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Cheap Kettlebells

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UEFA PICKS THE EURO 2008 TEAM (SQUAD). XAVI HERNANDEZ BEST PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT

UEFA has handed in its EURO 2008 Team (Squad) of 23 players.That is, the Best 23 players that have participated, & according tothe Uefa select experts.The big news is that Spanish International & FC BARCELONAmidfielder XAVI HERNANDEZ has been announce "The Best Playerof The Tournament". The 28 year old with 63 International caps was seen as the play maker of Spain & thus was prized as Euro

SPAIN EURO CUP 2008 CHAMPIONS - FOOTBALL WINS OVER PRAGMATISM (SEE VIDEOS)

SPAIN is still shining in happiness as the below 11 players gave thenation the 2008 European Championship title, along with subs. Cazorla,Xavi Alonso & Dani Guiza - plus the rest of the squad - after defeatingGERMANY 0-1 in the final.What can SFS say that has not been already been said? The only things that comes to SFS mind is that the best team won - whichdoes not always happen - & that the "

EURO 2008: SPAIN CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE AFTER DEFEATING GERMANY 0-1 IN THE FINAL.

SPAIN has proclaimed itself the CHAMPION of the EUROPEANNATIONS CUP 44 years after winning the title the first time. TheSpaniards defeated GERMANY 0-1 to remain the only teamundefeated throughout the whole tournament & win the Silver Cup.SFS has its fingers twitching & finding it hard to type this gran newsas the joy is overflowing after waiting so long to live this Footballexperience. Spain

EURO 2008 FINAL: SPAIN SUMMONDS THE SPIRIT OF 1964

In was 44 years ago that SPAIN won the European Nations Cup(1964) against Russia, with an extraordinary team full of talent:Iríbar; Rivilla, Olivella, Zoco, Calleja; Fusté, Suárez; Amancio,Pereda, Marcelino y Lapetra.Below you can see an image of that team celebrating its 2-1 victory,& with the coverted Silver Cup in their hands.Today, 20.45 at Vienna (Austria) & against the mighty GERMANY,SPAIN

REAL MADRID NEWS 2008: ROBINHO & HIS FUTURE

According to Spanish daily "AS" English Premier League ClubCHELSEA FC has made a 35M€ offer to REAL MADRID for itsyoung Brazilian International ROBINHO. New coach Scolari seesRobinho as an importnant piece in his new plans & has solicitated the player personally to Chelsea owner Abramovich.However, Real Madrid has placed the price at 45M€ as Robinhocould be part of the "Ronaldo Operation". If so,

EURO 2008 FINAL : SPAIN vs GERMANY - NEWS & PREVIEW

Both SPAIN & GERMANY have finished their final training session,& news from Germany is that it may face tomorrows final without its Captain, & from Spain that Cesc Fabragas will fill the place ofinjuried David Villa.German Captain MICHAEL BALLACK is suffering a right leginjury that may leave him out of tomorrows final. Ballack will havean exam tomorrow just before the match to see if his injury

EURO 2008 FINAL PREVIEWS - SPAIN vs GERMANY

The Internet & specially "YouTube" is full of video clips that arewarming up tomorrows EURO 2008 final between SPAIN & GERMANY.There are some real good clips out there that show lots of hours ofwork & dedication. SFS has chosen 3º clips that it wishes to share withits readers & thus joining in with the warm-up of what will be anexciting clash tomorrow. Here are the three clips:1. A Managers

MOTO GP - HOLLAND - BAUTISTA WINS 250CC & PEDROSA REGAINS WORLD TITLE LEADERSHIP IN GP

It´s not all Football for Spain, as today Spanish MotoGP riders flewthe flag high in all catagories of the Dutch MotoGP races.Spaniard ALVARO BAUTISTA finally shook off his bad luck &won in the 250cc catagory. He came in ahead of Luthi & M.Simoncelli.The provisional World Title table in 250cc stands as follows:1. Kallio 140pts; 2. Simoncelli 139pts; 3. A.Debón (Sp) 114ptsIn the GP catagory DANI

SPAIN : FINAL EURO 2008 - ITS CESC FABREGAS MOMENT

The injury of Spanish forward & current leading Goal scorer atEURO 2008 David Villa, has ruled him out of next Sundays Finalagainst Germany, barring a "miracle" or a strategic plan fromthe Spainish coach.The chosen player to fill that vital gap is rumoured to be Arsenalplayer CESC FABREGAS who took on the role in the semifinal toput in a brilliant performance & make look that Villa´s injury did

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER BRIEFS 2008: GUIZA & HENRIQUE

The Spanish League Top Goal Scorer (27 goals) & EuropeanSilver Boot, DANI GUIZA, has a pre-agreement with Turkishteam FENERBACHE. The Turks are willing to side-step the Spaniardsactual Club MALLORCA & directly pay his contract release clause of15M€, but the money has not been seen & this opens up possibilties.His EURO 2008 performance has attracted the interest ofMANCHESTER CITY, TOTTENHAM & AC

EURO 2008: SPAIN DAZZLE THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL - THE KEYS (SEE VIDEO 0-3 AGAINST RUSSIA)

SFS is not one to indulge in praising any particualar player,club, coach or National side. It wishes to stay neutral - ashumanly possible - , but SPAINs 2º half performanceyesterday against Russia was sublime. Here is a quick runthrough the main KEYS that have opened the doors for Spainat Euro 2008:THE FOOTBALL "JEDI"- Luis Aragones, the SpanishNational Team Coach has managed to form a solid team

NBA Draft Reactions

A hodgpodge of thoughts following one of the best sports night of the year - NBA Draft night.

Best value picks:
- Jerryd Bayless (11) - Had top 5 talent, but slides to 11, and will join an already talented cast of Portland Trailblazers. He can eventually be paired with Brandon Roy in the backcourt... neither guy is probably a natural PG, but both are good enough ballhandlers and passers to run the offense.

- Courtney Lee (22) - I like Lee quite a bit. He's an unselfish player who should in seamlessly with Orlando's Big 3. Playing the 2 spot, he's a lot more athletic than holdover Keith Bogans, and he still maintains 3-point range. He's also better than Bogans creating his own shot off the dribble. Just a really nice pick for a really solid player.

- Kosta Koufos (23) - He's not NBA ready yet, but at 23, he's a talented player to get. Also, he's white, so he should fit well in Utah.

- Mario Chalmers (34) - Chalmers was too good of a player to slip this far. Solid defensively, good outside shooter, unselfish with the basketball... perfect addition to a team with Wade-Marion-Beasley.

- DeAndre Jordan (35) - Not that I love Jordan's game (I actually have serious doubts as to whether he'll ever be a consistently productive player), but at 35, it's a good risk to take for the Clippers. He's got the athleticism and rebounding ability to be a very good player if he can develop some type of offensive game.


Worst value picks:
- DJ Augustin (9) - I was a little confused about this pick for the Bobcats. For one, I'm not huge on Augustin... he's small, doesn't have the quickness of a top-flight PG, and is a bit of a liability on the defensive end. But is he really going to be better than Raymond Felton? And doesn't Brook Lopez fit a big need there?

- Anthony Randolph (14) - Randolph is similar to Brandan Wright, who the Warriors got in the draft last year. What are they going to do with 2 raw, athletic PFs?

- Javale McGee (18) - Speaking of raw... he's a long ways away, and I think a guy like DeAndre Jordan might be a little better risk if you're going for the upside pick. But there were more proven 4 men like Kosta Koufos and Darrell Arthur on the board, both of which seem like they would have made more sense.

- Sonny Weems (39) - It's hard to have too many qualms about a mid 2nd round pick (same goes for Ewing next), but I was a little perplexed by this choice. Weems is freaky athletic, but with the addition of Rose to a backcourt already featuring Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Larry Hughes, and Thabo Sefalosha, I think a big man would have been a better choice. Or if they were going to go this position, Chris Douglas-Roberts was still on the board.

- Patrick Ewing (43) - Ewing is big and pretty athletic, but he doesn't really have any discernible NBA skill. Ewing was a decent 6th man as a senior in college... how does that translate to the #43 pick?

EURO 2008: SPAIN DEMOLISH RUSSIA 0-3 WITH FOOTBALL OF THE HIGHEST LEVEL

SPAIN has defeated RUSSIA 0-3 in the 2º semifinal of EURO 2008 & will meet Germany in Sundays final. It was a whitewashof total Football in the 2ºhalf that ripped apart the Russian in an extraordinary exhibition never seen before during the wholetournament. Spain showed the World how Football can be an art &romantic, putting the cynical fan back in his box. In a few words, its was beauty & poetry

Kettlebell Juggling

Kettlebell Juggling

A great site for enahncing your kettlebell skills.
If you find you're getting pretty bored with the usual swings and snatches then try kettlebell juggling!

Well OK! It's not really juggling in the traditional sense, but it is kettlebell training and tricks. Or juggling as some people like to call it.

The guy over at kettlebelljuggling.com really has some great tricks up his sleeve, which are really gonna improve you're all round co-ordination and kettlebell training to a new level.

I've been working on quite a few of these skills since I saw the Ivan Denisov video. You really get a great workout without really trying as you work on these tricks.

Check the video out below which gives instructions for a 'behind the hip flip'


If you use dexterity, co-ordination and all round fitness in your sport then this is really a must for you to try out.






