AFC West Predictions

In 2009, the AFC West was the worst division in football. The San Diego Chargers were 4-8 after 12 games, but they wound up winning the division, going 8-8 and beating the Denver Broncos in a tiebreaker. After those two, the Oakland Raiders were 5-11 and the Kansas City Chiefs were a woeful 2-14. The prospects for this season don't appear the be a lot better.

It seems clear that the San Diego Chargers are the class of the division. They have the talent on both sides of the ball to run away with things. With Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren Sproles, and Antonio Gates, they have plenty of playmakers to score points. Defensively, the return of Shawne Merriman should boost the defense back to being as good as it was 2 years ago. In the worst division in football, the Chargers could win it by 4+ games.

After that, the order is anyone's guess. I like the Kansas City Chiefs to finish 2nd, but there are still a lot of problems. They will be working in a new GM, new head coach, and new quarterback. Todd Haley will try to jumpstart things, but it won't be easy. They will have to hope that Matt Cassel continues to progress after coming over from New England. However, he will have a shortage of playmakers, and will have to find Dwayne Bowe early and often. Defensively, they were terrible last year and don't seem to have made a lot of improvements. They need to get better against the run, and they hope their core of young draft picks along the defensive line will mature.

The Denver Broncos will look to finish 3rd, but they face significant challenges. They have a new head coach in Josh McDaniels, and he has made some roster overhauls. Most significantly is at QB, where Kyle Orton replaces Jay Cutler. He might have to do so without his top receiver, as Brandon Marshall has been suspended for at least the rest of the preseason. The defense also figures to struggle... they were very bad last season and did not make a lot of upgrades.

The Oakland Raiders figure to be a mediocre team once again. Their turmoil starts at the top, as head coach Tom Cable was accused of punching an assistant coach during the preseason. There is also uncertainty at the quarterback position, as JaMarcus Russell has yet to establish himself as a legitimate starter. He should get some help from the running game, as Darren McFadden looks ready to breakout, but they will need him to turn into a franchise QB if they are going to have any success.

So the Chargers look like the class of the AFC West, but it will be a dogfight after that. On paper, the division doesn't appear to be much better than it was in 2008, when it was the worst division in football, but we will just have to see how things play out.

FIFA WORLD RANKINGS - SEPT 2009: SPAIN CLOSES GAP ON BRAZIL

FIFA has today released its monthly World Teams Rankings withBrazil on top & SPAIN 2ºnd closing the gap with the former. Some ofthe other teams move around, but good to see Australia in the thepicture.Here is the list of Top 14 national teams:FIFA CLASSIFICATION: 2nd of SEPTEMBER 2009:1 (1). Brazil 1.604 pts.2 (2). SPAIN 1.588 pts.3 (3). Holland 1.376 pts.4 (5). Italy 1.186 pts.4 (4). Germany

FC BARCELONA: IBRAHIMOVIC DELIGHTED TO HAVE SCORED HIS FIRST "LIGA" GOAL

FC BARCELONA star signing for 2009-2010 ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC has commented to media that he is delighted & "relieved" to havefinally scored his first goal with Barcelona. The Swede has promisedthat there will be more in the future.Spanish & Barcelona based daily "Sport" add some HUMOUR to the situation & have dedicated their cartoon section "Futbolitis" to theIbrahimovic declarations:Translated:"

Submissions for Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law

Earlier this month, I blogged on the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, which is a brand new law journal published by Harvard Law School. The Journal's Editor-in-Chief, Aswhin Krishnan, has let me know that the Journal's website is up. He and Josh Podoll (Submissions Editor), also have some additional info on submissions:

* * *

On behalf of the editorial board, it is my distinct pleasure to announce the formation of the Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law (JSEL). JSEL will provide the academic community, the sports and entertainment industries, and the broader legal profession with scholarly analysis and research related to the legal aspects of the sports and entertainment communities.

