SPANISH FOOTBALL | SPANISH LEAGUE 2010 - 2011 ROUND 9 SATURDAY RESULTS | RONALDO vs MESSI

I am currently out of town on a long weekend break & have managed to find a “Wi-fi” zone in a beat-out track bar- cafe. I have asked for a good strong cafe while I post a bit about Spanish Football & the fantastic three matches played yesterday of Round 9.
In a quick summary fashion, here are the results & scorers:
REAL ZARAGOZA 1 (Lazaro) – VALENCIA CF 1 (Lazaro own goal)
HERCULES 1 ( Trezeguet

My Top 10 Youtube Videos

Just added a page for my Top 10 Youtube Kettlebell Videos


They're my favourites, not neccessarily had the most views but most of them took some serious training to knock out.

Bit of a theme going on with heavy kettlebells!

On a lighter note I've re-ignited (properly) my lunch time KB sessions in the compound at work.

Here's (Compound Kettlebell Club) where that started with some 16kg work (yes 16kg)



You may need to grab a cup of coffee for this one, or just watch the first 10 secs and imagine it happening over and over again for the last 4 min 35 secs

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Is Notre Dame Responsible for Student's Death?

I was interviewed by Maggie Gray of Sports Illustrated Video on Notre Dame student Declan Sullivan, a 20-year-old junior, dying in a tragic accident while filming an Irish football practice earlier this week.

FC BARCELONA 2010 | IBRAHIM AFELLAY - JAVIER PASTORE SOUNDING

The 24 year old PSV EINDHOVEN attacking midfielder IBRAHIM AFELLAY is sounding more & more as a possible “2011 Winter Transfer Market” operation with direction Spain. Earlier the player was sounding as a possible Atletico de Madrid signing, but Spanish giant FC BARCELONA has entered the picture in a very serious manner. The Dutch player finishes contract this year & will be a free agent as of

ENZO ZIDANE | LIKE FATHER LIKE SON ?

Remember this player? 


Recognize the player in the dark out?


Apart that both wear ( wore ) the REAL MADRID CF uniform, they share DNA. The youngster is called ENZO ZIDANE ( born France, mother Spanish origin), is 15 years old & is causing a mini tug of war between the French Football Federation & the Spanish Football Federation. The son of French Football legend ZINEDINE ZIDANE is on the

2010 - 2011 SPANISH CUP RESULTS - 1º LEG THURSDAY MATCHES

The last three games of the 1º leg of the SPANISH CUP season 2010 -2011 ( the last 32 teams stage) concluded tonight with the following results & scorers


Gurpegui for At Bilbao

Second Division Club ( & last years Real Madrid killers ) ALCORCON lost 0 - 1 to ATHLETIC DE BILBAO thanks to the 54th min goal scored by defender GURPEGUI. Bilbao go into the 2ºleg with a valuable away goal.

OSASUNA

FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID CF "EL CLASICO" 2010 - 2011 | WHICH DATE ? DON´T KNOW - YET!

I am getting plenty of emails from SFS readers asking me for the date of the FC Barcelona – Real Madrid “Clasico”: the first of the two big games in the Spanish Football – League season. In theory, it’s the weekend of the 27th of November & this 2010 – 2011 season the first game is at “Camp Nou”, the home ground of FC Barcelona.



Ronaldo - Messi will meet in this years "Clasico"

However there

Antitrust Lawsuit Filed Against the NCAA

As noted by a commenter to an earlier post, a class action antitrust lawsuit was filed against the NCAA on Monday in United States District Court in San Francisco by former Rice University football player Joseph Agnew. Specifically, the suit alleges that NCAA rules prohibiting universities from offering guaranteed multi-year athletic scholarships, as well as rules limiting the number of scholarships a university can offer in a particular sport, violate federal antitrust law.

Agnew started at defensive back for the Owls as a freshman in 2006, before seeing reduced playing time as a sophomore due to shoulder and ankle injuries. Rice then elected not to renew his scholarship for either his junior or senior years. Agnew asserts that but for the NCAA rules, he would have received multi-year scholarship offers when he was recruited out of high school. The suit seeks to represent a class of athletes who, like Agnew, had their one-year scholarships reduced or non-renewed. In its defense, the NCAA immediately noted that one-year renewable scholarships are the norm in higher education not only for athletic scholarships, but also talent-based and academic scholarships in general.

Agnew's lawsuit comes on the heels of news this summer that the United States Justice Department was itself investigating potential antitrust concerns arising from the NCAA's prohibition of multi-year scholarships (previously discussed by Michael McCann here and here). Moreover, as ESPN.com notes, although courts have historically granted the NCAA some leniency when it comes to rules deemed necessary to preserve amateurism, the NCAA settled a case in 2008 brought by former student-athletes alleging that NCAA rules prohibiting colleges from offering to cover the full cost of attendance violated antitrust law.

One interesting tidbit reported by the New York Times is that Agnew is being represented by Steve Berman of the Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro firm. Berman's firm also represents former Nebraska and Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller in his class action lawsuit against the NCAA and E.A. Sports, alleging that the two entities illegally use college athletes’ likenesses without their permission in video games.

An Update on the WAC v. Mountain West Lawsuit

Last month the Western Athletic Conference filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference, Fresno State, and the University of Nevada, seeking to prevent the two schools from leaving the WAC to join the Mountain West until after the 2011-12 school year. The schools had stated an intent to join their new conference at the end of the current school year, a move that the WAC contended would have violated its conference bylaws, and would inflict significant damage on the remaining WAC schools.

It now appears that the sides have reached an amicable resolution to their dispute. According to reports, the WAC will announce today that it has reached an agreement with Fresno State and Nevada, under which the two schools will wait until the summer of 2012 to join the Mountain West Conference. In exchange, the WAC has reportedly agreed to accept reduced exit fees from the schools upon their departure, lowering the $5 million exit fee down to around $2 million per school.

REAL MADRID PHOTO | SEASON 2010 - 2011 | IDEAL STARTING 11

Everytime  I check the blog stats, I see that the search for ( & download ) the REAL MADRID PHOTO is amongst the most popular. I am amazed at the amount of visits that are received from around the World in search of the latest image of the Spanish Soccer Team.


To keep the hungry fans happy, I have found this very latest picture of the REAL MADRID TEAM PHOTO season 2010 - 2011. The special

2010 - 2011 SPANISH CUP RESULTS 1º LEG WEDNESDAY MATCHES

A huge night of SPANISH CUP action with 11 games scheduled & still three games are down for tomorrow night before this 1º leg gets finished. Some interesting results, as with the characteristics of this competition, there have been some surprises. Here is a quick summary of the Wednesday night Spanish Cup results along with the goalscorers.



Sevilla FC celebrate a goal against Real Union

GarageGymOnline Interview

Check out the interview I did with Chris Beardsley of The Garage Gym Online

Rob Russell Interview

If you haven't come across Chris Beardsley's blog yet I suggest you get over there and check it out. Chris does weekly reviews, link posts, interviews, workout reports and some well written educational posts worth reading.

Check out Chris's Future of Fitness article he wrote for Strength Rules

Follow Chris on Twitter and Facebook


Chris is also currently training as a personal trainer, follow Chris through is education and development


Take Your Fitness To Another Level with the Gymboss Interval Timer

NBA 2010-2011 Predictions

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Miami Heat, 64 wins
Yes, they will be hurt by big men, but how many teams actually have the talent to exploit that? Maybe a couple. They'll run around everyone during the regular season. Nobody will be able to come close to matching their wings. LeBron will be supremely motivated after an offseason in which everyone suddenly decided he was no longer the best player in the NBA. He might still have something to say about that.

2. Orlando Magic, 57 wins
The best chance that the East has to knock off Miami. If Dwight Howard asserts himself and takes his offensive game to the next level, nobody has the talent to stop him.

3. Chicago Bulls, 52 wins
Rose and Boozer seems like a perfect fit together, and Noah does all of the little things very well. I think Rose takes a leap to be one of the top 10 players in the NBA and the Bulls move up to a 3 seed.

4. Boston Celtics, 51 wins
Basically, we know what we have with them. They're a solid team that will be a tough out in the postseason. However, a year older for all of the big 3 players means 4th place.

5. Atlanta Hawks, 48 wins
They won 53 games when most things went right for them... hard to see them going anywhere except a little bit backwards after the only real change was to the head coach.

6. Milwaukee Bucks, 46 wins
I thought they played a little above their heads last year at times, but they are a very solid team that could have won a playoff series if Andrew Bogut had been healthy. Things depend on if Brandon Jennings is ready to take another step.

7. New York Knicks, 40 wins
Finally, some excitement in MSG! Amare has plenty of limitations, but he should put up big number under the bright lights and under Mike D'Antoni. Raymond Felton was a nice pickup.

