Croatian sport newspapers

Published from 1940 or after 1990, the roation newspapers have a circulation of over 100.000 every day. Croation sport newspapers write about popular sports like football, handball, tennis, basketball and skiing. The best football teams in Croatia and that have an important coverage in croatian sport newspapers are Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split.

Sportske novosti: http://sportskenovosti.hr/

24 Sata: http://www.24sata.hr/sport

Jutarnji: http://www.jutarnji.hr/sport

Glas Slavovije: http://www.glas-slavonije.hr/rubrika.asp?rub=6

Vecernji List: http://sportal.vecernji.hr/vld/sportal/home/index.do

Vjesnik: http://www.vjesnik.hr/html/2008/05/31/Rubrika.asp?r=spo

INTER MILAN HAS BOTH DIARRA & SAMUEL ETO´O ON THEIR AGENDA

Italian Champions INTER MILAN - with possible new coachMourinho - wish to jump a level in quality to make a definitiveassault on the European Cup next season.To help do that, the Italians look to strenghten the midfield & theforward line with World class players. According to Sp. daily"Marca"Inter has its eyes on two Spanish based "cracks" that they alreadyhave made offers for.For the midfield,

EURO 2008: SPAIN - TEAM PHOTO: WILL IT BE SPAINS TIME?

Yes, SFS knows there is the SPAIN TEAM photo below. But thisis the very latest, taken yesterday with the chosen 23 players thata whole nation are putting their hopes on. SFS also knows from theemails it receives that there are many readers that collect the photos& SFS always wishes to lend a hand.Staying with the spirit of things , here is a great video found in Youtubethat highlights the lows &

"Friendly" Confines = Confines with a Civility Code?

Yet another fan speech controversy is brewing, this one in the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field. Cub fans have been booing Alfonso Soriano for his poor defense, which prompted Cub officials to warn fans that "any profane or inappropriate comments" toward Soriano would result in immediate rejection. (H/T: Adam Wasch, Sports Law Blog reader and president of the FIU Sports and Entertainment Law Society).



Nothing actionable here because Wrigley remains privately owned (although a move is afoot to try to get the State of Illinois to buy it, partly to keep new and despised Cubs owner Sam Zell from selling naming rights). But this example captures problems inherent in all the attempts to regulate fan speech. This is ground I have covered before, but it bears repeating.

First, "inappropriate" is vague to the point of meaningless as a standard. Inappropriate in whose eyse? The usher's? Soriano's? Some might argue that booing the home team always is inappropriate.

Second, profanity is the coin of the realm in the bleachers at Wrigley Field. The left-field bleachers were my area of choice in my Chicago days (because, after all, Right Field Sucks). And, in fact, the Cubs have gone out of their way to promote and market this image of the Bleacher Bums and their interactions with the players, fully recognizing that profanity and pointed criticism (clever or otherwise) always have been part of that. Yet now, when the fans' ire and "wit" have turned on their own, sensitivity and civility suddenly is at a premium. And again, note that it was "profane or inappropriate" comments. This was not just about stopping profanity.

Do you really want to stop fans from criticizing and jeering the home players? Do not bother trying to stop fans from speaking out. Instead, engage in a little counter-speech, Lee Elia-style.

ATLETICO DE MADRID & FC BARCELONA NEWS 2008

According to Sp.daily "Mundo Deportivo" & Cadena Ser, ATLETICODE MADRID may have its 3ºrd signing for the next season tied up.It´s 27 year old OPORTO midfielder PAULO ASSUNCAO SILVA(pictured below) & the Spanish club has offered 3º seasons with anoption to extend a further year.The new FC BARCELONA coach Pep Guardiola is busy setting upthe "new look" Barça for next season. Mundo Deportivo publish

Intentional Tort of Last Resort Alert: Clemens Adds "Outrage" Claim to McNamee Suit

Yesterday, Roger Clemens added a claim for "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress" to his lawsuit against former trainer Brian McNamee. Prior to this, Clemens claim was based on defamation (false statements harming his reputation).

Intentional infliction of emotional distress ("IIED"), also known as the tort of "Outrage", is the new kid on the intentional tort block. A defendant can be liable for IIED if she intentionally (or recklessly) engages in extreme or outrageous conduct causing severe emotional harm to a plaintiff. Conduct meets the requirements of the tort if, when recounting what happened to an average member of "the community", one would produce the following response: "OUTRAGEOUS!" This is essentially a "oh no he didn't" standard for imposing tort liability. Such conduct must be more than mere insult or "petty oppression", but must be the sort that is utterly intolerable to a civilized society.

This is the first good piece of lawyering I've seen out of the Clemens team. His defamation claim is both a loser and a disaster. A loser because even if Clemens never used steroids (i.e., it really was B12 vitamin McNamee injected into his all-star client), the Constitutional dimension of defamation requires a showing that McNamee was at least reckless as to the truth or falsity of the statements he made (since Clemens is clearly a "public figure"). In addition, many of McNamee's statement's, made in the context of government investigations, would be subject to a privilege and could not lead to liability. The defamation claim was also a strategic disaster, because by claiming McNamee harmed his reputation, Clemens made his own character and reputation an issue. Apparently underage mistresses, mental stability, and the like, all become an issue. And in the defamation case, Clemens could be called to the stand to answer frank questions about performance enhancing substances, and, if he lied, prosecuted for perjury.

The IIED claim, however, avoids many of these pitfalls. Was the anything "OUTRAGEOUS!" about what McNamee did? Certainly there is nothing unusual, or intolerable, about alleging that a professional baseball player was on the juice. They all were, whether there was anything wrong with that or not. But here's what McNamee did that is so odd that I might be inspired exclamation: He kept dirty bandages, and Roger's bodily fluids, in sealed bags for years, just in case he might need them later. This is Monica Lewinsky not taking the blue dress to the cleaner, and it is shocking. If I learned that my doctor or trainer had kept my medical waste for years, well, I would have something to say about it.

Put on the stand in an IIED case, Clemens would not have to testify about whether he used steroids or not (assuming the defamation claim is by that point dismissed, which I think is a safe assumption). His reputation would not be an issue. The only major hurdle would be demonstrating that he did in fact suffer the "severe" emotional distress IIED requires. But on that issue, he would likely get to a jury.

SPAIN WINS THE EUROPEAN NATIONS CUP - IN 1964!

Below is the leyendary Spanish National Football side that claimedSpain´s only International title: the European Nations Cup in 1964 after defeating USSR 2-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium (Madrid)The 11 players (not in order): Iribar, Zoco, Olivella, Fuste, Pereda,Marcelino, Luis Suarez, Lapetra, Calleja, Rivilla & Amancio.Eleven men that should serve as examples to the current side & apicture

The Bioethics of Oscar Pistorius Competing in the Olympics

Last week, Geoff wrote an excellent post on whether double amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius should be able to compete in the Olympics. Over Blog Bioethics, Dr. Arthur Caplan, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, has a compelling analysis that largely argues against allowing Pistorius to compete. Here's an excerpt:

Continuity with history

Pistorius' amazing drive to compete may cause an even more troubling problem.

Sport demands continuity with its own history. If you make technological changes in the equipment — swimsuits, pole vaults, running shoes, skates, skis, baseballs, bats, playing surfaces, etc — then you undermine the ability of today’s athletes to be compared not only with their peers but with their predecessors.

Similarly, if people with artificial legs, artificial eyes that permit exquisite focus, pharmacologically enhanced muscles or emotions, or brain implants that permit unprecedented concentration or endurance enter into competition, then you no longer have a sport. The athletes are not comparable to those who attempted the same feats in earlier times.

We don’t expect to compare the performances of today to those of the ancient Greeks, but we do expect some ability to compare what happened today to be compared with what happened yesterday, a year ago, a decade ago or even 50 years ago.

It may be fascinating to see who can go the fastest on rocket-powered legs or throw a heavy weight the farthest using performance-enhancing drugs, or genetically engineered muscles. But what you have then is an exhibition or a show, not a sport. In some ways, this is what the professional wrestling and no-rules body building already are.

To be a sport you need something approximating a fair playing field, some boundaries on the attributes of those who compete so they are comparable to one another and some ability to compare today’s performance with those in the not-so-distant past.

That is why I am not sure Oscar Pistorius should compete.

For the rest of the post, click here.

LATEST TEAM PHOTO: SPAIN 2008

Hi guys & gals, saw the SFS email account full of requests for the latest team photo of SPAIN. There are a lot of requests from Asia, which leads me to suspect that Torres, Villa (not in this photo) &Ramos may have something to do with it.Found this pic & SFS hopes that it´s OK. Keep on writing in.

New Sports Law Scholarship

Recently published scholarship, including a symposium on Title IX:

Omar Hafez Ayad, Note, Take the training wheels off the league: Major League Soccer’s dysfunctional relationship with the international soccer transfer system, 10 VANDERBILT JOURNAL OF ENTERTAINMENT & TECHNOLOGY LAW 413 (2008)

Sen. Birch Bayh, Personal insights and experiences regarding the passage of Title IX, 55 CLEVELAND STATE LAW REVIEW 463 (2007)

Deborah L. Brake, Title IX as pragmatic feminism, 55 CLEVELAND STATE LAW REVIEW 513 (2007)

Tim Bezbatchenko, Comment, Bend it for Beckham: a look at Major League Soccer and its single entity defense to antitrust liability after the Designated Player Rule, 76 UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI LAW REVIEW 611 (2008)

Linda Jean Carpenter & R. Vivian Acosta, Title IX--two for one: a starter kit of the law and a snapshot of Title IX’s impact, 55 CLEVELAND STATE LAW REVIEW 503 (2007).

