of Mike Jacobs' failed test for HGH

Brief thought on the UM scandal

I doubt the allegations against UM's football team are that unusual as NCAA violations go, although the salacious details (prostitutes, strippers, and abortions) are irresistible to the media. The story is bringing into stark relief the basic disagreement over whether the NCAA and its regulations are worthwhile or whether they are the problem, as demonstrated by this exchange between Deadspin's Tommy Craggs and Charles Robinson, the Yahoo! reporter whose investigative work broke the story.

Several people, including NCAA President Mark Emmert, have suggested that the "Death Penalty" could be in play here.  I find it telling that we did not hear similar talk surrounding the recent investigations of The Ohio State University, USC, or North Carolina, or the fledgling investigation against Kentucky basketball last summer. And while I do not believe the NCAA would do that (and Emmert apparently has walked his comments back), the tone of the discussion is noteworthy. Why the difference? Advocates of the death penalty would argue that Miami is a blatant repeat offender; this would be the third or fourth major violation in the past twenty years, not to mention the unproven scandals (such as Luther Campbell's unproven Pay-for-Play) and the school's overall reputation as a bandit/thug school.

But let me suggest a different, less-principled explanation: Miami looks a lot like SMU, the only school to suffer the ultimate sanction, did in the 1980s. Both are relatively small (SMU has 12,000 students, UM 15,000) private universities that are new (or relatively new) to big-time college football. Both burst on the football scene, combining on-field success with a brashness that disturbed the NCAA establishment. Back in 1987, SMU lacked the political capital within the NCAA to resist the penalty; and, if you believe the 30-for-30 documentary, there was a strong sense  that the old guard who controlled the NCAA were also trying to make a special point by bringing the hammer down on the unwelcome interloper.

Could the NCAA's old guard again be gunning for the interloper, one whose style has long rankled? The NCAA backed off from really going after OSU and USC, two old-line football powers. Does Miami have enough political capital to resist, if the NCAA is determined to swing the hammer against it in a way it did not against establishment schools?

Live today (22/08/2011)

22/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:10h)

22/08 Belgium - Russia (17:00h)

22/08 FC Dordrecht - Willem II (20:00h)

22/08 FC Barcelona - Napoli (20:30h)

22/08 Manchester United - Tottenham Hotspur (21:00h)

22/08 Extra Time (22:05h)

Live today (22/08/2011)

22/08 Tour of Spain - Vuelta (16:10h)

22/08 Belgium - Russia (17:00h)

22/08 FC Dordrecht - Willem II (20:00h)

22/08 FC Barcelona - Napoli (20:30h)

22/08 Manchester United - Tottenham Hotspur (21:00h)

22/08 Extra Time (22:05h)

FC BARCELONA TEAM PHOTO 2011 | SPANISH SUPER CUP WINNERS

SPANISH FOOTBALL SPORTS has found this photo of the FC BARCELONA starting 11 team that played the 2º leg of the Spanish Super Cup Final which defeated Real Madrid 3 - 2 & also taking the tie on a 5-4 aggregate.

A photo which I hope will please the many Barça fans around the World as it is basically the  starting 11 "gala" side, with the exception of Puyol, Alexis Sanchez & Cesc Fabregas.



FC

SPANISH FOOTBALL CLUBS RESULTS | EUROPA LEAGUE PRE-QUALIFIERS

Three Spanish Football Clubs participated tonight in the 1st leg of the EUROPA LEAGUE pre-qualifiers with mixed results. Here is a very quick & brief summary of results.



Sevilla 2011

SEVILLA FC travelled to Germany to play HANNOVER & lost 2 - 1. The goals all came in the first 45 mins with German player SCHALANDRAFF scoring twice in the 6th & 45th min , while Sevilla managed a valuable

ATLETICO DE MADRID - FALCAO DEAL CLOSE ( WITH A KINDER SURPRISE)

Here is the closest hint that OPORTO & Colombian International player FALCAO is about to land at ATLETICO DE MADRID. The Portuguese Club which finances itself via the Portugal Stock Exchange has just informed the local financial authorities that they have a 45M€ offer from Atletico for Falcao - & here is the surprise - along with his fellow team-mate midfielder MICAEL. The latter apparently is an

NFL enforcing NCAA regs?

The NFL announced the eligible players for Monday's Supplemental Draft, a list that includes Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor. In addition, however, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that Pryor would not be eligible to practice or play in the first five games of the NFL season--the same length as the suspension that Pryor would have served had he remained at Ohio State.

The NFL explains:

In addition to being notified that Terrelle Pryor may be selected in the Supplemental Draft, NFL clubs were informed that Pryor made decisions that undermine the integrity of the eligibility rules for the NFL Draft.  Those actions included failing to cooperate with the NCAA and hiring an agent in violation of NCAA rules.  This resulted in Ohio State declaring him ineligible to continue playing college football.  Pryor then applied to enter the NFL after the regular draft.  Pryor had accepted at the end of the 2010 college football season a suspension for the first five games of the 2011 season for violating NCAA rules.


In his decision allowing Pryor to enter the Supplemental Draft, Commissioner Roger Goodell determined that Pryor will be ineligible to practice prior to or play in the first five games of the NFL regular season after he signs.  Pryor may be selected in the Supplemental Draft, negotiate and sign a contract with an NFL club, and fully participate in the remainder of the preseason.

 Deadspin finds this "incredible" and perhaps it will not stand if Pryor sues and/or the NFLPA gets involved.

But consider: At least part of the problem with NCAA enforcement is that the real wrongdoers (and let's assume for the moment that NCAA regs are worth enforcing and those who break those rules are worthy of sanction) virtually never are punished. The players and coaches involved in the misconduct are long gone from a school by the time any punishment is imposed and the punishment falls entirely on a new coach and new players who had nothing to do with anything. For the players who are just marking time in college because they have to, having to leave college and jump into the pros (as Pryor is doing) is not a meaningful sanction.

The answer thus is for the pro leagues to enact their own rules sanctioning professional players who broke NCAA rules. This is particularly so, as with Pryor, the wrongdoing was a direct step to trying to go into the pros (or so the NFL believes) and the wrongdoing is close in time (as opposed to the wrongdoing being discovered three years into the player's NFL career, as with, for example, Reggie Bush).