Kettlebell juggling

EURO 2008: SPAIN TWO STEPS FROM GLORY, BUT FIRST RUSSIA

SPAIN plays RUSSIA tonight in the 2º semi-final of Euro 2008, to attempt to qualify for the fianl & meet Germany next Sunday.Spain will start with the same 11 players that coach Aragones hasplaced his trust on in every game so far up to this point (see teampicture below) & defeated the Russians 4-1 in their first Group D game. We all know that tonight the Russians will be a more tough affair than

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER NEWS & RUMOURS 2008: ATLETICO DE MADRID & FC BARCELONA

According to all the local papers, ATLETICO DE MADRID has signned RECREATIVO DE HUELVA French forward SINAMAPONGOLLE. He joins the other signnings John Heitinga, TomásUjfalusi & Gregory Coupet, & may form part of the Atletico forward line with Sergio Aguero & Diego Forlan.According to "Marca" & "AS" the Frenchmen will be loaned for 1ºyear to either Racing of Santander or Benfica, if Zaragoza

Bad Duke Football Team Wins in Court

Being a bad football team paid off for Duke University, which won a breach of contract lawsuit because in large part because of its unsuccessful track record and a contract clause that required the plaintiff, the University of Louisville to find an adequate substitute school after Duke backed out of a obligation to pay the better school.

Duke's football team has amassed a record that few would envy. Six wins and 45 losses over the last five seasons puts the team in the category of as bad as it could get. As reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal, the University of Louisville sued Duke claiming breach after the Blue Devils opted out of the final three games of a four-game football series covering the 2002, 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons after Louisville demolished the Duke Team 40-3 after the first game in 2002. Apparently, Duke waved the surrender flag to avoid more embarrassments.

The case, University of Louisville v. Duke University, No. 07-CI-1765, filed in Franklin (county) circuit court, sought $450,000 in damages. The amount was derived from a contractual cancellation penalty clause of $150,000 per game if the nonbreaching party is unable to schedule a replacement game with a “team of similar stature." According to the article, Duke asked Louisville to attempt a good faith effort to find a replacement opponent and promised to pay Louisville only if the school could not find one. Louisville claims it could not do so and therefore asked for the liquidated damages.

It is in interpreting "team of similar stature" where Duke's lack of success helped. Judge Phillip J. Shepherd agreed with Duke’s argument that it team was so bad that finding a replacement team of "similar stature" should have been a slam dunk (pardon the bad pun). As the opinion noted:

"To say that one thing is “of a similar stature” to another is to say that

the two are on the same level. Nothing in the language of the agreement

suggests that it is necessary or appropriate to conduct an in-depth

analysis of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the breaching team

and its potential replacements. Nor does the agreement specify that

replacement teams must be from a particular major athletic
conference or even a particular division of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA). The term “team of similar stature” simply means any team
that competes at the same level of athletic performance as the Duke football

team. At oral argument, Duke (with a candor perhaps more attributable to

good legal strategy than to institutional modesty) persuasively asserted

that this is a threshold that could not be any lower. Duke's argument

on this point cannot be reasonably disputed by Louisville.

Louisville did find substitute teams and the court rejected the claim that the term "similar stature" was ambiguous. According to Shepherd, finding a suitable replacement literally meant that any NCAA Division I team would suffice – including those in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA.) Therefore, the court granted summary judgment for Duke for the 2007 and 2008 season, but did not consider the 2009 season since the claim lacked ripeness.

Imagine, however, if Duke was a more competitive football team. Then the substitution clause would be more difficult to fulfill. Or, in a legal nightmare scenario, imagine that Duke's football team was as good as its men's basketball team! Needless to say, substation would be far more difficult.

[Note: I would like to thank reporter C.L. Brown and the Louisville Courier-Journal, who giving me access to the opinion.]

Justice Alito’s Comments on Holmes’s Opinion in Federal Baseball

"That to which it is incident, the exhibition, although made for money would not be called trade or commerce in the commonly accepted use of those words. As it is put by the defendants, personal effort, nor related to production, is not a subject of commerce."

Justice Holmes, Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 259 U.S. 200, 209 (1922).

Howard Wasserman posted a reference on June 3 to comments by Justice Samuel Alito before a Supreme Court Historical Society gathering on the opinion of Justice Holmes in Federal Baseball that established the foundation for baseball’s antitrust exemption. In reading the linked post by Tony Mauro at The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, I found the following statement:

"Alito said the Supreme Court's decision has been pilloried by scholars and judges alike in the decades since it was issued. More recently, he said, some commentators have been 'less harsh,' fitting it into a more modest view of the scope of the Constitution's commerce clause. Alito indicated that he is in the camp that views the case more kindly."

I do not have access to Justice Alito’s comments or his references. However, after teaching the case for years, I think that one aspect of Holmes’s decision is commonly overlooked. If you notice the second sentence in the quotation at the beginning of this post, you will see the hook for my argument. To support this reading of the case, I have spent some time analyzing the briefs of counsel. The position that a baseball game was the result of human labor and not production or manufacturing of goods was argued by counsel and accepted by Justice Holmes for deciding that baseball was not within "trade" - the second of the three prongs of a Sherman Act § 1 violation with "contract, combination, or conspiracy" and interstate commerce.

The defendants (the member teams of the two leagues and the three members of the National Commission) were represented by George Wharton Pepper, Benjamin S. Minor, and Samuel M. Clement, Jr. In their brief, the attorneys offered three reasons why organized baseball was "not within the Sherman Act." The presentation of the first of these three reasons begins on page 46. Counsel advanced the following statement - "(a) Personal effort, not related to production, is not a subject of commerce; and the attempt to secure all the skilled service needed, for professional baseball contests is not an attempt to monopolize commerce or any part of it. It is believed that in no decided case has it ever been held that personal effort, considered apart from production, is a subject of commerce." This is the point of Holmes’s opinion that has long been ignored. Notice that in the quotation above, Justice Holmes specifically refers to the position taken by the defendants that personal effort apart from production (e.g. manufacturing) does not constitute commerce. After citing § 6 of the Clayton Act ("That the labor of a human being is not a commodity or article of commerce."), counsel proceeds to discuss a number of cases supporting their basic position.

The first cited case, Paul v. Virginia, 75 U.S. 168 (1868) involved the sales of contracts for fire insurance, and counsel followed that with a reference to Hooper v. California, 155 U.S. 648 (1894) that marine insurance sales could not be distinguished from fire insurance sales. Hooper was one of the two cases cited by Holmes in the opinion, and it would be overruled by the Court in 1944 by United States v. South Eastern Underwriters Ass’n., 322 U.S. 533 (1944). Counsel proceeded to distinguish Paul and Hooper from one involving correspondence school instruction, International Textbook Co. v. Pigg, 217 U.S. 91 (1909). Unlike a baseball game played locally between two teams, the main point of the transaction in Pigg was the shipment of educational materials from Pennsylvania to students in various states.

Counsel turned next to a discussion of Metropolitan Opera Co. v. Hammerstein, 147 N.Y.S. 532 (1914):

The production of opera or other theatrical exhibition before an audience in exchange for the price of tickets involves none of the elements of trade or commerce as commonly understood. There is no dealing with an article of trade or commerce nor any use made of the instrumentalities of commerce. The holder of the ticket pays a certain price as a consideration for the privilege of experiencing the gratification of an artistic sense."

The three attorneys continued to pile on more precedent. In In re Duff, 4 F. 519, 521 (1880), they quote the court: "This bankrupt was a theatrical manager ... I think he cannot be considered a merchant or tradesman within the meaning of the statute;" In re Oriental Society, 104 F. 975 (1900): "A corporation engaged in giving theatrical performances is, of course, not engaged in manufacturing, printing, or publishing;" People v. Klaw, 106 N.Y.S. 341 (1907), determining that booking arrangements by theatre owners did not constitute trade.

In examining American Baseball Club of Chicago v. Chase, 149 N.Y.S. 6 (1914), counsel provided a quotation from the opinion citing a definition of "commerce" from the Century Dictionary ("‘interchange of goods, merchandise or property of any kind; trade, traffic") together with a definition of "commodity" before concluding that

The foundation of the National Agreement is the game of baseball conducted as a profitable business, and if this game were a commodity or an article of merchandise and transported from State to State, then the argument of the defendant’s counsel might be applicable.

Gary Hailey, an attorney and author of "Anatomy of a Murder: The Federal League and the Courts" in the spring 1985 edition of the Society for American Baseball Research’s National Pastime concluded that "given the legal doctrines of the day the Federal Baseball case was correctly decided. The courts of that era applied the federal antitrust laws only to businesses that were primarily engaged in the production, sale or transportation of tangible goods."

Although I do not think that either reading of Federal Baseball was an appropriate reason for the per curiam opinion upholding the decision in Toolson v. New York Yankees that really established the reliance on stare decisis that was critical for Justice Blackmun’s opinion in Flood v. Kuhn, I do think that it provides an important point of jurisprudential context for the 1922 opinion by Justice Holmes.

Hank Steinbrenner, Chien-Ming Wang, Salary Arbitration and the DH

On Sunday, June 15, New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang tore a tendon in his right foot and suffered ligament damage while rounding third base during a 13-0 victory and the finale of a series sweep against the Houston Astros. Wang improved his record to 8-2 for the season while lowering his ERA to 4.07. Wang was on the base paths after a fielder’s choice, and one of the results was the ire of Hank Steinbrenner concerning the National League’s refusal to adopt the designated hitter.

Kevin Kernan of the New York Post agreed with Steinbrenner’s assessment in a June 17 article. Kernan quoted Steinbrenner as arguing that the National League needed to join the 21st Century and abandon the game as played in the 1880s. Furthermore, Steinbrenner noted that "It’s OK for the Yankees to fill up the seats in the National League parks, they make a ton of money off us." Kernan seconded the observation - "Steinbrenner is right. Most leagues, amateur, college and professional use the DH, something the American League instituted in 1973." Although upset over losing the pitcher for an extended period, Steinbrenner and the Yankees’ position during salary arbitration in February clearly popped into my mind.

Wang had requested $4,600,000 from the Yankees who countered with a $4,000,000 offer. Of course, either figure was a big increase over his 2007 salary of $489,500. Wang wanted a long-term contract, but the Yankees responded that it was "not the time" according to Anthony DiComo’s February 12 posting for MLB.com. DiComo further commented that "the team’s reasoning, according to Wang, was that it’s difficult for pitchers to stay healthy, so there’s little incentive to sign a young starter to a long-term deal." With Wang not eligible for free agency until 2011, the Yankees had little incentive to grant Wang’s request. A number of articles noted Brian Cashman’s position that the figure chosen by the Yankees was the appropriate slot for a first-time arbitration-eligible pitcher with Wang’s career numbers.

