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Best Screenplay Oscar Goes To: Four Men and a Jersey
Published 4/14/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
There are no Oscars for Major League Baseball. Nothing like the studio wars in the ‘30s and ‘40s when the likes of MGM and Warner Brothers vied for the theater going public. But, baseball has a rivalry like no other that could come out of Hollywood central casting in the Red Sox and Yankees. Few, if any, haven’t heard the news that a construction worker placed a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey in a cement slab at new Yankee Stadium in an attempt to “curse” the Yankees. This act would have been a Rembrandt if not for the fact that the construction worker tipped off some fellow workers, who then ratted him out. If he had taken a ...

Blackout Restriction Lifted For Johnson's DBack Return
Published 4/14/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
MLB.com will exclusively stream a free special presentation of MLB.TV when Randy Johnson makes his season debut for the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at 10:15 p.m. (EDT). The game will be available without local blackout restrictions in the Phoenix broadcast territory. "We are grateful for the leadership of Jeff Moorad and Derrick Hall in providing Diamondbacks fans this exclusive opportunity to see tonight's game," said Dinn Mann, executive vice president, Content, MLB.com. "By agreeing to lift the local blackout, FOX Sports Net Arizona demonstrated a tremendous spirit of partnership with the ballclub and the industry, giving Arizona ...

"NBA on TNT" Sees Double-Digit Ratings Growth, Key Demo Wins
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
TNT announced today that it scored big with its 2007-08 NBA regular season coverage delivering double-digit growth in ratings, households and key demos. For the 52 games the network yielded a 1.1 US rating, a 13% increase over the prior season, as well as a 14% increase in households (1,211,000 vs. 1,061,000). Additionally, TNT experienced major growth across all key demos, yielding increases of 25% or higher across audiences including A18-34, A18-49, A25-54, M18-34, M18-49 and M25-54. “This NBA season has been intensified by compelling trades, competitions and storylines and we’re thrilled that fans have been tuning in to TNT each week to watch the ...

Blue Note? Blazers Request Waivers on Darius Miles
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
Pursuant to NBA procedures with regard to career-ending injuries, the Portland Trail Blazers have requested waivers on forward Darius Miles, General Manager Kevin Pritchard announced today. An independent medical examiner jointly appointed by the NBA and the NBA Players Association examined Miles and determined that the damage to Miles’ right knee is severe enough to qualify as a career-ending injury. Miles has missed all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, last appearing in a game for the Trail Blazers on April 15, 2006. “Given the serious nature of his knee injury, we agree with the doctor’s conclusion that Darius has sustained a ...

NBA Extends Digital Archiving Deal. Plans to Eventually Archive All 400,000 Hours of Film
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
The NBA and computer solutions company SGI today announced a multiyear extension of their relationship to expand the league's digital workflow and media management system, the NBA Digital Media Management System. NBA Digital Media Management System was launched during the 2006-2007 season with SGI and allows the league to simultaneously ingest and archive footage from up to 14 NBA games, edit the archival content on the fly, provide full game broadcasts, clips and other NBA content to 214 countries worldwide. The new agreement will allow the NBA to accelerate and double the historical digital archiving effort by ingesting 60,000 hours of video ...

DirecTV Offering All Mariners Games on FSNW
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Those wishing to watch the Mariners on DirecTV, Liberty Media’s buyout of News Corp’s 41 percent stake in DirecTV means they now own FSN Northwest. According to Multichannel News, In announcing the additional games package, DirecTV said it now has a leg up on cable operator GCI, which has not yet struck a new deal, in bringing all of the Mariners actions to baseball fans in Alaska. The deal means an extra 45 games will be shown on the satcaster. Financial terms were not disclosed. What do you think? Don't forget to leave your comments ...