The question, beside whether this will work, is whether this is a one-shot deal or the NFL is serious about trying to bolster NCAA enforcement by wielding its own punishment authority.

GREATNESS | THE MESSI FACT vs THE RONALDO THEORY

Last nights Spanish Super Cup Final has given me two startling empirical results from the same unique experiment . Apart from the intense level of play, the Football, the aggressiveness, the tackles, the violence, the unfortunate & inexcusable actions of some on both teams, along with the out of order comments & controversy, what has been branded in my mind is the following outcome test result &

VIDEO | MARCELO TACKLE FABREGAS RED CARD + FIGHT FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID SPANISH SUPER CUP

The commentators have some harsh words,  & the International image of Real Madrid is not doing to good either. "YouTube" may well cancel out this video in time, I will leave it up while its available. 

SPANISH SUPER CUP 2011 RESULT | FC BARCELONA WINS 3 - 2 REAL MADRID ( 5 - 4 AGG)

FC BARCELONA has defeated 3 - 2 (5 - 4 agg) REAL MADRID to claim the 2011 SPANISH SUPER CUP in a very intense, aggressive game that finished with another all in brawl after Marcelo made a harsh tackle on Cesc Fabregas which earned the former the direct red card around the 91st min. A scene that has blemished the image, the good play of Real Madrid & of Coach Mourinho who "apparently" also "

Live today (19/08/2011)

19/08 Sparta - FC Volendam (20:00h)

19/08 Lierse SK - Beerschot AC (20:30h)

19/08 Borussia Monchengladbach - VFL Wolfsburg (20:30h)

Live today (19/08/2011)

19/08 Sparta - FC Volendam (20:00h)

19/08 Lierse SK - Beerschot AC (20:30h)

19/08 Borussia Monchengladbach - VFL Wolfsburg (20:30h)

VILLAREAL LOSE 1 - 0 AWAY TO ODENSE BK | PRELIMINARY CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 1st LEG GAME

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club VILLAREAL travelled to Denmark to play their preliminary CHAMPIONS LEAGUE qualifier against ODENSE BK & finished with a surprising & "unjust" 1- 0 defeat result. The Danes started well & had their chances early but Villareal soon took over proceedings with some lovely touch Football & plenty of chances upfront - especially in the 2 half - with Rossi, Nilmar, cani & Valero

PREVIEW | SPANISH SUPER CUP 2º LEG | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA STARTING 11 LINE-UPS

SPANISH FOOTBALL again goes on the World stage tonight at 23.00hrs Sp local time when FC BARCELONA hosts REAL MADRID in the 2º - & definitive - leg of the Spanish Super Cup Final. The 1ºst leg finished 2 - 2 & the title is up for grabs tonight as Real Madrid must score & Barça has the away goal advantage. The kick off time is late, but this is due to the fact that the UEFA Champions League 

Papers Sought For 2012 NCAA Scholarly Colloquium

The fifth annual Scholarly Colloquium on Intercollegiate Athletics will be held on January 10-11, 2012, in conjunction with the NCAA Annual Convention in Indianapolis, IN. The theme for this year’s colloquium is “NCAA Academic Reform: Progress, Problems, and Prospects.” The conference will feature keynote speakers, two formal reactions to each keynote, and concurrent sessions of oral presentations and a poster session. For scholars wishing to submit proposals for oral or poster presentations, and for more information about the colloquium, see this link.

Live today (17/08/2011)

17/08 Tour du Limousin (16:00h)

17/08 Lommel - Antwerp (20:00h)

17/08 Maccabi Haifa - Racing Genk (20:45h)

17/08 Bayern Munchen - FC Zurich (20:45h)

17/08 FC Barcelona - Real Madrid (23:00h)

Live today (17/08/2011)

17/08 Tour du Limousin (16:00h)

17/08 Lommel - Antwerp (20:00h)

17/08 Maccabi Haifa - Racing Genk (20:45h)

17/08 Bayern Munchen - FC Zurich (20:45h)

17/08 FC Barcelona - Real Madrid (23:00h)

SPAIN vs CHILE | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY | GENEVA 2nd SEPTEMBER

The SPANISH FOOTBALL Federation has announced today that SPAIN will meet CHILE in an upcoming Friendly International to be played in Geneva (Switzerland) on the 2nd of September. The cited game for Spain was originally meant for Brazil, which pulled out & cancelled without any real reason, which leads to suspect that they wished to confront the current World Champions under better conditions.

ATLETICO DE MADRID | FALCAO - DIEGO FORLAN - OSVALDO | THE DOMINO THEORY

Things are "speeding" up on the transfer front as the 31st of August ( & Europa /Champions League inscriptions) deadline nears for Spanish Football Clubs. One of those, ATLETICO DE MADRID, has an ambitious plan: to sign two star forwards to replace Sergio Aguero & Diego Forlan. More on the last latter on.



Falcao

The first priority is Colombian International & OPORTO forward FALCAO. This

Live today (16/08/2011)

16/08 Tre Valli Varesine (14:30h)

16/08 Tour du Limousin (15:45h)

16/08 Arsenal - Udinese (20:45h)

16/08 FC Twente - Benfica Lisbon (20:45h)

Live today (16/08/2011)

16/08 Tre Valli Varesine (14:30h)

16/08 Tour du Limousin (15:45h)

16/08 Arsenal - Udinese (20:45h)

16/08 FC Twente - Benfica Lisbon (20:45h)

New Sports Illustrated Column: Were the Cubs Justified to Place Carlos Zambrano on the Disqualified List?

Here is my take for SI on the Cubs taking the unique step of disqualifying Carlos Zambrano from its team after the pitcher cleaned out his locker during the middle of last Friday night's game between the Cubs and Braves and told teammates he was done playing baseball.

