It’s not cheap to go to a game at Madison Square Garden. In fact, it’s a huge ripoff. It would be nice to see a quality product when you pay that much money. But that’s not the case with the Knicks. The team will sell out 28 games this year even though they may win less than 15 home games. But that’s nothing compared to the early 2010-11 season ticket sales.
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Good sports writing is based on fact and in-depth analysis. Mediocre sports writing is poorly framed and based largely on assumption. Methinks that Jim Thomas’ speculation about Michael Vick is the latter. For STLtoday, Thomas says that there’s about a 60/40 chance of Vick becoming a member of the Rams.
Last week, Thomas wrote that St. Louis was “seriously interested” in acquiring Vick. It’s not a bad move since the Rams have made it clear that Marc Bulger’s future of the team is in limbo. At the same time, many observers believe it would be a reach for the Rams to take a quarterback first overall. So it makes sense that they’d take a look at Vick. In his reality show, Vick noted that he believed he’d sign with the Chiefs or Rams before he ended up with the Eagles.
St. Louis probably wouldn’t have to give up that much to get Vick. But right now, the Eagles are playing hardball and acting as if they are willing to stick with him. Though, that’s likely posturing since Vick is due a roster bonus of $1.5 million by March 5th and a massive $5.25 million salary for the 2010 season. The Rams could probably get Vick by simply offering a 4th or maybe even 5th/6th round pick. It’s not really worth giving up more to acquire him since the Eagles will probably cave before they have to start paying for Vick’s services for the 2010 season.
Tags: 2010, football, michael vick, NFL, philadelphia eagles, quarterbacks, roster bonus, st. louis rams
If you didn’t already know, the Knicks made some major moves at the trade deadline. The three deals give them a lot more flexibility for a run at free agents during the offseason. Here are the three trades that went down:
You have to give Donnie Walsh credit here. While it may not be the absolutely ideal scenario, he managed to unload a ton of salary obligations. Here’s analysis of the moves via KnickerBlogger:
But these are the facts, and they are undisputed: The Knicks, even by the most pessimistic cap projections, will have $32 million in cap space next year. The Knicks have retained David Lee, who can be used in a sign-and-trade this summer. The Knicks have retained Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, the two players who most fans feared would have to be sacrificed to unload Jared Jeffries contract. And the Knicks will enter next season, no matter the free agent machinations, with Eddy Curry’s $11 million dollar expiring contract, allowing them to either make a mid-season trade or add another very good player in the summer of 2011. Make no mistake, the Knicks paid dearly to get here, and if they strike out in free agency, the lost draft picks could haunt them for a decade.
The $32 million of cap space for 2010 is gigantic. That will allow the Knicks to sign up to two max free agents. At the same time, having David Lee and acquiring Tracy McGrady provides flexibility. Even if the Knicks do strike out in free agency, they can probably retain those two players and hope to deal Eddy Curry for value in 2011. McGrady has already expressed interest in staying in New York. We’ll just have to wait and see what Donnie does next.
Tags: 2010, basketball, Donnie Walsh, free agents, NBA, new york knicks, tracy mcgrady, trades
It’s not easy being Marisa Miller. The leggy beauty was in Miami this weekend. While she got to enjoy the sun, she was also hustling from venue-to-venue all weekend. So we rounded up the photos of the lovely model.
On Friday, Miller hit up the AXE Lounge at Fontainebleau Miami. Her Saturday began with the DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl (other participants included Olivia Munn and bad ass actors Aaron Paul and C.S. Lee). Then later that night it was party time. Miller attended both the Maxim Party at The Raleigh and also made an appearance at the NFL owner’s party. I’m sure that both were equally lame.
You can check out 64+ pictures of Miller’s party weekend after the jump.
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Tim Lincecum will be able to pay off a lot of civil infraction fines for weed if he wins in arbitration. The two-time Cy Young winner is seeking $13 million for the upcoming season. The Giants have offered him only $8 million so the two sides will sort it out next month. Though, many cases are settled prior to hearings.
The current record of $10 million for belongs to Alfonso Soriano and Francisco Rodriguez (who both lost) along with Ryan Howard, who won his case in 2008. In Lincecum’s case, he can receive either the low-ball $8 million or his entire $13 million as requested. There’s no slicing it down the middle at this point. Either way, he will shatter the $6.5 million mark for first-year eligible pitchers set by Jonathan Papelbon. Though, the middle point does play a role in determining what he will be paid. From the San Jose Mercury News:
A second executive said the key to the case is the midpoint between the player and the team — in other words, $10.5 million. In a hearing, the executive said, Lincecum’s camp will have to prove that “he’s worth $1 more than $10.5 million and the Giants will have to prove that he’s worth $1 less.” That’s the tipping point for the arbitrator.
