December 2007 Archives
BY EVAN WEINER
December 18, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/68226
It doesn't take long for congressmen and women to get involved in sports issues. This December has seen politicians latch onto sports issues, such as steroids in baseball and the lack of widespread availability for the NFL Network on cable television. Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell hardly got the words out of his mouth at last Thursday's news conference detailing his 20-month investigation into steroids and other banned performance-enhancing drugs in baseball when Reps. Waxman, a Democrat from California, and Davis, a Republican from Virginia, were calling for hearings into the Mitchell Report. These were the same two congressmen who were behind the March 17, 2005, hearings by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on alleged steroid use in baseball and the "adequacy" of MLB's response, according to the committee's Web site. Reps. Waxman and Davis are back talking baseball, steroids -- and now George Mitchell.
You do wonder what the 600,000 or so people that Rep. Waxman represents in Beverly Hills and Rep. Davis's constituency in Northern Virginia really think about the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs in baseball and other sports. Is that the no. 1 issue that is on the minds of the people in those districts? Or does the Mitchell Report rank below the war on terror, the Iraq War, the falling American dollar, three recent cuts in interest rates and the mortgage crisis, global warming, Iran, health care, education, social security, rising gas prices, rising food prices -- and putting the NFL Network on basic expanded cable TV?
Washington politicians are like Pavlov's dog when it comes to reflex actions to sports. They drag people to talk before committees, but generally nothing happens. MLB and its players have some more teeth in their drug-testing procedures after the March 17, 2005, hearings and the baseball writers decided Mark McGwire isn't a Hall of Famer. The point is that baseball consumers, the ones who spend money on the industry, don't care about juiced players, or in the cases of the NFL and NBA, about players who are getting arrested on a regular basis. But the Mitchell Report is good news for politicians as it gives them a chance to talk about a nonimportant issue which affects few people: Steroids in baseball.
There were others besides Reps. Waxman and Davis who weighed in. Florida Republican Clifford Stearns, whose district is in and around Ocala, Fla., has been among the leaders in condemning performance-enhancing drug usage in sports for years. But the congressman has apparently forgotten that these substances were banned overall by the Anabolic Steroids Control Act, and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush in November 1990. In 2004, in an exchange with this writer, Rep. Stearns felt athletes who used banned substances were cheating, but not necessarily lawbreakers, and he ignored other entertainment forms where banned substances might be used to improve the physical appearances of actors and models. Rep. Stearns now wants the commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig, to resign. But it will be difficult to dislodge Selig from his post, because Selig has a new long-term contract. Selig's mlb.com bio also happen to end with the following:
"Major League Baseball has set all-time attendance records in each of the last four years. In 2007, attendance showed four percent growth from 2006 as 79,503,175 fans attended regular season games at the 30 Major League ballparks. And, revenues have increased more than four-fold, from $1.2 billion in 1992 to $5.2 billion in 2006."
Unless Rep. Stearns introduces legislation on the House floor to ask Congress to fire Selig -- and Congress really has no power to fire the head of a private company -- Selig is going nowhere. The commissioner is well liked by the people who hired him, the MLB owners: He has made them money.
Brett Favre is loved by fans and media alike. His numbers speak for themselves, as does his game-face. His ability to rise to the occasion is something cherished by all football fans. But is anyone else a closet Favre-hater? I know it is difficult to hate Brett Favre, but there is one event that has led to me not having the respect for him that I should.
In the 2004 season, Javon Walker emerged as the Packers' number one receiver, with 89 receptions for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns. Walker, then finishing up his third season in the league and first Pro Bowl appearance, wanted to get more money. He had one year remaining on his rookie contract set to pay him a measly $500,000. Some looked at Walker's holdout as selfish; just another prima donna receiver trying to get more money. But this isn't Terrell Owens holding out with a $5 million contract trying to get $7 million. This is a kid who was always the underdog, a kid who had to work to get to where he was. A kid with extraordinary talent who never murmured a peep.
Then Brett Favre came out with his opinion. "If Javon wants to know what his quarterback thinks, and I would think he might, I'd tell him he's going about this the wrong way," Favre said. "I sure hope the Packers don't give in to him." Wait a minute, Brett. Who said they wanted you to interfere. I believe the dispute was between Walker and the Packers management, not Brett Favre. Isn't there an unwritten rule that players stick together? Wouldn't the union want Walker to get more money, because that would raise the bar for players of his skill level?