When neither side budged, the case went to a hearing on Thursday, February 14, in St. Petersburg. The arbitration panel of Jack Clarke, Stephen Goldberg, and Christine Knowlton sided with the Yankees. The Wang decision was one of the six victories this February by the clubs against two losses. Jon Heyman provided some interesting insight into the hearing in SI.com’s The Daily Scoop on February 20. Heyman noted that Wang’s representatives "badly overshot when they tried to compare Wang to Michael Jordan." The Yankees argued that Wang had not matched Dontrelle Willis when he first became eligible for arbitration after a 22-win season in 2005. The woes of Willis since that breakout season are probably well known to most readers of this blog. The Yankees also likened Wang to Scott Kasmir, Joe Blanton, Freddy Garcia, Roy Oswalt, and John Lackey. Oswalt, for instance, jumped from $500,000 to $3,250,000 for the 2004 season. The Astros were rewarded with back-to-back 20 win seasons in 2004 and 2005. Oswalt excited the game against the Yankees right after Wang’s injury. The Yankees also stressed the great run support that Wang received.

The Yankees concern about Wang’s injury potential probably focused on his arm not his right foot. Albert Chen’s excellent Sports Illustrated piece, "Chien-Ming Wang Has A Secret" (April 21, page 44) detailed the rise of the Taiwanese star and the concern shown by many major league teams over the physical demands placed upon young pitchers in Taiwan. Wang missed the entire 2001 season after blowing out his shoulder. Chen pointed out in his article that the "grueling training regimens in Taiwanese colleges and professional leagues have been blamed for the short careers of pitchers." Wang had pushed his won-lost ledger for the Yankees to 54-20 (.730 percentage) with his victory over the Astros. He was on target for an interesting round of salary arbitration in February 2009. Now he faces rehab sessions, and Hank Steinbrenner will push for a change in the designated hitter rules at least for interleague games.

Green Bag Call for Papers: Baseball and the Law

We are seeking submissions for our 2010 Almanac & Reader, which will have a baseball-and-the-law theme.

We want scholarly essays on topics related to baseball and the law. We hope to select 12 essays, each between 1500 and 5000 words long. Topics in which we are particularly (but not exclusively) interested are: (a) baseball and … civil rights law; criminal law; defamation law; intellectual property law; international law; labor law; media law; property law; tax law; tort law; transportation law; (b) baseball players who were or became lawyers; and (c) roles played by lawyers in baseball.

Please send your proposals for papers to editors@greenbag.org.

(H/T): Legal Scholarship Blog

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW OF THE REAL MADRID - CRISTIANO RONALDO OPERATION

It´s natural, if your a Manchester Utd, FC Barcelona or any RealMadrid rival, the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo going to Madrid will be seen as something "evil", "dark" & even with "envie". RealMadrid is one of the few , if not the only,clubs in the World of Footballthat can offer between 85-100M€ for just one player & not blink.Here is the Catalan & some Barcelona humour from "Mundo Deportivo

FC BARCELONA PRESENTS ITS NEW UNIFORM FOR THE 2008/2009 SEASON

The marketing machine at FC BARCELONA is back & running forthe new upcoming season 2008/2009. The Club has presentedtoday its new uniform, which goes back to the format of the 100thanniversary look ( in the centre of the picture) & the away outfittakes on the yellow colour with a Barça coloured strip from top tobottom.If your a "die hard" Barça fan, you will probably be tempted torace out to your

ATLETICO DE MADRID TRANSFER NEWS & RUMOUR 2008

ATLETICO DE MADRID has announced that they intend to make 2 or 3 more signnings for the new season. With this statement,Spanish daily "AS" publish that Atletico will return to the chargeto lure WERDER BREMEN & Brazilian International midfielderDIEGO.Atletico understand that it will be a difficult endeavour, howeverthe previous main competitors Real Madrid (concentrated withCristiano Ronaldo), FC

Does Shaq Have First Amendment Claim Against Phoenix Sheriff Who Took Away His Badge Over Kobe-Rap?

We've blogged before about Shaq's amusing part-time role as a volunteer reserve sheriff (see my post here and Mike's post here). After moving from Miami to Phoenix as part of the "worst trade ever", Deputy Diesel resumed his part-time law enforcement career with the Maricopa County Sheriff.

The Sheriff was not pleased, however, with Shaq's recent "freestyle" Kobe-dis, which aired yesterday on the web site TMZ (warning: mildly unsafe for work). In the profanity-laden performance, Shaq uses a racial epithet, accuses Kobe of ruining his marriage and opines that Kobe could not win a championship without him.

Sheriff Arpaio has now asked Shaq to turn in his badges. "[I]f any one of my deputies did something like this, they're fired," explained the Sheriff.

Could Shaq challenge his termination based on his First Amendment right to free speech? Interestingly, Arizona has recently produced some cases in which law enforcement officers challenged their terminations on free speech grounds. In Dible v. City of Chandler, the Ninth Circuit upheld the termination of a law enforcement officer who participated in his wife's pornographic photo business. The Court opined that his "speech" did not involve a matter of public concern, and therefore was not protected by the First Amendment.

While much of Shaq's rap clearly involved private matters, and his termination resulted more from the terms he used than the content of his expression, what about his assertion that Kobe couldn't win a championship without him? A matter of public concern or importance?

SPAIN EURO 2008 NEWS: ARAGONES STAYS WITH TRUSTED 11 AGAINST RUSSIA

It looked like coach Aragones may leave out Senna & Villa for thesemi-final against Russia. But he cleared doubts today in Spainstraining session when he handed out the starting team vests. It was the same trust 11 players that have started from the first game of Euro 2008.The team is tipped to be:Casillas, Ramos, Puyol, Marchena, Capdevila, Senna, Xavi, Iniesta,Silva, Torres & Villa,the same

TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS SEE DAVID VILLA AS AN OPTION

English Premier League Club TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS along with its Spanish coach Juande Ramos consider Spanish International& VALENCIA CF forward DAVID VILLA as the ideal option tocover the departure of its striker Berbatov. According to English paper"Sunday Mirror", Tottenham is willing to pay a 25M€ transfer fee toget Villa over to London.However, there are serious difficulties in the wished process

SPAIN EURO 2008 NEWS BRIEFS

Just some quick news bits concerning the Spanish National Footballside as it gears up for its semi-final clash against Russia this Thursdayin EURO 2008.For the curious & the"uniform" fetish fan, SPAIN will dress for the first time in official competition its GOLD uniform as seen in the image below, against Russia. Let´s hope it gives them luck.The other news comes out of "elmundo.com", were it

SEVILLA FC TRANSFER NEWS 2008: ROMARIC SIGNS FOR 5 YEARS

SEVILLA FC has its substitute for Keita who has signned forFC Barcelona, it´s Ivory Coast International & LENS midfielderNDRI ROMARIC (pictured below).The midfielder has signned for 5 years & has cost the Spanishclub around 8 M€, according to "As" & "Marca".

More on Sonics Lawsuit

Jim Brunner of the Seattle Times has a terrific new piece on the increasingly-acrimonious lawsuit between the Sonics and the city of Seattle. The article is entitled "Sonics Trial: What's Under All the Drama?" He interviews my good friend Professor Al Brophy and me, along with others, for the story. Here's an excerpt of our comments:

* * *

"I think the truth is the Sonics had the advantage going into this," said Michael McCann, a Boston College law professor and legal analyst for SportsIllustrated.com. "The tradition of courts has been to substitute monetary damages."

A crucial test for the city to reverse that presumption may be whether it can prove that the Sonics are a unique tenant — one that brings benefits to the city that cannot be calculated in dollars and cents.

The city has argued that point, bringing in witnesses to talk about the Sonics' charity work and the team's spillover economic benefits to the community.

Seattle also brought in author and National Book Award winner Alexie — who compared NBA players to Greek gods — to speak for passionate fans who would miss the team. (He brought up the missing cucumber sandwiches, which had been served at a past season-ticket holder event, to imply Bennett had deliberately sabotaged fan interest.)

The city has "a strong argument" when it comes to the unique benefits of having an NBA team as its arena tenant, said Alfred Brophy, a law professor at the University of Alabama and an expert in landlord-tenant law.

"Public interest is a trump card that judges throw down to resolve these kinds of huge cases, especially when you have something like a building that a lot of people use, or a highway, or in this case, a city's treasured team," Brophy said in an e-mail.

Brophy dismissed Bennett's claim that the team would lose $60 million over the final two seasons at KeyArena.

"The team's fear that they'll lose money isn't a factor in whether they've broken the contract. Just because you struck a bad deal and you're going to lose money isn't a basis for getting out of a contract," he said.

* * *

To read the rest of the article, click here. We have plenty of coverage of this trial on Sports Law Blog, including Mark Conrad's excellent post from last week.

George Carlin and some sports

Comedian George Carlin died yesterday of heart failure at age 71.

At Concurring Opinions, Deven Desai links to one of Carlin's funniest routines--comparing baseball with football. Worth a watch.

The New Republic's Feature Article on Sonny Vaccaro

In this week's The New Republic, Jason Zengerle has a terrific, in-depth (nearly 6,000 words) article on basketball legend Sonny Vacarro and his arguments against the NCAA and the current age eligibility rule for the NBA draft. I was interviewed for the article, which is entitled The Pivot. Here are a few excerpts:

* * *

As a shoe company executive, an all-star game organizer, and a summer camp and tournament operator, the 68-year-old Vaccaro has been one of the most powerful--and controversial--men in basketball for nearly three decades. He is the sport's ultimate insider, the man who brokered the marriage between Michael Jordan and Nike that gave birth to Air Jordan; plucked a 15-year-old Tracy McGrady from basketball obscurity in rural Florida and put him on the path to NBA stardom; and played godfather to myriad successful college basketball coaches, most notably Ben Howland, who reportedly owes his job at UCLA to Vaccaro's lobbying . . . When the NBA holds its annual draft on June 28 in New York City, Vaccaro will be there as the guest of at least three players expected to be taken in the first round. As one of those players, O.J. Mayo, who began keeping Vaccaro's counsel as a ninth-grader, has put it: "Sonny's kind of a man in the back."