Live today (15/08/2011)

15/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

15/08 Stormvogels Telstar - FC Den Bosch (20:00h)

15/08 Manchester City - Swansea City FC (21:00h)

15/08 Extra Time (22:05h)

Live today (15/08/2011)

15/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

15/08 Stormvogels Telstar - FC Den Bosch (20:00h)

15/08 Manchester City - Swansea City FC (21:00h)

15/08 Extra Time (22:05h)

SPAIN LOSS TO BRAZIL IN Q/FINAL OF U-20 FIFA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Not too good news this morning, the SPANISH FOOTBALL U-20 NATIONAL TEAM say good-bye to the FIFA World Championships being held in Colombia after losing to BRAZIL in the penalty-shoot out 2 (2) - 2 (4). The Spanish youngsters pack their bags & fly off home with certain disappointment knowing that they had the potential of going further in the competition.



Spain U-20

Spain had to come back

Pinch Grip Training

Here are a couple of recent pinch lifts I've been doing for training my grip strength.



First up is the 37kg Plate Pinch and Clean, the discs are some old one's I got made years ago and are about 33mm thick each.







Here's my 56 lb (25.4kg) Farm Weight Pinch from a couple of nights ago. My Dad had this weight in his shed for years and I've messed around with it for long enough. I've thrown it before when I was training for Highland Games and been trying to pinch it for about a month. The weight is 5 inches across so is quite a wide pinch (careful with pinches this wide, it's so easy to mess your thumb up which will take months to repair - BE WARNED!!!)







If you don't have any equipment to pinch then I suggest making this simple Pinch Grip Lever



On the subject of 56lb Weights - my last visit to Scotland inspired me to buy Gordon Dinnies book about Donald Dinnie. In the book it is talked about Donald Dinnie throwing the 56lb weight over 40 feet from a standing position. I cannot get my head around something like that. It took me a spin and a half to get it 34 and half feet.



In addition to this one of Donald's party tricks was to hold a 56lb weight in the palm of his hand at arms length (again wow!), he could even do this well into his 60's. Maybe one to try!



I hope to get up to Potarch again before too long to have another go at the Dinnie Stones

SPANISH SUPER CUP 1º LEG RESULT | REAL MADRID 2 - FC BARCELONA 2

SPANISH FOOTBALL kicked off the new 2011 - 2012 season with the 1º leg of the SPANISH SUPER CUP between REAL MADRID & FC BARCELONA which finished in a 2 - 2 draw result. It was an intense & hard fought game that had everything a "classico" habitually has & nothing to do with a summer start of the season match. In fact, it looked as if both sides were playing the final of Champions which

MOTO GP CZECH REP 2011 | BAD DAY AT THE RACES FOR SPANIARDS

Spanish MotoGP riders had a relatively bad day at the Czech Rep Gran Prix in all categories disputed this afternoon. The highest placed rider was young MARC MARQUEZ in the Moto 2 category who took the flag to second place, while ALBERTO MONCAYO managed a third in the 125cc category.



Marc Marquez Moto 2

Surprisingly no Spaniard gained podium in the MOTO GP category after Dani Pedrosa fell

PREVIEW | SPANISH SUPER CUP 1º LEG | REAL MADRID - FC BARCELONA

SPANISH FOOTBALL starts its new season with "Football Fireworks" tonight, when REAL MADRID ( Spanish Cup winners) plays FC BARCELONA ( Liga winners) in the 1ºst leg of the SPANISH SUPER CUP. The kick off is at the "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium in Madrid at 22.00 hours with more than 100 countries tuning in via satellite for their TV audiences.

Real Madrid are favourites for the 1º st leg as they

Live today (14/08/2011)

14/08 Stoke City - Chelsea (14:30h)

14/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

14/08 Tour de l'Ain (15:20h)

14/08 West Bromwich Albion - Manchester United (17:00h)

14/08 Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Werder Bremen (17:30h)

14/08 Lokeren - Anderlecht (18:00h)

14/08 basket: Belgium U18 W - France U18 W (19:00h)

14/08 KV Mechelen - Lierse SK (20:30h)

14/08 Real Madrid - FC Barcelona (22:00h)

Live today (14/08/2011)

14/08 Stoke City - Chelsea (14:30h)

14/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

14/08 Tour de l'Ain (15:20h)

14/08 West Bromwich Albion - Manchester United (17:00h)

14/08 Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Werder Bremen (17:30h)

14/08 Lokeren - Anderlecht (18:00h)

14/08 basket: Belgium U18 W - France U18 W (19:00h)

14/08 KV Mechelen - Lierse SK (20:30h)

14/08 Real Madrid - FC Barcelona (22:00h)

VALENCIA CF DEFEATS AC ROMA 3 - 0 | FRIENDLY GAME

Spanish Football Club VALENCIA CF won their own summer tournament 3 - 0 against AC ROMA. The Spanish Team looked good & gave off great vibrations precisely happening before the start of the new LIGA season. The Italians under ex-Barça & Spanish Coach Luis Enrique still have some work to do ahead of them as the seem to miss a couple of key players - signings, expecially a "killer" forward. Veteran

Live today (13/08/2011)

13/08 Tour of Utah (01:00h)

13/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

13/08 Tour de l'Ain (15:20h)

13/08 VFL Wolfsburg - Bayern Munchen (15:30h)

13/08 FC Schalke 04 - 1. FC Koln (15:30h)

13/08 Liverpool FC - Sunderland (16:00h)

13/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

13/08 AA Gent - Standard (18:00h)

13/08 Newcastle United - Arsenal (18:30h)

13/08 Racing Genk - Zulte Waregem (20:00h)

13/08 Club Brugge - OH Leuven (20:00h)

13/08 Stadion (23:00h)

Live today (13/08/2011)

13/08 Tour of Utah (01:00h)

13/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

13/08 Tour de l'Ain (15:20h)

13/08 VFL Wolfsburg - Bayern Munchen (15:30h)

13/08 FC Schalke 04 - 1. FC Koln (15:30h)

13/08 Liverpool FC - Sunderland (16:00h)

13/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

13/08 AA Gent - Standard (18:00h)

13/08 Newcastle United - Arsenal (18:30h)

13/08 Racing Genk - Zulte Waregem (20:00h)

13/08 Club Brugge - OH Leuven (20:00h)

13/08 Stadion (23:00h)

FC BARCELONA RECEIVES OK FROM ARSENAL FOR CESC FABREGAS

Awaiting the official fax from ARSENAL FC, the signing of CESC FABREGAS by FC BARCELONA is a done deal. In fact this SPANISH FOOTBALL summer story ends as Barça Football players & friends Pique & Puyol "spilled the beans" on their "twitter" accounts this morning before the Clubs have made it official.  The deal is a bit "freaky" but the English Club has accepted: 40M€ transfer fee broken up as

NEYMAR | FC BARCELONA ENTERING INTO THE PICTURE?