Walker came back and played, unhappy with his contract, and in the first game of 2005 season, he tore his ACL and was placed on Injured Reserve. Football is a fierce game, on any play anybody can be injured and have their career ended. Javon Walker wanted more money. Why shouldn't he get as much money as he could? Knowing on any play your career can be over, and with money almost never guaranteed in NFL contracts, the livelihood of his family might have depended on it. What if Walker tore his ACL, came back in 2006 and tore it again. What kind of contract would he get? What if an injury occurred where he couldn't play anymore? He would be flipping burgers at Burger King. That was his best season, and he wanted to cash in. Regardless of right and wrong, Brett Favre had no place saying anything about his decision. Favre's job is to throw the ball, and with Walker there it makes the Packers a better team. That's what Favre might have been trying to emphasize with his comments. However, he didn't exactly relay that point clearly.
Last season, Walker's first full seasons since the injury and with his new team, the Denver Broncos, he caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and 8 touchdowns, proving it wasn't Favre who made him a good receiver. Anybody who wants to be paid accordingly, when your health and your family's future are at stake, should not have to deal with ridicule from anyone. Walker was just a kid coming off a breakout season. Favre was a legend. The pressure Favre put on Walker to play under his rookie contract was mountainous and unfair. All of Green Bay's faithful sided with Brett; leaving Walker to mull retirement or demanding a trade. I can see the headlines now; Favre elected to Hall of Fame, Says He Should Get to Pick Rest of Class. Can we please stop painting this one-sided happy picture when we think of Brett Favre?
Before the times of steroids and dog-fighting, athletes had a very personal relationship with the media. Reporters would regularly hang out with players and even share a drink or two at the local pub. Nothing ever came out that happened behind the scenes. Now, times have changed. This is mainly due to a change in personality regarding reporters; nowadays, reporters are more inclined to blow up a story for personal gain, while in the days of yore, athletes' imperfections were kept in the closet. When Mickey Mantle was busy winning the Triple Crown, was there stories of his drunken nights and bar room fights in the paper? When Babe Ruth was hitting home runs for sick children, did anyone mention how he much he loved the sauce? A star athlete can't walk down the street nowadays without it being recorded.
Players such as Derek Jeter, David Wright and Tom Glavine have kept the tradition of good relations with the media. Is this due to their lack of controversy? It is more due to their smiling faces while being interviewed, and the "clichés" they throw at every reporter left and right. Guys like Gary Sheffield are trashed by the media, but that is mainly due to his lack of class and his outspokenness. Then there's guys like Alex Rodriguez, who by all accords is going to end up the best player in the history of baseball, who get thrown under the bus for a headline. A-Rod's career has been outlined by controversy despite being the youngest player to hit 500 home runs, changing positions, being an annual All-Star and winning countless awards. The media fret over A-Rod's inability to hit as well in the postseason as he does in the regular season. If this was say, 1920, Rodriguez would be admired by all, cherished by most, and the folklore would be endless. Stories would run about how good of a guy he is off the field, as well as how focused and determined he is on the field. You would hear how a good of a teammate he is, and how his power doesn't translate into a shortstop. Reporters would follow him into the bars after games and buy him a drink. But this isn't 1920, and in this day of selfish accolades, stories like that don't make a reporter. Anybody can write about how good of a hitter Alex Rodriguez is. But who broke the story about him cheating on his wife? That's the kind of news that propel a sportswriter into fame.
An example of this is Paul Lo Duca, the ex-Mets catcher. Lo Duca's divorce was all over the newspaper, with pictures of the little sk--excuse me, the woman that he had an affair with. Does the public really need to know about Paul Lo Duca's relationship status? If Joe Cooper had an affair on his wife, would it be all over the newspaper? No, because the general public doesn't care. I don't know if the media change has more to do with the media needing controversy to sell papers, or to the fan's lack of intelligence and desire for scum stories and in-depth looks at athlete's personal lives. I mean, the media is only doing its job: providing the consumer with the news that they WANT to read.
It really is a shame how the media has changed towards athletes over time. Yes, it has since come out that Mantle was a drinker, but don't you think it was better for all the little boys who grew up admiring Mantle to not know that he was an alcoholic? How do you think that little eight year old boy in San Francisco with a Barry Bonds number 25 jersey feels when he hears people chanting "BARROID" and sits with his dad on the couch watching "Around the Horn" listening to Jay Mariotti talk about how Bonds has put a black eye on the game of baseball? Maybe he doesn't understand. Or maybe he does, and it kills his dream, and his love for the game.