“$10.5 million is the magic number,” the executive said.
Lincecum’s request for $13 million is considered “unusually high” but some thought he might ask for more. The problem is that submitting $20 million means you have to prove you’re worth it — or settle for MUCH less cash. Asking for $13 million signals that Lincecum expects the case to advance to a point where they can defend the figure and win. Lince will certainly have a good shot since Felix Hernandez just signed a deal paying him over $15 million per year.
Tags: 2010, arbitration, baseball, contract, MLB, salary, san francisco giants, tim lincecum
We’re about five weeks away from the NBA trade deadline. With the February 18th date approaching, Chris Bosh is apparently generating a lot of interest. ESPN’s Chad Ford reports that interest in Bosh from the Lakers and Rockets could have a big impact on the LeBron Sweepstakes as well.
Sources from both the Knicks and Nets have told Ford that they don’t expect to land any major free agents unless they can pair that player with another big-time signing. He also notes that the Nets were already starting to question the prospect of a big move:
Even before the rumors surfaced this weekend, the Nets were having second thoughts about their 2010 summer strategy. A source close to the Nets’ thinking told me that they are concerned that if they don’t land LeBron or Bosh, they may be stuck in the same situation the Pistons were in last summer — with no elite free agents on the market, the Pistons were forced to overpay role players to fill out their roster.
The Knicks may also be re-thinking their strategy for 2010. The same factors may force Donnie Walsh’s hand to make a move soon or to wait until the dust settles in the 2010 free agency period. Nets team president Rod Thorn said that he expects “major deals” before the deadline. On the Lebron front, the latest rumor is that Pat Riley may go “all in” on LBJ.
Tags: 2010, chris bosh, cleveland cavaliers, free agents, houston rockets, LeBron James, los angeles lakers, NBA, new york knicks, trade deadline
With the BCS National Championship coming up tomorrow, the Longhorns made their second trip to Los Angeles in the past few years. The last time they were in the Rose Bowl, actors including Will Ferrell and Matthew McConaughey attended the event. You might think that McConaughey, a Texas alumnus, would be the team’s favorite actor. But McConaughey didn’t even tally a single vote when the team was polled.
The University of Texas sports information department runs the incredibly informative TexasSports.com site. The site includes player profiles, highlights, and a number of other great features. For the football team, they even list facts about themselves and some of their favorite things. Most of the football team was asked who their favorite actor is. While Will Ferrell managed to secure the runner up spot, he was still absolutely crushed by Denzel Washington. Denzel racked up an impressive 20 out of 71 total votes. Will Ferrell was also appealing with 9 votes followed by Will Smith and Jamie Foxx at 7 votes each. The only other actors that tallied multiple votes were Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker, Mel Gibson, and Katt Williams. Only 14 players voted for an actor other than the ones previously listed. The same groupthink was evident in the female part of the poll as well. Halle Berry amassed 9 out of the 35 total votes with Jessica Alba (7), Meagan Good (4), and Angelina Jolie (3) receiving votes. If you were curious, the Longhorns’ star quarterback Colt McCoy did pick Denzel Washington but listed his favorite movie as Gladiator. Coincidentally, Denzel has attended the Rose Bowl before — but only when USC was playing.
They also asked some of the players about their favorite movies. Bad Boys II cleaned up while Gladiator, Will Ferrell movies, and football movies got a lot of votes as well. You might think that the players would pick Denzel Washington movies as their favorites — but nobody did. It’s not so surprising to me that so many players picked Denzel Washington. However, it’s almost shocking that he didn’t have a role in Bad Boys II.
Tags: 2010, bad boys ii, bcs, Chris Tucker, college football, denzel washington, Eddie Murphy, football, halle berry, jessica alba, Katt Williams, Mel Gibson, national championship, rose bowl, texas longhorns, university of texas, will ferrell
Today, ESPN announced that they would add a 3D channel to their collection of networks in 2010. It seems like an impressive addition that could become an industry leader. Here’s the blurb via ESPN:
ESPN 3D will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, beginning June 11 with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match, featuring South Africa versus Mexico, ESPN and ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer announced.
Other events to be produced in 3-D include the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, college basketball and football contests, up to 25 World Cup matches and the Summer X Games. Additional events will be announced at a later date.