This will be the last NEYMAR update because the whole thing is becoming a Football joke. To all the readers who have sent an e-mail to know the latest & to answer your question, here is my honest answer: I don´t know what is going on, really. To help give you a more "clear picture" I will use the news published today in the Spanish Sports paper "AS" who give some interesting views & news on this

Live today (12/08/2011)

12/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

12/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

12/08 Willem II - Go Ahead Eagles (19:00h)

12/08 VFL Bochum - FC St. Pauli (20:30h)

12/08 Gil Vicente - Benfica Lisbon (21:45h)

12/08 Valencia CF - AS Roma (22:00h)

13/08 Tour of Utah (01:00h)

Live today (12/08/2011)

12/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

12/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

12/08 Willem II - Go Ahead Eagles (19:00h)

12/08 VFL Bochum - FC St. Pauli (20:30h)

12/08 Gil Vicente - Benfica Lisbon (21:45h)

12/08 Valencia CF - AS Roma (22:00h)

13/08 Tour of Utah (01:00h)

Age Rules (and Age Fraud) in Women's Gymnastics

Andrea Eagleman and I collaborated on a paper that was recently published in the University of Baltimore Law Review. A working paper version can be found on SSRN here. The initial impetus for the article was to analyze gymnastics’ minimum age rule from an antitrust perspective. However, the research quickly morphed into the policy-related issue of age fraud in sports. Age fabrication was a high-profile issue during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and will likely be a part of next year’s Olympics as well. For example, the entire North Korean women’s gymnastics team has been banned from the 2012 London Olympics because of rampant state-sponsored age fraud. In most sports, athletes falsify their age downward. The reverse is true in women’s gymnastics, where gymnasts (in concert with their coaches and/or national federations) manipulate their age upward, purporting to be older than they actually are. An excerpt from our conclusion is below:

While gymnastics’ current minimum age rule would likely survive an antitrust challenge, the rule’s policy impact has been profound in two distinct ways, both negative. First, as predicted by Bela Karolyi, the enactment of the current age rule has helped usher in an era of increased corruption related to age fabrication. As the recent cases in China and North Korea evidence, the nefarious conduct reached governmental levels, where officials knowingly altered documents to further the fraud. Second, the countries that falsify such documents as a way to circumvent the age rule have created an unlevel playing field vis-à-vis those countries that follow the rule.

MIXED RESULTS FOR SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAMS

Was out of town yesterday & couldn´t post the last two ( A-team & U-20) SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM encounters, which ended with a draw, that is, a loss & a win. Although the news is now old, SPAIN lost 2 -1 at Bari to home team ITALY, & the U-20 youngsters won 7-6 SOUTH KOREA in the penalty shoot out after their match finished 0 - 0 at the U-20 FIFA World Championships.



Italy

Live today (11/08/2011)

11/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

11/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

11/08 Tour of Utah (19:00h)

11/08 Lazio - Real Sociedad (20:30h)

11/08 Sheffield Wednesday - Blackpool FC (20:30h)

Live today (11/08/2011)

11/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

11/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

11/08 Tour of Utah (19:00h)

11/08 Lazio - Real Sociedad (20:30h)

11/08 Sheffield Wednesday - Blackpool FC (20:30h)

Scorekeeping: Tracking Subconscious Racism in Baseball

The following is a guest post is from Adam Felder and Seth Amitin and it concerns their fascinating new project Scorekeeping: Tracking Subconscious Racism in Baseball.

 * * *

We all talk about the performance of baseball players and our language permeates through every limb of the sport--the media, the fans, the players, the front offices, the public relations department, and so on. While these discussions often reference countable statistics such as home runs, batting average, and strikeouts, they also reference intangible characteristics that cannot be listed on the back of a baseball card. Descriptors such as “scrappy,” “hustling,” or “plays the game the right way” are bandied about despite there being no way of actually measuring these qualities.

Anecdotally, these intangible descriptors seem to be used disproportionately to describe white baseball players, while equally intangible pejorative terms (“lazy,” “lackadaisical,” “clubhouse cancer”) seem to be used to describe players of color.

Our study, “Scorekeeping: Tracking Subconscious Racism in Baseball” seeks to analyze the use of both complimentary and pejorative adjectives to look for any systematic racism present in baseball announcing. The study is being conducted by Seth Amitin, editor of DingersBlog.com, and Adam Felder, a social sciences PhD candidate at the University of Virginia.

Specifically, the study will analyze roughly 900 televised baseball broadcasts over a 30-day period—30 observers each watching 30 games and coding each incident of an announcer using an intangible adjective to describe a player.  Analysis will cite, amongst other things, the race of the player, the race of the announcer, the intangible adjective used, and the game situation in which the incident occurred. After compiling the data, analysis will be conducted to determine whether, all else equal, the use of these descriptors is linked to race.

Our team would very much appreciate assistance in completing the study. Specifically, there are two ways in which you could help:

1.)   Donate to our fundraising page on KickStarter. At the time of this writing, we are nearly 80% of the way to our goal. Should we end up overfunded, we can expand our scope beyond television broadcasts and begin to focus on radio and print as well.

2.) Volunteer to watch 30 days’ worth of one team’s games and code each incident. Our team will provide instructions for coding and a pre-formatted spreadsheet with which to code. Please note that it is almost certain that the 30-day window will include games that have already been played; you will need to be able to watch these games as well (an MLB.tv account is probably the easiest way to accomplish this). Upon completion of scoring the 30 day window, you would receive a small stipend for your efforts. If interested in data collection, please email Adam Felder (amf5ka@virginia.edu) or Seth Amitin (sethamitin@gmail.com)

Please feel free to contact either of the researchers should you have further questions.