John DiMascio, Note, The “jock tax”: fair play or unsportsmanlike conduct, 68 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH LAW REVIEW 953 (2007)

Marcia D. Greenberger & Neena K. Chaudhry, Worth fighting for: thirty-five years of Title IX advocacy in the courts, Congress and the federal agencies, 55 CLEVELAND STATE LAW REVIEW 491 (2007)

Bernice Resnick Sandler, Title IX: how we got it and what a difference it made, 55 CLEVELAND STATE LAW REVIEW 473 (2007)

SPAIN BEGINS THE EURO 2008 FINALS ROAD

The Spanish National Football squad has began its preparation forthe upcoming EURO 2008. The squad all gathered in Madrid & were asigned their shirt numbers for the competition, here is the official list:.1 Casillas.2 Albiol.3 Navarro.4 Marchena.5 Puyol..6 Iniesta.7 Villa.8 Xavi.9 Torres10 Cesc.11 Capdevila12 Cazorla13 Palop14 Xabi Alonso15 Sergio Ramos.16 Sergio García17 Guiza18 Arbeloa19

WORLD FOOTBALL TRANSFER MARKET 2008: DO YOU HAVE THE CASH?

Spanish Daily "Sport" gives its readers today a birds eye viewof the current Football market: Players & their apparent marketprice.Cristiano Ronaldo - offered by Real MadridFernando Torres - offered by Chelsea FCBenzema - price put by Lyon; Interested FC BarcelonaAdelbayor - price put by Arsenal; Interested FC BarcelonaDani Alves - price put by Sevilla FC; Interested Barça & MadridSamuel Eto ó -

Two from The Times

Two interesting sports-related op-eds in The New York Times:

First, former major leaguer Doug Glanville (a Penn grad and a very thoughtful person) discusses the "unwritten rules" of baseball, mostly as the relate to players' obligations to fight.

Second, Francis Clines considers what he sees as the new practice of fans booing their own players.

FC BARCELONA & VILLAREAL ANNOUNCE SIGNINGS FOR 2008-09 SEASON

FC BARCELONA has announced this afternoon its first big signingfor next season, Mali midfielder KEITA (below) from SEVILLA FC.Barça paid 14M€ of the players contract release clause & side passedSevilla in the negotiations.Keita is the midfielder called onto replace Deco for next season &big things are expected from him.After announcing the incorporation of Edmilson from Fc Barcelona fornext

CHELSEA FC WANTS FERNANDO TORRES FOR 2008-09

So you may think Real Madrid are mad to offer 90M€ for CristianoRonaldo, how about this piece of news from English paper "DailyMail".CHELSEA FC is preparing a 62M€ (50Mpound) offer to put on theLIVERPOOL FC table for its Spanish International star forwardFERNANDO TORRES.A record offer if it comes to reality, which SFS doubts that it will.The news is however there & the offer is attractive, let´s

SPANISH FOOTBALL : TRANSFER RUMOURS 2008

ATLETICO DE MADRID have not forgotten about PortuguesInternational midfielder THIAGO ( below). The Spanish Club seethe JUVENTUS player as the midfielder they need to strenghenthe side in the European adventure for next season.The player has given his ok to the Spanish club, but Juventus is another story, they wish to get back their investment & won´t go below 12M€. Stay tuned!This week FC

DAVID BECKHAM 70 YARD GOAL VIDEO - LA Galaxy Vs. Kansas City Wizards

It´s got nothing to do with Spanish Football nor with Spanish Sports, except a remote connection via English Footballer DAVID BECKHAMwho played for Real Madrid. However, the English star scored a 70Yard ( American metrics) goal that is worthy of a watch in anyFootball/Soccer &/or Sports Blog:

ALEX FERGUSON LASHES OUT AT REAL MADRID

It´s not often that we get the chance to listen to one of Footballsgreat minds & hear what opinions he has about the sport, his team& other Football Clubs. Here is a video of an interesting pressconference given by Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson,where he touches issues as his teams Champions League win & thepossibility of star forward Cristiano Ronaldo going to Real Madrid.He has

Sports Media Ethics (or lack thereof)

Bonjour from France. I am teaching an international sports law course in France, so my blogging will be limited during the next several weeks.

But I wanted to mention the panel on sports media ethics that I moderated last week in San Francisco at the Sports Lawyers Association annual conference. The panelists included members of the sports media, Lester Munson (ESPN) and Jon Wertheim (Sports Illustrated), Jane Kirtley (media ethics professor and expert) and Michael Huyghue (commissioner of the newly formed United Football League and former agent of Pacman Jones).

Media ethics codes have been established (in writing) by a variety of news outlets, parent news companies, and trade associations working in different media. These codes provide guidelines for journalists "to seek and report the truth" and "to minimize harm". For example, with respect to accurate reporting, the ethics code established by the Society of Professional Journalists provides that journalists should:

• Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.
• Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.
• Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.
• Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.
• Make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites and quotations do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or highlight incidents out of context.

It also provides that journalists should:

• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by news coverage.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.
• Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.
• Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.
• Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
• Be judicious about naming criminal suspects before the formal filing of charges.
• Balance a criminal suspect’s fair trial rights with the public’s right to be informed.

Sports journalists seem to routinely get away with reporting inaccuracies (e.g. falsely reporting that the Grimsley affidavit contained the names of certain high profile players connected to steroid use) as well as intruding into the private lives of sports participants including players, coaches and front office personnel. I questioned the panelists why there is a more "relaxed" code of media ethics with respect to news reporting in the sports industry as compared with other industries. On the privacy issue, the response was essentially that professional athletes seek attention (e.g. by endorsing products) and thereby "assume the risk" that their private lives will be exposed by the media. I never understood that rationale (legally or otherwise), so when I challenged that proposition, I was told that I was "beyond my years" in a google/myspace era.

In my view, the problem is that the media determines what is "newsworthy," combined with the fact that (1) there is no external mechanism or independent body to enforce their ethics codes (like the state bar enforces ethics codes in the legal profession) and (2) the First Amendment trumps state tort laws in the courts. While the media plays an important role in reporting news, media sources are essentially product and service providers that compete with each other in a free market. The sports media "needs" sports participants in order to provide a quality product -- it needs access to sports participants; it needs cooperation from the participants; and it needs to interview the participants and highlight their views, perspectives and commentary. To put it simply, despite the enforcement and First Amendment hurdles, the participants are not powerless with respect to the media.

I suggest the players unions and the leagues find creative ways to "deal" with the media on terms that are mutually beneficial to both the participants and the media -- in other words, cooperation and access in exchange for accuracy and privacy.

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER BRIEFS 2008

Here are some transfer news & rumours for today, not that theywill end, as we are ensured a whole summer of speculations with names & supposed operations.VALENCIA CF have accepted that their star forward DAVID VILLAwill leave & find a new club for next season. Therefore, the club is looking for a substitute & the name sounding, according to "Marca"is Swede JOHAN ELMANDER, currently at French

2008 NBA Mock Draft

Here is my first edition of a mock draft for 2008!

1. Chicago Bulls - Derrick Rose (Memphis)
Beasley seems to be a better fit, as the Bulls need a low-post scorer, but I simply think Derrick Rose is the better player. He's unstoppable in the open court, and if he ever develops a consistent jumpshot, he looks like a stronger version of Chris Paul (without quite the passing ability). Plus, John Paxson always emphasizes defense, and Derrick Rose has a much higher ceiling as a defender than Michael Beasley.

2. Miami Heat - Michael Beasley (Kansas St.)
Rose is the guy they really want, but Beasley sure is a nice consolation. He's NBA ready both on the offensive end and rebounding the basketball, and should be able to step into a lineup right away. Beasley will have his struggles on the offensive end, but a trio of Wade-Marion-Beasley would be a real good start in Miami.

3. Minnesota Timberwolves - Brook Lopez (Stanford)
With Lopez, the Timberwolves would be setting themselves up to have one of the best offensive frontlines in the NBA. They already have improving Al Jefferson, and Brook Lopez has great touch around the basket. Lopez does not have great athleticism, but he's big and is refined in his post moves around the basket. That could warrant a top 3 pick.

4. Seattle Supersonics - Jerryd Bayless (Arizona)
Seattle already had a nice core from last year's draft, and Bayless would be another great piece. He's a PG in the mold of a guy like Gilbert Arenas, in that he is really quick off the dribble and is a deadeye shooter. He is 19 and Kevin Durant is 20, so that would be a potent 1-2 combo for years.

5. Memphis Grizzlies - OJ Mayo (USC)
The Grizzlies could go with a big man here, but I like them to go with an off guard in OJ Mayo to create an immensely talented young backcourt, teaming him up with Mike Conley (and then ideally dealing Javaris Crittenton or Kyle Lowry). Mayo has great range on his shot (which makes him a good complement to Conley), but can also score off the dribble, and showed surprising leadership ability in his one year with USC.

6. New York Knicks - Danilo Gallinari (Italy)
According to reports, Gallinari is a 6'10'' forward with PG skills. He can handle the ball, create his own shot (either off the drive or with his back to the basket), hit from 3-point range, and he's a good passer. Sounds like a perfect fit for D'Antoni's system.