While 3D is sure to impress, it’ll probably take a while for the channel to catch on. It’s likely that end-consumers will lack the proper equipment to view the broadcast. At the same time, broadcasting in 3D will probably require equipment that won’t be available for all of the big games. So the result will be that ESPN’s 3D channel will be great for big games — but mostly filled with replays. It will be extremely difficult for ESPN to get enough worthwhile content. Consider the fact that many of the HD channels are constantly replaying the same programs.
ESPN’s 3D channel will certainly give them a foothold in the future of 3D broadcasts. But also keep in mind that there really isn’t any significant revenue opportunity here — at least at this point. The channel will only cannibalize viewers that ESPN already has on their SD and HD channels rather than add to that existing audience. At the same time, there’s no apparent way that ESPN can generate more revenue on the new broadcast simply because it’s in 3D. ESPN’s channels are now all in HD and it’s had a negligible impact on their bottom line.
While 3D television sounds pretty damn cool and will look great, ESPN won’t have much more to offer advertisers. Perhaps there’s some sort of licensing agreement that they’ll pursue with bars and movie theaters to re-broadcast the games similar to what the NFL does with Sunday Ticket. However, the World Wide Leader will probably have more of an opportunity to increase their revenue with enhanced/interactive TV.
Tags: 2010, 3d, cable, channel, espn, high definition, network, sports, television
Mike Lupica gets paid to write, but that doesn’t mean he gets paid to make sense. The senior sportswriter recently made a case for LeBron coming to New York in his Daily News column. Re-hashing nothing new, Lupica states that marketing dollars and “the chance to win it all” will deliver LBJ to New York.
Considering we’ve known about LeBron’s impending agency for years, there has been very little verified information to come out of the James Camp. So how does Lupica anchor his “new” argument? Using Tiger Woods, of course! Yes, seriously. Lupica seems to think that LBJ will land in New York to soften the blow to Nike’s marketing cachet according to one of his mogul-type friends. Huh? Even if that did make sense, casual observers have always been aware of Nike’s desire for LeBron to play in New York — Tiger Woods scandal or not.
A guy I know from sports, a mogul-type, one who knows the NBA and knows the business side of sports even better, was talking the other day about the possibility of LeBron coming to the Knicks. He is not a New Yorker, by the way, and is not a Knicks fan. He just thinks the whole thing makes sense, and not just for the Knicks and for the league.
“I am hearing,” the guy said, “that Nike wants LeBron in New York even more than ever, because of Tiger.”
He was referring to Tiger Woods. Maybe you’ve heard about him.
So Nike wants to pass Tiger’s torch to LeBron but needs him in New York to do so? Whatever you say, Anonymous Sports Business Mogul Associated With Mike Lupica. Tiger was (is?) clearly one of sports’ biggest stars. However, it doesn’t make sense to lump LeBron and Tiger into the same category simply because they’re Nike frontmen. Sure, they both have international fame and are top individuals in their sports. But there’s a reason why LeBron endorses Sprite and Bubblicious while Tiger promoted Accenture and Tag Heuer. The potential to net over a billion dollars in their careers doesn’t make them the same guy.
This is not a case of black and white even though Lupica would like to frame it as such. Unfortunately for him, the reasons AGAINST LeBron returning to Cleveland are not necessarily reasons TO sign with the Knicks (see the LeBron to the Bulls and LeBron to the Lakers theories). LBJ may have a shot at more endorsement dollars in New York, but the same is true about a number of different markets. That being said, the other half of Lupica’s argument about winning is laughable. Does he really have a better shot to win with the scraps currently inhabiting the Knicks’ roster than with Cleveland?
A month ago, I thought Donnie Walsh had no shot at LeBron, none, forget about it. But lately the Knicks have become a team their best and most diehard fans want to watch. In the short run, as you try to imagine LeBron in New York, you can see him actually wanting to be able to kick the ball out to the Italian kid, Danilo Gallinari, because you can see how the Italian kid might end up being the best shooter in the gym one of these days.
Or there is David Lee, who plays like a champion every night, no matter what the score. If there is a way to keep Lee. There is Wilson Chandler. In November there seemed to be no hope for this season. The year ends differently.
Michael Jordan had Chicago, Kobe has L.A., why not New York for LeBron? He clearly does have a fascination with the big bad city, and with the Yankees. Maybe that “27″ on the sneakers after the Yankees won the Series really was more than an instant message.
LeBron is smart, which means he understands that as big as he has gotten, and as fast as he has gotten there, the only way he becomes as big as he wants to be is by winning it all. And maybe coming here and having at least one big player come with him is the best way.