* * *

Vaccaro believes the NCAA is fraudulent for two fundamental reasons: The first is that the NCAA is more devoted to business than to education; and the second is that the NCAA makes its money by exploiting the talents of the young men it is supposed to be educating. "They're not good people, the NCAA," Vaccaro told me. "It's a one-sided street; all the money goes to them." Vaccaro is revolted by the hypocrisy that's become engrained in the culture of college athletics--the insistence that the athletes are students, that the coaches are teachers (not "mercenaries" and "hired guns," as he calls them), and that "college sports," as NCAA president Myles Brand has declared, "is not a business." If Vaccaro's life is a testament to anything, it's that college sports is a business. And his new mission is to ensure that the people who contribute most to that business, the athletes, get something in return. "My goal," Vaccaro says, "is to get freedom for these kids."

* * *

In the meantime, Vaccaro is looking for ways to circumvent the "one-and- done" rule. The most promising avenue lies overseas. Two years ago, he was on the verge of brokering a deal for two American high-school stars to play one season for a professional team in Israel, but he scotched the idea because of Israel's conflict with Hezbollah. "The guy from the team was telling me, 'Sonny, the bombs don't come to Jerusalem,' but I couldn't let them go there," Vaccaro recalls. (Both players went to college instead.) Vaccaro is now looking for other young hoops phenoms who'd be interested in playing overseas for the year they'd otherwise be in college before coming back to enter the NBA draft. "I need Jackie Robinson; I need a guy who can stand this," he says. "And I think I'll have one."

* * *

For the rest The Pivot, click here. For other Sports Law Blog coverage of Sonny Vaccaro, including discussion of his recent talks at Harvard Law School and Yale Law School, among other schools, click here.

Book Recommendation: Money Players

I recently enjoyed reading Marc Isenberg's Money Players: A Pro Athlete's Guide to Success in Sports, Business & Life. I enthusiastically recommend it to any sports fan, but particularly any player, team executive, agent, or prospective agent.

Over the course of 23 chapters, Money Players thoughtfully details every imaginable business aspect of becoming and being a professional athlete--from selecting an agent to maximizing media relations to understanding the duties and rights of being a member of a players' union--and does so in very clear and precise ways. In chapter 7, for instance, Marc offers a particularly terrific description of how the player drafts work, comparing the rules, as well as the risks and benefits of the major leagues' drafts.

I suspect I'll be regualrly using Money Players as a resource. It certainly delves into sports law issues and does so with both sophistication and clarity. If you would like to learn more about Money Players, check out these excerprts, Darren Heitner's interview of Marc on Sports Agent Blog, and Marc's blog, Money Players. If you are interested in learning more about ordering the book, click here.

New Sports Law Scholarship

Recently published scholarship:

James J. LaRocca, No trust at the NFL: league’s network passes rule of reason analysis, 15 UCLA ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW 87 (2008)

Mitchell Nathanson, What’s in a name or, better yet, what’s it worth? Cities, sport teams and the right of publicity, 58 CASE WESTERN RESERVE LAW REVIEW 167 (2007)

Justin F. Paget, Comment, Did Gebser cause the metastasization of the sexual harassment epidemic in educational institutions? A critical review of sexual harassment under Title IX ten years later, 42 UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND LAW REVIEW 1257 (2008)

David G. Roberts, Jr., Note, The right of publicity and fantasy sports: why the C.B.C. Distribution court got it wrong, 58 CASE WESTERN RESERVE LAW REVIEW 223 (2007)

Brian Shaffer, Comment, The NBA’s age requirement shoots and misses: how the non-statutory exemption produces inequitable results for high school basketball stars, 48 SANTA CLARA LAW REVIEW 681 (2008)

Michael J. Weir, Note, The ugly side of the beautiful game: “bungs” and the corruption of players’ agents in European football, 14 SOUTHWESTERN JOURNAL OF LAW & TRADE IN THE AMERICAS 145 (2007)

EURO 2008 Q/FINAL: SPAIN 4 - ITALY 2 - NAIL BITTER IN PENALTIES (SEE VIDEO)

At last SPAIN has shaken off history & a very tough opponentITALY in the most dramatic way possible, in the penalty shootout that went Spain´s way with a final 4-2 scoreline.The heroe was Spanish goalkeeper & Captain IKER CASILLASwho stopped two goals to help guide his team to victory & into nextThursdays Semi-Final against Russia.Spain was superior throughout the whole game, with penalties

80Kg Kettlebell Swings

80Kg Kettlebell Swings

As an addition to my post entitled 'Heavy Kettlebells swings.'
This is kind of a part 2 if you like.

Take a look at this video of me swinging 2 x 40kg kettlebells with one hand.
Again great for core power and grip strength.
Just grab the weight and work upto whatever you can. Test yourself and see how heavy you can go, after the that it's all about the height.

More height = More power



80kg Kettlebell Swings

SPAIN EURO 2008: THE CHOSEN ELEVEN

These are the 11 men chosen to meet Italy in tonights Q/Final of theEuro 2008 tournament. Eleven men that will represent 42,000,000Spaniards & attempt to break the traditional "curse" of eliminationat this stage.SFS wishes to say just the following, good luck, may the Footballgods smile upon them.

The Essence of Success - Sports and Otherwise

Every now and then we get a glimpse of the essence of something – that special ingredient among many that is most responsible for whatever it is. Without malt powder, it’s only a milk shake kind of stuff. Tiger Woods by all accounts is a successful golfer. At only age 32, he is winning major tournaments at a pace faster than anyone in the history of the sport.[1] Around the water cooler we try to capture his essence by saying “He’s a great athlete”. But upon the revelation that he not only won the U.S Open while hurt, but with a broken leg and a bum knee (technically two fractures of a major leg bone – the fibula- and serious ACL knee ligament damage), the essence is something more than just having “athleticism”. Some humans with great athleticism would cue the pain and have been back at the clubhouse by day 2, 3, 4, or day 5. Some humans would have missed the US Open altogether by the completely legitimate excuse of taking the advice of Tiger’s highly respected doctors. They essentially said, “swing your crutches not your clubs” this week.
But from the 5-day reality show called the US Open, we saw the essence of why Tiger Woods is so successful.” He wasn’t at his job just to make money. Before the Open started, he already had $128 million from salary, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees, making him the top-earning US athlete on the Sports Illustrated “Fortunate 50” for several years and counting. It is his ability to compete at the highest level in the face of adversity, the competitive desire to win, the single-minded purposefulness to overcome major “distractions”, the patience and perseverance to, as he says, “grind it out. Isn’t that the key in many of our personal and professional endeavors? When we rewind our minds to when we have been most successful, hasn’t it often involved one or more of those attributes? When you worked not just to get paid, but a combination of profitability and passion? Without swinging a 7 iron, haven’t you done your best when you stayed focused on the task at hand, or continued to work into the night to grind out a document when you could have been sipping martinis, or ignored the excuses to fight for what you believed about your abilities, not limiting yourself to what others thought were your limitations? What I saw in the US Open, therefore, was not just a sporting event. I saw a glimpse of greatness, born not in a golf swing or the singular desire to make the next dollar (OK, the next million dollars). The essence was in the mind and heart of a great achiever. I also saw a glimpse of the essence of what breeds success in all of us – just not as profitable and prolific, but prophetic nonetheless.

[1] He has now won 14 major championships. Only a legend named Jack has more at 18, but it took him longer to reach where Woods is now.

SPAIN EURO 2008 NEWS: COACH ARAGONES STICKS WITH TRUSTED 11 AGAINST ITALY

Spanish coach Luis Aragones will stick with his "trusted" 11 starting players - line up. News sources are constantly followingthe training seasons to figure out the clues & it looks that this willbe the case.The atmosphere is great & the team feels optimistic, maintainingits respect for what is traditionally a very crafty & experiencedItalian side.The starting line up for next Sunday´s Q/F

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER BRIEFS 2008: COUPET & GUIZA

GREGORY COUPET, LYON & French International goalkeeper,has signned for ATLETICO DE MADRID. Yesterday (see belowpost) SFS commented that the Frenchmen was seen in Madrid lastThursday talking with Atletico officials.The deal is said to be 1.5M€ transfer fee & a 3 year contract.REAL MALLORCA & Spanish International DANI GUIZA passed medical tests at Munich to clear the way for his signningfor

Heavy Kettlebell Swings

Heavy Kettlebell Swings

Heavy kettlebell swings used in a explosive training phase can be used as an alternative way to train power through your hips abs and back or as an extra dimension to your jumping, sprinting or o'lift routine.

Here is a video of me using 2 kettlebells, a 40kg and a 20kg together. The extra thickness of 2 handles together also challenges your grip strength. Although the movement doesn't look too speedy or massively explosive it does a tremendous job of hitting the core and back muscles and training the whole body together as a unit.

I find when I do heavy kettlebell swings there is a direct crossover to traditional weight training as it pulls your whole body together and trains it work as one piece. As you may know trying to swing 60 or 80kg of metal won't happen if you don't allow your muscles to work in harmony.

This is the key to all and any sport, if you don't train your body to work as a unit IT JUST AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!






Heavy Kettlebell Swings

Simple Training Program for Kettlebells

Simple Training Program for Kettlebells

With my tactical strength training coming on nicely.
I have decided to use the most basic form of training available. I did a test on the 24kg kettlebell snatch for reps in 5mins last night to get a good starting point.
I managed 110 reps quite easily. I have set a target at 150 reps in 5 mins. With some carefully considered training I believe this is attainable

Forget periodisation and the like. I believe it's possible to achieve a peak if you don't stray too far away from fitness and strength.