8. Philadelphia 76ers, 38 wins
They do have a bunch of young talent (Young, Speights, Iguodala, Williams, Turner, Holiday), it's just completely mismatched and there is no logic to the roster assembly. Still, Doug Collins can mold an 8 seed out of this group.

9. Indiana Pacers, 37 wins
The pickup of Darren Collison solved some PG woes (he was very good in relief last season), but opened up a hole down low. Granger is a stud but there is still not enough help to make the postseason.

10. Charlotte Bobcats, 35 wins
I think last season was the peak for this group.

11. Detroit Pistons, 35 wins
Another team that has talented players but no logic to the roster assembly. They will be able to put points on the board, but I'm not sure if they can stop anyone.

12. Cleveland Cavaliers, 31 wins
Not a lot positive to say, the Cavs will stink and it will obviously be a terrible season without LeBron. They have the talent to avoid last place in the conference, and they should be highly motivated to prove they aren't a bunch of nobodies, but they don't have too much of a chance here.

13. Washington Wizards, 30 wins
John Wall is here, and that means there is hope for the future of the franchise. However, the present still doesn't look that promising.

14. New Jersey Nets, 27 wins
The good news is that not many teams will be able to double their win total. The bad news is that they are still a big-name aquisition away from being a threat to make the playoffs. Still, a core with Brook Lopez, Derrick Favors, and Devin Harris is exciting.

15. Toronto Raptors, 24 wins
Yuck.


WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Los Angeles Lakers, 57 wins
Still easily the best in the West, as long as Kobe is healthy. I believe they are the only team that has the horses to challenge the Heat in the postseason.

2. San Antonio Spurs, 53 wins
Parker should be healthier, Ginobili should be healthy (stop me if you have heard that before), and Duncan is still there. The addition of Tiago Splitter should help in the wide open race for the 2 seed.

3. Portland Trailblazers, 52 wins
Greg Oden being healthy would be a big boost, as he is sneakily one of the best rebounders in the NBA. However, that doesn't seem likely to happen for a full season.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder, 51 wins
Everything went right health wise for the Thunder last season. I predict things won't go quite as well this year. However, their core should keep improving as Kevin Durant wins the MVP award.

5. Dallas Mavericks, 51 wins
It seems like they never go away... another 50 win season awaits.

6. Houston Rockets, 49 wins
One of my favorite teams. Will everyone be happy with their minutes? They have a lot of good players, and it will be tough to keep to a rotation. Having Yao back will be a big boost.

7. Utah Jazz, 49 wins
If Al Jefferson is healthy, the Jazz shouldn't miss a beat. However, I'm assuming there will be a little transition.

8. Phoenix Suns, 46 wins
The feel good story of last season, they won't be quite as good, but Nash can still navigate them to the playoffs, maybe for the last time.

9. Denver Nuggets, 44 wins
No depth up front, drama around Carmelo, not a lot of defense... smells like just missing the postseason for the Nugs.

10. New Orleans Hornets, 41 wins
If Chris Paul is healthy, he could easily lead them to the postseason even with a mediocre roster. Remember, the guy had one of the best seasons we have ever seen from a PG... New Orleans will be doing everything possible to convince Paul to want to stay in the Big Easy.

11. Los Angeles Clippers, 38 wins
On paper, they should challenge for a playoff spot, especially with Blake Griffin. However, we know that these games aren't played on paper, but by the little men in our TV sets, which usually means things don't go well for the Clips.

12. Memphis Grizzlies, 36 wins
They have a solid pieces, but no depth. Still, they should be able to semi-maintain the feel good play of last season. Still not enough to get back to the postseason, but it will be fun to watch Grizz games.

13. Sacramento Kings, 31 wins
Tyreke Evans was very good as a rookie last season, and he will have DeMarcus Cousins down low with him. They are starting to build some young talent, but they are still a year at least away from competing.

14. Golden State Warriors, 31 wins
They will at least be fun to watch with Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis, and David Lee. Unfortunately, with their defense, they will also be fun to play against.

15. Minnesota Timberwolves, 20 wins
They have some nice young pieces (Kevin Love could win a rebounding title sooner rather than later), but there is not enough to avoid the cellar.


PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
Heat over 76ers in 4
Magic over Knicks in 6
Bucks over Bulls in 7
Celtics over Hawks in 6

Heat over Celtics in 6
Magic over Bucks in 5

Heat over Magic in 6


Lakers over Suns in 5
Spurs over Jazz in 7
Rockets over Blazers in 7
Thunder over Mavs in 5

Lakers over Thunder in 7
Spurs over Rockets in 6

Lakers over Spurs in 5

Heat over Lakers in 7

2010 - 2011 SPANISH CUP 1º LEG TUESDAY RESULTS | REAL MURCIA 0 REAL MADRID 0 | CEUTA 0 FC BARCELONA 2

The "big" Spanish League Teams began their particular attempt at winning the 2010-2011 SPANISH CUP with the start of the 1º leg games of the last 32 teams stage. Two matches tonight were played,  with the bulk happening tomorrow & three on Thursday night that gives the Spanish fans plenty of Football this week.



Benzema against Real Murcia - Spanish Cup

REAL MADRID travelled to REAL MURCIA (

FIFA - FRANCE FOOTBALL WORLD PLAYER 2010 | 7 SPANISH PLAYERS IN FINAL 23 CANDIDATES LIST

FIFA , along with "new" partners FRANCE FOOTBALL MAGAZINE, have handed in their final list of 23 World Football Players who are candidates for this years 2010 FIFA - FRANCE FOOTBALL World Player Award. The winner will be announced th 10th of January 2011 & there are 7 Spanish National Football Team players on the list of 23 given today.


The seven Spanish candidates are Andres Iniesta, Xavi,

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA 2010 -2011 | ROUND 8 | SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL via its SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA - celebrated 6 games tonight of Round 8 with plenty of action, excitement & goals. Tomorrow the last game of the Round will be played between Real Sociedad & Deportivo.



Boateng scores for Getafe

GETAFE poured on the magic onto an "unknown" & outplayed REAL SPORTING DE GIJON with a 3 - 0 victory. BOATENG opened the scoring in the 8th min, followed

INDOOR SOCCER | SPAIN DEFEATS BRAZIL 2 -1 TO WIN GRAND PRIX CUP 2010

SPAIN defeated BRAZIL 2 - 1 in the Final of the INDOOR SOCCER INTERNATIONAL GRAND PRIX tournament celebrated in the city of Anapolis in Brazil. The goals for Spain came thanks to RAFA USIN & ORTIZ, with FERNANDINHO scoring for Barzil.



Spain in action against Brazil 

This tournament has been organized by the Brazilian Indoor Soccer Federation since 2004 & it has alwyas been won by the local

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA | ROUND 8 | SATURDAY GAMES RESULT | VIDEO REAL MADRID 6-1 RONALDO (4 GOALS)

Hi Guys , back from my business trip & I can finally begin updating SFS Blog readers. Here is a brief post on yesterdays three games played of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA - Round 8. SPANISH FOOTBALL was given a treat last night with plenty of goals & some wonderful Football from the already known stars.

The first game was REAL ZARAGOZA against FC BARCELONA with the latter winning 0 - 2 thanks to

Valery Fedorenko 70 reps Jerk 60kg Kettlebell

Amazing 70 Jerks with 60kg kettlebell

Valery Fedorenko does amazing things with a kettlebell most folks couldn't even get a single rep with, outstanding!!!



Watch live video from World Kettlebell Club on Justin.tv

Follow Valery Fedorenko on Facebook

My 60kg kettlebell training

Take Your Fitness To Another Level with the Gymboss Interval Timer

NY Times on the Sports Fans Coalition

Today's New York Times features a story on the Sports Fans Coalition, a nonprofit interest group in Washington D.C. formed for the purpose of organizing sports fans and representing their interests in public policy issues. Led by executive director Brian Frederick, the group has initially focused its attention on several issues affecting sports fans, including: "television blackouts (especially at taxpayer-funded stadiums), the Bowl Championship Series and the ballooning cost of attending games. Looming is the possibility of a lockout in the N.F.L. next year." For more on the Sports Fans Coalition, check out its website.

Parkour Dog

Parkour Dog

This is awesome!