Piero is a new 3D sports graphic system created to help analyze sport. Though not used much here in the U.S. just yet, countries such as the UK and Hong Kong are clients of this system.
Piero allows you to see plays and action from angles that cannnot be seen through conventional cameras. You can use this system on live video or archived video since no special video equipment is needed. Piero can be used to view the game in a virtual stadium, allowing vieweres to see the action from many angles. Tied-to-Field graphics can also be used with this system, which lay tracks of players across the pitch. Virtual advertising can be used in the system as well, so a company's logo can be seen across the field when a broadcast using the Piero technology is shown. Piero's ability to analyze sport can be used for coaches and for the general public. A half-time show or post-game show can use the Piero analysis to show the public different angles and analysis of play. Coaches can also use this system for archived videos, which can help them improve players' techiques and plays for furture games based on past performances.
check out http://www.redbeemedia.com/piero/index.shtml to learn more!
December 11, 2007
(New York, NY) -- For the second time in about a year, Rutgers Head Football Coach Greg Schiano has been approached by another school to run its football program and for the second time in about a year, the New Jersey native has decided that Rutgers University, a New Jersey state school, is the best place for him. Schiano spurned the University of Miami in 2006 and promptly signed a long term deal paying him annually about $1.5 million through 2016. Despite the fact he had a contract, Michigan decided to see if he was interested in their coaching position.
In big time college sports programs, a contract is a piece of paper that can be torn up at any time with no recriminations and it is an accepted practice, the coach leaves his old employer and heads to his new post immediately. Should a player who has signed a deal with a school decide to opt out after a year or maybe two and transfer to a new school, that player is forced to sit out a season. Had Schiano left Rutgers, some of the schools alums, students, boosters and fans might have screamed but Rutgers Athletic Director Bob Mulcahy knows a lot better, he has been around college sports forever and he knows how the game is played. If the coach wants to go, there is no stopping the coach despite the fact that the coach has hand picked the players that are on the team and promises recruits that he or she will be there throughout the recruit's four or five years at the college or university.
Mulcahy made Schiano New Jersey 's highest paid public employee because a winning record and a bowl appearance at a school not used to football success does that type of thing. In a number of states around America, the highest paid public employee is either the state school's head football or basketball coach. The lowest paid employees are the players on the team, they get a scholarship and some spending money.
OmegaWave Technologies and their OmegaWave Sport system are making things easier for athletes and their training habits. This computer based program allows coaches and trainers to read all the vital organs and systems in an athletes body to best develop a plan for training and workouts. Athletes simply hook up electrodes to various points on their body, and the computer takes the information and processes it for coaches and trainers. The data it provides shows the current state of the athletes internal systems including their cardiopulmonary and neuromuscular systems. It helps them see if their body can sustain high intensity workloads or if they need further rest before stressing their systems during training exercises. The greatest value this product has is that it can be used by just about anyone; coaches, trainers, or the athlete themselves, and does not require a physician. It's an invaluable product that can make a serious impact on athletes, its goal is to help them reach the maximum performance level they're capable of while ensuring they keep their body and systems in check, and not over-train. "You can see where an athlete needs work, and avoid the over training that is often a problem in athletics" said Martin Smith, Head Coach of Mens Track and Field at the University of Oregon.
This line of products would capture younger kids' heart: designs of jackets are focused on style on and off the mountain: listen to music wherever you go without having to deal with taking gloves off your hands and being cold on the mountain - you got the controller on your sleeve: you can even call people without holding your phone - you got the controller on your sleeve!
With Burton Snowboard's high quality jackets and Motorola's technology put together in one, here is a product you might wanna consider having when you head up to the mountain, or even when you just walk around the corner during winter.
-mari nagai
In Las Vegas, one of the biggest boxing matches in history took place on December 8, 2007. Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Ricky Hatton. Through all the hype by the media Mayweather was able to pull through with yet another win in the 10th round with a technical knockout. Mayweather is now 39-0 with 25 knockouts. Even with a previously injured right had, Mayweather showed no weakness.While boxing is not one of the most popular sports in society today fights that surround Mayweather cause a fan frenzy. With the media's help to build up Mayweather and make him seem unbeatable, each time he fights there is more hype surrounding the fight. Who will be the first to stop the undefeated Mayweather? The fans who attended the match reached 30,000 while those not at the match were forced to buy the fight on pay-per view.