The program's simple. 10 x 1 min - try and get build up from 20-30 snatches with 1 min rest between sets and reduce the rest time by 10 secs every workout until 30 secs rest has been reached. Then increase time of set to 1.5 mins and so on.

Even if the sets are not completed fully, this program will certainly increase cardio vascular fitness and muscular endurance.

Don't spend ages thinking about how you're going to train. Get a plan and stick to it!

Coming soon 60kg kettlebel video's

Simple Training Program for Kettlebells

REAL MADRID 2008: CRISTIANO RONALDO SAYS YES

Portugues star CRISTIANO RONALDO said yesterday what mostpeople expected without directly mentioning REAL MADRID, that hehas made his decision & wishes to leave MANCHESTER UNITED.It occured after Portugal were knocked out of the EuropeanChampionships by Germany when journalists pounced onto the playersfor their comments.Here are a few quotes translated to English:"The train of opportunity only

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER NEWS 2008: ADEBAYOR, KONKO & COUPET

More movements, rumours & signnings in the transfer market& in the Spanish League for next season. Here are just three thatsplash the local Spanish papers.According to "Marca", ARSENAL & FC BARCELONA have cometo an agreement to transfer forward ADEBAYOR (above) toBarça for 27M€. This is the only paper to say that its a done deal, while the others just say that it is a virtual deal.Yesterday -

Article on Coach Liability in Pro Athlete Injury Cases

From the Tort Law Professor Blog:

Sports law casebook author and Wake Forest Professor Timothy Davis has posted Tort Liability of Coaches for Injuries to Professional Athletes: Overcoming Policy and Doctrinal Barriers. Here's an abstract of the article:

The resolution of seemingly straightforward disputes that arise in sports often require courts to invoke rules from several substantive areas of the law. The potential tort liability of coaches and their teams for injuries to professional athletes provides such an illustration. Determining the culpability of coaches requires resort not only to tort law doctrine, but also to doctrine and policy related to contract, labor, and workers compensation law. This article first provides an overview of the law regarding the tort liability of institutions for injuries to athletes and the standards of care that courts have adopted. The article suggests that the breach of any duty imposed on coaches and their teams to players would most likely be assessed according to a heightened standard of care, specifically recklessness. The article concludes, however, that even if a coach engages in conduct that falls short of the applicable standard of care, a professional athlete will have difficulty prevailing in a tort-based civil action against a coach, or by virtue of vicarious liability, the team. In this regard, the article briefly discusses the defenses that might impede a player's ability to pursue state tort claims. These defenses, which include the labor law preemption doctrine, mandatory arbitration, and workers compensation, demonstrate the convergence of different strands of law in resolving sports-related disputes.

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER RUMOURS 2008:REAL MADRID, FC BARCELONA & SEVILLA FC

Here are some transfer talk & rumours of interest picked up todayfrom the local Sporting press.According to daily "As" REAL MADRID will transfer ROBINHO ifCRISTIANO RONLADO finally manages to make the jump to Madrid.The Spanish Club has placed a 40M€ price tag on the Brazilian which will help finance the Cristiano "operation".Chelsea under Scolari is interested & so is Manchester United, with the

EURO 2008: GREECE 1 - SPAIN (B) 2

As predicted SPAIN put out its "B-team" ( substitutes) in tonightsthird & last Group D match against GREECE. Spain had alreadyqualified itself as Group leader & decided to rest its "official" teamfor next Sundays Q/Final against Italy, while allowing its "subs" a chance to play in the tournament. The final result 1 - 2 in Spain´s favour was a fair result as overall the Spaniards played better.The

Tactical Strength Challenge

Tactical Strength Challenge

As a boost to my all round fitness. I will be preparing myself for the Tactical Strength Challenge.

What is it?

1. Deadlift Maximum
2. 24kg Kettlebell Snatch for max reps in 5 mins
3. Max Pullups

Whilst currently training for the Highland Games, Athletics and an attempt at the Dinnie Stones
in Late August....

You would think I had enough on my plate.
Well I like a challenge and I really think this will be one. I'm fairly sure I have the deadlift and kettlebell snatches boxed off but the pullups will certainly add a new dimension to my routine.

I currently have GTG (grease the groove) training in mind for the pullups as without a doubt it proves itself to be a time tested strength training method when you need the injection fairly rapidly. Mike Mahler has a program based on this method for getting bigger arms here.

I feel the deadlift fits into my HG routine fairly well as I like to do deadlift, zercher squats and front squats for this, coupled with copious amounts of kettlebell pressing and kettlebell farmers walking which lends itself to the heavy stone lifting.

A sample of one of my routines would look like this.


Kettlebell halo's and figure 8's
Kettlebell snatch 3x20 left and right @ 24kg for a warm up

Trap bar deadlift - work upto a max and then drop about 25% and do a max rep set
Zercher squat work upto a max
Seated kettlebell snatch 4 x 10 @ 24kgs

Then burn myself up with a 2 x 40kg kettlebell Farmers walk for as far as I can carry them!
That's an average strength routine at the moment, nothing fancy but it works the big muscles and gets you prepped for the big stuff and most definitely some carry over for the Tactical Strength Challenge




tactical strength challenge

Unusual Kettlebell Training

Unusual Kettlebell Training

Check out the Great kettlebell training video of Ivan Denisov on Kettlebells.org.uk
It's fantastic some of the skills he uses. Double /triple flips side to side, behind the back, under the leg. They're all skills that can be honed through consistent practice and perserverance.
I've currently being trying the side to side swing, which is really hard to master and get fluency.
However, I've found out that with my left hand it's quite difficult as I don't have the co-ordination yet so will be working on this one.

I also found this interesting video of grip man Jedd Johnson of Diesel Crew

What I found interesting was the side to side flip going upwards.
Instead of the handle flipping upright he flips it side to side.
Definately one to try out and add a new dimension to you're kettlebell co-ordination skills
Enjoy







kettlebell side flips

NCAA "Singles Out" Baseball Player for Not Paying Advisor

Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (OSU Case Raises Questions About NCAA Rules for Agents, 6/16/08) reports that Oklahoma State University pitcher Andy Oliver was declared ineligible late last month by the NCAA after he received a bill for $113,000 from his "advisor," MLB certified agent Robert Baratta. Oliver recently terminated Baratta, and hired Scott Boras as his advisor. According to Mullen, "Baratta maintains that by charging Oliver for 325 hours of advice at $350 an hour, he was following NCAA guidelines that state a student athlete must pay his adviser at that adviser’s normal rate." Mullen raises an interesting point: "The issue in the industry is the fact that many MLB player agents routinely charge student athletes nothing unless and until the player is drafted. That leads to the question of whether this standard, industry practice is a violation of NCAA rules." I would add that it also leads to the corollary question of whether or not agent regulations of governing bodies should conform with industry norms.

The NCAA Bylaws on amateurism and use of agents, which are incorporated into the student-athlete's scholarship, do not contain any provision requiring a student-athlete in any sport to pay his or her advisor, let alone how to pay his advisor. However, there is a statement buried in a Memorandum, dated October 7, 2007, from the NCAA to Baseball Student-Athletes with Remaining Eligibility that provides: "Finally, it is important to note that in order to maintain your eligibility at an NCAA school, if you receive assistance from an advisor, you will be required to pay that advisor at his or her normal rate for such services." The Memorandum contains a signature line for the athlete to date and sign.

The first "advice" that an advisor might consider giving his client is to not sign this document. I have no idea whether Oliver signed it, but I do not see how this Memorandum has any legal significance whatsoever if the student-athlete does not agree to it. Neither the NCAA bylaws nor the student-athlete's scholarship incorporates or references this document. If the NCAA were to declare ineligible a student-athlete who did not sign it, I think the student-athlete would make a very good case for breach of contract (his scholarship) and that the NCAA lacks the authority to declare any student-athlete ineligible for doing something that does not violate its rules and regulations. Under these facts and circumstances, it would be difficult for the NCAA to take the position that signing the Memorandum is a condition to remaining eligible. But that's the legal analysis. The practical reality is that if a player refused to sign it, the compliance director of the school would say to the player, "you need to sign it if you want to play."

This entire situation can be avoided if the NCAA would simply recognize that baseball players are uniquely situated from student-athletes in football and basketball because of the timing of the draft. The MLB draft takes place within days of the completion of the college regular baseball season, and during the playoffs for many players drafted. Student-athletes can't sign a contract with an agent before the draft because they will jeopardize their eligibility, and they also can't agree that they will pay an advisor when they sign a professional contract. So this "under the table" process takes place in which players choose an advisor with a handshake, and the advisor talks to clubs on his behalf, thus technically breaking every rule in the book. These verbal arrangements also create uncertainty between the parties regarding the terms of their relationship, including the agent's fee. But in football, for example, the player has a period of months between the end of the season and the draft to select and sign with an agent. The player signs the NFLPA standard representation agreement at which point there is no concern regarding loss of eligibility because the athlete has no remaining eligibility (he is either a senior or has declared himself eligible for the draft).

In a law review article published in 2005 (which can be downloaded from here), I proposed that the NCAA make an exception for baseball players and permit them to sign with an advisor during the season as long as the player and advisor execute a standard representation agreement drafted by the NCAA. This would help to clarify and define the "industry norms" as well as bring certainty to the terms of the player-advisor relationship.

SPAIN EURO2008 NEWS: SUBSTITUTES TO GET A RUN AGAINST GREECE

SPAIN plays its last game of Group D on Wednesday againstGREECE & already knows it has qualified for the Q/Finals asgroup leader. This allows coach Luis Aragones to contemplaterest for his regular players & give a run to the other membersof the squad.This is precisely what will occur, with the following line-up being named to play on Wednesday:Reina, Arbeloa, Juanito, Albiol, Fernando Navarro;

MLB Power Rankings

Here is how I see the top 10 in the MLB as of June 17th... feel free to disagree, as this is what I believe is referred to as an inexact science.