To say that LeBron James might stake his future on Danilo Gallinari and David Lee is absurd hyperbole. While we’re fans of both players, they’re only marginally better than teammates LeBron has had in Cleveland. Unless James knows a way to wipe Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries’ contracts from the books, Lupica’s point about winning with the Knicks is shaky at best. Even LeBron will need more than a couple of decent supporting players to win a championship — this isn’t NBA Jam.
It’s also outlandish that Lupica claims to think that LeBron would take a pay cut so the Knicks can sign another talent. If James is going to (literally) bet the house on a team, it’s hard to believe that LeBron will choose the Knicks. The team has only finished above .500 once in the past decade. LeBron’s only experience with a losing season was his rookie year and his major wager could end with a similar result.
But let’s be serious. Is it even possible for LeBron James to become a BIGGER star? The answer is yes and no. First, it’s doubtful there are that many people planning on jumping ship to become LeBron fans simply because he wears blue and orange. Second, LeBron Fatigue is already developing across the nation. The guy said he wanted to be a billion dollar athlete. He’s exhibited poor sportsmanship. He had a video of him getting dunked on confiscated. He’s also featured in the now-annoying Nike puppet commercials. James is a hair away from being considered pompous and over-exposed. Expecting to arrive in New York for His coronation might be the last straw for a lot of non-Knicks fans.
Yes, LeBron can still be the King of New York. Though that wouldn’t really elevate his stature much. As previously mentioned, he already has international appeal and maybe Lupica forgot that people love to hate it when New York wins. Coming to New York City might just make LeBron “East Coast Kobe” rather than the innocuous Midwest wunderkind he is now. At the same time, it could make it look like King James thinks he’s bigger than the game. And that’s almost certainly the case if LeBron is willing to risk colossal failure for an incremental increase in his “legend” and bottom line.
Mike Lupica could be right and LeBron may end up in the Big Apple. However, he also parallels LeBron’s budding career with those of Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. And when did those guys ever play in New York or take a pay cut to win? Let’s hope this is the last time that Lupica regurgitates the logic of his anonymous mogul buddies.
Tags: 2010, basketball, cleveland cavaliers, danilo gallinari, David Lee, free agents, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, michael jordan, mike lupica, NBA, new york city, new york knicks, tiger woods
Last week, the Yankees inked Nick Johnson to a one-year deal. He’ll likely DH, fill in at first base, and hit second fairly often. At first glance, it seems like a great signing. However, the acquisition of Nick the Stick wasn’t universally praised. It’s ridiculous that we feel the need to defend Cashman’s moves — but so-called “fans” have forced the issue.
For some reason, Yankee “fans” love to live in the past. We here at BLS were huge fans of both Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui. But when Brian Cashman doesn’t re-up a player, there’s a reason. Last year, he was willing to make a splash by signing A.J. Burnett, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixeira. He also let Bobby Abreu walk and take a significantly discounted contract with the Angels. Yes, Cashman probably overpaid slightly for the Big Three and missed out on a good deal with Abreu. However, Cashman puts an emphasis on dictating terms of negotiation and rarely yields to the market due to desperation. This has become even more evident in the past few months as the Yankees have passed on big money pitchers and seemingly cut loose Matsui and Damon.
It’s an oversimplification to say the Yankees could have had Matsui instead of Johnson. Yes, their contracts will pay them similarly for 2010. Though locking up Johnson probably had more to do with Damon’s salary demands than Matsui’s. Johnson was signed to hit second at least half of the time. That’s because Cashman clearly already knew that Damon was never coming back.
It’s annoying that people are also locked into the 2009 “Bombs Away” mentality. This is a different year and a different team. Cashman lost very little pop in the outfield and upgraded it defensively. Adding Nick Johnson’s absurd OBP is also part of the transition. One has to wonder if the “fans” whining about Matsui and Damon remember the Yankees STILL have one of the all-time great infields. The Yankees may have less comeback wins and walkoff bombs, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be worse off in 2010.
In the big picture, the Yankees will pay the new acquisitions less than the (literally) old team members. Johnson and Granderson also have similar levels of production and are both younger than their counterparts. Here are some additional points to support our argument:
To all of you Yankee fans out there: embrace the change. The Yankees aren’t re-building or quitting on 2010. Brian Cashman simply has a plan that you may not fully understand. It’s shocking how many people object to acquiring younger, cheaper players that put up comparable numbers. Please, just leave the general managing to The Cash Man.