7. Los Angeles Clippers - Russell Westbrook (UCLA)
With the PG position unsettled in LA, Westbrook is a nice fit to stay in town and join the Clippers. While he hasn't played full-time at PG very much, he showed he has the skills to do it last year. He's solid handling the ball, he's a very good passer, and he has the athleticism required. He's very tough defensively both on the ball and in the passing lanes. He needs to develop a more consistent jump shot, but that was coming along as the year went. With his athleticism, he is great on the fast break.

8. Milwaukee Bucks - Eric Gordon (Indiana)
Gordon is a great scoring combo guard. With Gordon, the Bucks could look to unload Michael Redd and his large contract. Gordon can score in a variety of ways, as he showed by leading the Big 10 in scoring as a freshman.

9. Charlotte Bobcats - Anthony Randolph (LSU)
Looking for more athleticism, the Bobcats can look to young, but very talented and athletic Randolph. He's in the mold of a Brandan Wright from last year in that he needs to bulk up and improve his midrange game, but he appears to have the talent to do that. He averaged over 15 and 8 in his rookie campaign, and with over 2 blocks per game, showed that his athleticism can allow him to do some things defensively.

10. New Jersey Nets - Kevin Love (UCLA)
With athleticism all around, the Nets can take Love, who provides an NBA ready, polished game. He'll never be a star because of his athletic limitations, but he's an extremely intelligent player, great passer, rebounder, and showed a nice jumpshot last season.

11. Indiana Pacers - DJ Augustin (Texas)
The Pacers are really pretty bad at PG, so Augustin is the natural pick here. He's not the most athletic PG in the draft, but he's quick enough. He is crafty enough to get his own shot, he's a very good shooter, and he can get them into their offense and get playmakers the ball (as he showed when he played Kevin Durant). This seems like a logical pick for Indiana if Augustin is still on the board.

12. Sacramento Kings - DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M)
Jordan is extremely raw, but his athletic ability is too much to pass up. He has a long way to go, as he showed by not having a huge impact in his year at College Station (8 PPG, 6 RPG), but with his great ability, he projects to be a solid scorer, excellent rebounder and shot blocker.

13. Portland Trailblazers - Joe Alexander (West Virginia)
With the Blazers looking to make a run at the playoffs next season, Alexander is a guy that could come in and give them quality minutes right away. He's not very good defensively, but he has an advanced offensive game and can score in a variety of ways. He's sneakily athletic, has a great jump shot with lots of range, and showed he can carry a team for stretches.

14. Golden State Warriors - Donte Greene (Syracuse)
Greene looks like a great fit for Nellie ball. He's a 3/4 combo guy that can stretch the floor with his outside shot. He's great in the midrange, and shot nearly 35% from downtown in his one season for the Orange. He looks like he could develop into a very solid rebounder with his athleticism and leaping ability, as he averaged over 7 per game. He might not be ready to play a lot of minutes right away, but he should be able to contribute some with his varied skills.

What are your thoughts? What would you change around?

REAL MADRID 2008: UP TO 90M€ FOR CRISTIANO RONALDO

It´s this man again, CRISTIANO RONALDO, the main Footballnews in the country & in all the Sporting papers. The Portuguesstar has responded to media that he will make a decision in the next week, plus he does´nt feel obliged to anyone.Optimistic words to REAL MADRID ears, as they will prepare anastronomical 85-90M€ transfer offer, converting the operation in thebiggest in Football History, going

FC BARCELONA: 10 NAMES FOR NEXT SEASON 2008-09

According to "Sport" FC BARCELONA has 10 names on it´s listof new signings for next season, of which it wishes to incorporate7 of them. The ambitious plan is part of a 85M€ transfers budget that aims to put back Barça at the Top.The names from top/left to bottom/right are: Dani Alves (Sevilla FC);Malouda (Chelsea FC); Hleb (Arsenal); Keita (Sevilla FC); Pique (Manchester Utd); Abelayador (Arsenal

ATLETICO DE MADRID TRANSFER TALK 2008

News out of Italy confirm that FIORENTINA Chec defenderTOMAS UJFALUIS (below) has finally signed his contract until2011 with ATLETICO DE MADRID. The signing of the ChecInternational has been on the cards for months & it seems thatthe speculation has finally been formalized. He joins ex-Ajax ofAmsterdam defender John Heitanga at Atletico for the new"Champions" proyect.French forward & RECREATIVO

XAVI ALONSO GOING TO JUVENTUS?

Spanish International & LIVERPOOL FC midfielder XAVI ALONSOmaybe heading to Italian Club JUVENTUS for next season. That´s thenews that comes out of the Spanish daily "El Mundo".Negotiations between Liverpool & Juventus are well advanced & theissue is simply that Juve wants to pay 15M€, while Liverpool wishes20M€, it´s likely that a middle ground maybe found around the 17-18M€Stay tuned!

FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID TRANSFER SPECULATIONS 2008

More believe it or not news on the local transfer front.Starting a FC BARCELONA who are currently negotiating hard for Sevilla FC players Keita & Alves, another name pops up from"Mundo Deportivo", 27 year old French International & CHELSEAFC winger FLORENT MALOUDA. The player has not adapted 100% to English football & Barça see him as a player for its newproyect next season. Stay tuned!ARSENAL

CHELSEA FC MAKES REAL MADRID AN OFFER FOR ROBINHO

According to Spanish press, in SFS case I use "Marca", EnglishPremier League Club CHELSEA FC has made a 35M€ offer forREAL MADRID Brazilian forward ROBINHO. Real Madrid has already answered that the player is NOT for sale. Robinho has gonepublically on record to say that he wishes to stay in Madrid & hiscoach Schuster also agrees.Is that clear? Well no. If Real Madrid´s dream of signingManchester

California's Miller-Ayala Act and the O.J. Mayo Situation

Most states have a statute regulating agents that is modeled after the Uniform Athlete Agents Act. The one in California is not based upon that model, but section 18897.6 of the California Business and Professions Code does seem to apply to the Mayo allegations:
“18897.6. No athlete agent or athlete agent's representative or employee shall, directly or indirectly, offer or provide money or any other thing of benefit or value to a student athlete.”

The USC Trojans website actually contains a link to the Miller-Ayala Act at http://usctrojans.cstv.com/genrel/usc-agent-page.html.

I wonder if anyone in the California Office of the Secretary of State is looking into this.

NBA Conference Finals Predictions

We're down to the final four teams in the NBA playoffs, and we have some relatively power matchups. Let's cut out the pretext and just get to the predictions.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

With Boston and Detroit, we have to the two teams that have been a cut above the rest of the conference all season long. Detroit, of course, are veterans at this Conference Finals thing, having been here for the last 5 seasons. Boston is coming off of a season in which they won 24 games and replaced 60% of their starters, so they're not quite so experienced with the Conference Finals. But no matter, as Boston is the favorite heading into the series.

But there has been a big development for Boston which makes them appear a lot more vulnerable than they looked in the regular season... Ray Allen got really old, really fast. He was a virtual non-factor against Cleveland, even sitting out for the majority of the 4th quarter of Game 7. He wasn't hitting shots, he wasn't getting open looks consistently, and he could not create his own shot. Without him, does Boston have the offense to get past Detroit? Especially with defensive stalwart Tayshaun Prince guarding Paul Pierce?

I do think the importance of Rajon Rondo will be magnified in this series. Against Cleveland, his defensive skills were not as important, because the Cavs obviously do not have a great offensive PG. However, Rondo will be asked to slow down Chauncey Billups, and his success or failure will be a large determinant of this series. As it stands, I'll go with the more talented Billups, and ergo, the Pistons. The Boston that I watched struggle to handle Cleveland does not have the offensive firepower to hang with Detroit.

PISTONS IN 6


WESTERN CONFERENCE

We have two legitimately great teams in this series, with the Lakers taking on the Spurs. The Lakers have been the most impressive team in the postseason so far, dispatching the Nuggets in 4 and the Jazz in 6. Meanwhile, the Spurs impressively beat Phoenix in 5 games before outlasting the Hornets in 7.

Both teams are extremely well-coached, fundamentally sound, and talented. That's usually means we should have a pretty nice series on our hands. I would guess that Bruce Bowen will start on Kobe Bryant, which will be the key matchup in the series. Though the Lakers certainly have other options on the floor, they still look to Kobe to get the offense going, both with his scoring and drawing of defenders.

When the Spurs have the ball, the key matchup will be how Derek Fisher guards Tony Parker. The Spurs obviously have Duncan and Ginobili, but the key to the offense is Tony Parker hitting his 18-footers. When Parker is hitting the jumpshot (predominately off of the pick & roll and kickouts from Duncan), the Spurs become very, very difficult to stop.

This should be a classic series between two great teams. In this case, I'll go with the proven commodity... seems like the Spurs are on a mission.

SPURS IN 7

What are your thoughts?