1. Chicago Cubs - No real question about this in my mind. The Cubs are 2nd in the Majors in runs and 4th in the Majors in ERA. This means that their pythegorean record is even better than their Major League best 45-25 mark, which means this hot start is probably not a fluke. We'll see if they keep this pace up even with Soriano on the shelf, but so far they appear to be very legit.

2. Boston Red Sox - The Sox have a blistering 28-7 record at home, but they're only 16-22 on the road. They're also dealing with an injury to an offensive star, as David Ortiz continues to mend. But JD Drew has actually looked like an $11 million/year player of late, meaning the offense has barely missed a beat.

3. Philadelphia Phillies - Led by strong MVP candidate Chase Utley (and don't look now, but Pat Burrell has been awesome this year), the Phillies look like the 2nd best team in the NL right now. Cole Hamels is keeping the rotation together, and the pen is led by Brad Lidge, who has decided to be a great (great) closer again. The Phils actually have the 2nd best pythagorean record in the MLB.

4. Chicago White Sox - Guys like Carlos Quentin and Alexei Ramirez might lead you to think that hitting has been the main reason for the Sox becoming relevant once again, but pitching has actually been the reason. Their 3.33 ERA is tops in the Majors, and they have been solid from 1-5 in the rotation, most surprisingly with John Danks and Gavin Floyd.

5. Oakland Athletics - The A's were supposed to be rebuilding, but they're 38-31, and the run differential suggests they should be even better than that. They're not ripping it up at the plate, but their 3.34 is just barely behind the White Sox for best in the MLB. If Rich Harden stays healthy (a huge if), the A's have one of the most formidable rotations in the MLB.

6. LA Angels - The Angels lead the AL West, but part of that reason is a little bit of abnormal success in close games, as shown through K-Rod's MLB leading 28 saves. They're in the bottom 3rd of the MLB in runs, however, and they'll need Vladimir Guerrero to start picking it up if they're going to continue at this pace.

7. St. Louis Cardinals - Even with Pujols injured, they're sticking in there with guys like Ryan Ludwick, who's improbably been one of the best hitters in the NL this season. Unfortunately, things haven't gotten easier, with Adam Wainwright on the DL and Todd Wellemeyer undergoing problems recently. Dave Duncan needs to keep pulling rabbits out of his hat.

8. Tampa Bay Rays - One of the feel good stories of the season, the Rays are 11 games above the .500 mark and having the best season so far of their existence. While BJ Upton and Carl Crawford are some of the first guys that come to mind, this has been the result of pitching from Scott Kazmir, Matt Garza, and James Shields. Kazmir missed the start of the year because of injury, but he might still be a Cy Young candidate - in 8 starts he has 6 wins, a 1.74 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 9.41 K/9.

9. Arizona Diamondbacks - The DBacks aren't doing anything special, but they have a large lead over the rest of the West, which has been really bad. Some might consider Justin Upton a disappointment a little for his low BA, but his peripheral numbers look pretty excellent for a 20 year old. He's going to be studly.

10. New York Yankees - The Yankees are just hanging around, like they usually do. The pitching was already mediocre, and that won't be helped by the injury of Wang. The Yankees do have to be pleased with the resurgence of Jason Giambi, who is a power threat once again.

What changes would you make?

FIFA WILL NOT ACT AGAINST REAL MADRID IN THE "CRISTIANO RONALDO AFFAIR", PLUS THE LATEST NEWS.

The World Football governing body FIFA has announced that itwill not take any action against REAL MADRID after English ClubMANCHESTER UNITED denounced "wrong doing" by the SpanishClub in its attempts to lure its contracted player CRISTIANORONALDO. However, FIFA has warned Real Madrid that they will keep an eye out & that they should stay within the limits of the acceptedlaws. SFS likes that, "

ATLETICO DE MADRID: NEW LOOK SHIRTS FOR 2008/2009

Spanish daily "Marca" has given a sneak preview to what will be the new look ATLETICO DE MADRID shirts for the upcoming new2008-2009 season (as seen below). The Club will officially make the presentation at their stadium - Vicente Calderon - on the 27th ofJune.Atletico recover their more "classical" image with thinker red lines& the Club emblem closer to the heart. Lets hope this is a good

Seattle Pins Hopes on Specific Performance to Keep Sonics in Town

Specific performance is one of those rarely-invoked contract remedies that makes for interesting reading. Because the remedy is limited to contracts involving "unique" items, it forces courts to determine the level of irreplacability and scarcity before imposing the remedy. Specific performance cases often involve cases of contracts involving rare works of art or real estate.

But a sports team? That is the question being asked in Seattle, where the city is attempting to compel its team, the SuperSonics to play out the remaining two years of its lease in Seattle before making a move to Oklahoma City. Previous posts in April 2008 and October 2007 discussed the dispute in detail. Essentially the team played in an aging facility (the smallest in the NBA) and when the city refused to make improvements in the KeyArena, the team was sold to Clayton Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman who vowed to move it to his home town. The NBA gave its approval in the April.

However, the lease with Key Center ends in 2010 and the city wants the team to honor it. Marsha Pechman, the federal district court judge who will preside, will have the opportunity that law professors crave: decide on a case that has a compelling set of facts and the question of whether specific performance can be awarded in this case.

There is an excellent piece in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer which outlines the issue exceptionally well for non-lawyer readers. [Note, however, there is one journalistic faux pas that bothers me (as a former journalist). In that article, it states that "most attorneys claim that the city has a strong case." The author does not identify any attorneys nor gives us any basis for that quotation. It would have been helped to get some quotations.]

In any event, I don't see the case as being that simple. In addition to "uniqueness" the party seeking specific performance must show that it acted with good faith and with "clean hands." Let's assume that the Sonics are a "unique" tenant, unlike a typical business. This is reasonable since it would be difficult to find a replacement NBA team. But the good faith issue is in question and certainly would be contested during the trial. Did the city block attempts to refurnish or built a new arena? Did the two sides honestly try to resolve the dispute? Did Bennett act with good faith in his negotiations or did he consider it a fait accompli to move?

Finally, there is a bona fide question of the equity of compelling a team to play out a lease that would be less than economically viable. Setting aside the debate on whether the team "lost money" in Seattle, one can imagine the space crowds and public disdain for the team during those two years in Seattle. Compounding all this is a lawsuit by the former owner of the team seeking rescission of the sale and what effect a grating of specific performance would have on that litigation.

I see two upsides if the city is successful. By granting the request is that during those two years, it may be possible to the city of Seattle to agree on refurbishing the KeyArena or funding (partially) the construction of a new facility. But that is speculative and it may takes years for the fans to forgive the team for its actions. The second upside for the city is more vindicative: stick it to the team and force them to negotiate a settlement on better terms for the city. My gut tells me that is a plausible scenario.

The best solution: avoid specific performance and slap Mr. Bennett with damages (even perhaps some consequential damages, although that would be a leap) and wish him and the team a not so nice adieu.

FC BARCELONA NEWS 2008: LOOKING FOR A Nº9, CONTINUES PARTII...

As mentioned on previous ocassions FC BARCELONA may havea hole upfront: their centre-forward, the traditional Number 9.It´s more than likely that their current Nº9 SAMUEL ETO´Owill leave, & the forward has numerous offers ranging fromTottenham, Manchester City, Chelsea FC, Inter & the most serious to date, AC MILAN. The Italian giant has offered, according to "Sport", a 4 year contract with 9M€/

REAL SPORTING DE GIJON BACK IN THE SPANISH 1ºST DIVISION AFTER 10 YEARS

One of Spain´s breeding grounds of Football ( Quini, Abelardo,Maceda, Luis Enrique, David Villa...), the city of Gijon, has it´s team back in the Spanish 1ºst Division after REAL SPORTINGDE GIJON defeated Eibar 2-1 in the last round of the 2ºDivision.Fabulous joy for SFS as Sporting is it´s second team & finally seesthem in "La Liga" after a 10 year absence.The goals from BILIC & LUIS MORAN

Kettlebell Routine

Kettlebell Routine


What's your kettlebell routine?????

Please post comments as to what your current routine is and why you're doing it.

Cheers


At the moment I'm working on repping out with the 24kg kettlebell for 2-3 sets of 60 reps on the snatch and alternating with the clean and press.
On alternate days I'm working on 2 hand snatch with the 48kg kettlebell for 4-5 sets of 10
Quite basic as usual. Will be starting on the 60kg kettlebell in preperation for the highland games.


kettlebell routine

RAFAEL NADAL WINS QUEENS 2008

No better way to set up Wimbledon & your grass game with awin over Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5 & take out the Queens Tennistournament. That´s what Spaniard & World Nº 2 RAFAELNADAL has done today & win his first green court trophy.Nadal has improved his serve greatly & added with his toughmental conditions, managed to crack a tough nut like Djokovic.This win should boost confidence for the Spaniard

IMAGINE A TORRES - VILLA FORWARD LINE? LIVERPOOL FC IS AT IT

Imagine this duo up front at your favourite Football Club? That´sthe idea that manager Rafa Benitez wishes for LIVERPOOL FC.According to English sources "Mail on Sunday" & the "BBC Web"Benitez is attempting to persuade DAVID VILLA to consider seriously the possiblity of moving over to Liverpool. With PeterCrouch likely to leave, a vacancy appears that Villa could nicely fill & join fellow

FC BARCELONA NEWS 2008: LOOKING FOR Nº9 CONTINUES...