Randy Moss Chooses Pony International for Shoe Line
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
Today, Pony International announced the company has agreed to an exclusive partnership to design the Randy Moss signature athletic footwear and clothing line. The first wave of Pony's Moss branded gear will arrive in stores August 1, 2008. "I get approached to endorse a ton of stuff each year that really doesn't mesh with who I am or what is important in my life, this agreement with Pony lets me help to give back and help the next wave of young players coming up," said Moss. "I really appreciated the way Pony presented their concepts for my signature brand and wanted to make a great performance line of clothes and shoes for the serious competitor to ...

TNT Announces NBA Playoff Announcer Teams
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
Turner Network Television (TNT) today released its announcing teams for the network’s 40 games in 40 nights of NBA Playoffs coverage. TNT has exclusive coverage of the entire Western Conference Finals. TNT will use its full slate of NBA announcers with play-by-play veteran Marv Albert paired with analyst Reggie Miller, Kevin Harlan will provide play-by-play alongside analyst Doug Collins, and Dick Stockton will team with analyst Mike Fratello. Returning to the network for this year’s playoff coverage play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin will team up with an analyst to be announced. Sideline reporters include Craig Sager, David Aldridge and Cheryl Miller, with ...

The BSN’s Sports Challenge for Autism Awareness
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
As the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, I want to issue a challenge to those in the sports media: spread autism awareness. Over the last 48 hours, I have seen mainstream and alternative media rise to this occasion since I made it known publicly that one of our sons has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (see details here at When Sports Becomes a Small Matter: A Child and Autism). Those outlets and individuals include: Tim Lemke of the Washington Times (Helping Autism Research) Carolyn Hastings with ...

The Business of Sports Network's Sports Challenge for Autism Awarenes
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
As the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, I want to issue a challenge to those in the sports media to a challenge: spread autism awareness. Over the last 48 hours, I have seen mainstream and alterative media rise to this occasion since I made it known publicly that one of our sons has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (see details here at When Sports Becomes a Small Matter: A Child and Autism). Those outlets and individuals include: Tim Lemke of the Washington Times (Helping Autism Research) Carolyn ...

The Business of Sports Network's Sports Challenge for Autism Awarenes
Published 4/15/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
As the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, I want to issue a challenge to those in the sports media to a challenge: spread autism awareness. Over the last 48 hours, I have seen mainstream and alterative media rise to this occasion since I made it known publicly that one of our sons has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) (see details here at When Sports Becomes a Small Matter: A Child and Autism). Those outlets and individuals include: Tim Lemke of the Washington Times (Helping Autism Research) Carolyn ...

Harold Reynolds Settles Suit With ESPN
Published 4/16/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
In July of 2006, former MLB player and television analyst Harold Reynolds was fired from ESPN after he was accused of sexual harassment for a hug that Reynolds claims was “a total misunderstanding.” In the first interview after being fired (read the interview with Charley Steiner here on Maury Brown’s Biz of Sports) Reynolds said, “What I can tell you is number one that my conscious is clear on this whole issue. I feel like I was wrongfully terminated.” He filed a wrongful termination suit against ESPN in October of ’06 (see Harold Reynolds v ESPN), and was seeking up ...

2008-2009 NFL Schedule Announced
Published 4/16/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
The NFL announced today its 17-week, 256-game regular-season schedule for 2008, which kicks off on Thursday night, September 4 and concludes on Sunday, December 28.  The season begins with the NFL’s annual Thursday primetime kickoff game.  This year the opener on September 4 on NBC (7:00 PM ET) features the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants at home against the NFC East Division-rival Washington Redskins.     In a format introduced in 2004, the Super Bowl champion hosts the NFL Thursday night season kickoff.  Super Bowl XLIII will be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on February 1, 2009, followed by the AFC-NFC Pro ...

Nestles, Minor League Baseball Reach Sponsorship Deal
Published 4/16/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Nestles and MiLB have reached a sponsorship deal by hosting Nestle Drumstick Family Days at ballparks around the country. During these family-centric events, Drumstick will provide ticket discounts and activities for families, as well as visits from the Nestle Drumstick Family Days tour, which is touring the nation in support of the MiLB sponsorship. In addition to the Nestle Drumstick Family Days, selected MiLB teams will also be hosting birthday parties, which include ticket discounts, recognition by the team, special Nestle Drumstick-branded birthday gifts and, Nestle Drumstick cones. Nestle Drumstick cones are topping off this partnership ...