MALLORCA FORWARD DANI GUIZA WINS SILVER BOOT AWARD 2007-2008

Big season for REAL MALLORCA Spanish forward DANI GUIZAwith 27 goals, which has earned him the Spanish League "Pichichi"Title, a Spanish International place & the European "SILVER BOOT" Award, that is, the 2º Best Goalscorer in Europe this season.Another Spaniard in the list is FERNANDO TORRES with a 4thplace, who plays in English Club LIVERPOOL FC with 24 goals,a position he shares with Spanish

REAL MADRID SIGN RACING DEFENDER EZEQUIEL GARAY

REAL MADRID has swooped ahead of FC Barcelona & has signedArgentine 22 year old RACING DE SANTANDER defenderEZEQUIEL GARAY for 10M€. The news was forwarded directly today to media by Real Madrid President Calderon. For the moment the idea is to allow the defender to stay 1º moreyear on loan with Racing - they play Uefa next year - before finallyjoining Real Madrid. If the technical team considers

Labor-management conflict brewing in the NFL (in 2011)?

The Workplace Prof blog links to the ESPN stories.

Are aluminum bats an unreasonably dangerous product?

The Tort Law Professor blog has details (and links) regarding a products liability lawsuit filed over an injury to a little league baseball player hit in the chest by a batted ball against, among other defandants, the manufacturer of the bat.

Under the "risk-utility" test for products cases, the plaintiff will have to show that the "usefulness" of the bat's design (aluminum, as opposed to wood), is not outweighed by the higher risks to players in the field that aluminum bats pose.

An interesting case to watch.

UPDATE (7:38 pm): A sympathetic Jeff Standen (The Sports Law Professor), in a wonderful post, predicts the case will fail.

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - BEST GOALSCORER & GOALKEEPER FOR THE 2007-08 SEASON

Here are the winners of the "Pichichi" Title - Top Goalscorer in theSpanish League for 2007-08 - & the "Zamora" Title - the BestGoalkeeper in the Spanish Laegue for 2007-08.Let´s begining with the "Big Guns", the Highest Goal Scorers:1. DANI GUIZA ( Real Mallorca) - 27 Goals2. LUIS FABIANO ( Sevilla FC) - 24 Goals3. SERGIO AGUERO ( Atletico De Madrid) - 19 Goals4. RAUL (Real Madrid); DAVID VILLA

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - SUMMARY 2007-2008 (PLUS REAL MADRID 5 - LEVANTE 2 VIDEO)

This is a post for the loyal SFS readers, thanks for your support &great comments. Here is the Spanish 2007-2008 Liga season in avery brief summary, plus the Video Highlights of yesterdaysREAL MADRID 5 - LEVANTE 2 game:CHAMPIONS REAL MADRIDFINAL CLASSICATION - Table of Honour (Champions, Uefa,Intertoto & Relegation)Descenso = Relegation

Double-Amputee Pistorius Wins Right to Run with Cheetahs; Most Offensive Metaphor in a Disability Case Ever?

Oscar Pistorius has become "the first amputee to successfully challenge the notion that his carbon-fiber prosthetics gave him an unfair advantage and assured his right to race against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics . . ." The full text of the Court for Arbitration of Sport ("CAS") panel's decision can be downloaded here. However, since CAS has not yet created a searchable database of past decisions, the PDF will only be available as long as it is classified a "recent" decision. For a background on the dispute, see my January post on this blog or Marc Edelman's Above-the-Law piece.

The meat of the CAS panel's decision begins around page 10. The panel characterized the IAAF's investigation of Pistorius's case as procedurally "off the rails." The IAAF expert recruited to analyze whether the Cheetah prosthetic gave Pistorius an advantage was tasked with examining the runner's performance only in the "straight" portions of a run (it appears that Pistorius is slower than other runners in the curved and starting portions of his races, but faster in the straight portions). The expert's analysis, in the panel's view, was flawed from the start and rigged to produce a conclusion that Pistorius had a competitive advantage.

The second issue considered by the panel was whether the IAAF's exclusion of Pistorius amounted to unlawful discrimination. The panel, hopefully not intending this rather shocking and offensive pun, opined that "disability laws only require that an athlete such as Mr. Pistorius be permitted to compete on the same footing as others." Maybe some law clerk or research assistant was playing a joke on this panel by trying to see if s/he could slip this in? Regardless, Pistorius attempted to demonstrate that the IAAF had violated the international Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Since the IAAF was not a signatory to the convention, the panel ruled that the Convention did not impose any obligations on the federation.

Pistorius earned his victory thanks to the panel's analysis of whether the IAAF violated its own Rule 144.2(e) in declaring him ineligible. That rule forbids the use of "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels, or any other element that provides the user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device." The panel begins with some snide commentary about the rule itself -- asking whether it might bar the use of the "natural human leg" which "is itself a spring." This is kind of a silly venture, of course, since the rule bans any "technical device" - whether springed or otherwise. Any sensible observer of this dispute and this rule knows the Cheetah prosthetics qualify as a "technical device."

But does the system give Pistorius an advantage over an athlete not using the prosthetics? Here, the panel had to decide what the rule meant by "advantage". The panel reads the rule as barring only devices that provide a "net advantage" -- "If the use of the device provides more disadvantages than advantages, then it cannot reasonably be said to provide an advantage over other athletes, because the user is actually at a competitive disadvantage." Since the IAAF investigation did not explore whether the Cheetah provided a "net advantage" (in comparison, I take it, with running on a pair of natural legs), the IAAF's exclusion of Pistorius was reversed.

The CAS panel here has embraced a very similar notion to one of the bases of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Casey Martin ADA golf cart case. (I raised the analogy in my last post on the case). Although the panel did not cite Martin, it shares the view that a disabled athlete who requests the use of a technical device as an accommodation should be permitted to use that device if, even after using the device, he will still be as fatigued as healthy athletes not using that device.

As NY Times reporters Robinson and Schwarz astutely observe: "The ruling’s direct impact on disabled athletes could be limited, in part because Pistorius, 21, still must post a time fast enough to qualify for the Games."

Run, Oscar, run!

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 38/2008 SUNDAY GAMES RESULT

Round 38 has just finished & with it the Spanish League 2007 -2008 season with joy & the sadness of those teams that go down to2º Division. The highlights are that Real Madrid are Champions,the Champions League teams are Villareal , Fc Barcelona & At.Madrid, that Racing get into Uefa along with Sevilla Fc & the 3teams that go to 2º Division are Levante, Real Murcia & RealZaragoza - see the full

TENNIS: RAFAEL NADAL WINS IN HAMBURG 2008

Spanish World Nº2, & the Best player in the World on a clay surfaceRAFAEL NADAL, conquered the only clay court tournament stillnot on his trophy mantle, the Master Tennis Serie HAMBURGOPEN after defeating 4 times in a row winner & the World Nº1Roger Federer in 3 sets: 7-5, 6-7, 6-3.Everytime these two meet, it is assured Tennis at its highestpossible level, a spectacule that is hard to surpass

MOTO GP: DEBON LEADS THE WAY IN FRANCE FOR SPANIARDS IN 250CC

The highlight of the day at Le Mons (French GP) was the firstvictory ever for Spanish rider ALEX DEBÓN ( pictured below)in the 250cc catagory. Great ride were the driver risked withslicks on a "wet surface" that become dry as the race went on.The 2ºplace went to Italian Simoncelli who overtook fellowcountryman Pasini in the last curve.The overall World Championship points table in 250cc is:1.

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER BRIEFS 2008: FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID

According the "Sport", new FC BARCELONA coach Pep Guardiolahas a signning priority: a class winger. The paper published that theClub already has three names VAN PERSIE & WALCOTT (Arsenal)& SILVA ( Valencia CF). The Arsenal duo respectively are difficult tosign, however the more realistic possibilty is Silva. Stay tuned!Arsenal has been watching closely 20 year old Uruguayiandefender MARTIN

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 38/ 2008 SATURDAY GAME RESULT

One game played tonight of Round 38, the last Round of the SpanishLeague for this season, with a must win game for FC Barcelona to retain its 3ºrd classification place & the last match for coach FrankRijkaard as he will no longer be with the Club next season.FC BARCELONA won 3-5 REAL MURCIA & Frank Rijkaard at least finished on a high note. The main protagonist was youngMexican & Barça forward

SPAIN ANNOUNCES ITS 23 PLAYERS FOR EURO 2008

Coach Luis Aragones handed in his list of 23 players that will makeup the SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM for the EURO 2008 tournamentthat begins next month in Switzerland/Austria.As expected the Real Madrid Captain RAUL was not called up & youngBojan from FC Barcelona, auto-excluded himself due to tiredness. Thenovelties are the inclusion of SERGIO GARCIA ( Real Zaragoza) &SANTIAGO CAZORLA (Villareal),

SPANISH FOOTBALL HUMOUR: FC BARCELONA PLAYERS ON SALE IN EBAY

From the "Sport" cartoon section "Futbolitis" we get this gem today on the "garage sale" at Camp Barça.Place your bids!