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LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. boxed the heart out of Ricky Hatton on Saturday night, repeatedly pounding the gutty Englishman on his way to a 10th-round technical knockout that confirmed the flashy welterweight champion as his sport's most skilled tactician.
Mayweather (39-0, 25 knockouts) completed a night-long destruction of Hatton in the 10th by first sending him crashing downward into a corner post pad. Later, Mayweather ended his punching artistry with another left hook and an overhead right.
Hatton staggered slowly backward, then fell on his back, as referee Joe Cortez waved off the fight between the two unbeatens.
Read On
South Caroline football player Jordin Lindsey had his neck slashed this past weekend during an altercation near the school campus. Accorind to reports Jordin Lindsey and his twin, Dustin, also a Gamecocks player, were walking early Saturday morning in Five Points, a neighborhood known for its college bar scene and restaurants. Two men yelled at the brothers from across a street, but the twins didn't think much about it -- until they heard footsteps and Jordin Lindsey was stabbed. Columbia police are currently looking for suspects for this terrible crime.
On December 8, 2007 Tim Tebow, sophomore from the University of Florida
won the Heisman Trophy. This was an amazing feat for someone is only
in his second year of college. Tebow is the quarterback for the
Florida Gators and is the first person to ever with the Heisman trophy
as a sophomore and no one won this as a freshman either. Last year
Tebow helped Florida win a national title as a freshman. He was the
first college player to run for 20 touchdowns and throw 20 touchdown
passes in the same season.Because this is the biggest award in college football each year it is discussed in the media to excessive amounts. This year this is even more true because of the unpredictable college football season the race for the title was up in the air until the winner was announced. As well the media's promoting of the Heisman trophy and the winner will certainly influence his acceptance into the professional football player.
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NEW YORK (AP) -- Tim Tebow needed only two years of college to graduate to Heisman Trophy winner, putting the sophomore in a class by himself.
Florida's folk-hero quarterback with the rugged running style and magnetic personality won the Heisman on Saturday night to become the first sophomore or freshman to take college football's most prestigious award.
Since 1935, when Jay Berwanger of Chicago won the first Heisman, every winner had been a junior or senior - until Tebow, who picked up quite a souvenir on his first trip to New York.
On Friday, December 7th, professional Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty to charges that state that he lied to federal investigators about having his use of steroids, or performance enhancing drugs. Bonds is currently under persecution for committing four counts of perfect and one obstruction of justice. Bonds faces up to two years in prison if it is true that he lied under oath while under arraignment for his supposed steroid use. Bonds' defense attorney, Allen Ruby states that Bonds is innocent and may even try to have the case thrown out because of "defects" in the case. It is hard to determine whether or not Bonds is telling the truth because of the way the media portrays him. The media continues to persecute Bonds as guilty but in this nation isn't it still innocent until proven guilty? It is not fair for the media to constantly be down Bonds' throat. If it is true that he has used drugs then he will be held accountable, but as for right now he is saying that he is not guilty and therefore the media should not be assuming that Bonds is guilty of using these performance enhancing drugs which the MLB prohibits from it's players using.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAN FRANCISCO - Surrounded by lawyers while fans chanted his name, Barry Bonds left court Friday after pleading not guilty to charges he lied to federal investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs.
The home run king was arraigned in U.S. District Court on four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice stemming from a Nov. 15 indictment. If convicted, he could spend more than two years in prison.
Read On
"A" game this weekend against the Dallas Cowboys at Ford Field because he sure will need the protection. Following a Cowboy victory in the final game of the 2006 season Kitna called out the Dallas defense, specifically linebacker Bradie James.
Ever since those comments Cowboy players have been looking forward to facing the Lions. The time has come for revenge and Cornerback Terrance Newman is ready to make his presence felt. Newman had this to say earlier in the week, "Basically what it boils down to is you've got to watch what
you say...Everybody's
going to see those quotes. He better just hope I don't blitz off
the edge, because I've got 15, 25, 30 [thousand dollars], however
much it would be for a fine. I've got that much for one fine.
Revenge will be sweet definitely."These are words that Kitna should take seriously, especially because the Lions 19th in the league in sacks allowed and the Cowboys are 6th in total sacks.