Parkour Dog from the Ukraine, or should it be Barkour





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXElh_VM0Uc



Take Your Fitness To Another Level with the Gymboss Interval Timer

SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM RECEIVES THE 2010 PRINCIPE DE ASTURIAS PRIZE FOR SPORT

The SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM was yesterday awarded the prestigious "Principe de Asturias Prize" for Sporting acievement 2010, for their outstanding effort in winning the FIFA 2010 World Cup. But more than this the prize was given for the teams demonstration of creating a unique playing style admired by the Football World & above all , human values like honour, dedication, lead by example, team

EUROPA LEAGUE 2010 - 2011 | ATLETICO DE MADRID 3 - ROSENBORG 0 | VIDEO OF GOALS

Here is the VIDEO highlight of yesterdays EUROPA LEAGUE Group B match between ATLETICO DE MADRID - ROSENBORG. Video shows goal from Godin & the mini-revolution caused by SERGIO AGUERO who scored the second after only 2 mins on the ground, plus his assistence for the third by DIEGO COSTA.



We hope the the video will not be take-on off, if so excuse us.

EUROPA LEAGUE 2010 - 2011 GROUP MATCHES | RELATIVELY GOOD NIGHT FOR SPANISH TEAMS

Busy night for all four SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAMS as they played their EUROPA LEAGUE Group qualifying matches with overall general joy for the Spanish fans. I personally wasn´t able to witness all four matches but managed to keep the pulse of most via TV, radio & a Twitter account, therefore excuse me if some summaries are brief & to the main detail.



Sergio Aguero scores the 2º goal for Atletico

More Antitrust and the BCS

In a recent interview with Salt Lake City's ABC affiliate KTVX, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced that his office has completed a draft antitrust complaint to be filed against the Bowl Championship Series. The article indicates that the lawsuit would allege both illegal monopolization and price fixing claims against the BCS. Shurtleff stated that he will be meeting again shortly with antitrust officials in the U.S. Department of Justice, but maintains that he will file the suit alone if the DOJ elects not to pursue the matter. For more of Shurtleff's interview, click here. For more on the strength of potential antitrust claims against the BCS, please see my forthcoming law review article.

SPANISH GOALKEEPERS CASILLAS - ZUBIZARRETA IN TOP 10 IFFHS LAST 25 YEARS BEST LIST

The FIFA backed International Federation of Football History & Statistics ( IFFHS ) has released their Top 10 list of the "Best Goalkeepers" in the last 25 years. There are two Spanish players on that list with current Spanish National Football Team Captain & Real Madrid goalkeeper IKER CASILLAS in 4ºth place, while ex FC Barcelona & Valencia CF player ZUBIZARRETA is in 7th place.



Iker

NFL Picks Against the Spread: Week 7

Pittsburgh (-3) over Miami
I think Pittsburgh is the best team in the NFL, especially with Ben Roethlisberger back, making their offense balanced again. Miami has some nice wins this season, but I'm not sure Chad Henne is going to be very effective against this defense. I like Pittsburgh to win a low-scoring game in Miami, with Roethlisberger making the difference.

Cincinnati (+3.5) over Atlanta
Atlanta looked like it might have a chance to be the class of the NFC, and then they got beat easily by Philly. Cincy started off well before tailing off, but they know they need a win to try and salvage their season. Look for a good gameplan from Mike Zimmer, and just enough plays out of the Cincy offense to pull off an upset.

St. Louis (+2.5) over Tampa Bay
After last week's win over the Chargers, I believe in the Rams in the NFC West. The defensive front is getting after people just like Spagnulo's Giants' teams used to do. The offense, thanks to Sam Bradford, is showing more signs of life than they have in years. Something is brewing in St. Louis, and I think it will be enough to beat the Bucs.

San Francisco (-3) over Carolina
2-5 an the Niners will start to believe. The musical chairs of Carolina quarterback goes back to Matt Moore. Won't make a difference for this punchless offense, as teams will just load the box. Carolina's receivers aren't good enough to beat anyone.

Washington (+3) over Chicago
The Bears correction continues, as the Redskins are showing signs of being solid. Donovan McNabb is playing better than Jay Cutler right now, which is why I will take the Skins. The Bears need to get Matt Forte the ball in the running game, because teams will be going after Cutler with the way the offensive line has performed this season.

New Orleans (-13.5) over Cleveland
The Saints appear to have some of their mojo back, particularly if they can continue a strong rushing attack. Colt McCoy looked surprisingly good in his first game starting in his career, but there is not enough firepower in Cleveland to compete with the Saints.

Buffalo (+13) over Baltimore
Baltimore should win the game easily, but I think the Bills will be able to make the final score respectable. Fred Jackson should get more touches after the trade of Marshawn Lynch, and that could be a good thing. It will also be interesting to see if they have anything new for CJ Spiller. Ryan Fitzgerald is not anyone's answer to a long-term solution at QB, but he is serviceable, which is more than you could say about Trent Edwards.

Philadelphia (+2.5) over Tennessee
I believe in Kevin Kolb. He looked great against Atlanta, and he appears to have the timing of the offense down. The only thing that concerns me is that Desean Jackson will be out of the game, which is a big blow to the offense. Still, I have more faith in Philly's run game than Tennessee's pass game, which is why I will take the Eagles here.

Seattle (-5.5) over Arizona
Nice win by Seattle last week, showing that they could win a road game, which was in question for me before that game. At home, I think they will overwhelm Arizona, who is better with Max Hall than they were with Derek Anderson (or Matt Leinart), but not good enough to be a serious contender.

Denver (-7) over Oakland
The Broncos have played well, just are struggling to get over the hump. The Raiders, meanwhile, looked awful last week, and Kyle Boller could be getting the start this week. I think Denver's offense is a lot more explosive than the Raiders, even with the lack of a running game.

New England (+3) over San Diego
New England looks like the Patriots of old... a bunch of scrappy guys just going out there and playing. I can't put my finger on what is different after essentially trading Randy Moss for Deion Branch, but SOMETHING is. And it's clear that as great as Moss is, things were not working out this season. The Patriots look like a force the rest of the way to me.

Minnesota (+3) over Green Bay
The game that is full of storylines. Favre comes back to Lambeau again, and this time the Packers are reeling. The Packers know that if they lose this game, the Vikings have all of the momentum in the division. Still, I like the Vikings D (which has quietly been excellent) to get after Aaron Rodgers like they did last year, and for Favre to hit Moss on a deep ball that will make the difference.

Dallas (-3) over New York
The NFC East seems to always have these types of games... one team is struggling, the other team is playing well... but talent-wise, they are close to even, and there is one team that really needs the game more than the other team. Dallas will be in desperation mode. At home in Big D, I'll take Dallas to prolong the death of their season for another week.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GROUP C - D RESULTS | RANGERS 1 VALENCIA CF 1 | FC BARCELONA 2 COPENHAGUE FC 0

Two Spanish Football Clubs played their Group CHAMPIONS LEAGUE matches tonight, with one away at Scotland & the other here in Spain. 



Rangers Edu scores against Valencia CF

VALENCIA CF travelled to meet GLASGOW RANGERS to play their 3 round Group C clash at Ibrox Park. As expected it was a difficult & rough turf to play Football at but they managed to pull a 1 - 1 draw with some luck on their

FIFA WORLD RANKINGS OCTOBER 2010 - SPAIN REMAINS Nº1

FIFA will release its monthly WORLD NATIONAL TEAMS RANKING publicly next November the 17th where SPAIN retains for another month its Nº1 spot. Up to 156 matches were taken into account for the month of October (80 Internationals & 76 Friendly matches), which takes the number up to 641 matches for the year so far in the table calculations.
Here is the Top 10 October 2010 list:

1. Spain

HUMOR - VIDEO | VAN PERSIE THE BOY HITS THE POST

Put a Football heroe, kids & a TV camara together & you get what happens to this poor boy. He literally hits the post - with his head. Arsenal & Dutch International Star Van Persie was obviously affected. 



This video simply goes beyond Spanish Football as it is universal :O)

REAL MADRID 2 AC MILAN 0 | RESULT GROUP G CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010 - 2011

REAL MADRID CF practically ensured its qualification onto the next stage of the 2010 - 2011 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE after they defeated 2 - 0 AC MILAN in their Group G match,  thus making it three straight wins to secure top spot of the group ladder with 9 points. The result was just as Real Madrid could have scored three - four more clear goals had luck gone their way. 



Cristiano Ronaldo scores

FC BARCELONA 2010 | NOLITO - ANOTHER BARÇA SCHOOL PROMISE

FC Barcelona is not only famous for being a huge World Football Club, but also for its youth programme (“La Masia”) & the string of young talented Football players that the Club turns out yearly. The examples are many like Puyol, Valdes, Pique, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Pedro, Bojan, Jeffran, Thiago, Cesc Fabregas etc. who are already World stars or have made the jump to the Barça 1ºst team squad.

