guncurug

How to make Indy Cars relevant again (RealClearSports)

Jeremy Lin wins trademark to Linsanity (Bloomberg)

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey aims to pick a fight with the Feds over sports gambling, and its an election year in case you might have forgotten, (Dan Wetzel)

Ten richest sporting events in the world, according to Forbes, and number is not what you think (Forbes)

Why was the SEC in such a hurry to get Texas A&M and Missouri to join last year? To enable the league to reopen TV talks and focus on the launch of a SEC network (FS South via Football Rumor Mill)

Streaking is apparently back, at least in St. Louis where the guy was just celebrating the Loin King. (Deadspin inc.video)

Payrolls count in the NHL, well, unless you're Toronto or LA (Globe and Mail)

FIFA boss wants an alternative to penalty shootouts to decide championships (Guardian)

USOC - IOC agreement should pave the way for an Olympics return to US in 2022 or 2024 (LA Times)

The early games in the first round of the NBA playoffs have had a little something for everyone.  You've had underdogs winning on the road, close games all around and the return of the Knicks to the playoffs.  The result has been record television ratings for TNT and ESPN/ABC.

Marvel comics inspired NBA team covers appeared on ESPN The Magazine's NBA preview edition in the first of the NBA-Marvel partnering efforts.  I'm guessing those covers were a success because the NBA and Marvel have just announced that they are launching a new line of clothing pairing  famous Marvel superheroes with famous NBA teams.  Imagine the Hulk and the Celtics (think green) and Spiderman and the Knicks (the webslinger prowls Gotham).  Since the pairing is only famous superheroes and famous teams, I imagine that means we won't be seeing the Memphis Grizzlies paired with a superhero anytime soon.

Without seeing the clothing line, it's a bit premature to speculate on the success of the venture.  However, Marvel characters are very popular now, fueled by the success of the recent run of Marvel movies: Spiderman (and sequels) , X-Men (and sequels), Wolverine and Iron Man I and II, with more: Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, on the way.   The saturation marketing movies seem to get coupled with the ever present NBA ought to guarantee success.  The clothing line just has to not be too ugly to succeed.

One other point about this partnership that we should not overlook is the deep and extensive partnership that the NBA has with Marvel's parent corporation, Disney.  You may recall that Disney is also the owner of ESPN and ABC, two of the NBA's longstanding broadcast partners, so this is just another exercise of corporate synergy at work.

There are many reasons that the New York Knicks have been as bad as they were before Mike D'Antoni showed up last season, but surely Isiah Thomas was one of the main reasons, so that makes the recent announcement that Thomas is being hired by the Knicks as a consultant all the more curious.  Adding to the intrigue, it appears that D'Antoni was not consulted on the decision.  Moreover, Knicks vice president and general manager Donnie Walsh opposed the hiring and was said to be livid that Knicks Chairman James Dolan went ahead and hired Thomas over Walsh's objections.


Aside from the questions that the hiring raises for the Knicks, the fact that Thomas will keep his day job as head coach at Florida International raises conflict of interest issues for both the NCAA and the NBA.  The NBA has not yet approved the contract and there is a chance that David Stern may reject it.  Several owners are said to be very upset and very much opposed to the hiring of Thomas, which must clearly be a stand they are taking on the potential conflict of interest issue and not on the effect Thomas will have on the immediate on court prospects of the Knicks. 


The NCAA should step in and put a stop to this arrangement and if there is no current rule that prohibits a coach from moonlighting for a professional team (hard to believe that one doesn't exist in that 500 page rule book, but who knows) then the NCAA Executive Committee ought to quickly pass one.  The opportunities for recruiting abuse that this example may afford are too numerous to mention and just because Thomas happens to be at FIU and not Florida or Kentucky doesn't make it any less of a conflict of interest or make the potential for abuse any less a real. 

The coaches who regularly put kids in the NBA are now selling their ability to get kids ready to be drafted, and academics and education be damned.  Imagine how much more powerful that message is if those same coaches are now employed as consultants to individual NBA teams.  Think Calipari at Kentucky would ever lose out on a top 5 recruit if he was also a consultant to the Nets?  How about Coach K and the Bulls?  Think this situation would be a good one for the other teams in their conference whose coaches don't have consulting agreements?  Think the gulf between the high majors and mid-majors would widen much in that scenario?

I don't usually do two linkfests in one week, but I have a number of stories that are worth reading or just shaking your head at, and wanted to get them out there:

As NBA ownership officially goes internationally, a look at why Bruce Ratner failed so miserably as the owner of the Newark/Brooklyn Nets (WSJ)

Who is going to win, and profit from, the World Cup (FT Alphaville via Abnormal Returns)

The details on Anheuser-Busch's big bet on the NFL, which we reported earlier (SBJ)

New York Magazine's cover story on why LeBron should become a Knick; (my take:he should stay with the Cavs provided they go out and find him a team to play with - also a problem with NY) (NY Mag)

Texas high school basketball player arrested for impersonating a high school player - since he was 22 and had used up his eligibility in Florida - school was Permian of Friday Night Lights fame (Dallas News)

Do soccer players and goalies act rationally in playing penalty kicks? (Cognition and Culture)

How stock traders are like callers to sports talk radio (Chris Perruna via Abnormal Returns)

Wilpon family and Mets look to add soccer, Islanders and arena to Flushing  (NYT) 

Super Saver, the Preakness morning line favorite at 5-2, draws post position 8, right next to main rival Luckin' at Lucky, who is at 3-1 and is in post position 7 (Baltimore Sun)