Tags: 2010, acquisitions, baseball, curtis granderson, dh, first base, free agents, Hideki Matsui, johnny damon, MLB, new york yankees, nick johnson, outfield, trades
Tim Tebow has one more game left in his superb college career. He will definitely be considered one of the greats even though he only won one national championship as starter (Chris Leak passed for 2950 yards in 2006). Still, he won the Heisman as a sophomore with a ridiculous 3286 passing yards with 32 touchdowns along with 895 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns. But even with all of his accomplishments, he may not have a future as a quarterback in the NFL.
Bill Polian, President of the Indianapolis Colts, recently gave his opinion on Tebow in the NFL. He thinks that Tebow will be an NFL player but he needs to be in a specific system. You know, a system that doesn’t rely on the forward pass. He also thinks Tebow could be a good tight end or short-yardage running back. Here are his comments from a Q&A on colts.com:
You know the rest of the story, so with that sort of caveat, I’ll say this: ‘I think Tim Tebow is a really good football player.’ If you were going to run the Wildcat offense enough to say that you needed a specialized Wildcat quarterback to do it, who could both run the ball and withstand the pounding that you have to take in the National Football League and throw it effectively from the Wildcat, I think Tim Tebow would be a heck of a guy. If you’re going to take your offense and say, ‘We’re going to do what the Miami Dolphins do; we’re going to run this 45, maybe 50 percent, maybe 60 percent of the time,’ then he’s the perfect guy for you. I don’t know where you’d take him in the draft, but he fits perfectly there. I’ve heard other people say he could be a great goal-line and short-yardage running back. I believe that to be the case. I’ve heard people say they think he can be a very good tight end. I believe that would be the case. I don’t know how he catches the ball, but I presume and think he’s a good enough athlete that that would not be a problem. There’s room for Tim Tebow, if you wanted to install the Wildcat as a part of a specific and integral part of your offense. He’d be perfect for you.
Tim Tebow recently spoke about the jump to the NFL and said he hoped to continue playing quarterback. But he also said that he’s willing to play another position. Here’s what Tebow said about playing QB:
“My goal is to play quarterback. I’m going to do whatever it takes and work as hard as I possibly can to be a quarterback. If I’m on a team and they want me to go play another position and that’s what they tell me to do, I will gladly go play another position with my whole heart and do it to the best of my ability. But my goal is to be a quarterback and I’m going to do whatever it takes to try to reach that goal.”
Adam Schefter thinks Tebow will “certainly” be taken in the first round. He won’t slip past the early second round much like Pat White last year. It makes you wonder which NFL team would be willing to risk a first round pick on Tebow as a throwing quarterback — or completely start over with a run-first scheme. A lot of people think he could go to the Jacksonville Jaguars. That could be a good fit. I’ll throw the Raiders out there as a wild card team if Tebow is available at the beginning of the second round. Tebow seems to have earned himself a late-first to early-second round pay day with his time at Florida… unless he can put up a JaMarcus Russell-like performance in the Sugar Bowl.
Tags: 2010, bill polian, college football, florida gators, football, indianapolis colts, jacksonville jaguars, NFL, nfl draft, quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, tim tebow
Charles Barkley likes to speak his mind. Typically, he takes a comical approach to his comments and he can be off-color. Sir Charles had some unkind words for Donnie Walsh and the Knicks. But they weren’t funny because they were offensive. They were offensive because they were ridiculously obvious.
Chuck isn’t a fan of Donnie Walsh’s plan to reload in 2010 with a new core of players. To facilitate that move, half of the fourteen players on the Knicks’ roster will be free agents next year. Here’s what the TNT analyst had to say about the Knickerbockers:
“When you set up yourself by basically saying, ‘We’re going to (stink) for the next two or three years,’ I don’t think there is any way that can be good for your team. They’re not going to win because those guys know they’re not going to be here next year. To expect them to give 110% is unrealistic.”
First of all, the Knicks are going to stink no matter what the rebuilding plan is. Second, isn’t it always unrealistic to ask somebody to give 110%? And where was Sir Charles during the whole “Isiah” era? Did he not have criticism for Team President Isiah Thomas, General Manager Isiah Thomas, or Head Coach Isiah Thomas?
Kidding aside, he does have a point. The Knicks will never be successful if half of the team knows they’re going to be wearing a different uniform the following season. Though Donnie Walsh did structure the contracts of Nate Robinson and David Lee so that they receive bonuses if the Knicks make the playoffs. There isn’t really a solution here since extending the Knicks crappy players would probably make them worse. For that reason, Walsh has opted to chase the chicken rather than the egg.
Tags: 2010, basketball, charles barkley, contracts, Donnie Walsh, free agency, free agents, NBA, new york knicks, playoffs