VIDEO | THE 6 NEW REAL MADRID SIGNINGS FOR SEASON 2010 - 2011

REAL MADRID CF via its "Real Madrid TV Channel" ( thanks for the video) did a special report on the Clubs six new signings for season 2010 - 2011: Sergio Canales, Di Maria, Pedro Leon, Khedira, Ozil & Carvalho. They all speak about their sensations, BUT & unfortunately neither YouTube has the translation button enabled nor is there sub-titles. I ask for forgiveness for this lack of foresight by

REAL MADRID CF | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010 - 2011 GROUP G | STARTING 11 LINE-UP AGAINST AC MILAN

REAL MADRID CF faces its first real big season 2010 - 2011 challenge & exam when they meet Italian giants AC Milan today (Tuesday) in their Group G Champions League qualifying match. This match will be a good test to see if Coach Mourinho is progressing with his work to put together a "new look" & younger Real Madrid Team to levels in which they can really hope to aspire & become Spanish League &

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER | SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA - 2010 2011 | ROUND 7 MONDAY NIGHT GAME RESULT

SPANISH FOOTBALL action tonight with the last game of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA - Round 7 being played with HERCULES CF hosting VILLAREAL in what turned out to be a rough & tough affair with three red cards.



Trezeguet scores before being sent off

It was a see -saw match all night with chances at both ends. Hercules started well & managed to score first via VALDEZ in the 26th min from a well

DIEGO CASTRO BACK HEEL GOAL VIDEO | SPORTING GIJON SEVILLA FC ROUND 7 SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA

Here is one of the great goals scored yesterday in Round 7 of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA - by DIEGO CASTRO for REAL SPORTING DE GIJON. A fabulous "back-heel" goal that notched up the teams second in their 2-0 victory over Sevilla FC.

Below is the Video:

SPECTACULAR WINNING GOAL BY DAVID SILVA FOR MANCHESTER CITY AGAINST BLACKPOOL | 2010 VIDEO

Great to see Spanish International & MANCHESTER CITY midfielder DAVID SILVA be protagonist in the 2 - 3 victory over Blackpool in the English Premier League. In fact, Silva came on as substitute in the 65 th min & ended up scoring the winner in World Class fashion & with a must see to believe goal.



David Silva scores against Blackpool 
Here is the video of the spectacular goal. This is a

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER | SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA | ROUND 7 SUNDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL continued today with more Round 7 action of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA with some relative low scoring but intense games.


Fernando Llorente scored against Real Zaragoza

ATHLETIC DE BILBAO put REAL ZARAGOZA deeper into their particular "crisis" & cemented them another week in the last place of the Spanish Liga table after losing 2-1.

Bilbao dominated the match outright doing

REAL MADRID | IKER CASILLAS ENTERS TOP 10 ALL TIME PLAYING LIST

Here is an interesting fact concerning REAL MADRID & their Spanish International goalkeeper IKER CASILLAS. The 29 year old is not only considered to be currently the “Best Goalkeeper in the World” but has entered the Top 10 all time historical list of names with most games played at Real Madrid. If things keep going as they are currently, Iker Casillas could overtake 8th placed name Pirri this

Agents recouping illegal payments?

People have been talking about this week's Sports Illustrated, featuring a confessional article by former NFL agent Josh Luchs, who admits to paying numerous college players over the years to induce them to sign with him.

One interesting tidbit: Luchs mentions that prior to 1999, the NFLPA had a rule that required a player who had taken money from an agent to repay that money; the rule was changed in 1999. Thus, Luchs says, agents formerly had "the threat of litigation" as an additional incentive for a player to retain that agent for the rookie contract; after 1999, that incentive was gone, making it more likely that an agent might pay college players and have nothing to show for it.

Here is my question (assuming Fuchs' version is accurate): On what legal theory was the agent able to sue that player? There is no contract, so it can't be breach of contract. Plus, any contract would seem to be void as against public policy (of not paying amateur athletes). Maybe unjust enrichment--the players have received (and retained) something to which they are not entitled? But does some idea of unclean hands kick in--the agent is claiming that the player was unjustly enriched by money the agent unlawfully gave him? Is the claim for a breach of NFLPA rules, made enforceable in court?

Does anyone know the details of this old regime? And does anyone know why the NFLPA changed the rule?

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER | SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA - ROUND 7 | SATURDAY GAMES RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER action tonigth with three great games as part of Round 7 of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA competition.



Atletico de Madrid celebrate a goal

ATLETICO DE MADRID made itself a promise before the game to dedicate the match - & attempt a victory - to honour the late Atletico defensive leyend ARTECHE who passed away this week. The locals didn´t let the fans down & won GETAFE 2

New Sports Illustrated Column on Tom Hicks post Liverpool Sale to Red Sox owner John Henry

Here's an excerpt from my new column published this evening:

The prospect of Hicks and Gillett pursuing a successful litigation strategy against RBS and NESV in Great Britain is dim. The London High Court unequivocally found nothing wrong in the RBS-NESV sale and in fact admonished Hicks and Gillett to accept it. While Hicks and Gillett profess a desire to return to the British courts, and while they might obtain new evidence that more favorably portrays their legal arguments, they would still have to overcome two adverse decisions from the London High Court. The odds would be stacked against them.

It is more likely that Hicks and Gillett would turn to courts in Texas, where Hicks resides, and Massachusetts, where NESV is based, to remedy any purported grievances. Both states offer laws that prohibit fraud, breach of contract and similar claims that Hicks and Gillett could allege invalidate actions taken by RBS and NESV. If in fact Hicks and Gillett were denied adequate input in the sale of Liverpool under Massachusetts or Texas law, they could obtain a judgment that contradicts that of the London High Court, thereby leading to a second round of conflicting judgments and choice of law uncertainties. The statutes of limitation for such claims under Massachusetts and Texas laws, moreover, are two to three years, meaning Hicks and Gillett could wait some time to collect evidence and build a case before filing a massive lawsuit in one of those states.

On the other hand, courts in Massachusetts or Texas may be disinclined to interfere with the RBS-NESV transaction now that it has occurred. Generally, courts are more likely to prevent a prospective sales transaction than to reject it ex post facto. Such a rejection in this matter would throw Liverpool into a legal quandary. Then again, Hicks and Gillett could insist that, irrespective of consequences to Liverpool, they are plainly entitled to recovery if they were illegally wronged.

Hicks and Gillett may have another goal in mind by threatening or insinuating a lawsuit: motivating RBS and NESV to agree to a financial settlement that would pay Hicks and Gillett millions to go away and to give up any potential legal claims against RBS and NESV. Keep in mind, even if NESV and RSB are confident in the legality of their actions, they could perceive significant value in gaining a clean and permanent break from Hicks and Gillett; a settlement could also save them millions of dollars in potential legal fees -- millions of dollars that could perhaps be used to sign Liverpool and Red Sox players or otherwise improve those teams.

To read the rest, click here.

MESUT OZIL | HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY

REAL MADRID CF & German International midfieder MESUT OZIL celebrates his 22 Birthday on this Friday the  15th of October. From here we wish you a happy day.



Ozil

Pressure Mounts on the BCS

The legality of the Bowl Championship Series has been a frequent topic of discussion over the years at Sports Law Blog. Typically, legal criticism of the BCS has centered on whether the system violates federal antitrust law. However, a new line of legal attack was recently asserted against the BCS.

Specifically, last month PlayoffPAC, a political action committee formed in 2009 to advocate for the adoption of a playoff in college football, submitted a report to the Internal Revenue Service challenging the tax-exempt status of the Fiesta, Orange, and Sugar Bowls. The report effectively argues that the three BCS bowls should not be considered Section 501(c)(3) charities in light of the (allegedly) excessive compensation and benefits they give to their executives, as well as their various (and sometimes undisclosed) political lobbying efforts. BCS opponents in Congress have taken notice of the report, urging the IRS to review the allegations. In response, the Fiesta Bowl announced last week that it was undertaking an investigation to determine whether its employees were reimbursed for political donations, a potential felony.

Meanwhile, the BCS is also facing criticism on another front, as Yahoo! Sports columnists Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan have taken aim at many of the common defenses asserted in support of the BCS in their new book Death to the BCS: The Definitive Case Against the Bowl Championship Series. Based on some of the initial reviews, the book is likely to be of interest to anyone following the BCS debate.

New Sports Illustrated Column on Liverpool Sale and Tom Hicks

I have a new SI.com column on how the Red Sox ownership group is trying to buy Liverpool from a bank that loaned money to former Texas Rangers owners and Liverpool owner Tom Hicks. British and Texas courts have reached contradictory decisions on whether this sale should go through. Which country's courts should trump? Please read the column to find out.