It is being suggested that Jason Kidd, of the New Jersey Nets, sat out the December 5th basketball game versus the New York Knicks due to a contract dispute. However, officials say that it is really due to a headache that the all-star basketball player was suffering from. The NJ Nets president Rod Thorn said that he could not believe when the newspapers reported that Kidd didn't play the game because of a contract. It was suggested that Kidd was trying to send a message to the Nets forcing them to either trade him or give him a new contract. This is a perfect example of how the media changes a situation just to make a bigger headline. While a headache seems like a someone unreasonable reason to sit out of a basketball game. This is more realistic than that a player could be so selfish as to sit out and not play a game in order to manipulate the team. What the media says and does to athletes can tear them apart. Thorn stated that Kidd was "very hurt about some of things in some of the articles." This is a reasonable way for the player to react if these accusations are untrue. It is hard to believe that Kidd would reduce to this level after having played through many injuries in the past, so Thorn points out. All the media is doing is trying to cause controversy between team members in hopes that this will lead to more media coverage.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Jason Kidd was sick - not "on strike" - when the eight-time All Star missed New Jersey's game against the New York Knicks, Nets president Rod Thorn said Thursday.
Thorn said did not believe reports in newspapers and on the Internet that Kidd boycotted the game to force the team to give him a new contract or trade him.
"He was sick," Thorn said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, adding that he spoke with Kidd on Thursday morning. "He was very hurt about some of things in some of the articles and he plans to address it."
Kidd scheduled a news conference later Thursday at team headquarters.
Thorn said Kidd sent a text message to trainer Tim Walsh around noon Wednesday, informing him that he had a migraine and would get back to him later in the day.
ZEUS is a computer program developed by End Game Technologies that models and predicts the outcomes of coaching decisions in the NFL. The program is designed to produce statistical outputs showing the expected odds of winning given choices of potential play calls and roster choices. ZEUS replicates, with amazing accuracy, the play-calling and outputs of typical NFL teams by performing more than 1,000,000 game simulations in a matter of seconds. Factors like team ability are also measured and ZEUS is able to calculate what decision would give the team the most game winning chances. ZEUS can be used when deciding whether to go for two points or kick an extra point, whether to go for it on fourth down or punt, when to use an onsides kick, and many other uses. ZEUS has determined that the average team loses one game per year due to improper coaching decisions, and in its analysis of Super Bowl 40 it was determined that the Seahawks made the improper decision 8% of the time, and as a result greatly damaged their chances of victory. In 2006 the five teams that best mirrored ZEUS's decision making all made the playoffs. ZEUS has concluded that NFL coaches are too conservative and should take more chances to score points than opting for the safe play. ZEUS's major obstacles are that it is not legal to have software like this on an NFL sideline or coaches box and resistance to technology. All in all I feel that ZEUS is a very useful piece of technology that could benefit all coaches.
BY EVAN WEINER
December 6, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/67579
It must be galling to the money machine that is the National Football League that it has met an opponent that keeps stopping it from gaining any yardage in its quest to get the NFL Network carried on cable operators such as Comcast, Time Warner, and Cablevision. The NFL generally gets its way because, well, it is the NFL, and people fawn all over the league. But this time, it has run into a tough opponent: the cable TV industry itself.
Cable TV's multiple system operators have balked at the price of the NFL Network, believed to be somewhere around $.70 per subscriber per month. The NFL is charging this per subscriber for a network that features eight regular season games on Thursday and Saturday nights, along with a slate of pre-season games and some college football contests. The rest of the programming is filler, featuring NFL-related shows. The NFL feels the network should be placed on a basic expanded tier where it would be available to virtually every cable customer, and every cable customer would pay for the channel whether they watched the channel or not. The league would earn big bucks with this system. But the cable operators want to put the channel on a digital sports pay tier, which would be far less lucrative for the NFL. The multiple system operators in the Midwest have expressed the same sentiment about the Big Ten Network, which would feature a number of games played by Big Ten schools in a variety of sports.
There is a common denominator in both disputes. Comcast, the nation's largest multiple system operator, thought it had a deal to put the eight regular season game package that is presently on the NFL Network on its Outdoor Life Network in 2005. But the NFL opted to keep the games for its NFL Network. And Comcast was offered a partnership in the Big Ten Network, but the deal fell through. Comcast officials are also unhappy that the NFL sold its outof-market Sunday package to DirecTV in an exclusive deal, and has locked cable companies out of that franchise.