Sports Media Journal Interviews Maury Brown
Published 4/16/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
For those interested in how the Business of Sports Network was started, and where it is headed, Sports Media Journal has an interview today with me on a broad range of topics. SMJ Interview- Maury Brown, Business of Sports Network. Here's a sample... SMJ- What was the impetus, and timeline, in creating the four sports-specific “Biz” sites? M.B.- The Biz of Baseball was launched in September of 2006 based on the idea that you could have a central location where a vast amount of information in the way of documents, stadium ...

Yardbarker Taps ESPN Sales Veteran Tim Ware as VP
Published 4/16/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Yardbarker, the online sports community and branded vertical ad network, announced today that it has hired digital sales veteran Tim Ware as Vice President of Advertising Sales. The Business of Sports Network (Bizball LLC) has recently signed on as a partner in the Yardbarker Network. With nearly 20 years experience in the electronic media space, including the last nine with ESPN Internet Group, Ware has been charged with ramping up Yardbarker's advertising business and has opened the company's New York office. He will report directly to CEO Pete Vlastelica. The hire comes just two weeks ...

Eagles Select Ticketmaster for Secondary Ticket Sales
Published 4/16/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
The Philadelphia Eagles have selected TicketExchange by Ticketmaster as the team's authorized resaler for secondary ticket sales. Season ticket holders will be able to use Eagles TicketExchange to post tickets for resale to other fans. "We chose TicketExchange in response to demand from our fans and season ticketholders for a safe and convenient way to buy or resell Eagles tickets," said Mark Donovan, Senior Vice President of Business Operations for the Eagles. "TicketExchange will give fans more opportunities to secure hard-to-get tickets to Eagles games at Lincoln Financial Field." Ticketmaster will also continue to serve as the team's ...

Running on "Good Faith": Why Sonics Ownership Will Slip Out the Door on a Flagrent Foul
Published 4/16/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
On more than one occasion, I’ve been told that business and sports just, “Ain’t right.” In other words, the pureness of sports (whatever that is today) is bastardized by rich fat cats and convoluted legalese. And, you can often times, step back, be dispassionate about major league sports, and say, “Never forget that it’s a business first and foremost.” Well, I seem to talk a good talk on that last point. You can’t help and look at the case of the, at least for now, Seattle SuperSonics and say that a words like “intent” and “good faith” have been given such a broad definition that you could drive a truck through it. When the embarrassing news ...

Forbes Releases 2008 Annual MLB Club Valuations
Published 4/17/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
An annual rite of passage has come, yet again. One that many will pour over, and owners will scoff. Forbes magazine has released their valuations of all 30 clubs in Major League Baseball. It should be no surprise who is ranked the highest. As reported by Forbes: Upshot: Team owners are getting rich like never before. During 2007, revenue for MLB's 30 teams went up 7.7%, to $5.5 billion. The average team is now worth $472 million, 9.5% higher than last year and 143% more than when Forbes first calculated team values in 1998. Again the Bronx Bombers sit atop baseball with a value of $1.3 billion. George Steinbrenner, ...

TNT Announces NBA Playoff Schedule. Adds Mike Dunleavy as Playoff Analyst
Published 4/17/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
TNT announced today that coverage of the NBA Playoffs tips off this Sun., April 20 at Noon ET with a special half-hour preview of the playoff match-ups featuring Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson. The preview show will be followed by a tripleheader starting with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic hosting Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors at 12:30 p.m. ET in the first game of the series. Calling the action will be L.A. Clippers head coach and former NBA Coach of the Year Mike Dunleavy who will partner with play-by-play announcer Matt Devlin; Stephanie Ready will provide courtside reports. At 6 p.m. ET, Andre Iguodala and the ...