EUROPEAN U/17 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL 2008: FRANCE 0 - SPAIN 4

Superb, absloutely brilliant game from the Spanish U/17 NationalTeam to win back to back U/17 European Titles after "steamrolling"FRANCE 0-4 in the final celebrated in Turkey.The French team was favourite as they showed better play on theirway to the final, compared with the Spaniards who had some luckon their side. But finals are different & after the first 10 to 15 minsof even play, SPAIN took

FC BARCELONA TRANSFER UPDATE 2008

OK, so your a little confused on what is exactly happening atFC BARCELONA, don´t worry, so is everyone else. The Club isa hive of vicious rumours, speculations & "lies" as all the interestedparties are positioning themselves into a strong bargaining position.SFS, in its humble manner (I am not a professional sports journalist)will attempt to clear some of the smoke, with the help of what´sdoing

U/17 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL: SPAIN vs FRANCE

Another wave of future Spanish Football talent is on stage today in the final of the U/17 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP being heldin Turkey where SPAIN will play FRANCE.There is a unique & historical opportunity for the Spanish National sideto maintain the title that it won last time. Spain & France have already metin this tournament in their Group game were it ended in a 3-3 draw. Bothsides are evenly

The Cost of College Sports

A new article in the Chronicle of Higher Education reveals that from 2004-06, only 17 out of 330 Division I athletic departments operated at a profit, with universities making up the difference, usually out of general operating revenues. This marked the first time the NCAA had reported budgetary numbers by focusing on revenues allocated to athletics departments by the school, rather than on revenues generated by athletics themselves.

REAL MADRID PRESENTS ITS NEW UNIFORM FOR THE 2008-09 SEASON

This post is for the REAL MADRID fans; let it stand thateven though my heart goes in the Atletico de Madriddirection,that SFS is at least unbiased & neutral :-)Today the Real Madrid players put on the new uniform forthe 2008-2009 season in front of the media, as seen in thebelow photos from Sp. daily "Marca".The Captian RAUL gives us a look at the home uniform.ROBBEN gives us a look at the away

REAL MADRID NEWS 2008: DAVID VILLA GETS CLOSER

A few days ago REAL MADRID made a 25M€ offer to VALENCIACF for its Spanish International forward DAVID VILLA & they added Julio Baptista to that fee. Valencia consider that their forwardhas a higher price on the market, apart from the fact that other clubsare also in there, like Chelsea, wanting the services of the forward.News from Sp.daily "Sport" say that Real Madrid has bettered itsinitial

ATLETICO DE MADRID TRANSFER RUMOURS 2008

With ATLETICO DE MADRID back in Champions League next season, the team has began to look for creative midfielders to addto its new defensive incorporations: Heitinga &Ujfalusi. The namesthat sound out of Sp.daily "AS" are DIEGO & LUCHO GONZALEZBoth player are not cheap, therefore At.Madrid has began talkswith WERDER BREMEN & OPORTO. In the case of Diego his price is tagged at 30M€ & other clubs

FC BARCELONA TRANSFER NEWS & RUMOURS 2008

With all the problems currently occuring at Camp Barça, its nowonder that the sports media is full of news on possible transfersto the Club. Here are three more names to add to a long list ofhypothetical incorporations for next season.SEVILLA FC midfielder & Mali International KEITA has a 15M€contract release clause & FC BARCELONA wish to incorporatethe player in its negotiations with DANI ALVES

Why is this necessary

Senator Arlen Specter has called for an independent investigation (a la the Mitchell Commission) into the New England Patriots' videotaping practices, apparently dissatisfied with the inquiry conducted by Commissioner Roger Goodell. Specter is particularly upset with the fact that an attorney for the Patriots sat-in on Tuesday's meeting between Goodeel and former Patriots video assistant Matt Walsh and that Goodell's prior investigation was not candid or complete, was marred by a conflict of interest, and did not serve the public interest. Specter issued a Floor Statement on the matter.

I have asked this before and I will ask it again: Why does the NFL owe the public anything, other than what it believes is in its best business interests? And why does or should a member of the United States Senate care how a private entity conducts its business, so long as it is not violating any actual laws or any laws that Congress believes ought to be enacted? Reading the statement, Specter talks about sports as big business, the league's antitrust exemption, and the role-model status of professional athletes. But none of that justifies congressional involvement simply to ensure that the league is abiding by its own internal rules. And it certainly does not justify Congress trying to tell the NFL how to run its business--again, absent some actual law or legislative proposal.

College Education: Hold the Mayo

Here is an interesting article from the New York Times about O.J. Mayo, the “freshman” basketball talent at the University of Southern California. The article argues against the absurd age eligibility rule of the NBA enacted with an eye and ear toward what David Stern admits was the mutual back scratching interests of the NBA and the NCAA.

The beauty of the Rule, as revealed in the case of Mayo, is that it makes transparent the hypocrisy of big time college basketball. The requirement of one year of college, “one and done,” compels players, often from poor backgrounds, who are otherwise eligible to earn a living doing what they do best, to enroll in an institution of higher learning for one and a half semesters until their team exits the NCAA tournament. No less an ethicist than Bobby Knight has said, the rule is “the worst thing that’s happened to college basketball since I’ve been coaching.”

Unlike the NFL in the Clarett case, the NBA could not with a straight face argue that the purpose of the rule is to further the education of young athletes and to prepare them for life after a pro career. (Not that anyone believed the NFL in Clarett.) Instead, the purpose of the NBA’s rule is strikingly clear: it gives their scouts a full year of adequate competition to be able to judge the potential of the talent working for free on the farm.

More on Steroids....

Sarah Kellogg has an excellent piece in this month's issue of Washington Lawyer magazine, Juiced: Congress, Steroids, and the Law. Here are a few probing questions and comments from people she interviewed:

Washington Times sports columnist Tim Lemke:

“Most people look at sports simply as entertainment, and they don’t really get emotionally tied up in it. As long as sports leagues are doing something about the issue, I think fans are pretty content. Congress is sort of overreaching here with the Roger Clemens situation, which turned out to be over the top and not remotely connected to the original purpose here—protecting kids and public health.”

“Sports leagues can’t simply put in place policies as if it’s a dictatorship. Everything goes through collective bargaining. Most people understand that the steroids testing policies in place are pretty good, especially given the fact everything has to be approved by a union. The job of union leaders is to look out for their players and not to give too much away. They’ve had to walk a fine line there.”

“If baseball and sports are filled with people who are dishonest and cheating, is that affecting the public welfare? I’m not sure, but maybe it’s a question that’s worth asking.”

NFL Executive V.P., Harold Henderson:

“Why let steroid use be rampant down at Gold’s gym but legislate against it in sports leagues? If you want to do something about it, get it off the Internet. Ban the nonmedical use of it. Devote some resources to law enforcement and dry it up.”

Author of Freedomnomics and a senior research scientist at the University of Maryland, John Lott Jr.:

“We go and watch sporting events because of the amazing feats these guys are able to perform. If they’re able to do a bit better job with performance-enhancing drugs, then these athletes should be able to make the choice. They take risks all the time. We pay to watch them take those risks. Why are we interested in legislating against these risks but not against others?”

FC BARCELONA PREPARING A "SUPER" OFFER FROM KAKA?

The Football Circus is definately in town & along with it the clowns.The latest rumour, speculation, delusion or press hoax is that FCBARCELONA is on the verge of making a "super offer" to AC MILANfor its Brazilian star KAKA. The news is so...hard to believe...thatSFS has dedicated a separate post for this news.The news comes out of "Sport" & they publish that the deal to be offered will be:

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER RUMOURS 2008

The possibility of FC BARCELONA star forward SAMUEL ETO´Olanding in another team next season is gaining strenght as more stories come out of the local papers. The Barcelona based daily"Mundo Deportivo" highlight that Eto´o is extremely upset for beingconsidered the brunt of the fans outrage at last weekend loss againstMallorca.He simply cannot understand it, & feels that his contribution to the

EUROPEAN U/17 CHAMPIONSHIPS: SPAIN DEFEATS HOLLAND TO GO INTO FINAL

The Spanish youngsters, in this case the U/17 National Team ison the verge of renewing the EUROPEAN TITLE as SPAIN go intothe final against France, after defeating tonight 2-1 HOLLAND in extra time.The full details are below ( line-ups & scorers), but suffice to say,that Spain & France return to meet each other again in this competition, after they played a 3-3 draw in their group game.Good luck

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER GOSSIP & RUMOUR BRIEFS 2008

Plenty of rumour on possible transfers, as the sports dailys look morelike the "Pink Press" with so much speculation. SFS will give you nowsome of the more sounded pieces circulating at the moment.Below is the front cover of Sp. sports daily "Mundo Deportivo".According to them, AC MILAN returns to the adventure with an "old"objective, to have at the club FC BARCELONA Captain & defenderCARLES

"With no regard for human life!"

Thank you Kevin Harlan. I love that PBP call.

Anyway, Cavs tied the series up 2-2. My first question... the Celtics won 66 games this year? Really? For the second straight game, Boston just looked absolutely abominable offensively, with no flow, and nobody stepping up and making shots. They shot just 38.6% for the game, and only 3/14 from downtown.

None of the big 3 look like they're able to take over a game offensively... KG is far too passive, Paul Pierce has struggled, and Ray Allen continues to be almost a non-factor in this series (other than 1 quarter in this game). The difference between those guys and LeBron is that even when LeBron isn't shooting well, he is still such an incredible passer that he gets tons of open looks for other guys. Boston's three stars don't do that. So while James was again awful shooting the ball, his 13 assists were enough to propel Cleveland into a series-tying victory.

This series should also have put to rest any doubt in the Kevin Garnett vs. Tim Duncan debate. Both great players, but Duncan is a different player in the playoffs and in the 4th quarter. I know the supporting casts over their careers have been vastly different, but change them up and I don't think Garnett would have 4 rings.

As we have seen in the playoffs, home court has been huge, and as Charles Barkley has been saying, things go from game to game... so it will be interesting to see if Boston can get some offensive flow again back in Boston.