FOOTBALL STATISTICS | SPANISH PROFESSORS RESEARCH PENALTY SHOOT-OUT VICTORY PROBABILITIES

Spanish London School of Economics professor Ignacio Palacios-Huerta assures that the team that goes first in a penalty shoot-out has a higher probability of winning the rival. According to a study done with follow Spanish professor José Apesteguia of the University Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona there is a 21% more chance of being victorious.



David Villa scores a penalty for Spain 

THE TENSE LUIS FABIANO - SEVILLA FC REALTIONSHIP

"Si no juego, buscaré alguna solución"
(If I don’t play, I will find a solution)


Straight from the mouth of Brazilian International & SEVILLA FC forward LUIS FABIANO. The Brazilian renewed contract with his current Club a month back, but the player is spending more time on the bench than on the playing field. This has turned the spirits of the player in a “dark mood” as he wishes more playing

New Sports Law Scholarship

Recently published scholarship includes:

Erin Abbey-Pinegar, Note, The need for a global amateurism standard: international student athlete issues and controversies, 17 INDIANA JOURNAL OF GLOBAL LEGAL STUDIES 341 (2010)

Constantine J. Avgiris, Comment, Huddle up: surveying the playing field on the single entity status of the National Football League in anticipation of American Needle v. NFL, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 529 (2010)

Jillian Bluestone, Comment, La Russa's loophole: trademark infringement lawsuits and social networks, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 573-604 (2010).

Erin E. Buzuvis, Sidelined: Title IX retaliation cases and women’s leadership in college athletics, 17 DUKE JOURNAL GENDER LAW & POLICY 1 (2010)

Anthony Cabot, The absence of a comprehensive federal policy toward Internet and sports wagering and a proposal for change, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 271 (2010)

Antonia Cowan, You can't get there from here: IGRA needs reinvention into a relevant statute for a mature industry, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 309 (2010)

Bill Cross, Note, The NCAA as publicity enemy number one, 58 UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAW REVIEW 1221 (2010)

andré douglas pond cummings and Seth E. Harper, Wide right: why the NCAA’s policy on the American Indian mascot issue misses the mark, 9 UNIVERSITY MARYLAND LAW JOURNAL OF RACE, RELIGION, GENDER & CLASS 135 (2009)

Ross E. Davies, The judicial and ancient game: James Wilson, John Marshall Harlan, and the beginnings of golf at the Supreme Court, 35 JOURNAL OF SUPREME COURT HISTORY 122 (2010)

Matthew Hard, Note, Caught in the net: athlete’s rights and the World Anti-Doping Agency, 19 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INTERDISCIPLINARY LAW JOURNAL 533 (2010)

Victoria Hayes, Note, Human trafficking for sexual exploitation at world sporting events, 85 CHICAGO-KENT LAW REVIEW 1105 (2010)

Daniel Hauptman, Comment, The need for a worldwide draft to level the playing field and strike out the national origin discrimination in Major League Baseball, 30 LOYOLA L.A. ENTERTAINMENT LAW REVIEW 263 (2009-2010)

Joseph M. Kelly U.S. land-based and Internet gambling; would you bet on a rosy future?, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 339 (2010)

Bennett Liebman, The Supreme Court and exclusions by racetracks, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 421 (2010)

Jamie Y. Nomura, Note, Refereeing the recruiting game: applying contract law to make the intercollegiate recruitment process fair, 32 UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI`I LAW REVIEW 275 (2009)

I. Nelson Rose, Gambling and the law®: the third wave of legal gambling, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 361 (2010)

Jason Richard Sheppard, Note, The thrill of victory, and the agony of the tweet: online social media, the non-copyrightability of events, and how to avoid a looming crisis by changing norms, 17 JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW 445 (2010)

William N. Thompson, Gambling taxes: the philosophy, the Constitution and horizontal equity, 17 VILLANOVA SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW JOURNAL 389 (2010)

Sarah J. Wild, Comment, On equal footing: does accommodating athletes with disabilities destroy the competitive playing field or level it?, 37 PEPPERDINE LAW REVIEW 1347 (2010)

LIONEL MESSI GOAL AGAINST GETAFE IN SPANISH CUP | THE TYPOGRAPHY VERSION

Remember this immense goal by LIONEL MESSI against Getafe in the Spanish Cup a few years back? Yes, the one that looked like the  Maradona goal in the 1986 World Cup match against England…


A friend has emailed me the below video that he found on the web of the Messi goal in typed form & following the comments of the Catalan commentator. I think its cool, & very different which makes it worth a

ATLETICO DE MADRID INTERESTED IN IBRAHIM AFELLAY OF PSV

According to Spanish Sports paper “AS” Spanish Club ATLETICO DE MADRID has decided to accelerate its attempts to sign 24 year old PSV EINHOVEN midfielder / forward IBRAHIM AFELLAY. Atletico has communicated to PSV its intention to begin negotiations & attempt to have the player shut & tied for this upcoming “Winter Market”. This way the Spanish Club gets a leading edge over other competitors like

ATLETICO DE MADRID | JUAN CARLOS ARTECHE - RIP

The "ATLETICO DE MADRID family" has lost one of its historical & legendary players JUAN CARLOS ARTECHE, at the age of 53, after a long battle with illness. The Central Defender began his career at At. Madrid in 1978 where he played 11 seasons & 308 games (4th in the history of the Club)



JUAN CARLOS ARTECHE 
His stats are as follows:
• 28 goals
• 4 x Spanish International player
• 1 Spanish

SCOTLAND 2 SPAIN 3 | RESULT GROUP I EURO 2012 QUALIFYING MATCH

SPAIN defeated SCOTLAND 2- 3 in tonight's Group I clash in "Hampden Park" Glasgow to take them straight to the top of their Group ladder. The World Champions were the outstanding & dominating side until the match complicated itself for Spain in the mid 2º half with a meritorious Scottish attempt at comeback & near victory. 



DAVID VILLA shots at goal

The first half was a Scottish wall that had

SPANISH U-21 FOOTBALL TEAM QUALIFY FOR EURO 2011 | 2ºLEG RESULT | CROATIA 0 SPAIN 3

Excellent performance by the SPANISH U- 21 FOOTBALL TEAM to defeat CROATIA 0 - 3 away in the 2º leg & take the qualifying tie on 2-5 agg. This gives Spain a direct ticket to the 2011 EURO CHAMPIONSHIPS where they need to finish within the first 5 teams to go directly into the 2012 London Olympic Games.

The "damage" was done in the 2ºhalf when Spain took control & scored their three goals.

Favre, Wrangler, and athletes behaving badly

Michael links to Darren Rovel's column yesterday arguing why Brett Favre's Wrangler ads are still running in the face of the current investigation into his behavior towards a Jets employee when he played for New York two years ago. I am not a Favre fan (and I am really not a fan of fawning media). I really don't care whether Wrangler drops him or not, nor would I be surprised if it doesn't drop him, since athletes have to really misbehave before sponsors begin bailing.

I want to push on the following point, where Rovell says: "But you don’t have evidence of adultery and no crime was committed." This, Rovell argues, distinguishes Favre from Kobe Bryant (charged with a crime) and Tiger Woods ("adultery to the hilt," in Rovell's words).


First, by dismissing what Favre allegedly did as "no crime," he overlooks the seriousness of these actions. Assuming Jenn Sterger was unwilling, this is flat-out sexual harassment. Which, while not criminal, is unlawful conduct and a breach of serious federal civil rights rules. Rovell makes the same mistake that I argue David Stern made in the wake of the Isaiah Thomas sexual-harassment verdict--simply writing-off all non-criminal misconduct as not serious and not worthy of league (or sponsor) action. But some social rules are enforced through criminal law and some through civil law; the use of the latter does not necessarily make that rule less important or the breach of that rule less problematic. In fact, I would argue that a player sexually harassing a team employee is more of a problem, and reflects worse on Favre, than getting into a bar fight or being drunk in public (both of which are crimes).


Second, let's be clear about the allegations against Favre. He allegedly propositioned a woman, begged her multiple times to come to his hotel room, and sent her (presumably unwanted) photos of his genitals. And it sounds like the only reason he did not have sex with Sterger is because Sterger was unwilling. I have to say, while technically not adultery, I probably would not still be married if I did that. And I doubt my wife would accept "oh, but there's no evidence of adultery" as an excuse. Rovell draws a line between adultery (Woods) and this non-adultery. But completing the act of cheating on your spouse is not dramatically worse (from a moral or "family man" standpoint) than attempting to cheat on your spouse and failing only because your target was unwilling. Mind you, I don't actually view adultery as an offense against society that warrants league/team punishment or sponsor abandonment. But if you believe that sponsors were justified in dropping Woods, the argument that Favre "never actually had sex with someone other than his wife" does not work as a justification for treating Favre differently (again, assuming the allegations are true).