The Barcelona based sports daily "Sport" not only is pro-Barça, but on occasions the best paper to know the real inside case whenyou wish to understand FC BARCELONA. The Club has lost already Giovani & will lose Deco, Ronaldinho & most probablySamuel Eto´o for next season; the problem is obvious, who willbe the new Nº9?Daily "Sport" speculates with the above names, with David Villagaining

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EURO 2008: SWEDEN 1 - SPAIN 2. DAVID VILLA PUTS SPAIN IN THE Q/FINALS (See Video)

SWEDEN lost 1-2 to SPAIN in extremis after everyone was packingtheir belongings to go home. DAVID VILLA got onto a long defensiveball ( of desperation) to control & score his 4ºth of the Championship& the winner for Spain, which puts them into the Q/Finals.Spain started well with the control of the ball & the match. So much so, that in the 14th min FERNANDO TORRES put Spain ahead ( seeimage below

FC BARCELONA: ZAMBROTTA TO AC MILAN

It was talked about for months, now it´s a reality as the announcementcomes officially from FC BARCELONA. Its Italian International defenderZAMBROTTA ( pictured below) has been transferred to Italian giantAC MILAN for 9M€ , + 2M€ in form of "incentives".Some may claim that his 2 year stay at Barça has been disappointing, that the top defender has not lived up to expectations, which is a

SPAIN EURO 2008 NEWS: SAME TEAM FOR SWEDEN

It´s like the American saying: "If it ain´t broke, why fix it". SpanishNational Squad coach Luis Aragones will line up the same side asagainst Russia in tomorrow´s second Group D game againstSWEDEN.The picture above illustrates the team for tomorrow, at 18.00 local time, with:Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Puyol, Marchena, Capdevila; Senna, Xavi,Iniesta, Silva; Torres & Villa.A win tomorrow will take

NEW CHELSEA FC COACH SCOLARI ASKS FOR ROBINHO

News from Spanish daily "AS" informs that new CHELSEA FC coach Felipe Scolari has specifically solicitated the English Club the services of Brazilian International & REAL MADRID forwardROBINHO (pictured below).Real Madrid has on numerous occasion announced that Robinho is not for sale & that the Club counts on the Brazilian for next season. However, according to "AS", Real Madrid directives

ATLETICO DE MADRID & ASSUNÇAO HAVE A DEAL?

According to " AS" until the 1st of July the announcement cannotbe made official, but apparently OPORTO midfield star PAULOASSUNÇAO has an agreement with ATLETICO DE MADRID for next season.Little is known of the economic conditions & the terms, but that´snot really important, what is of note is that - if the story is true - the Spanish Club strenghtens its midfield & that is always good news.

FC BARCELONA TRANSFER NEWS BRIEFS 2008

Here are some short news flashes on the transfer front with FCBARCELONA which are always of interest in the World of Football.Nothing like AC MILAN to come to your adopted city - Barcelona-& publically announce that your no longer wanted. That´s what happened yesterday when AC Milan said that they had changed theirsignning priority: RONALDINHO is no longer wanted, but insteadthe Nº1 chosen player

MANCHESTER UNITED & REAL MADRID CF: "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better..."

It´s the well known song that continues ...no you can´t, yes I can, no you can´t, yes I can...According to local press, lead by "Marca", MANCHESTER UNITED has counter-attacked & fired right at the heart of Spanish giantREAL MADRID. Apparently the English Champions have madehuge offers for defender SERGIO RAMOS & Brazilian InternationalROBINHO.Here´s the deal: 65M€ for Sergio Ramos & a salary of

REAL MADRID CF CAUGHT "RED HANDED"? THE CRISTIANO RONALDO AFFAIR OR DESPERATION AT MANCHESTER

The English paper "The Sun" have "caught", via a photo (seeThe Sun cover below), Manchester United star CRISTIANORONALDO with his top mate Valter Di Salvo in Rome (Italy)the 8th of January 2008.So what? Who the hell is Di Salvo? None other than Director ofthe REAL MADRID "High Performance" Sports Center.Bad news for Real Madrid! With Manchester United taking theSpanish Club to FIFA, & Real

Home Run Derby Promotion

State Farm and Major League Baseball have partnered to launch the Call Your Shot consumer promotion taking place the State Farm Home Run Derby. Here's how the promotion works: Fans can enter the promotion daily through June 24 at www.sfCallYourShot.com/2008. The grand prize winner of Call Your Shot will win:

- All-expense paid trip for four to the All-Star Game and State Farm Home Run Derby
- First class hotel accommodations in New York
- Tickets to a Broadway show
- $1,000 MasterCard gift card

The grand prize winner will also get the chance to pick a spot where two of the Home Run Derby players must compete to try to hit a ball to. If the first player hits the ball to the called spot, the promotion ends. If either player succeeds, the fan receives a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid vehicle and a 2009 season-ticket package for any team.

Additionally, 10 fans will win first place prizes consisting of a $300 MLB.com gift card and 25 second prize winners will receive $100 MLB.com gift cards.

A Good Walk Spoiled Even More

With the United States Open ready to begin this week, the man some Europeans think is the quintessential American is making news across the pond in the birthplace of golf. Donald Trump is in Scotland this week testifying before the equivalent of a zoning board and trying to calm the local furor over his plans to build a monstrous golf resort on a pristine piece of Scottish coastline called Aberdeenshire.

In the typical bravado of The Donald, Trump says he plans to build the “world’s greatest golf course,” two of them actually, together with an eight story hotel, 950 timeshare apartments and 500 houses. This is certainly a bit of hyperbole when many would argue the greatest golf course is further down the coast at St. Andrews. Quite a few have been built since the Old Course was finished in 1764.

The local board which originally reviewed Trump’s proposal rejected it because of the impact on a protected environmental site. The chief solicitor at the time, Martin Ford, was then promptly sacked and replaced with someone more sympathetic to development of the site.

Trump claims his motives are not the almighty dollar but to protect the environment and to cherish the memory of his mother who is of Scottish descent. As the poet once said, “Money doesn’t talk, it swears.”

Golf is under some fire lately by the Greens keepers, and I don’t mean the guys who keep the golf courses in tip top shape through the massive use of irrigated water and insecticides. There are about 35,000 golf courses world wide, half of those in the United States, with hundreds more being built each year. Each course uses on average 312,000 gallons of water a day, which comes to about 2200 gallons of water for each golfer for each round. When fresh water is in such short supply, particularly in states like California where the Open is being played, such consumption is difficult to justify. In addition, golf courses apply an average of more than a thousand pounds of pesticides annually or five times more than is used agriculturally, not to mention the amount of chemical fertilizer and weed killer added to the mix.

If you have ever played a course like St. Andrews, or Pine Valley not too far from my office in New Jersey, where the golf is played on a natural landscape, the experience is almost spiritual and far superior to that played on one of those desert monstrosities kept a sickly bright green. Golf needs to stop adding to the environmental problems facing all of us and our children and find the green dead straight ahead.

Kettlebell Morning

Kettlebell Morning

This is the epitome of training outside.
If you get sick and tired of training in confined places, there is nothing like getting out doors to somewhere nice and peacful for a great energising workout.

Just feeling the weight lifted off your shoulders is a great feeling and adds to the intensity of your workout. This not only relieves stress but allows you to breath copious amounts of fresh air between sets.




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FC BARCELONA TRANSFER BRIEFS: STILL LOOKING FOR A Nº9

According to "Marca" & "Sport", FC BARCELONA has approachedGerman International & STUTTGART forward MARIO GOMEZ(pictured below), according to comments made by his representativeUli Ferber to "Sport Bild".The player has contract with his current club until 2012 & Stuttgart hassaid they will not listen for anything less than 30M€.As you can read Barça are combing the market for a class Nº9 asEto´o

EURO 2008: SPAIN 4 - RUSSIA 1 - DAVID VILLA HAT - TRICK (SEE VIDEO)

It´s exactly how SPAIN wanted to start its journey in EURO 2008with a conviencing victory in its opening Group D match againstRUSSIA win a 4-1 scoreline. The man of the match was ValenciaCF player DAVID VILLA who scored a HAT-TRICK.The game was played under a constant rain with both sides testing each other out early, with Spain nervous as the Russian made good play & had chances. The starting

60KG Kettlebell

60kg Kettlebell is on it's way from London Kettlebells

Check it out against the 6kg kettlebell.

It's going to be a monster. It totall dwarfs the 6kg kettlebell as you'd expect.
It's like Daddybell taking Babybell for a walk.

So as I am waiting for the 'TITAN' to arrive I'll have to content with watching other people lift and manhandle this Megabell.

Valery instructs Heavy Kettlebell lift

Valery Federenko instructs how to lift the big kettlebell.
See how this gets right under the KB and make's sure his lower arm is vertical and the kettlebell is resting in the crook of his arm. It's phenomenal for a guy of his build.
Truly inspiring for kettlebell lifters.






60kg kettlebell

EURO 2008 NEWS: SPAIN SING THEIR "WAR CHANT" - "A POR ELLOS"

The Spanish National Football squad at EURO 2008 yesterday got together to sing the "war chant" to will inspire the team & the nation towards the coverted European Football prize.Song title : " A por ellos" (translated +/-) "Going after them"Check the video out:Great to see the serious coach Luis Aragones let lose & join in with his singing, & good sign to see the guys enjoying themselvesto

FC BARCELONA NEWS 2008: SAMUEL ETO´O & THE Nº9

AC MILAN is already talking with FC BARCELONA forwardSAMUEL ETO´O, but they´re not the only ones. Spanish daily"Marca" has published that CHELSEA FC has made a 27M€ offer so that the Camaroon International can take over departingplayer Drogba´s place.But there´s more, new INTER MILAN coach Mourinho also wishes toincorporate Eto´o to his new proyect & is in there also battling to winover the

MANCHESTER UNITED TAKE REAL MADRID TO FIFA OVER CRISTIANO RONALDO

The MANCHESTER UNITED threat is now a reality, latest newsfrom World Sports media announce that the English Club has takenREAL MADRID to FIFA. They allege that the Spanish Club hasapproached ilegally its player CRISTIANO RONALDO currentlyunder contract with Manchester United, in an effort to lure him awaywithout authorization or Club consent.A FIFA spokesperson has confirmed that they have

SPANISH FOOTBALL TRANSFER SPECULATIONS 2008: ATLETICO & FC BARCELONA

Just a few quick briefs from the transfer rumour scene in SpanishFootball, starting with ATLETICO DE MADRID.The Madrid Club wishes to incorporate a 3ºrd forward to accompanyForlan - Aguero & have their eye on RECREATIVO 24 year oldFrenchmen SINAMA PONGOLLE (below) after another optionRicardo Oliveira from Zaragoza loses strengh with his 15M€ pricetag.According to "AS", Atletico wishes to speed up

Celtics Survive Game 2

Wow. First off, obviously I did not see the Celtics being up 2-0 coming. If I had bet on the NBA Finals, I would be in bad shape right now. Fortunately, I stick to just talking about the games. And after being a bit of a bore for most of the game, the Lakers made things interesting before succumbing the Boston. I was actually going to stop watching without about 8 minutes to go, but with the effort that the Lakers were still exerting (even down 24) I decided to stick around, and almost witnesses something awesome. Obviously I had no inkling that LA would eventually make it a 2 point game, but it goes to their credit that they continued to exert maximum effort. But the result of all of it is that Boston leads 2-0.