CHELSEA OFFERS 50M€ TO LIVERPOOL FC FOR FERNANDO TORRES

According to Paco Garcia Caridad, Director of Spanish Radio "Marca",CHELSEA FC has made an outstanding 50M€ offer to LIVERPOOLFC for its Spanish International & forward FERNANDO TORRES.Huge news to which Liverpool has rejected the offer & does not wantto know anything more about the subject. The Spanish players marketvalue is soaring after putting in a fabulous season with 24 goals in theEnglish

PEPE REINA & FERNANDO TORRES TRIUMPH IN ENGLISH FOOTBALL - SEASON 2007/2008

Great to see two Spaniards getting the recognition & the Awards fortheir hard work this season in English Football. Both are fromLIVERPOOL FC, one stops goals while the other bangs them in.PEPE REINA, notched up his 17th consecutive match without allowingthe ball to enter "his" net against Tottenham this weekend, that & hisperformance all season gave him the "Golden Glove" Award, as the

FC BARCELONA 2008: PLEASE LET THE SEASON END

That´s the scoreline yesterday, thats the image of coach FrankRijkaard, as it´s a catastrophic end to the season of FC BARCELONAThe Catalans, who are the closest to English humour in Spain, highlight the situation via a cartoon in todays "Mundo Deportivo" - section"pelotazos by KAP"The cartoon shows President Laporta calling new coach PepGuardiola to clean up the shit that the President & his

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 37/ 2008 GAMES RESULTS

The big news for SFS in Round 37 is that Atletico de Madrid hassecured the 4ºth place & its Champions League ticket for nextseason, plus the defeat of FC Barcelona puts it on equal pointswith Atletico. At the other end of the table Zaragoza are in dangerof relegation as they lost tonight & must win next week.Relief, thanks to the goal by DIEGO FORLAN in the 45th min that gave ATLETICO DE MADRID a

HANDBALL: CUIDAD REAL EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS

Spanish Handball is back & celebrating the EUROPEAN CUPvictory by Spanish team CUIDAD REAL after defeating last yearsChamps, & tough nut to crack, the Germans THW KIELThe Spaniards came back after going down in the 1ºleg (27-29)to win today at Kiel 25-31.

FORMULA 1: FERNANDO ALONSO 6TH IN TURKEY

Brazilian driver FELIPE MASSA turned in a great race to wintodays TURKISH Formula 1. Behind him were Lewis Hamilton& Ferrari team mate & current World Champion Raikkonen.The race had its share of moments, like the smash up betweenFisichella & Nakajima at the beginning of the race. Spaniard FERNANDO ALONSO finished 6ºth & commented thathe was happy with the result seeing improvements in his

FC BARCELONA 2008: NEXT COACH = EXIT PLAYERS

It´s official, ex-Fc Barcelona Captain & Spanish InternationalJOSEP GUARDIOLA ( pictured below) has been announced asthe new FC BARCELONA coach for next season.Current coach Frank Rijkaard will leave at the end of the seasonafter 5 years on the bench.With a new coach comes a "mini-revolution" & the EXIT of manycurrent players from the squad. Sp. daily "Sport" has made a list of players that are

SPANISH FOOTBALL - TRANSFER GOSSIP 2008

Who is JUAN MANUEL VARGAS? A 25 year old PeruvianFootball player currently at Italian Club CATANIA.Why ask? Catania Sporting Director, Pietro Lo Monaco mentionedon Sp.radio "Onda Cero" that REAL MADRID has asked his club about the player & seems to be very interested.But Real Madrid is interested in many players, right?(Photo: Vargas)Staying with REAL MADRID...& Inter Milan, Fc Barcelona...

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 36/ 2008 THURSDAY GAME RESULT

The last remaining game of Round 36 was played tonight withthe result ESPANYOL 0 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 2. A vitalwin for Atletico who have Sevilla breathing on their back in thecompetition for the 4ºth Champions League place on theclassification table.Atletico with tonights victory creates a 3º point gap & regains thesaid 4ºth place from Sevilla, but the battle is not over at all, as thereremains

Professors Thomas Hazlett and Joshua Wright on Insuring Top College Basketball Players

George Mason University School of Law professors Thomas Hazlett and Joshua Wright have published a provocative and engaging op-ed in today's Chicago Tribune that proposes insurance as a way of offsetting the risk to players and schools that the players leave early for the NBA Draft.

Here is an excerpt from their piece:

* * *

Cross-town rival USC was left in even worse shape by its freshman sensation, O.J. Mayo. A bitter fan posts: "As a Trojan alum, I have a hard time feeling like O.J. Mayo was ever a Trojan at all . . . I'm glad he's off to mediocrity in the NBA."

Many call for an end to this "college" charade. Proposals include urging the NBA to restore its old rule, drafting high schoolers, or going back to the old-old rule, waiting to draft until four years after high school. But the NBA is unlikely to be moved: This isn't the NBA's problem. Our suggestion is to attack the problem at the college level, where the sport is left twisting in the wind.

First, we note a standard economic problem. Players jump to the NBA because prices (wages) tell them that that is where they are valued. But those price signals are wrong. The college game delivers as much or more excitement, pound for pound, as the pros. What mucks up the system is the NCAA cartel, which restricts payments to college players. The universities maintain that students are amateurs and that it would violate ethics to pay them cash money. This recalls the elitist tripe that the International Olympic Committee maintained for a century, a laughable lie that fell soon after the collapse of Soviet communism—a provocative correlation we'll leave to historians.

Second, we posit that there are two reasons that freshman stars are so likely to leave college early. One is that NBA salaries are high, and that each year a player waits to cash in is one very rich year they lose. Until the NCAA cartel is smashed, that problem is beyond our solution. But the second motive is to mitigate risk. One clumsy leap and a $7.6 million guaranteed contract—the expected price tag for this year's 12th NBA pick—goes poof! And, as financial economists will tell you, that first $7.6 million is probably more important to you than the next.

So the answer, given that universities cannot pay athletes market wages, is to at least insure them. Were underclassmen to be appraised, via draft rankings, and then offered compensation in the event—post-graduation—they slipped by some increment, they could hedge this very considerable exposure. The NCAA allows players to insure, but the player pays even though it is largely the university (and its fans) that benefits. Moreover, policies can only insure against career-ending injuries, leaving the more common outcomes—less serious injuries and performance-related changes in draft status—terrifying prospects.

The schools should extend broader coverage. The contracts we propose do not fully compensate college athletes for their valuable service, and would thus retain only some of the talent now jumping early to the pros. Yet, the approach would preserve the NCAA's "amateur" wink, while allowing student-athletes to play college ball until their 21st birthday without risking the family jewels. A slam dunk, really.

* * *

To read the rest of the piece, click here. To check out Professor Wright's excellent blog, Truth on the Market, click here.

SERGIO RAMOS FLIRTING WITH CHELSEA FC?

This speculation is gaining strenght as time goes by, as "MundoDeportivo" publish that Rene Ramos - brother & representative of RealMadrid defender SERGIO RAMOS - met up with CHELSEA FCowner Roman Abramovich last week in Madrid to discuss the EnglishClubs outstanding & mind blowing 70M€ offer for the Real Madriddefender. In the offer, Sergio Ramos would receive 7M€ per seasoninstead of his

FC BARCELONA TRANSFER GOSSIP 2008

According to Spanish Sports Daily "Marca", English Premier LeagueClub TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS has contacted with FC BARCELONAto "feel" the situation with its star forward SAMUEL ETO´O. Thesurprise is that Barça has reacted "positive" & will meet Tottenhamrepresentatives to hear their views & the offer. News sources (includingthe cited) say Barcelona has set a minimum price of 35M€.SFS finds it

REAL MADRID 4 - FC BARCELONA 1 / 2008 - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

SFS Asian readers have requested the video of last nights "classic"derby between REAL MADRID & FC BARCELONA where theformer (already crowned Sp.League Champions 07/08) defeated thelater 4-1Here is the traditional "tunnel" made for the League Champions, doneby Barcelona, that must have touched the pride of a few. However, bothclubs showed their professionality, including coach Rijkarrd who

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 36/ 2008 MID WEEK GAMES RESULTS

Mid week action as Round 36 got underway today with 9 games -including the "classic" Real Madrid vs Fc Barcelona clash - with thelast remaining game tomorrow between Espanyol & At.Madrid.Here is the round-up of tonights games with images & scorers.MALLORCA defeated OSASUNA 2-1 & put the later in danger ofgoing to 2º Division, as they are on equal points (40) with Zaragoza& the currently in

SPAIN STAYS 4th RANKED WITH FIFA

FIFA has released its World Ranking for National Teams, whereSPAIN retains its 4th place with 1,323 points. See the Top 10 places below:1. (.1) Argentina 1.520. pts2. (.2) Brazil 1.518.3. (.3) Italy 1.396.4. (.4) SPAIN 1.323.5. (.5) Germany1.264.6. (.6) Chec Rep. 1.244.7. (.7) France 1.205.8. (.8) Greece 1.196.9. (.9) Portugal 1.131.10. (10) Holland 1.123.

Oldtime Strongmen and Kettlebells

Oldtime Strongmen and Kettlebells

As you probably know, kettlebells have been around for quite a long time. Initially thought to be found and introduced into Russia.

