ARJEN ROBBEN: HIS UNLUCKY SEASON

ARJEN ROBBEN is having the most unluckiest season a player couldhave in this profession. The Dutchman is going in & out of injuries thatare frustrating him & psychlogically hammering the REAL MADRID forward spirit wise.The lastest news from the club is that Robben will be out a month dueto a terrible tackle last weekend from Recreativo player Quique Alvarezthat earned him a red card. The tackle

MANCHESTER UTD STEPS INTO THE FC BARCELONA - GARAY PICTURE

According to English press "Daily Mail" & picked up by Spanishpaper "Sport", the supposed shut deal between RACING DESANTANDER, FC BARCELONA & the player GARAY ( below)has experienced a "twist".The Racing Argentine defender is also wanted by MANCHESTERUNITED & the English team has bettered the Barça offer. Theyhave included their Spanish promise & defender GERARD PIQUEin the deal. The agents for

Three Clemens-Related Stories for Monday

1) Darren Rovell has an excellent piece on CNBC's Sports Biz examining how Rusty Hardin's business may be hurt by his representation of Roger Clemens. Here is an excerpt:

Now I'm hardly suggesting that if the public decides that Clemens is guilty his lawyer Rusty Hardin, who has had a distinguished career, should call it quits. What I am suggesting is that if the Department of Justice does have enough evidence to bring Clemens up on perjury charges, Hardin is going to have to reconsider whether he should pack it in at 66. Because at the very least, his business is going to take a hit.

I understand why Hardin took this case. Look at his web site and you see he has a fascination with representing sports figures Calvin Murphy, Wade Boggs, Scottie Pippen and Warren Moon, among them. And he obviously had a client in Roger Clemens who was interested in doing everything (read: many billable hours). As a lawyer, Hardin has simply done everything his client has wanted, while presumably advising him of the legal risks. But I'm honestly shocked as to how much Hardin has been willing to put himself in the public eye. Roger's words have now become his words as well.

Be sure to read the rest of Darren's piece, it is an excellent read.

2) Our friends and colleagues Alan Milstein and Jeffrey Standen were interviewed by Cybercast News in regards to Clemens. Here are their comments:

Alan C. Milstein, a nationally recognized expert in sports law and bioethics who has followed the steroids hearings closely, told Cybercast News Service that it's not clear from the testimony who is lying, and it may not be for some time. Inconsistencies in statements do not necessarily amount to perjury. "I don't think from what we've heard so far that we know who is telling the truth and who's not," Milstein said.

Willamette University Law professor Jeffrey Standen agreed but said the committee's attorneys may have the inside scoop. "They probably know more than we do," Standen told Cybercast News Service. "If the committee is willing to make some kind of referral to the Justice Department, we don't have to trust that as being conclusive, but it does tell us who they believe."

3) Tommorow's Yale Law School Panel on "The Mitchell Report and Beyond: Steroids, HGH, and the Future of Baseball" -- which I'm thrilled to be a part of and which begins at 5 p.m. -- is open to the general public, so if you are near New Haven, hopefully you can come by. The panel is co-sponsored by the Yale Entertainment Sports Law Association and the Yale Law School Dean’s Office. If you would like additional information, please contact Aaron Zelinsky, a 1L at YLS who has played a major role in organizing the event, at aaron.zelinsky[at]gmail.com.

4) Bonus story: on SI.com I wrote about Barry Bond's attorneys securing a minor victory in court last Friday. The government's indictment against Bonds has been deemed duplicitous, a correctable problem, though one from which Bonds may take confidence.

Recent Sports Law Scholarship

Recently published scholarship:

Kathryn Keen, Note, The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act: does it really improve the gender equity landscape?, 34 JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY & URBAN LAW 227 (2007)

Dionne L. Koller, Frozen in time: the state action doctrine’s application to amateur sports, 82 ST. JOHN'S LAW REVIEW 183 (2008)

Jeffrey F. Levine, Note, Meeting the challenges of international brand expansion in professional sports: intellectual property right enforcement in China, 9 TEXAS REVIEW OF ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW 203 (2007)

Chris Miller, Comment, Hockey’s cold war--Russia’s defiance of the IIHF and the Evgeny Malkin saga, 17 SETON HALL JOURNAL OF SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW 163 (2007)

Melissa Neiman, Fair game: ethical considerations in negotiation by sports agents, 9 TEXAS REVIEW OF ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW 123 (2007)

Rohith A. Parasuraman, Note, Unionizing NCAA Division I athletics: a viable solution?, 57 DUKE LAW JOURNAL 727 (2007)

Griffin Toronjo Pivateau, Tackling the competitive sports doctrine: a new proposal for sports injuries in Texas, 9 TEXAS REVIEW OF ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS LAW 85 (2007)

Richard Salgado, A fiduciary duty to teach those who don’t want to learn: the potentially dangerous oxymoron of “college sports”, 17 SETON HALL JOURNAL OF SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT LAW 135 (2007)

SEVILLA FC LOSE BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD SPOT

The IFFHS ( International Federation of Football History & Statistics )has just released its lastest classification table which highlight(according to their criteria & statistics) the current "Best Team in TheWorld". SEVILLA FC who were in the Nº1 spot in the last list, fallsto the Nº3 spot, as Chelsea FC now reign at the Nº1 spot.The other Spanish club in the Top 10 is FC Barcelona who as in

SCHUSTER & THE MEDIA - MUTUAL INTEREST

The relationship between Spanish Football media & Real Madridcoach Bernd Schuster has never been fluid. Now its even colderafter Schuster walked out on Saturday from the post matchRecreativo - Real Madrid Press Conference after reporters only asked him about the referee decisions ( 3 red cards, offsides...)Schuster has been critical all season with the on field decisions &certain referees, that

Sports and Recreation Law Association Conference

Many law professors center their sports law classes on professional sports league issues, notably labor law, antitrust and contracts. However, many sports law teaches and practitioners focus on amateur and recreational sports issues, such as personal injury, risk management, disabilities and gender discrimination. While some of these subjects do not get the frequent news coverage that professional sports issues do, they involve far more individuals and organizations than found in the pros. For those attorneys who wish to get a foothold in sports law practice, there may be more opportunities to represent a student injured in an intramural high school event than arguing in a grievance arbitration involving a Major League Baseball player.

I just came back from the 21st annual Sports and Recreation Law Association conference (SRLA), a small organization of scholars who teach in sports management programs throughout the United States. Many teach sports law, but some also teach classes in in sports management and risk assessment. As a member for a number of years, I enjoy the company of my colleagues in SRLA, but more importantly, as somehow who concentrated in pro sports issues, I have learned a great deal in the areas involving recreational and school sports.

For those interested, the presentations given are listed as follows and if anyone is interested in becoming a member, check out the home page and contact page.

[I will discuss my research presentation in a separate post]