How have they done it? Well, obviously defense has been huge. Up until the 4th quarter of Game 2, they had frustrated Kobe Bryant just like they did in the regular season, and nobody else was really picking up the slack. But then again, we knew going on that the Celtics were the best defensive team in the NBA, and their help defense was great. The big reason that Boston is up 2-0 and in control of the series is because they have been so good offensively, which is what I did not expect.

Boston shot 53% in Game 2 and got to the foul line 38 times. Those are winning numbers. For as bad as they looked against Cleveland offensively, they have turned things around quite nicely. They are getting out and picking up the tempo (which we thought the Lakers would be doing), and Rondo is running the break like a seasoned pro. Rondo considers to be extraordinarily effective considering he does not have a jumpshot. 16 assists, 6 rebounds, and constant solid defense? That's more than enough to make up for only 4 points on 1-4 shooting.

The other big thing for the Celtics was the play of the bigs of the bench. Once again, PJ Brown was just solid. He knows his role and his game so well... hit open midrange jumpers, and always be in the right place defensively. He's been monumental for Boston. The reason Boston is so great defensively is because of their help defense, and Brown is the epitome of that. He's always in the right position to help on guys driving to the hoop, or to take charges. Then, of course, there is Leon Powe. His aggressiveness on the offensive end was big in the first half, when the Lakers jumped out to a quick start. Just taking a look at his numbers - 21 points in 15 minutes. Leon Powe might never play a better game in his life.

For the Lakers, they have to figure out how to slow Boston down, and to decrease the disparity in free throw attempts. As noted, Boston took 38 compared to LA's 10. It doesn't take a basketball mastermind to know that you're not going to win a lot of games with a 28 free throw attempt difference. The easy answer is to say that LA needs to be more aggressive and take it to the hoop more, but Boston's defense makes that a tough proposition.

Obviously I have to stick with my prediction of LA to win the series, but it goes without saying that Game 3 is a must-win for the Lakers. At home, with the momentum of a near comeback, they need to get out to a good start in game 3 and exert control over things in LA.

Just a final note, and I know that the refs not calling traveling is a bit of a running joke in the NBA, but come on, how do you not call that travel by Vladimir Radmanovic on the fast break dunk that cut the lead to 104-100? I actually really don't have a problem with them letting borderline travels go, but Vlad Rad's travel there was rather egregious, and on a fast break to boot. It definitely helped the entertainment factor that nothing was called, but he blatantly travelled on a fast break. Got to be called.

Final final note, but Jeff Van Gundy making fun of Mark Jackson for comparing Leon Powe to Dr. J was the highlight of the game for me in terms of the announcers. I had a good laugh. Bravo Jeff Van Gundy.

EURO 2008 SPAIN NEWS: ARAGONES HINTS AT STARTING 11 FOR GROUP D DEBUT

The Spanish National Football Team had all the media climbing forhigher grounds to catch a glimpse of todays training session asCoach Luis Aragones ordered that the training day be behind closeddoors. The idea was to get away from crowds of fans & concentrateon all the tactical moves, as it looked like Aragones has alreadychosen the starting 11 for their debut match next Tuesday in GroupD.Spain

FRENCH OPEN 2008: RAFAEL NADAL WINS HIS 4TH STRAIGHT TITLE

Roger Federer is a Champion there is no doubt, but Spanish World Nº2 RAFAEL NADAL is unbeatable till now on a clay court. So much so that the Nadal semi-trailer crushed in 3º staright sets,6-1, 6-3, 6-0, Federer to win his 4ºth straight FRENCH OPEN titlewith only 22 years of age. The Spaniard equals the record set bySwede Bjorn Borg with his 4ºth straight win to enter the French Openleyends

MOTO GP: DANI PEDROSA FLYS THE SPANISH FLAG AT THE CATALUNYA GP

The highlight for Spaniards today at the Moto Gp CATALUNYA(Spain) GP was the victory of DANI PEDROSA in the maximumcatagory. An intelligent & controlled race from the Spaniard to take the victory over an impressive Valentino Rossi ( from 9th)& Australian & current World Champion Casey Stoner. This win consolidates Pedrosa in second palce in the Championship table& puts him closer to the Italian

FC BARCELONA TRANSFER NEWS 2008: ETO´O & AC MILAN TALKING

According to "Sport" & "AS" FC BARCELONA player SAMUELETO´O has began talks with AC MILAN. The players representativeJosep Maria Mesalles flew to Milan to talk with AC Milan strong person Galliani to find an agreement that would suit his player.Little is known, but the speculation is a 4 year contract & 7M€ perseason for the player.There are however other Clubs in there negotiating on the side,

Comparing Agent Regulation in the United States and Europe

On Thursday, I had the unique opportunity of guest lecturing in The Hague, The Netherlands at a seminar hosted by the Asser International Sports Law Centre of the T.M.C. Asser Institute, which is a center for research and postgraduate education in the field of international and European law. The center publishes numerous books, including an international sports law series, and for those interested in how sports agents are regulated around the globe I highly recommend their recent publication on the subject, Players Agents Worldwide: Legal Aspects. The seminar provided a great opportunity to engage in a comparative approach to agent regulation, and there are glaring differences between the systems in the U.S. and Europe.

In Europe, FIFA has been very proactive recently in unilaterally adopting strict rules and regulations that govern the certification and activities of agents, including in the areas of exam requirements, compulsory insurance, charging of fees and conflicts of interests (to name just a few). The first question from the perspective of an American familiar with agent regulation in the U.S. is obviously, why should FIFA have any say whatsoever in how agents conduct their business with players? That would be like the NFL dictating to players and agents how their relationship should operate. In the U.S., although we like to think that agent regulation is very complex with all of the various union agent regulations, state laws (UAAA), federal law (SPARTA), NCAA rules, and common law agency and fiduciary duty principles, agent regulation is much more complicated in Europe for a variety of reasons.

First, public regulation of agents via national law oftentimes expressly contradicts FIFA's agent regulations (which bind its member associations that are also bound by national law). For example, national law may prohibit intermediaries from receiving any compensation from workers and only permit compensation to be paid by the employer (which obviously prohibits a player from compensating his agent as permitted by FIFA). To make it more complicated, national law takes precedent over regulations of private associations such as FIFA. However, in the U.S., for the most part, state laws governing agents do not contradict union regulations. State law just adds another layer of certification and fee requirements, and in many respects union regulations are actually more stringent on agents than state and federal law. Also, in the U.S., public regulators basically defer to the unions to monitor and regulate agent misconduct. As I discussed at the seminar, although players unions in the U.S. are private associations (like FIFA), the unions are essentially "quasi-public" regulators of agent activity involving both amateur and professional players because federal labor law affords them the status of "exclusive" representative of the players, which even exempts union agent regulations from antitrust law. While the FIFA regulations have been challenged before under the Treaty of Rome's restraint on trade laws in the Laurent Piau case (in the Court of First Instance), without the benefit of an exemption, the regulations will most likely be challenged again on the same grounds as FIFA continues to make them more strict on agents.

Another glaring difference between the U.S. and Europe is the characterization of the agent's role. In Europe, it is common practice for an agent - referred to as a "broker" - to represent both players and teams (and FIFA even permits it). Although prohibited by the FIFA regulations, clubs sometimes pay the agent's commission on behalf of the player and some club owners and agents even have ownership interests in players' transfer rights. These practices would simply be unheard of in the U.S., because the agent's role is clearly defined as a "fiduciary" role on behalf of the player and the agent is required to serve the best interest of the player and avoid conflicts of interest. Ambiguity over the agent's role in Europe leads to ambiguity regarding what constitutes "agent misconduct". But even exclusively within the U.S. where the agent's role is clearly defined, there is disagreement about what constitutes agent misconduct in certain situations. As an example, is it a conflict of interest for an agent to represent both coaches and players? The NBPA regulations prohibit it (and the union has indicated that it is going to start enforcing that provision) and the NFLPA regulations don't prohibit it. What should the agent certification process entail? And how aggressively should the regulations be enforced against agents? Most importantly, who gets to decide the answers to all of these questions? In the U.S., the labor laws clarify that the union is the proper entity to make these decisions, and, in theory, the players are the ones that should be making these decisions. In Europe, it is not at all clear who is the appropriate entity to regulate and determine the "industry norms."

While it is an industry norm in Europe for agents to work on behalf of both players and clubs, it is most certainly questionable whether FIFA should be unilaterally dictating to players and agents how to operate their relationship. Perhaps a more sensible and practical regulatory approach in Europe would be to bifurcate the club-agent relationship and the player-agent relationship. In other words, maybe FIFA (via its member associations) should only regulate the club-agent relationship, and leave it to the players and agents to figure out the industry norms within their relationship as well as how to regulate it. Such a bifurcation by FIFA would also have a better chance of withstanding future claims by agents that the regulations constitute an illegal restraint on trade.