Live today (10/08/2011)

10/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

10/08 Sweden U21 - Netherlands U21 (18:00h)

10/08 Tour of Utah (19:00h)

10/08 Italy - Spain (20:45h)

10/08 Slovenië - Belgium (20:45h)

10/08 Germany - Brazil (20:45h)

Live today (10/08/2011)

10/08 Eneco Tour (14:30h)

10/08 Sweden U21 - Netherlands U21 (18:00h)

10/08 Tour of Utah (19:00h)

10/08 Italy - Spain (20:45h)

10/08 Slovenië - Belgium (20:45h)

10/08 Germany - Brazil (20:45h)

New Sports Law Scholarship

Recently published scholarship includes:

David Adelsberg, Note, Did the MLBPA strike out? An analysis of union liability in Major League Baseball’s anonymous 2003 steroid testing, 28 CARDOZO ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 695 (2011)



F. Gibbons Addison, Note, A proposed wealth distribution system based on the underlying premise of revenue sharing in American pro sports, 89 TEXAS LAW REVIEW 1179 (2011)



Vikram David Amar, The NCAA as regulator, litigant, and state actor, 52 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW 415 (2011)



Andrew D. Appleby, Leveling the playing field: a separate tax regime for international athletes, 36 BROOKLYN JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 605 (2011)



Carlos E. Bacalao-Fleury, Note, Brazil’s Olympic trials: an overview of the intellectual property challenges posed by the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, 2011 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS JOURNAL OF LAW TECHNOLOGY & POLICY 191



Jesse A. Bland, Note, There will be blood...testing: the intersection of professional sports and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, 13 VANDERBILT JOURNAL OF ENTERTAINMENT & TECHNOLOGY LAW 357 (2011)



Joseph R. Brubaker & Michael W. Kulikowski, A sporting chance? The Court of Arbitration for Sport regulates arbitrator-counsel role switching, 10 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 1 (2010)



Van Ann Bui, Note, Varsity blues: a call to reconfigure the judicial standard for high school athletic association transfer rules, 34 COLUMBIA JOURNAL OF LAW & ARTS 231 (2011)



Erin E. Buzuvis, The feminist case for the NCAA’s recognition of competitive cheer as an emerging sport for women, 52 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW 439 (2011)



Matt Carter, Note, Punting on logic: the Roberts Court to sack small business once again in American Needle v. NFL, 30 LOYOLA LOS ANGELES ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW 477 (2010)



Jessica Constance Caggiano, Note, Girls don’t just wanna have fun: moving past Title IX’s contact sports exception, 72 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH LAW REVIEW 119 (2010)



Tyler C. Haslam, Comment, Leveling the playing field: using rational basis with a bite as means of overcoming the NCAA’s violation of equal protection, 37 OHIO NORTHERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 283 (2011)



Darren Heitner & Jeffrey F. Levine, Corking the Cam Newton Loophole, a Sweeping Suggestion, 2 HARVARD JOURNAL OF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LAW 342 (2010)



Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Hurricane warning flag for Olympic sports: compliance practices in Biediger v. Quinnipiac University signal a risk to women’s and men’s Olympic sports, 52 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW 465-491 (2011)



Justin Hunt, Why single is better: the implications of a multi-entity ruling on revenue sharing and the NFL salary cap, 10 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 17 (2010)



Lee A. Linderman, Note, A congressional carve out: the necessity for uniform application of professional sports leagues’ performance-enhancing drug policies, 84 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LAW REVIEW 751 (2011)



Joseph P. Liu, Sports merchandising, publicity rights, and the missing role of the sports fan, 52 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW 493 (2011)



David Mark, Comment, Taking one for the team: the persistent abuse of eminent domain in sports stadium construction, 5 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW 781 (2010)



Michael A. McCann, Antitrust, governance, and postseason college football, 52 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW 517 (2011)



David H. Mincberg, Note, Guns, collective bargaining and moral turpitude: Gilbert Arenas and the National Basketball Association, 10 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 43 (2010)



Damon Moore, Proposals for reform to agent regulations, 59 DRAKE LAW REVIEW 517 (2011)



Ryan Murphy, Note, Playing fair in the boardroom: an examination of the corporate structures of European football clubs, 19 MICHIGAN STATE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 409 (2011)



Blaine V. Roche, Congressional involvement in professional sports’ drug-testing policies: get involved but don’t infringe, 4 PHOENIX LAW REVIEW 489 (2010)



Nicolas Saenz, Note, Sports franchise bankruptcy: a new way for team owners to escape league control? , 10 VIRGINIA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 63 (2010)



Raheel Saleem, Comment, The Olympic meddle: the International Olympic Committee’s intrusion of athletes’ privacy through the discriminatory practice of gender verification testing, 28 JOHN MARSHALL JOURNAL OF COMPUTER & INFORMATION LAW 49 (2010)



Ayelet Shachar, Picking winners: Olympic citizenship and the global race for talent, 120 YALE LAW JOURNAL 2088 (2011)



Shannon K. Stevens, Comment, Baseball’s DNA testing policy strikes out: genetic discrimination in Major League Baseball, 412 SETON HALL LAW REVIEW 813 (2011)



Kelly M. Vaughn, Note, First and goal: how the NFL’s personal conduct policy complies with federal antitrust law, 96 CORNELL LAW REVIEW 609 (2011)



John R. Wallace, Note, Discriminatory & disparaging team names, logos, & mascots: workable challenges & the misapplication of the doctrine of laches, 12 RUTGERS RACE & THE LAW REVIEW 203 (2011)



Maureen A. Weston, NCAA sanctions: assigning blame where it belongs, 52 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW 551 (2011)



Alfred C. Yen, Early scholarship offers and the NCAA, 52 BOSTON COLLEGE LAW REVIEW 585 (2011)

GALATASARAY - ATLETICO DE MADRID NEGOTIATING FOR ARDA TURAN

News circulating in the SPANISH FOOTBALL press & media is that ATLETICO DE MADRID is very close to shutting the transfer deal of ARDA TURAN,  midfielder for Turkish Club GALATASARAY. The Turkish Club ignited the news flash by posting on their website that they are negotiating at this moment with the Spanish Football Club.