Post Season Hardware Picks from Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Reggie Miller
Published 4/17/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
The following are the picks for post-season hardware by TNT NBA analysts, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Reggie Miller: Source: TNT OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK When Sports Becomes a Small Matter: A Child and Autism - Maury Brown's Biz of ...

A's Predict Cisco Field Won't Be Done Till 2012
Published 4/17/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
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Simon Says: Pacers Co-owner Hires Himself to Replace Donnie Walsh
Published 4/18/2008 by Nick Kappel at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
Indiana Pacers co-owner Herb Simon announced on Wednesday that he will step in as CEO of Pacers Sports Entertainment after 25 years of hands-off ownership. The announcement comes three weeks after former president and CEO Donnie Walsh left the team to become president of the New York Knicks. ...

Could Sam Zell Play "Crazy Eddie" When Selling the Cubs?
Published 4/18/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Poor Sam Zell. You bought the Tribune Co., which includes the Cubs, and now you’re running around trying to get some cash in-hand to make the payments on your new toy. I know you’ve seen that ad. The one where the lady answers the phone from the collection agency asking, “Is everything OK?” Well, welcome to the high-stakes, big money production. Zell’s looking like a man running from pawn shop to pawn shop unloading his wares before the repo man comes along and snatches up his possessions. That’s what happens when you take a huge publishing company, all its holdings, and decide to take it private. Case ...

Owners Approve Relocation of Sonics. Legal Battles Will Determine Fate
Published 4/18/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
At the NBA Board of Governors meeting today in New York, the league’s 30 owners approved the request for relocation of the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City, 28-2, with Mark Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks and Paul Allen of the Portland Trail Blazers voting against the move. With the approval, Seattle can only hope that legal challenges will keep the team in place until at least 2010. Other lawsuits are pending, as well. As reported by The AP: Seattle has filed suit trying to force the Sonics to remain in the city until the lease expires in 2010, while Bennett wants to buy out the remainder. The city already has rejected Bennett's ...

Biz of Football's NFL Mock Draft by Nick Kappel
Published 4/19/2008 by Nick Kappel at The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
    The following is a Mock Draft by Business of Sports Network staff member, Nick Kappel While I expect several trades to complicate the first round on draft day, it is impossible for me to predict them in a mock draft. These picks are based mainly on team need and player rankings. If enough change happens in the ...

D-League Finals Schedule Released
Published 4/20/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
The Idaho Stampede and the Austin Toros will play for the 2008 NBA Development League Championship in a best-of-three Finals series beginning on Monday, April 21 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET. The regular season West Division champions, the Stampede advanced to the Finals with a 97-90 victory over Los Angeles D-Fenders on Friday. The Toros, the Southwest Division Champion advanced by defeating the Sioux Falls Skyforce , 99-93, tonight in Austin. By virtue of their league-leading regular season record, the Stampede secured home court advantage and will host games two and three of the Finals. Game ...

Red Sox to Wear "Earth Day" Patch. Green Initiatives
Published 4/22/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
As reported last week, the Seattle Mariners will be the first team in MLB history to go "Carbon Neutral" today, Earth Day. Other teams will be involved in "green" initiatives today, including the Boston Red Sox. As reported by the Boston Globe. The Boston Red Sox will sport a special green logo on the left sleeves of their uniforms to mark Earth Day when they play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Fenway Park on Tuesday. Earth Day plans also include a pre-game presentation of an Environmental Merit Award to the Red Sox by officials from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Red Sox ...

Fantasy Stats Case: NFLPA Legal Brief in Support of MLB
Published 4/22/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
In baseball parlance, Major League Baseball is 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th in CBC Distribution and Marketing, Inc. v. MLB Players Association/MLB Advanced Media or as it is often called, the "Fantasy Stats" case. The case involves whether statistics, in conjunction with a player's name, is protected under the First Amendment, or as MLB sees it, a violation of right of privacy. As this document shows, it's not just MLB that has an interest in this case, so does the NFL (and for that matter, the NBA, NHL, PGA, NASCAR, and WNBA who filed briefs in support of the case in the US Court of Appeals for the 8th ...