EURO 2012 GROUP I QUALIFIER | POSSIBLE SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM STARTING 11 LINE-UP AGAINST SCOTLAND

The SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM plays SCOTLAND tonight in their EURO 2012 Group I qualifier at "Hampden Park" in the Scottish city of Glasgow. Coach Vicente Del Bosque has recovered defender Sergio Ramos after an ankle knock against Lithuania & midfielder Xabi Alonso who suffred the flu. With the inclusion of Xabi Alonso someone has to give way from the "starting 11 that started against

Fallout for Brett Favre's Endorsement Deal with Wrangler

CNBC's Darren Rovell looks at how Wrangler, which has paid Brett Favre millions for his endorsement and for his appearances in a wide-range of All-American type ads, often with footballs and dogs and pick-up trucks, might respond to allegations indicating that Favre, who has been married for 14 years with two children, may have sent inappropriate messages and photos to another woman.

Here is Rovell:

* * *

I spoke to a couple people yesterday who were surprised that Brett Favre’s Wrangler jeans spots were still running. Surprised that he was still on their Web site. They were surprised that Wrangler had no comment.

Well, I’m not. Put yourself in their shoes, or jeans. You have an athlete who you’ve worked hard to connect to your brand. And, unlike many of the endorsement deals out there, it fits.

Then this story comes along, where Favre might have strongly come on to a woman who was paid to do in-stadium sideline and Jumbotron reporting for the Jets when he played there. There are voicemails and pictures of private parts, allegedly his.

Partly as a result of the media age we live in, these pictures are released to the public. The NFL has to look into it because Favre and the woman he approached, Jenn Sterger, were both paid by the Jets.

But where does that leave Wrangler?

Well, let’s say worst-case scenario the voicemails are from Favre and so are the pictures. Maybe Favre’s not the clean family man we pictured him to be, but there’s nothing there that makes it a natural for Wrangler to sever its deal with him.

If all this is true, is it a put off to his reputation? Sure it is. But you don’t have evidence of adultery and no crime was committed. Kobe Bryant lost his endorsement deals because he was charged with a crime (the criminal case was later dropped and the civil case was settled). Tiger Woods lost endorsement deals because he was unfaithful to the hilt. . . .

* * *

To read the rest, click here.

Quick legal point: Should Wrangler seek to get out of its endorsement contract with Favre, the wording of the morals clause in that contract will likely play a major factor. If it is expansively worded--such as covering all types of conduct that is publicly reprehensible, at least as deemed by Wrangler--that helps Wrangler; if it is narrowly worded--such as requiring that the Favre commit a crime--that helps to protect Favre.

REAL MADRID EYES FERNANDO LLORENTE FOR NEXT SEASON? | KARIM BENZEMA ?

It´s not the first time that the news has been put on the front covers of the Spanish Sports papers, last August rumours arose that AT.BILBAO & Spanish International forward FERNANDO LLORENTE was on the REAL MADRID list of future candidates. The news again gets prime-time after a magnificent performance last Friday with two goals for Spain against Lithuania.


Fernando Llorente scores for the

SSST Secret Service Snatch Test

Derek Toshner - from last year brutally knocking out 297 reps with the 24kg kettlebell

I found this whilst searching for inspiring kettlebell videos on youtube.

Derek sets off at 33-34 reps per minute, has a few seconds break in the middle and still continues with 30 reps per minute for much of the last half reaching 297 total.

Amazing feat of guts and determination!




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0hC1w8RKyc

Check out my SSST from last year (212 reps)

Derek Probably used this to help him train to get 297 reps on his Snatch Test

SPANISH SPORTS | JORGE LORENZO MOTO GP TONI ELIAS MOTO 2 WORLD CHAMPIONS 2010 | RAFAEL NADAL WINS TOKYO TENNIS TITLE

I am currently out of town in the countryside & have at my disposal  a primative "Wi-fi" which is very slow; thus it limits my availabilty to stay connected too long. Said this please excuse the shortness of the posts until I get back to the "big smoke".
_____________________________________________
Woke up this morning to find that SPANISH SPORTS has two new WORLD CHAMPIONS & that RAFAEL NADAL

EURO U-21 QUALIFIERS | SPAIN 2 CROATIA 1

The SPANISH U-21 NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM a little bit closer to getting to their objective of participation in the next Euro Championships & in the process in the 2012 London Olympic games after defeating CROATIA 2-1 last night.

The youngsters still have a "dangerous" 2ºleg match on Tuesday in Croatia which they must win to keep their hope alive, but yesterdays victory is an important step foward

University of Baltimore School of Law Symposium "The Death of Amateurism: Implications for Sport and Health"

Professor Dionne Koller of the University of Baltimore School of Law passes along this announcement of what should be an engaging symposium titled "The Death of Amateurism: Implications for Sport and Health":

Thursday, Oct. 28 | 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
John and Frances Angelos Law Center
Venable Moot Court Room
1415 Maryland Ave., First Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201

The University of Baltimore School of Law and its Center for Sport and the Law present The Death of Amateurism: Implications for Sport and Health on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010. This symposium will explore the changing nature of “amateur” sport, from youth leagues to Division I colleges and universities.

UB Law is pleased to announce that renowned orthopedic surgeon James R. Andrews, M.D. will deliver a luncheon keynote address, Why Are There So Many Injuries to Our Young Athletes? Professionalization and Specialization in Youth Sport, at the event. Andrews has performed over 40,000 surgeries and has operated on many of the sports’ world’s most prominent athletes, including Michael Jordan, Drew Brees, and John Smoltz. A question-and-answer session will follow his remarks.

The symposium's closing speaker will be Kenneth Shropshire, David W. Hauck Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Shropshire has written extensively on the business of sports, serves as an arbitrator with clients including the National Football League Players Association and USA Track & Field, and serves as a consultant to amateur athletes during the agent selection process.

A full agenda and other details are available at right. Online registration is now available! For more information, email the Office of External Relations at lawevents@ubalt.edu.

In addition, the symposium is being co-sponsored by the University of Baltimore Law Review. Here is the following call for papers:

The University of Baltimore Law Review is issuing a call for papers to any interested law school professors, judges, and legal practitioners for scholarly articles that relate to the topic of the symposium. The articles should be in bluebook format with at least 100-150 footnotes (no more than 350). The pieces should be scholarly and examine a novel legal issue, which may include analyses of recent case law, legislation, or legal theory. All articles are subject to a preemption check. The article is due by December 27, 2010. If you are interested, please email Naomi Sternlicht, Symposium Editor, University of Baltimore Law Review at Naomi.Sternlicht@ubalt.edu.

ASU College of Law’s Sports and Entertainment Law Journal Conference

Some news from Arizona State University College of Law about an upcoming sports law conference:

This is the first year for the Sports and Entertainment Law Journal at ASU College of Law. This Journal will be launched at a Conference on Saturday, October 30, 2010, entitled, "A-Rod to Jay-Z: Sports and Entertainment Law in the 21st Century." The inaugural edition of the journal will feature articles from Sports and Entertainment Law professionals from across the nation. For more information about this conference, please contact asulaw.selsa@gmail.com.

The Conference will consist of breakout sessions in which speakers will present topics to smaller audiences. Question and answer periods will follow each presentation so that the event is a much more engaging and dynamic experience for our guests.

We will also be holding a silent auction throughout the day, with items such as suite seats to a Phoenix Suns game, signed sports and entertainment memorabilia from stars such as Beanie Wells and Mike Tyson, tickets to various other sporting events and concerts, and much more! Proceeds from the auction will be put back in to the Conference and the inaugural publication of the Journal.

Confirmed speakers and/or authors for the conference include:

Keynote Address:

• David Cornwell of DNK Cornwell

Presentations:

• Matthew Bester of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice
• Gregg Clifton with Jackson Lewis LLP
• Allison Brehm with White O'Connor Fink and Brenner, LLP
• Lee Brenner with White O'Connor Fink and Brenner, LLP
• Neville Johnson with Johnson & Johnson, LLP
• Dana Hooper from Greenberg Traurig
• Connie Mableson of Mableson Law Group
• Elsa Cole, former General Counsel for the NCAA
• Tania Hoff of NBC Universal Television Group
• Leonard Aragon of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
• Stuart Paynter of The Paynter Law Firm, PLLC
• Jaia Thomas of the Law Office of Jaia Thomas
• James Marovich of The Marovich Law Firm
• Joy R. Butler of The Law Office of Joy R. Butler
• Marci Rolnik at Lawyers for the Creative Arts
• Myles Lynk, Professor at ASU College of Law
• Betsy Goff, the former VP of Business and Legal Affairs at IMG, SVP of Business Affairs at ESPN, and Professor of Sports Management at UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management
  

FC BARCELONA TEAM PHOTO 2010 - 2011 | GALA STARTING 11

Hi. Managed to find the very lastest FC BARCELONA TEAM PHOTO for season 2010-2011. The below picture is the "Gala starting 11" with Abibal, Pedro, Busquests, Pique, Valdes, Messi, Alves, Iniesta, Villa, Xavi & Puyol.