Turan 

This is a past option ( was first studied last March) that

SERGIO AGUERO - REAL MADRID | JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT ...

Just when you thought the SERGIO AGUERO - REAL MADRID case was shut, Paul Giblin writes an interesting story for the Barcelona based Spanish Sports paper "Sport". Now, it could be that theses summer days of relax at the beach forces the papers to excite readers or it is just another idea, theory &/or back lane outside the pub comment, or not.  

The crux of the article is that Real Madrid

NBA TV Interview on NBA filing charge with NLRB and lawsuit with federal district court

I was interviewed on NBA TV a couple of days ago by Dennis Scott and Matt Winer to discuss the NBA filing an unfair labor practices charge with the NLRB and a lawsuit with a federal district court, both directed at the Players' Association.

Live today (09/08/2011)

08/08 Eneco Tour (14:25h)

08/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

09/08 Darcis - Zverev (20:30h)

09/08 Leeds United - Bradford City (20:45h)

09/08 Nottingham Forest FC - Notts County (20:45h)

09/08 Ghana - Nigeria (21:00h)

Live today (09/08/2011)

08/08 Eneco Tour (14:25h)

08/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)

09/08 Darcis - Zverev (20:30h)

09/08 Leeds United - Bradford City (20:45h)

09/08 Nottingham Forest FC - Notts County (20:45h)

09/08 Ghana - Nigeria (21:00h)

Kettlebell Workout and a Half

This is from last Fridays 'Birthday Kettlebell Workout'



I set off trying to get 370 snatches (my age x 10) with no put down. I hit 180 snatches before resting in the squat position for 20 secs and rather than fail I threw in some pressing to make up the 370



Total work in end was 310 snatches and 60 presses with the 24kghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif



All this is working towards my 2011 Sledgehammer Challenge, more on that later!!







Kettlebell Workout



BTW I'm not repping that fast, it's speeded up x4

NOLITO - BENFICA | SPANISH FOOTBALL HUMAN STORY

Great to see SPANISH FOOTBALL player NOLITO is doing very well at his new Club BENFICA & doing precisely what he does best: score goals. With Spanish Football news down to minimum levels in these hot summer & holiday days, I thought a good human story would fit in nicely as a post.



Spanish Football player NOLITO for Benfica

From a humble social background, born in Southern Spain (Cadiz) the

Live today (08/08/2011)

08/08 Eneco Tour (14:25h)
08/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)
08/08 FC Hansa Rostock - VFL Bochum (20:15h)
08/08 FC Barcelona - Girona (21:45h)
08/08 Extra Time (22:10h)

Live today (08/08/2011)

08/08 Eneco Tour (14:25h)
08/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)
08/08 FC Hansa Rostock - VFL Bochum (20:15h)
08/08 FC Barcelona - Girona (21:45h)
08/08 Extra Time (22:10h)

In Defense of Baseball's Antitrust Exemption

A draft of my latest law review article, In Defense of Baseball's Antitrust Exemption, which may be of interest to some readers, is now available to be downloaded for free from SSRN. Here is the article's abstract:

This Article challenges the overwhelming scholarly consensus opposing baseball’s historic antitrust exemption on policy grounds by providing the first comprehensive defense of the exemption. The Article does so by advancing two primary arguments: first, it argues that the common criticisms of the baseball exemption are largely without merit. Specifically, given the treatment of the other major professional sports leagues under antitrust law, simply exposing baseball to antitrust liability alone will not yield the benefits that the exemption’s critics believe, and in some cases would actually harm the public interest.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, the Article argues that the existing literature has overlooked significant pro-competitive benefits that result from baseball’s antitrust exemption. Specifically, because baseball is loath to lose its exemption legislatively, Congress has been able to use threats of revocation to help extract a variety of valuable concessions from Major League Baseball (MLB). These concessions provide pro-competitive benefits that would not have been directly obtained through antitrust litigation alone. Perhaps most notably, every single round of league expansion in MLB history has been directly preceded by a Congressional threat to revoke the sport’s antitrust exemption. Therefore, baseball’s antitrust exemption provides Congress with considerable leverage over the sport, ultimately leading to significant, but heretofore overlooked, pro-competitive benefits for the public.

Thus, this Article rejects the existing scholarly consensus, and concludes that baseball’s antitrust exemption ultimately has a net pro-competitive effect.

The draft article can be accessed here. Any comments or feedback on the draft would be much appreciated.

SPAIN DEFEATS 1 - 5 AUSTRALIA IN U - 20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS GROUP C

SPANISH FOOTBALL U-20 NATIONAL TEAM defeated AUSTRALIA 1 - 5 in their last Group match corresponding to the FIFA U-20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS being held in Colombia. Spain finish Top of Group C & now know await their next rival South Korea.



Spain - u 20 vs Australia


The highlight was the HAT - TRICK from Spaniard ALVARO VAZQUEZ with his three goals in the 6th , 14th & 18th min, along with a goal

Live today (07/08/2011)

07/08 EK Mountainbike Men Elite Race (14:00h)
07/08 Manchester City - Manchester United (15:30h)
07/08 Bayern Munchen - Borussia Monchengladbach (17:30h)
07/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)
07/08 Standard - Lokeren (18:00h)
07/08 Tennis: L.Mayer - Darcis (19:00h)
07/08 STVV - Club Brugge (20:30h)

Live today (07/08/2011)

07/08 EK Mountainbike Men Elite Race (14:00h)
07/08 Manchester City - Manchester United (15:30h)
07/08 Bayern Munchen - Borussia Monchengladbach (17:30h)
07/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)
07/08 Standard - Lokeren (18:00h)
07/08 Tennis: L.Mayer - Darcis (19:00h)
07/08 STVV - Club Brugge (20:30h)

