Academics and Practitioners Ask Dept. of Justice to Investigate the BCS

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a group of 21 law and economics professors and practitioners have submitted a letter to the United States Department of Justice, urging the DoJ to launch a formal antitrust investigation of the Bowl Championship Series. The letter (which is available here) argues that the BCS violates antitrust law both by unfairly restricting schools in the so-called non-automatically qualifying conferences from competing in the BCS National Championship Game and other BCS sponsored bowl games, as well as by disproportionately distributing its revenue in favor of the six automatically qualifying conferences. Signatories to the letter include economists Andrew Zimbalist (Smith College) and Richard Thaler (Univ. of Chicago), as well as law professors Roger Abrams (Northeastern Univ.) and Raymond Yasser (Univ. of Tulsa).

For additional discussion of the antitrust issues surrounding the BCS, check out my article "Antitrust & The Bowl Championship Series," and Michael McCann's "Antitrust, Governance, and Postseason College Football."

REAL MADRID 2011 | TEAM PHOTO STARTING 11 Q/FINAL 2º LEG CHAMPIONS LEAGUE vs TOTTENHAM

Thought that the REAL MADRID fans may appreciate this team photo of the starting 11 in tonights Champions League Tottenham Hotspurs 2º leg Quarter-Final match.



Real Madrid Champions League vs Tottenham Hotspurs
2010-2011 at "White Hart Lane"/photo AFP

Top: right - left: Casillas; Ramos; Albiol;Alonso;Khedira; Adebayor & C Ronaldo
Bottom: right - left: Arbeloa;Marcelo;Carvalho & Ozil.

TOTTENHAM 0 REAL MADRID 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2º LEG QUARTER FINAL RESULT

REAL MADRID visited TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS in their 2º leg CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Quarter Final match to win 0 - 1 ( 0 - 5 Agg) & secure their place in the Semi - Finals. Real Madrid will now meet FC BARCELONA the 27th of April in the "Santiago Bernabeu" Stadium in their 1º leg clash.



Cristiano Ronaldo scores against Tottenham

Tottenham did not win tonight but they showed a better performance that

SPAIN Nº1 FIFA WORLD RANKING MARCH 2011

The World Football - Soccer governing organization FIFA has released its monthly Football Nations World Rankings with the SPANISH NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM, & current World Champions, retaining its Nº1 ranking spot. Spain opens the points gap in relation to the other National teams below them due to their winning Euro 2012 qualifying victories.



David Villa scores for Spain.


FIFA World Ranking

Division by Multiplication: Illinois Once Again Heats up the Public v. Private Debate in HS Sports

In 2005, the Illinois High School Association (the “IHSA”), which governs both public and private high school sports in Illinois, implemented an enrollment multiplier that requires actual enrollments of non-boundaried schools be multiplied by 1.65 in determination of classification for athletics competition. This multiplier pits smaller private schools against much larger public schools, the effectiveness of which has been hotly debated, in Illinois and other states throughout the country that have implemented mechanisms like a multiplier in an effort bring the number of state championships won by private schools more in line with their smaller numbers relative to public schools.

I wrote a law review article on the subject in 2009 evaluating enrollment multipliers in high school sports entitled Prep Plus: Evaluating the Motivations for and Effects of Enrollment Multipliers and Other Measures in High School Sports¸ 10 Tex. Rev. Ent. & Sports L. 1 (2008). I have also written about the topic in this space back in 2006.

The multiplier has been in effect in Illinois for five years now, and last week, Illinois State Representative Michael Connelly of the Illinois House of Representatives has reignited the bitter debate over the IHSA’s use of an enrollment multiplier for high school athletics competition. Representative Connelly has proposed an Amendment to House Bill 2392, which forbids the use of multiplier or multiplier-like devices in the determination of classification for athletics competition. The amendment has gained twenty-five co-sponsors thus far. The amendment requires that competition classes be established based solely upon actual enrollments of boys and girls for respective sports (e.g. boys’ enrollment determines football class). An identical form of the bill is making its way through the Illinois Senate in the form of Amendment to Senate Bill 624.

Historically, both proponents and opponents of the enrollment multiplier have sought a level playing field, but the arguments are strikingly adverse. Proponents of the multiplier denote that because parochial, private, charter and magnet schools are not bound by pre-determined school districts, these non-boundaried schools draw from a larger pool of students, and, as a result, gain a competitive advantage. Opponents argue that enrollment multipliers create unfair “David vs. Goliath” matchups that are inherently prejudicial.

The arguments being advanced in Illinois this time around are essentially the same. In a letter directed to high school principals, the Executive Director for the IHSA, Dr. Marty Hickman, stressed that a number of non-boundaried schools have won championships since the implementation of the multiplier. Thus if the goal of the multiplier was to lessen the amount of championships won by non-boundaries schools, thereby bringing the numbers of non-boundaried schools winning championships more in line with the proportion of non-boundaried schools in the IHSA, Dr. Hickman is admitting that the multiplier has failed.

Dr. Hickman also urged opposition to the Amendment on the basis that it usurps principals’ governance and oversight power of the operations of the Association. The IHSA, as the governing body for high school athletics in Illinois, clearly sides with public institutions here.

Representative Connelly and his co-sponsors will argue that Dr. Hickman’s contentions ignore the other end of the spectrum. While it is true that large parochial schools enjoy significant athletic success in Illinois, smaller private institutions with no history of athletic prowess are often forced to compete against public school powerhouses, leading to lopsided results that benefit no one. Also, the fact that large private schools are still achieving exemplary results indicates that the multiplier is disproportionately affecting the schools with small student bodies and even smaller budgets.

The Amendment was proposed by Representative Connelly on April 1, 2011 and has yet to be debated by the General Assembly. The rhetoric already emanated suggests that it will be furiously contested. With staunch bipartisan support on both sides of the fence, it will be interesting to see if this proposed legislation will be implemented.

MANCHESTER UNITED TIES UP ATLETICO DE MADRID GOALKEEPER DAVID DE GEA ?

SPANISH FOOTBALL generates enough news to keep more the 10 papers surviving & feeding a Football mad Nation. That gives for a lot of daily content & news which covers a whole range of "scoops", truths, reviews, updates, previews, pink & lots of rumours.

The "hot rumour" for today is the news "bomb" dropped by Spanish radio "Onda Cero" ( a bit  known for its love of gaining attention) that 

SHAKHTAR D 0 FC BARCELONA 1 | CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL 2nd LEG RESULT

SPANISH FOOTBALL has its first Club in the next phase of CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, concretely in the  Semi-Finals, after FC BARCELONA won their away 2º leg Quarter Final clash against SHAKTAR D 0 - 1 (6-0 aggregate).



Lionel Messi Champions League 2011

FC Barcelona  didn´t really risk & played a comfortable match which started with the home side on fire,  but they faded out as the match went on. Once