Hope this satisfies the many requests from the Barça fans around the World. For your info there are Team  shots up on Spanish Football Sports Blog posted back weeks & months back. 

SPAIN 3 LITHUANIA 1 | 2010 | VIDEO ALL THE GOAL HIGHLIGHTS

All the goal highlights in the Spain 3 Lithuania 1 Group I Euro 2012 qualifier on the below VIDEO:
(lower the volume)

EURO 2012 GROUP I QUALIFIER | SPAIN 3 LITHUANIA 1

The current FIFA World Champions SPAIN defeated LITHUANIA 3-1 in their Group I match tonight which was played in the Spanish city of Salamanca. The SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM went in without important midfielders  Xavi who is injured & Xabi Alonso who was a last minute withdrawal due to the flu. However, both were well substituted by Andres Iniesta doing the habitual work of his Club team-mate Xavi &

Everything Duke and lacrosse is not "Duke Lacrosse"

By now, everyone has heard about the "senior thesis" in "horizontal academics" that a 2010 Duke grad wrote as joke, a spoof thesis presentation describing the performance of thirteen Duke student-athletes (seven of them happened to be lacrosse players) with whom she had sex during her time in school. The New York Times got in on the story today, talking about embarrassed and weary the campus is over another scandal.

I have Duke lacrosse on the brain right now. So I was disappointed, although not surprised, that The Times mentioned the now-almost-five-year-old scandal involving false sexual-assault accusations against the lacrosse players. Much as I was not surprised that everyone talked about the Duke lacrosse scandal in covering the murder of Yeardley Love, a UVa lacrosse player, allegedly by her UVa lacrosse-player former boyfriend.

Will Duke lacrosse ever cease to be a reference point for salacious behavior (I cannot call this 'bad' behavior, because having consensual sex with a number of different people is not implicitly bad behavior and, frankly, neither is talking about it) involving Duke University and/or lacrosse? The seven lacrosse players mentioned in the "thesis" certainly did nothing close to bad or even inappropriate (I'm shocked, shocked, to find that male college students have consensual sex with women, often after an evening of drinking). Why would the paper even mention, in connection with them, an old scandal (none of the current players even were on campus in 2006) involving false accusations of criminal misconduct by a corrupt prosecutor and angry faculty? Even if you believe (as some do) that the lacrosse players five years ago were in the wrong for hiring a stripper, the current still situation still does not come close to that.

REAL MADRID | THE FUTURE OF KARIM BENZEMA IN HIS HANDS

The “kid” has enough pressure on his shoulder to now deal with the rumoured offers being received by his Club. REAL MADRID French International KARIM BENZEMA is said to be on the list of players wished by Italian Club JUVENTUS,English giants  MANCHESTER UNITED, MANCHESTER CITY & now TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS who have 28M€ to invest on the player in the January 2011 “Winter Market”.



Karim Benzema.

SFS FLASHBACK | VICENTE DEL BOSQUE SPANISH INTERNATIONAL PLAYER SCORES GOAL FOR SPAIN AGAINST CYPRUS 1978| VIDEO

Our younger readers may not know that current SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque was a well known & successful player for REAL MADRID & a Spanish International. Below is Del Bosque as Captain of the SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM in 1978 just before a EURO 1980 Italy Group qualifier against Cyprus.



Marcelino, Cundi, Miguel Ángel, Villar, Alesanco,  Migueli,  Heredia, Del Bosque (

Man Vs Steel - Jonny Wignall

Big congrats to Jonny Wignall (Jonnywildboar) on his amazing 5th place in Britains Strongest Man comp under 90kg.

Highlight has to be 11 reps on the squat with 200kg (deep!)@ 89kg bodyweight.

I'll say it again... 89kg (f#ckin' 'ell, my leg weighs that much!)

Well deserved!


Take Your Fitness To Another Level with the Gymboss Interval Timer

SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM 2010 | SERGIO RAMOS

Just received this picture from Spanish Football Team International defender Sergio Ramos from his Cell Phone. He is next to FC Barcelona defender & Spain Team mate Gerard Pique. Here is Ramos twitter address if interested:

http://twitter.com/SergioRamos



Sergio Ramos with Pique from his mobile.

DUTCH FOOTBALL PLAYER ROYSTON DRENTHE DOES HIS RAP

REAL MADRID Dutch player ROYSTON DRENTHE, currently on loan to Spanish 1st Division Club HERCULES,  has another talent apart from playing Football - Soccer;  Rap! Spanish TV - RTVE - via its news programme visited Drenthe in the city of Alicante where the player was "hanging out" in the studio of Spanish rapper "Nach" to do some "flow".


Check out the style of the player on this video:

The McCourt/Divorce Saga: Was a Key Document Altered?

Over on M & A Law Prof Blog, Boston College Law Professor Brian Quinn takes a look at the divorce between Frank and Jamie McCourt and specifically how a document from six years ago -- three copies of which use the word "exclusive" in it; three use "inclusive" -- could impact whether Frank is the sole or joint owner:

What with clients sending you only signature pages, it becomes very tempting to make a quick little change in a document that no one will notice. They don't notice ... until they do ...

REAL MADRID | 2010 | KAKÁ COULD GO TO INTER MILAN IN THE WINTER MARKET ?

At first I though it was just plain “bullshit”, however the news that started coming out of Italy some weeks back is now beginning to spread here in the Spanish Sports press &  I am now not so sure anymore. The piece in question has appear today out in the Spanish Sports daily “AS” online edition & they reiterate that REAL MADRID Coach José Mourinho has given his OK to sell Brazilian star KAKÁ to

SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM 2010 | PREPARATION FOR UPCOMING EURO 2012 QUALIFIERS AGAINST LITHUANIA - SCOTLAND

The SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM is under concentration with its 21 players in Madrid preparing themselves for the two important EURO 2012 group qualifiers. This Friday night they play Lithuania in the Spanish city of Salamanca & then the squad travels to Scotland to play in the city of Glasgow on Tuesday.


The SPAIN FOOTBALL TEAM has 4 new additions (Valero, Soriano, Aduriz & Pablo Hernandez) to the

SEGIO CANALES MAY GO ON LOAN TO RACING DE SANTANDER IN WINTER MARKET

According to Spanish radio “Onda Cero”, young REAL MADRID & Spanish U-21 International player SERGIO CANALES may see himself back at his old Club Racing de Santander in the Winter Market period. The operation would be a loan & thus guarantee that Canales receives playing time which is something that he is not achieving at this moment with Real Madrid.



Soccer player Sergio Caneles with Real

DAVID VILLA - DWIGHT HOWARD VIDEO SPOT 2010

There is a rumour that Spanish International & FC Barcelona forward DAVID VILLA has another day job, or at least he is taking "the piss out" of DWIGHT HOWARD the NBA USA Basketball star player as they exchange jerseys. Funny VIDEO commercial :

THE BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT EVO MORALES KNEES OPPONENT IN FRIENDLY MATCH | VIDEO

This video has nothing to do with Spanish Football nor with Spanish Sports, & thank the Lord. One may think it is Dutch defender DE JONG doing his usual "party piece", but it is none other than the President of Bolivia Evo Morales retaliating to an early tackle that didn´t go down well with the Prez.The game was to celebrate the new artificial ground built in La Paz. Around the 5th min the

REAL MADRID CF | RELIEF AS THE DRY GOAL DROUGHT FINALLY ENDS | REAL MADRID 6 DEPORTIVO 1 VIDEO GOALS

Spanish TV "Cuarto" via its Sports News section televised this afternoon this piece on how REAL MADRID finally broken their "Goal Drought spell" yesterday against Deportivo with a 6 - 1 victory. The news piece is in Spanish BUT it can be intuitively understood, apart from also seeing all the goals from last nights game.To help out in the translation & catch the many ideas in the video, it

Changes in Free Agency, Tender/Non-tender, and Arbitration Deadlines

Last Thursday, Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association reached an agreement to alter some of the deadlines regarding free agency, tender/non-tender, and arbitration for upcoming negotiations in 2010 and 2011. The agreement grew out of concerns raised by the Players Association about the 2008 and 2009 off-season negotiation periods. Barry Bloom reported on the changes in an article posted on MLB.com, and the Players Association distributed a press release.

Here are some of the changes as gleaned from those two sources:

1. Currently teams have a 15-day period after the end of the World Series to negotiate exclusively with their current players who are eligible for free agency. That period of exclusivity has been reduced to five days.