Kettlebells these days are nice and compact, easy to use and store. However over a hundred years or so ago things were quite different. Many pictures of these kettlebells can be found on the internet for your pleasure.

The main difference seeming to be the size of the kettlebell bell body and secondly a wide variation of handles. The bodies of old style kettlebells looked absolutely massive, almost the size of a small planet. The handles being very different from modern times seemed to be thinner versions.

My guess is that in some ways the kettlebells of yesteryear had advantages and disadvantages over modern ones. I believe the larger more cumbersome bodies would be somewhat harder to swing between the legs, making the lifter probably opt for a wider stance and using more hip flexer muscles to move the kettlebell. Also, the bigger the kbell the more it would lend itself to sports such as wrestling etc as it would make cleaning and press much more akward.

I believe the downside to the thinner handles would be less grip strength work. However, just take a look at any of the training programs from the likes of Jowett, Inch and Samson, you'll see they favoured grip strength training in other methods, mainly thick dumbbells and bar rolling.
So maybe the manufacturing methods weren't as they are today and probably didn't need to be.

Check out this picture (top right) from OLDTIMESTRONGMAN
Just imagine trying to tackle that and what it would do for your physical conditioning!!!

Also, for your information here's a look back at some old training methods in a book written by Alan Calvert.

SANDOWPLUS

In my opinion things have changed over time, but it's a good idea to take a look back and see what was done in the past as you can often pick up some really good ideas to add to your own arsenal of training methods and knowledge. Never assume that because something is new that's it neccesarily so much better.






kettlebell training

Kettlebell Zercher Strongman Walk

Strongman kettlebell zercher walk

In a similar vein to Strongman Kettlebell Press

Check out Kettlebell with Zercher walk.

With the bands constantly moving around due to the kettlebells on the end, it provides a great workout for your core. Careful when turning as you'll be seriously of balance.

Check it out below

Defining Sport

I jokingly have been interested in trying to define "sport." I have toyed with a definition that requires objectivity in scoring and determining winners. Thus, if it is about objective questions such as who runs faster or who scores more points, it is a sport; if it is about getting a 5.6 from the East German judge, it is not a sport.

But John L. Jackson, an anthropologist at Penn's Annenberg School identifies three necessary conditions:

1) There must be a ball or ball-like object that organizes everyone's attention.
2) There must be a sense of physical urgency when the ball is in play.
3) The opponent must be able to take steps to thwart your efforts with respect to the ball.

Everything that does not possess all three elements is not a sport. it is a contest, a game of skill, an athletic competition, but it is not a sport,

Jackson put this out there to suggest that much of what we focus in during the Olympics is not, in fact, sport, including the privileged Olympic events such as track and field and swimming. His broader point is that the Olympics really is not about sport; it is about non-sport athletic competition--not the same thing.

LIVERPOOL FC AIMS FOR ABIDAL?

Less than 24 hours away from tomorrows big REAL MADRID vsFC BARCELONA league clash, & with Barça making the traditionaltunnel for the new Champions ( hard for some indeed), more newson Barcelona, but this time from England & from its press the"Daily Express", that has been picked up here by "AS".The rumour & speculation is that LIVERPOOL FC Manager RafaBenitez wishes FC BARCELONA French

TRANSFER RUMOURS 2008: GUIZA & JOAQUIN

According to Sp.daily "Marca", a AC ROMA envoy will fly to Madrid next week to meet up with representatives of MALLORCA forward& Spanish International DANI GUIZA ( pictured below)The Spanish forward is currently the Spanish League´s Topgoal scorer with 24 goals & his contract only has a 15M€ releaseclause, something relatively "cheap" that the Italian club can pay& avoid having to deal with

Mike Zarren: The Growing Importance of Statistical Analysis in the NBA

Great piece by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt on the NY Times' Freakonomics on my good friend and former law school classmate Mike Zarren, who is the Boston Celtics' associate counsel and also, more significantly, the team's statistical expert.

Here is an excerpt from their piece, which highlights the growing importance of "Moneyball" - type thinking in basketball:

* * *

But the team also employs what the general manager, Danny Ainge, calls his “secret weapon,” a 32-year-old named Mike Zarren, who seems to know every data point about every N.B.A. player, past and present. Garnett calls him Numbers, the Celtics Dancers call him Stats and Paul Pierce, the team’s longtime standout, calls him M.I.T. even though Zarren never went there. . . .

Ainge hired Zarren simply because he wants any advantage worth having, and Zarren’s insights are “more information on every decision we make,” Ainge says. “Mike is a much smarter guy than I am. I’m open to smarter people than me. It still comes down to my instincts. I have to make the choice, no matter what my scouts say, no matter what the models say. I don’t think it’s realistic to think that a statistical model will ever be foolproof in basketball because there are so many variables, but I do think it can help us.”

There are two channels through which Zarren can help the Celtics. The first is by assessing potential deals and draft picks, which means bouncing information off of Ainge. The second channel is strategic advice, which means going to Coach Doc Rivers, whom Ainge says is “skeptically receptive” to Zarren’s insights. You sense that Zarren has gained credibility within the Celtics not because the basketball people adore his regression analyses but because he adores the sport. “Most geeks are not basketball guys,” Zarren says, “and most basketball guys are not geeks. You have to be both to be successful in this developing field.”

What’s the most efficient shot to take besides a layup? Easy, says Zarren: a three-pointer from the corner. What’s one of the most misused, misinterpreted statistics? “Turnovers are way more expensive than people think,” Zarren says. That’s because most teams focus on the points a defense scores from the turnover but don’t correctly value the offense’s opportunity cost — that is, the points it might have scored had the turnover not occurred.

* * *

For the rest of the piece, click here. For ESPN's Henry Abbott's take, click here. And for previous Sports Law Blog coverage on statistical analysis and the NBA, check out our post on Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey.

For my sports law students at BC Law in the fall and Vermont Law in the spring, I hope to get Mike to speak to the class.

SPANISH FOOTBALL NEWS & ODD PIECES: GUARDIOLA, BARÇA, AGUERO, REAL MADRID...

According to all the Sp. press ( from "Marca" to "El Pais") FCBARCELONA has made its decision on who will be the teams new coach next season. The man for the job is ex- SpanishInternational & ex-Barcelona midfielder & Captain JOSEPGUARDIOLA (as seen below)This confirms the end of the Frank Rijkaard era of 5 years, which gavethe club 2 Spanish Leagues & 1 European Cup, excellent results for

Applying Antitrust Labor Exemptions to Professional Golf and Tennis

Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal (subscription only) has an interesting piece in this week's edition in which he reveals that The ATP World Tour is losing millions of dollars because of steep legal expenses tied to an antitrust lawsuit brought by one of its tournaments against the men’s circuit (5/5/08, Mounting Legal Expenses Add to ATP's Losses). According to sources, last year the ATP lost $5 million, and it is projected to lose $6.4 million this year. The ATP event in Hamburg, Germany, filed an antitrust suit against the ATP for trying to downgrade the event in the tour’s tier structure next year as part of the calendar remake. The Monte Carlo event also sued the ATP over the same issue, but that lawsuit was settled.

I've always thought that rules and regulations established by the ATP, PGA and LPGA should be exempt from the antitrust laws under the same rationale for exempting rules established by professional sports unions and rules established by the unions and leagues via the collective bargaining process. Although they are not certified as labor unions under the National Labor Relations Act, all three associations essentially act as labor unions and serve as the voice and representative of the players as a collective group.

When labor unions enact rules and regulations in their own self-interest, those rules and regulations may have an anti-competitive affect on third parties. Hence, the rationale for what's known as the statutory labor exemption. The source of the statutory exemption is found in the Clayton Act and the Norris-LaGuardia Act, and it "removes from the coverage of the antitrust laws certain legitimate, albeit anticompetitive, union activities because they are favored by federal labor policy." Powell v. NFL, 678 F.Supp. 777, 782 (D. Minn. 1988). For example, courts have exempted claims by agents against unions alleging that agent regulations adopted by the unions constitute an illegal restraint on trade. See Collins v. Nat’l Basketball Players Ass’n, 850 F. Supp. 1468, 1474 (D. Colo. 1991), aff’d 976 F.2d 740 (10th Cir. 1992). The U.S. Supreme Court, in H.A. Artists & Associates v. Actors’ Equity Ass’n, 451 U.S. 704 (1981), held that labor unions acting in their own self-interest and not in combination with nonlabor groups are statutorily exempt from the antitrust laws. If the ATP or PGA adopted regulations governing agents with various certification requirements, should the simple fact that they are not certified as labor unions subject them to antitrust scrutiny?

The non-statutory exemption insulates from the antitrust laws league rules and regulations that constitute mandatory subjects of collective bargaining (i.e. "wages, hours and working conditions") and that primarily affect only the parties to the collective bargaining relationship. All three associations -- ATP, PGA and LPGA -- have player representatives that serve on their boards of directors. The board votes on all sorts of subjects that affect the players and which are akin to "working conditions" -- for example, issues concerning format of play, where they are going to play their tournaments, how they are going to be ranked, etc., etc. The ATP's board of directors is made up of three player representatives and three tournament representatives. When the player and tournament representatives adopt rules and regulations that govern their particular sport and primarily affect only them -- which is essentially analogous to collective bargaining between unions and leagues -- why should those rules and regulations be subject to antitrust scrutiny?