The cable companies are playing hardball with the NFL. The NFL has decided that it's time to go to state legislatures and hope that lawmakers can put the screws to the multiple system operators and get the NFL Network on the basic expanded tier. The league is also urging local subscribers to drop their cable operators and switch to DirecTV, so they can get the NFL Network.
In Ohio, Rep. Louis Blessing, a Republican from the Cincinnati area, introduced legislation in Ohio's House of Representatives, calling for a new law that would "require cable operators to participate in arbitration regarding disputes with providers of competing video programming."
The WNBA had its first season in June of 1997. The season was during summer because the sports calendar was less crowded so the league had a better chance of success. They began with broadcasts partnerships with NBC, ESPN, and Lifetime and during the first season attracted 50 million viewers. The WNBA is the longest-running and arguably most successful women's professional team sports league in U.S history success.
One thing for certain is that the WNBA would not exist if they did not have a tie with the NBA. All except for two WNBA teams share arenas with the NBA and the Connecticut Sun are the only team to play without sharing the city with an NBA team. When the NBA had it's strike, the WBNA struggled as well. The attendance difference between the NBA and the WNBA is huge. The average attendance of WNBA games, league-wide, is roughly half the average attendance of NBA games. The salaries also differ greatly. If the WNBA ever wants to live up to the NBA they must find away to draw more of a crowd. This would lead to merchandise sales and increase salaries for players.
The WNBA is on it's way to making a bigger profit with the new television contracts they have just signed. They have just unveiled that they have signed an 8 year deal with ESPN/ABC. This deal will also include rights for digital media, will begin in 2009 and go through the league's 20th season in 2016. With this new television deal the WNBA should be able to reach more people and create new fans.
If the WNBA does not start to make a profit the NBA owners will not be willing to support them and many of the teams will fold, putting the league in jeopardy. It costs $3 million to operate a WNBA team for a season, which is nothing to the NBA but something they are not willing to pay for a failing business.
On December 5, 2007 the Detroit Tigers made an unexpected deal with the Florida Marlins. The Marlins agreed to trade two big time players, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers. In return the Marlins acquired six players from the Tigers including lefty Andrew Miller, outfielder Cameron Maybin, Mike Rabelo, Burke Badenhop, Eulogio De La cruz and Dallas Trahern. The Marlins were the team to initiate the deal. It seems that this deal follows in suit with the year's following Florida's 2003 championship team. Cabrera and Willis were the last players left from this championship team. The Marlins seem to trade players just as they are due to earn large salary increases. The Marlins have been looking to secure the ability for a new ballpark but have been unable to. This may be a very likely reason as to why the Marlin's have been getting rid of their players with larger salaries or raises to come. In turn it is safe to assume that the Marlins are hoping that if they can secure this new ballpark that the media's publicity will be more positive towards the team. Thus an increase in positive media will lead to an increase in the number of fans that are attracted to the team and to the stadium.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
December 5, 2007 -- NASHVILLE - The Tigers reached a preliminary agreement yesterday to acquire All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins for a package of six players, an unexpected blockbuster trade that developed quickly at the Winter Meetings.
In a deal that took the spotlight away from Boston's pursuit of Johan
Santana, Florida gets lefty Andrew Miller, outfielder Cameron Maybin
and four other prospects from the Tigers, a baseball official with
knowledge of the talks said on condition of anonymity because the trade
had not yet been finalized.
By Evan Weiner
December 4, 2007
(New York, NY) --- The latest Baseball Hall of Fame selection
committee has spoken and there are five new inductees in the Cooperstown
shrine. Dick Williams and Billy Southworth went in as managers, Bowie
Kuhn, the Baseball Commissioner between 1959 and 1984 enter as well as did one
time Brooklyn-Los Angeles Dodgers owner Walter O' Malley and turn of the 20th
century Pittsburgh Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss. Whether Kuhn deserves to be a
member of the hallowed hall is another story for another day. But there is
owner who is never serious discussed as a serious contender to be enshrined in
Cooperstown as a builder.
His name is Lou Perini and he owned the Boston Braves until March
18, 1953.