2. Contracts must now be offered by December 2. The deadline is now before the Winter Meetings instead of the older deadline that feel after the Winter Meetings.

3. Arbitration must now be offered to free agents by November 23 at midnight. This allows a team to maintain its rights to compensation if a player declines by the new November 30 deadline. If a player accepts arbitration, their salary is decided either by salary arbitration or continued negotiations with just that one team. For instance, last year the Twins offered arbitration to Carl Pavano, and he accepted. Pavano has been a key member of the Twins’ rotation this year.

4. Players who are eligible for free agency because they have six years of credited service no longer need to apply within a 15-day window. Instead, they will become free agents automatically at the conclusion of the World Series.

The agreement resolves a number of problems that were slated for the grievance and arbitration process that is part of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. It also seems to signal a positive approach between the two sides prior to the December 11, 2011, expiration of the current CBA.

SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM | SORIANO, VALERO, ADURIZ PLUS HERNANDEZ CALLED UP FOR INJURIED PLAYERS

SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM Selector & Coach Vicente de Bosque has had to change the original list of Spanish players called up for the upcoming Euro 2012 Group qualifiers against Lithuania & Scotland after three important members suffered injuries in their respective League games this weekend.

FC Barcelona player PEDRO, along with Liverpool FC forward FERNANDO TORRES & Sevilla FC player

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SOCCER - SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA 2010 - 2011 | SUNDAY ROUND 6 RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL action tonight with the 7 remaining matches of Round 6 corresponding to the Spanish League - Liga - competition being played with same surprise results. Here is the summary of the results & the scorers of todays games. New SEVILLA FC Coach Manzano has "revitalized" his team which overran ATLETICO DE MADRID with a convincing 3-1 victory at home. The visitors were totally out

More on choking

Following on Mike's post about the new book on the science of choking: Prof. Bielock was on Diane Rehm two weeks ago (my wife had told me about the show, but I had not gotten around to the podcast; my plan for this week). Also, the New Yorker covered similar ground in 2000 in a piece called "The Art of Failure" (abstract and registration required). That piece discussed the difference between "choking" and "panicking." The former is what happens when skilled, prepared people lose the ability to perform, in part because they start thinking (and overthinking) about otherwise learned steps. Panicking is what an unprepared or unskilled person does, often involving moving too quickly.

[Update]: I just read an excerpt from Bielock's book; she mentions to New Yorker piece (written, it turns out, by Malcolm Gladwell), but rejects the distinction between panicking and choking. She also offers a definition of choking:

Choking under pressure is poor performance that occurs in response to the perceived stress of a situation. Choking is not simply poor performance, however. Choking is suboptimal performance. It's when you—or an individual athlete, actor, musician, or student—perform worse than expected given what you are capable of doing, and worse than what you have done in the past. This less-than-optimal performance doesn't merely reflect a random fluctuation in skill level—we all have performance ups and downs. This choke occurs in response to a highly stressful situation.

I know Mike is a Sox fan, but I have to let Buckner off the hook as an all-time choke. That was an error. But Buckner was a bad fielder who could not walk and should not have been in the game at that point. The definition above further exonerates Buckner--I am not sure that error was so suboptimal for him. If anything, the bigger choke was by the Sox relievers in the eleven pitches leading up to Buckner's error.

Choking to me requires someone falling from heights and it typically is more than one single play. I would point to Jana Novotna's meltdown in the Wimbledon Women's Final in 1993 or Greg Norman at the 1996 Master's--on the verge of prevailing, their entire games fell apart over a series of plays.

The Science of Choking

Over on The Situationist, Drexel University law professor and good friend Adam Benforado discusses some of the science of choking and a new book out by University of Chicago psychology professor Sian Bielock on that topic.

What is the most infamous example of choking in sports?

I'd have to say it's Bill Buckner in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and Mets, when a routine ground ball hit by Mookie Wilson in the 11th inning went through Buckner's legs, leading the winning run to score (the Mets would go on to win Game 7).

The Buckner video can't be embedded in this post, but you can watch it here at MLB.com.

FOOTBALL FINANCE | DAVID VILLA TOP TRANSFER DEAL FOR 2010-2011

An interesting post on Football Finance Portuguese website “futebolfinance” where they give us the Top 25 transfer operations during the last summer for this new 2010-2011 season.

Two observations:
1. Spanish International forward DAVID VILLA was the most expensive transfer operation for season 2010-2011 with a 40M€ move from Valencia CF to FC Barcelona
2. The market was less “inflated” & more

SPANISH FOOTBALL | SOCCER - SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA 2010 - 2011 | SATURDAY ROUND 6 RESULTS

SPANISH FOOTBALL - SOCCER - action tonight with three matches of Round 6 of the SPANISH LEAGUE - LIGA - with the following results & scorers.


REAL SOCIEDAD was awarded with a 1- 0 victory over ESPANYOL due to their persistence & hard work. In fact it was Espanyol who had all the chances with numerous misses that should have gone in the net, but those failures made them pay dearly in the end

New Article: Going Pro in Sports: Improving Guidance to Student-Athletes in a Complicated Legal & Regulatory Environment

A terrific new article in the Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal has posted on SSRN: Going Pro in Sports: Improving Guidance to Student-Athletes in a Complicated Legal & Regulatory Environment

The article is authored by Warren Zola (Boston College Assistant Dean, Sports Business Professor/Sports Attorney, and Chair of BC's Professional Sports Counseling Panel), Glenn Wong (UMass Isenberg School of Management sports business professor), and Chris Deubert (Associate at Ginsberg & Burgos).

Here is the article's abstract:

In 2008 the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) launched its national advertising campaign titled “Going Pro in Something Other than Sports.” As a major strategic and branding initiative by the NCAA years in development, this effort seeks to emphasize the academic rather than athletic abilities of collegiate student-athletes. Humor captivates the audience yet it is the campaign’s tagline that the NCAA has “over 380,000 student-athletes and just about every one of them will turn professional in something other than sports” that resonates with the viewer. While this declaration is true, and the promotion’s purpose is clearly aimed at calling attention to the core purpose of the NCAA, thousands of student-athletes begin professional sports careers every year. Given the complexities of the amateur to professional transition process, coupled with the fact that student-athletes and their families are woefully unsophisticated and unprepared, colleges and universities have done shockingly little to assist student-athletes through this process.

Many of these student-athletes do not make optimal decisions during this process for a variety of reasons, including conflicting and poor sources of information, the lure of professional money and an inability to understand the many complex legal and regulatory issues surrounding the amateur to professional transition. The results of these poor decisions can be dramatic and affect a long list of stakeholders, including student-athletes and their families, colleges and universities, the NCAA, professional sports leagues and players associations and professional advisors.

Although fans are most familiar with the riches and fame of professional athletes, the reality is that such a lofty status is the exception and not the rule. Far more student-athletes end up as hidden victims of this flawed process. The athlete may suffer permanent career and financial harm while his former school may suffer penalties and embarrassment for any misconduct that occurred while the athlete attended the school. Furthermore, the NCAA and/or the professional league with which the athlete is now involved may have to deal with a paying public critical of their operations and constituents.

This article will discuss the existing process for this transition, the problems therein and the urgency with which these problems need to be addressed. Then we will explain why it is in the best interests of all interested parties to improve the system and make recommendations for doing so.

Among our most meaningful recommendations:
• Colleges must enhance their use of Professional Sports Counseling Panels
• Colleges must increase funding for Compliance Offices.
• Colleges must actively participate in the enforcement of the Uniform Athlete Agents Act.
• The NCAA must consider increasing its loan options to student-athletes. The loans can be forgiven if the student-athlete does not break any NCAA rules.
• The NCAA must reconsider its Bylaws as they relate to permissible advisors and prohibited agents.
• The NCAA should create and fund seminars, conferences, and webcasts for student-athletes on the amateur to professional transition.
• The NCAA should consider applying a strict liability standard to Lack of Institutional Control findings in Infractions cases.
• Colleges and the NCAA should develop a for-credit course that educates student-athletes in this process.
• Professional leagues and unions should consider allowing for the punishment of athletes found to have broken NCAA rules.
• Agents and other professional advisors must police their own industry.

To download a free copy of the article, click here.

SPANISH FOOTBALL SPORTS BLOG | SOCIAL MEDIA

Hi guys. Slow day here in Spain today with the Spanish Football - Soccer news. The only big thing hitting the Spanish Sports papers are the alleged & supposed "doping" acusations to the three time Spanish Tour De France cyclist Alberto Contador. Something he denies as "food contamination" & that the ICU has to study further with more examinations. Remember, one is innocent until proven guilty.