FC BARCELONA WINS 2 - 0 AMERICA IN FRIENDLY GAME | US TOUR 2011

FC BARCELONA has wrapped up its pre-season US Tour with a 2 - 0 victory over Mexican club AMERICA. The Barça starting line-up was the following:


Valdés; Adriano, Busquets, Piqué, Abidal; Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Thiago, Pedro & Villa;

a team that looked more like a Champions League clash line-up than a pre-season friendly. The only players missing here & those still on their break like Mascherano

REAL MADRID DEFEATS 0 - 6 TIANJIN TEDA IN FRIENDLY| CHINA TOUR 2011

REAL MADRID finishes its China Tour with a 0 - 6 victory over TIANJIN TEDA & now flies back to Spain to prepare for next weeks Spanish Super Cup 1º leg against FC Barcelona. A comfortable match for the Spanish Football Club that served to give all the players - new & regulars - a run, a chance to make a statement & to profile the starting 11 for the upcoming Spanish Football season. The only

Live today (06/08/2011)

06/08 Tennis: Montanes - Haase (13:30h)
06/08 AC Milan - Inter Milan (13:45h)
06/08 VFB Stuttgart - FC Schalke 04 (15:30h)
06/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
06/08 Rangers FC - Chelsea (16:00h)
06/08 Volta a Portugal (16:40h)
06/08 Tour of Poland (17:30h)
06/08 Liverpool FC - Valencia CF (18:30h)
06/08 Hertha BSC Berlin - 1. FC Nurnberg (18:30h)
06/08 IAAF Diamond League Londen (20:00h)
06/08 Lierse SK - Racing Genk (20:00h)
06/08 Benfica Lisbon - Arsenal (21:00h)
06/08 Tennis: Darcis - Arnaboldi (21:00h)
06/08 FC Barcelona - Club America Mexico (22:00h)

Live today (06/08/2011)

06/08 Tennis: Montanes - Haase (13:30h)
06/08 AC Milan - Inter Milan (13:45h)
06/08 VFB Stuttgart - FC Schalke 04 (15:30h)
06/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
06/08 Rangers FC - Chelsea (16:00h)
06/08 Volta a Portugal (16:40h)
06/08 Tour of Poland (17:30h)
06/08 Liverpool FC - Valencia CF (18:30h)
06/08 Hertha BSC Berlin - 1. FC Nurnberg (18:30h)
06/08 IAAF Diamond League Londen (20:00h)
06/08 Lierse SK - Racing Genk (20:00h)
06/08 Benfica Lisbon - Arsenal (21:00h)
06/08 Tennis: Darcis - Arnaboldi (21:00h)
06/08 FC Barcelona - Club America Mexico (22:00h)

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - EUROPA LEAGUE PRE-QUALIFIERS DRAW | SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAMS

The Football Gods smiled on Spanish Football Club VILLAREAL in the CHAMPIONS LEAGUE pre-qualifier match-ups drawn today at UEFA headquaters. The Spanish Club could have landed powerful Clubs like Ruben Kazan, Udinese, Arsenal etc , but was drawn with relatively less powerful ( but no less dangerous ) ODENSE BK from Denmark

The 1º leg match will be in Denmark on the 17th of August, with the

SPAIN LIST FOR FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AGAINST ITALY | THIAGO CALLED UP

SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque has handed in his list of Spanish Football players that will make up the National squad to meet ITALY the 10th of August in the Italian city of Bari in an International Friendly match.



Spanish Football player Thiago

The novelty is the inclusion of FC Barcelona young midfielder & U-21 International , THIAGO ALCANTERA who is

Live today (05/08/2011)

05/08 Uefa Champions League Draw (12:00h)
05/08 Uefa Europa League Draw (13:30h)
05/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
05/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)
05/08 Tour of Poland (17:30h)
05/08 Anderlecht - KV Mechelen (20:30h)
05/08 Borussia Dortmund - Hamburger SV (20:30h)
05/08 Everton FC - Villarreal CF (20:45h)

Live today (05/08/2011)

05/08 Uefa Champions League Draw (12:00h)
05/08 Uefa Europa League Draw (13:30h)
05/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
05/08 Volta a Portugal (17:00h)
05/08 Tour of Poland (17:30h)
05/08 Anderlecht - KV Mechelen (20:30h)
05/08 Borussia Dortmund - Hamburger SV (20:30h)
05/08 Everton FC - Villarreal CF (20:45h)

ATLETICO DE MADRID DEFEATS 0 - 2 STROMSGODSET ( 1 - 4 AGG) IN EUROPA LEAGUE PRE-QUALIFIER

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club ATLETICO DE MADRID visited Norway for their preliminary 2º leg qualifying match of the Europa League against STROMSGODSET & won 0 - 2 ( 1- 4 agg) to go into tomorrows UEFA draw to await who will be the next rival in the play-off phase. That is, Atletico still has to jump this "last hurdle" before they can say they will be in Europe next season.  



Spanish Football player

SPAIN DEFEATS ECUADOR 0 - 2 IN U-20 GROUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS GAME

Another example of early morning Football ( from a local Spanish time perspective), too early to watch locally,  that gave me good news when I checked the result this morning. The SPANISH U-20 FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM defeated 0 - 2 ECUADOR in ther Group match in Colombia where the FIFA U-20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP is being held. The win keeps SPAIN in top spot of the group with 6 points ( out of 2

Live today (04/08/2011)

04/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
04/08 Tour of Poland (17:30h)
04/08 Karabakh - Club Brugge (18:00h)
04/08 ADO Den Haag - Omonia Nicosia (20:00h)
04/08 FK Jablonec 97 - AZ (20:30h)

Live today (04/08/2011)

04/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
04/08 Tour of Poland (17:30h)
04/08 Karabakh - Club Brugge (18:00h)
04/08 ADO Den Haag - Omonia Nicosia (20:00h)
04/08 FK Jablonec 97 - AZ (20:30h)

FC BARCELONA LOSE 1 - 4 CHIVAS GUADALAJARA IN FRIENDLY GAME

The time differences between Miama & Madrid halts me watching live the Football - Soccer games, I prefer at 02.00 local time to be resting. The surprise was to wake up & find that FC BARCELONA was defeated 1 - 4 by Mexican team CHIVAS DE GUADALAJARA in their friendly game. 