The Economics of Baseball Fandom

From Daniel Hamermesh at Freakonomics:

A recent article notes that attendance in Major League Baseball parks is actually above last year, despite, so the story says, the economic downturn (recession?).

But despite is incorrect — it should be “because” of the economic downturn. The story notes that cheap seats at the Dodgers Stadium go for $8 to $13. Not bad for three plus hours of entertainment; but in good times who can afford that time?

In bad times, when the opportunity cost of time is reduced, the total price of an afternoon at the ballpark is lower for many people than it is when jobs are more plentiful. I see this in my own planning. Though I like baseball, I haven’t been to an M.L.B. game in over five years — I’ve been working too hard; but I do plan to attend more once I partially retire and the opportunity cost of my time drops.

Baseball watching is a time-intensive activity; and when time becomes “cheaper” for many people, as it does in a recession, it’s not surprising that the demand for watching M.L.B. games rises. The price of the complementary good to the ticket price — the price of one’s time — has fallen.

This might explain why one of the historic heydays for baseball was the 1930s, the worst economic period in the country's history.

(H/T: My colleague Tom Baker at FIU)

REAL MADRID & THE CITY CELEBRATE THE SPANISH FOOTBALL LEAGUE TITLE 2007-08 (SEE VIDEO)

Big night & early morning of celebrating for REAL MADRID & theCity as 000,000s of fans congregated in the central of Madridto await their team to arrive for the traditional meeting with thefountain of the "Goddess Cibeles", after being confirmedmathematically Champions of the Spanish 1º Division ("La Liga")for the 2007-08 season. Its their 31ºst Spanish title which is backto back, which was last

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

At Saturday's "dramatic" Kentucky derby, runner-up Eight Bells broke both ankles and had to be put down.

Two years ago, when Barbaro suffered the injury that eventually ended his life, I asked, Was Barbaro Abused?

Imagine if every year, one player died in the Superbowl. Or if a player died every year during the NBA finals. Would we tolerate such a result? Should it matter that the athletes who are pushed beyond the quite literal breaking point are animals?

In fact, Kentucky has a "cruelty to animals" statute. Under the law, a person is guilty of a second degree misdemeanor if "he intentionally or wantonly...subjects any animal to cruel neglect or . . . kills any animal." Is it not possible to argue that pushing horses beyond their physical limits, causing their death, meets the statutory standard here? The statute provides immunity for euthanizing suffering animals, but I'm not asking if the euthanasia is illegal; rather I think the sport of horse racing itself -- at least as it seems to be run these days -- is a crime!

SPANISH FOOTBALL - LA LIGA - ROUND 35/ 2008: REAL MADRID CHAMPIONS 2007-08

SFS has been out 4 days & has returned to announce the big news:REAL MADRID is the Spanish League 1º Division (La Liga)Champion for 2007-2008 after defeating Osasuna 1-2 in a tough gamewith Cannavaro being sent off. All 3º goals came late, in the last13 ºminutes.HIGUAIN ( below) gave the winner & the Championship in the89th min with his goal & Real Madrid second of the night, after Osasuna scored

A Different Way to "Hold" Coaches to Contracts

We have had some discussion here lately about colleges using injunctions to try to keep coaches who are under contract from jumping to other schools.

Well Memphis, fresh off its Championship Game appearance (and almost victory) gave Head Coach John Calipari a five-year extension, averaging $ 2.35 million per year. And, according to the current Sports Illustrated, the school found a way (it hopes) to keep him from jumping ship: a $ 5 million bonus if he stays until the end of the contract. Think about that--an extra $ 5 million just for adhering to the terms of the contract.

We could look at the bonus as the school really paying him $ 3.25 million per year and backloading some of the money). Or, this is the mirror of the liquidated damages clause that schools have been trying to enforce lately--if you stay to the end, you get $ 5 million; if you leave early, we get $ 5 million. In other words, rather than using equity to keep coaches, schools will use a different form of market incentive.

Clemens and the Rules of Evidence: A More Absolute View

The whole Roger Clemens story has been a big Claude Raines Moment: "I'm shocked, shocked, to find that a Major League Baseball player cheated on his wife."

But I am going to take a more absolute view than Michael did: There is no way, if the judge is not asleep at the switch, that any evidence about Clemens' alleged affairs with McCready or Paulette Dean Daly is admissible.

It cannot come in for any substantive purpose. First, as Michael notes, any effect on Clemens' reputation from these statements came after McNamee's statements and the Mitchell Report and damage to reputation must be measured from the time of the libelous statements. Second, McNamee's statements damaged Clemens's professional reputation--his status as the greatest pitcher of his generation--and his reputation for marital fidelity has nothing to do with that professional reputation. Third, character is not the same thing as reputation. So the fact that damage to reputation is an element of Clemens' claim does not open the door to a lot of evidence that shows nothing more than that Clemens is a bad person (bad husband, etc.). And that is before we even get into the question of unfair prejudice.

Nor can it come in for impeachment/credibility purposes. Even assuming Clemens did have sex with McCready when she was underage, he never was convicted on statutory rape or anything similar and he is not going to be, since, as Michael noted, the statute of limitations has run. The only thing that can be used for credibility is the fact of conviction, not details of the underlying conduct. So, if there was no conviction, this is not in play.

Specific instances of conduct also can be used for credibility, but subject to key limitations that will keep evidence of any affairs from being admitted. First, the rules only allow evidence of conduct that is probative of a witness' truthfulness or untruthfulness--meaning past lies or untruthful acts. Marital infidelity is kind of a gray area. Cheating on your spouse (the actual act of having an affair, apart from what he told his wife or anyone else about the affair) is not really an untruthful act--it does not involve falsehood. Cheating involves breaking a promise--a contract, if you will--but breaking a contract is not per se an untruthful act. And for all we know, Debbie Clemens knew about the affairs and maybe even acquiesced. We refer to cheating as being "false, but I think that is more a colloquial usage than a legally accurate one. It is sleazy, morally frowned upon, and makes people think that the actor is sleavy and immoral--but credibility is only about character for truthfulness, not character generally. Now, whether he lied about the affair when asked about it (by the press, by his wife, by whomever) is a different story and could be used. So, too, is whether, he lied to either woman about being married when he began the affair.

But that runs into the second limitation. Under the rules, instances of untruthful conduct only can be asked about on cross-examination of the witness being impeached (Clemens) or another witness called to testify to Clemens' truthful character; they cannot be "proven up" by other evidence besides the target witness' testimony. So, at most, McNamee's lawyers could ask Clemens if he had an affair with McCready or Daly (or if he lied to his wife about having an affair with them). If Clemens denies the affair on the stand, that is the end of the inquiry. The lawyers are stuck with the answer and cannot bring in any outside evidence to show that Clemens is lying on the stand right now (to "complete the impeachment"). So do not expect McCready or Daly to be called as a witness. And do not expect to hear any of the details of any affairs. None of that is coming in.

One More Thought: Any FIU College of Law students planning on taking Evidence next spring: Take careful notes.

New Sports Law Scholarship

Recently published scholarship:

Anthony N. Cabot and Louis V. Csoka, Fantasy sports: one form of mainstream wagering in the United States, 40 JOHN MARSHALL LAW REVIEW 1195 (2007)

Peter Charlish and Stephen Riley, Should Oscar run?, 18 FORDHAM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 929 (2008)

A. Jerome Dees, Bring back the crowd? How governing bodies for sports should provide victims of athlete doping a better remedy, 9 FLORIDA COASTAL LAW REVIEW 179 (2008)

Marc Edelman, Why the “single entity” defense can never apply to NFL clubs: a primer on property-rights theory in professional sports, 18 FORDHAM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 891 (2008)

Jason Gubi, Note, The Olympic binding arbitration clause and the Court of Arbitration for Sport: an analysis of due process concerns, 18 FORDHAM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 997 (2008)

Bryan Lipsky, Note, Dealing with the NFL’s concussion problems of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, 18 FORDHAM INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 959 (2008)

Bradley S. Pensyl, Note, Whistling a foul on the NCAA: how NCAA recruiting bylaws violate the Sherman Antitrust Act, 58 SYRACUSE LAW REVIEW 397 (2008)

Implications of Mindy McCready Affair Allegation on Roger Clemens' Defamation Lawsuit

Earlier this week, I wrote a column for SI.com on the implications of Roger Clemens' alleged sexual relationship with a then 15-year-old Mindy McCready on his defamation lawsuit against Brian McNamee. I was also interviewed by Russell Goldman for his piece on the same topic for ABC News.

In his lawsuit, Clemens claims that McNamee defamed him by asserting that Clemens used steroids. For a variety of reasons (e.g., Clemens is a public figure; he will likely find it difficult to establish that McNamee is actually lying) I don't believe Clemens' lawsuit has much of a chance of succeeding. Nevertheless, as I explain in the column, the McCready accusation--which she claims is true--would probably prove difficult for McNamee to bring in, though there's a chance it could play a role in assessing Clemens' character. Hope you have a chance to check out the column and the ABC News story.

I was also interviewed on The Papa Joe Chevalier Show, which is aired on KLAV 1230 Las Vegas, to discuss Clemens' alleged affair and Josh Howard's admission that he smokes pot during the NBA's off season. It can be heard at this link and I'm on from 19:20 to 30:30. I was also interviewed by Ed Berliner of the Speeding Bullet Network on Clemens' various legal problems and it can be heard at this link.