On that date, Perini's Boston Braves became the Milwaukee Braves
and it can be argued that on March 18, 1953, Walter O' Malley's life as the
owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers changed. If O'Malley is a member of the Hall of
Fame because he set up shop in Los Angeles and somehow convinced New York
Giants owner Horace Stoneham to follow suit and bring his Giants to San
Francisco in the late summer of 1957 so O'Malley's team had a "nearby" rival to
play 22 times annually, then Perini should have a plaque hanging next to
O'Malley. Perini was a baseball pioneer in this sense. He wanted greener
pastures and broke his ties to New England by announcing his move on March 13,
1953 but he still needed to get National League owners permission to go five
days later.
It was Perini who first took his team elsewhere and profited by
moving his team into a stadium that was funded by taxpayers and took advantage
of a generous lease. That move opened up Major League Baseball to new cities
and new possibilities. O'Malley was a follower and in fact, it took him a long
time to figure out what city best suited him. Attendance was great in Milwaukee
and Perini was making money and the players were stuck in a perpetual situation
that did not allow them a chance to work elsewhere and make more money because
of the reserve clause.
It was Perini's move in the very late winter of 1953 that is
arguably the most important franchise shift in baseball's economic history. The
details are pretty well known surrounding the move. Milwaukee civic and elected
officials in the late 1940s were looking for a Major League Baseball team to
replace the long departed Milwaukee Brewers, a team that lasted just one year
in the American League. The Milwaukee team moved to St. Louis in 1902.
Ironically enough St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck wanted to bring his Browns
back to Milwaukee for the 1953 season but was blocked by American League
owners. That action gave Perini the opening he needed.
The city put aside funds for a new park that could seat 28,000
people and with improvements bump the capacity to 36,000 seats. In 1950,
construction started on Milwaukee County Stadium. The ballpark would be used in
an attempt to land a Major League Baseball team and was the first ever publicly
funded baseball park. Perini's Braves franchise was faltering badly at the
gate. The 1952 Braves, a team that featured Warren Spahn and Eddie Matthews,
could only attract about 281,000 people to 77 home games. Perini on one hand
claimed to be committed to Boston but on the other hand, baseball teams in the
1950s depended just on gate receipts with little TV money coming in. Perini's
team simply was not generating money in Boston.
NASHVILLE, Dec. 4 -- While most of the baseball world has been monitoring every detail of the Johan Santana sweepstakes, the Florida Marlins and the Detroit Tigers were operating in their own world as they worked to complete an eight-player trade.The Marlins were poised to send third baseman Miguel Cabrera and pitcher Dontrelle Willis to the Tigers for center fielder Cameron Maybin, pitcher Andrew Miller and four other players. Maybin and Miller are rated as the two best young players in Detroit's organization.
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The talk of the offseason has been where will Johan Santana end up?? The tigers and marlins have put those talks aside and stolen the spotlight for the time being. In an 8 player trade, the Tigers acquired all- stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. This trade could potentially be more significant than any Santana transaction. The Tigers were top 5 in 10 offensive categories last year and adding a bat like Cabrera to the lineup is going to be devasting for the rest of the American League. I also think Willis will return to his old form. A former 20 game winner, Willis will now have the run support he needs, Willis can have an ERA of 4 + again and should have no problem hitting that lucky number 20.
Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden rode the Wild Hog offense into his second straight season as an All-American, and he will make his second straight trip to the Heisman Trophy presentation as a finalist. No one combines speed and sheer athletic ability the way McFadden does. LSU never figured out how to stop the Razorbacks once the junior began playing quarterback. He rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns and completed 3-of-6 passes for 34 yards and a touchdown. Tim Tebow may be a quarterback imitating a running back. I think it's rarer for a running back to imitate a quarterback. McFadden finished with more rushing yards (1,725) than he had in 2006 (1,647) and one more rushing touchdown. It's wonderful to see a player so talented fulfill his potential.
In conclusion, everyone that is a finalists for the trophy has a legitimate arguement why they should be the winner. But, the bottom line is that McFadden is the not only the most talented player in college football but plays in the hardest conference with future NFL players every saturday. Tebow is simply too young to get the award even if he did set records. The example that comes to mind when Adrian Perterson didn't win the trophy his freshman year at Oklahoma when he rushed for over 2, 000 yards.
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The five finalists who will be invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation will be announced on SportsCenter tonight at 6 ET. And one of the most wide-open college football seasons in years has also produced one of the most wide-open Heisman races in recent memory.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who could become the first underclassman to win the award emblematic of college football's best player, is expected to be among the five finalists. So is Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, who was the runner-up to Heisman winner Troy Smith of Ohio State in 2006.
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