FC Barcelona

The higlights showed that FC Barcelona had a good first half with DAVID VILLA scoring early & even hitting

REAL MADRID 2011 | NEYMAR - LATEST NEWS

Understand that the Spanish Football Sports readers outside of Spain wish to be fully updated on the REAL MADRID - NEYMAR situation. I have received a few emails from readers asking me questions on if I think the Brazilian & SANTOS sensation will end up at the Spanish Football Club.

My last post on Neymar made mention of the complicated situation & the "surprising comments" from Santos President

REAL MADRID DEFEATS GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE 1 - 7 | FRIENDLY CHINA TOUR

SPANISH FOOTBALL Club REAL MADRID continue fine tuning their team & "machine" with a 1 - 7 victory over the current China Super League leaders GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE in the first of their friendly games while in China. Very humid & steamy conditions that did not seem to halt too much Real Madrid as Coach Jose Mourinho profiles his starting 11 for the upcoming Spanish League - Liga season, & why not

03/08 Volta a Portugal (15:00h)
03/08 Tour of Poland (15:30h)
03/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
03/08 FC Vaslui - FC Twente (19:45h)
03/08 FC Zürich - Standard (20:15h)
03/08 Trabzonspor - Benfica (20:45h)
03/08 Partizan Belgrado - Racing Genk (20:45h)

Live today (03/08/2011)

03/08 Volta a Portugal (15:00h)
03/08 Tour of Poland (15:30h)
03/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
03/08 Bemelmans - Donskoy (17:00h)
03/08 Edwin van der Sar Testimonial (17:45h)
03/08 FC Vaslui - FC Twente (19:45h)
03/08 FC Zürich - Standard (20:15h)
03/08 Trabzonspor - Benfica (20:45h)
03/08 Partizan Belgrado - Racing Genk (20:45h)

03/08 Volta a Portugal (15:00h)
03/08 Tour of Poland (15:30h)
03/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
03/08 FC Vaslui - FC Twente (19:45h)
03/08 FC Zürich - Standard (20:15h)
03/08 Trabzonspor - Benfica (20:45h)
03/08 Partizan Belgrado - Racing Genk (20:45h)

Live today (03/08/2011)

03/08 Volta a Portugal (15:00h)
03/08 Tour of Poland (15:30h)
03/08 Vuelta a Burgos 2011 (15:30h)
03/08 Bemelmans - Donskoy (17:00h)
03/08 Edwin van der Sar Testimonial (17:45h)
03/08 FC Vaslui - FC Twente (19:45h)
03/08 FC Zürich - Standard (20:15h)
03/08 Trabzonspor - Benfica (20:45h)
03/08 Partizan Belgrado - Racing Genk (20:45h)

THREE SPANISH U-19 FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN UEFA "BEST XI"

UEFA has handed in this afternoon their list of "The Ideal U-19 Europen Team" after the U-19 European Championships ended yesterday with SPAIN proclaiming its 5th title. In the "Best XI" there are three Spanish Football players: Alex Fernandez, Deulofeu & Morata. I personally miss another Spanish Football youngster who I thought deserved a mention in the name of Ruben Pardo, however the UEFA

SPAIN U-19 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS 2011 | TEAM PHOTO

Take a note of the faces of these youngsters in this team foto. Its the SPANISH FOOTBALL U-19 NATIONAL TEAM which won the U-19 EURO CHAMPIONSHIP yesterday 2 - 3 against the Czech Rep



Spanish Football U- 19 National Team: courtesy Afp

Here are a fews names to note & to watch how they evolve over the coming years. Some in fact already play LIGA level with their Clubs:
Sergi Gomez (FC Barcelona)

Is the NBA Lockout about Class Warfare?

Is the NBA lockout really about class warfare between owners and labor?  In an upcoming article in The Nation, Ari Paul considers that question.

Live today (02/08/2011)

02/08 Tour of Poland - Stage 3 (17:30h)
02/08 Hamburger SV - Valencia CF (19:15h)
02/08 Werder Bremen - Everton FC (19:30h)
02/08 Olympique Marseille - Manchester United (20:45h)

Live today (02/08/2011)

02/08 Tour of Poland - Stage 3 (17:30h)
02/08 Hamburger SV - Valencia CF (19:15h)
02/08 Werder Bremen - Everton FC (19:30h)
02/08 Olympique Marseille - Manchester United (20:45h)

U-19 EURO FINAL | SPAIN WINS 2 - 3 CZECH REP TO TAKE ITS 5 TH EUROPEAN TITLE

SPANISH FOOTBALL is certainly in a historical "Golden Age". The SPANISH U-19 NATIONAL TEAM has won 2 - 3 the CZECH REP in the Final of the European Championship to grab the EURO U-19 Title. No country has ever won both the European U- 21 & U-19 titles, but lets not forget our female U-17 team which proclaimed themselves yesterday Euro Champs. This,  plus the senior team the current FIFA World

NEYMAR - REAL MADRID TRANSFER OPERATION COMPLICATES ITSELF

Oh my dear, how the REAL MADRID - NEYMAR "transfer operation" has complicated itself in the last 10 days. Weeks back the Spanish Football Club - the representative - the player were said to have an agreement. Real Madrid President Perez flew to Paris to meet up with SANTOS President Ribiero & things looked like being shut in matters of hours or days. But no sir, not at all, things have gone wrong

Live today (01/08/2011)

01/08 Tour of Poland - Stage 1 (16:00h)
01/08 Tour of Poland - Stage 2 Live (17:30h)
01/08 Valerenga IF - Liverpool FC (19:00h)
01/08 Eintracht Braunschweig - Bayern Munchen (20:30h)
01/08 Extra Time (22:00h)

Live today (01/08/2011)

01/08 Tour of Poland - Stage 1 (16:00h)
01/08 Tour of Poland - Stage 2 Live (17:30h)
01/08 Valerenga IF - Liverpool FC (19:00h)
01/08 Eintracht Braunschweig - Bayern Munchen (20:30h)
01/08 Extra Time (22:00h)