JSEL, published under the auspices of Harvard Law School, is accepting articles, essays, book reviews, notes, and comments regarding legal and/or public policy issues from academics and legal practitioners for its upcoming inaugural issue in Spring 2010. JSEL is one of the few journals in the United States that focuses exclusively on legal topics related to sports and entertainment.

As you are probably aware, legal topics that affect sports and entertainment include antitrust law, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, corporate law, copyright law, labor law, and real estate law. In addition, there are many other legal topics that have an impact on the sports and entertainment industries, or otherwise have an application to sports and entertainment.

Submissions are being accepted on a rolling basis. To be considered for our first issue, due to be published in Spring 2010, please send completed submissions no later than November 15, 2009. An indication of your interest before that date would also be greatly appreciated.

All submissions must be sent to Josh Podoll, Submissions Editor, as an attached Microsoft Word document via email to jselsubmissions@gmail.com. Please visit our website for further details regarding the submissions process at www.HarvardJSEL.com. Also, please feel free to contact Josh regarding any questions you may have concerning citation format, topic, or other issues involving the submissions process. If you know of other scholars, practitioners, or students whose work seems appropriate for our journal, please encourage them to submit their work to JSEL.

We look forward to receiving your submissions!

Sincerely,

Ashwin Krishnan
Editor in Chief

Josh Podoll
Submissions Editor

* * *

The NHLPA Fires Its Executive Director

The National Hockey League Players' Association fired its executive director, Paul Kelly, on Monday. Kelly had served in the position for 22 months. Prior to joining the union, Kelly was a founding member and trial lawyer at the Boston law firm Kelly, Libby and Hoopes.

The move leaves the NHLPA searching for its fourth director in four years. With the decision, the NHLPA also joins the MLBPA and NFLPA as sports unions which will be transitioning to new leadership in 2009.

With the NHL's current collective bargaining agreement set to expire after the 2010-11 season, Kelly's ultimate replacement will have little time to get settled.

Jason Chung on Situation of Teenage Basketball Players Who Turn Pro

Over on The Situationist, Jason Chung has a thoughtful and provocative article on why the typical life circumstances of U.S. players who would like to seek the NBA right out of high school, and who are capable of being drafted right out of high school, are often missed by advocates of the NBA's age limit. He compares those players with reactions to European players, some of whom turn pro as young as 14 years old (e.g., Ricky Rubio turned pro at 14). Here is an excerpt from Jason's piece:

* * *

Given that all these young athletes made seemingly informed, mature personal decisions, why is that Brandon Jennings [photographed above while living in Italy] has been ostracized by some quarters while the others have largely escaped such scrutiny? The answer may lie in the fact that our moral reasoning does not rest in an evidentiary basis. As Jonathan Haidt notes, “Most people gave no real evidence for their positions, and most made no effort to look for evidence opposing their initial positions.” As long as their point of view “makes sense” there is little reason to question their knee-jerk reaction.

Jennings’ position – that of rejecting a college athletic scholarship – unquestionably evokes a stronger negative reaction in the American psyche. In America, those with higher education are often better employed, possess higher earning power, and are considered a better fit for the modern economy than those without such an advantage. It is drilled into the minds of most Americans that higher education is the way to go in order to attain professional and personal success. In addition, for student-athletes, playing in the NCAA is viewed as the traditional way in which to interest NBA teams and to raise your draft profile. Jennings bucked conventional wisdom and the resulting immediate reaction on the part of some of the public and NBA analysts like Jalen Rose was to question the motivations, financial and otherwise, behind this decision.

This initial reaction is simply not supported by facts. . . .

* * *

To read the rest, click here.

ATLETICO DE MADRID 2009-2010: A DISASTER AWAITING TO HAPPENING?

I’m worried, as I imagine most ATLETICO DE MADRID followers areor should be after witnessing the pathetic performance of theteam at their opening game of this seasons “LIGA” against Malaga& losing 3-0.I am so worried,that with 37 Liga games still left to play,a difficult Champions League Group ahead & with more than 8 monthsstill left till the end of the season,that the “ghost” of a Champions