Reds Fire GM Wayne Krivsky. Jocketty Replacement.
Published 4/23/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Wayne Krivsky’s short-lived tenure as general manager of the Cincinnati Reds is over. Krivsky was fired today, and replaced with former St. Louis Cardinals GM, Walt Jocketty. The Reds started the season at 9-12, and the writing was on the wall when new owner Bob Castellini hired Jocketty last season. As reported by The AP: Jocketty is the team’s fourth general manager in six years, an instability that has prevented them from setting a course. The Reds also have been through two owners, four managers and an interim manager during that span. The uncertainty at the top has contributed to Cincinnati’s worst ...

TNT Adds Alonzo Mourning and Dwyane Wade to Broadcast Team. NBA Playoff Schedule Released
Published 4/23/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
TNT announced today that Alonzo Mourning will join Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith in the TNT studio on Sat., April 26 at 2:30 p.m. ET to provide his insight to the 2008 NBA Playoffs.  A 16-year veteran of the NBA, Mourning appeared in the NBA Playoffs 12 times including 2006 when he was a member of the NBA Champion Miami Heat.  Mourning will appear on a special half-hour pre-game show and during the halftimes of the TNT doubleheader featuring Orlando @ Toronto and L.A. Lakers @ Denver. ...

Top CBS Exec Tapped to Run Upcoming MLB Network
Published 4/23/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Tony Petitti, Executive Vice-President and Executive Producer at CBS, has been hired by MLB to run the upcoming MLB Network, which launches next season as the largest cable channel launch in history. According to John Ourand of the Sports Business Daily, Petitti, the number 2 at CBS is taking MLB up on the offer because he is interested in a leadership position, which was not available at CBS. Petitti reported to CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus. The approval of Petitti comes by way of the MLB Network board, which includes the following executives at ...

SEE IT: "This Is SportsCenter" Ad with K.G., Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce
Published 4/24/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
The latest "This is SportsCenter" ad has been released, just in time for the NBA playoffs. Check out Steve Levy given Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce a bad time for all dressing the same. (Quicktime Required) ...

SNY Hires Harold Reynolds as TV Analyst for Mets Games
Published 4/24/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Fresh off his settlement with ESPN, Harold Reynolds has been hired by SNY as a studio analyst for Mets games, according to John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal/Sports Business Daily. According to the report, "starting tomorrow, Reynolds will appear on the RSN's Mets pre- and postgame shows with Lee Mazzilli and Matt Yallof. Reynolds will continue as an analyst on MLB.com, a job he has held since June. " The job at SNY will mark the first television job for Reynolds since his firing at ESPN in July of 2006.   ...

Colt's Lucas Oil Stadium Roof Closed for the First Time
Published 4/25/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Football :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
Thursday afternoon, the Lucas Oil Stadium retractable roof in Indianapolis was closed for the first time, according to Bart Riberich, president of Uni-Systems, the firm installing the roof drive systems. The retractable roof was constructed in the open position, and earlier this week the west roof panel was driven 150 feet up the 13-degree slope for the first time. Thursday afternoon, the Uni-Systems team moved the east panel into place, and the entire roof was in the closed position. The firm is also putting the finishing touches on the 88-foot-tall glass-clad operable end-zone walls, which will be the ...

NBA on TNT Posts Strong Ratings for Playoffs
Published 4/25/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
TNT, home of 40 Games in 40 Nights of NBA Playoffs, announced Thursday that they continue to have a strong ratings drive with a 16% ratings increase (2.1 US rating) over the prior year. Through nine games, the network also experienced a swell in households, delivering an 18% increase (2,311,000 HH), as well as significant key demo growth in A18-34 (26%), A18-49 (26%), A25-54 (25%), M18-34 (31%), M18-49 (30%) and M25-54 (28%). The NBA Playoffs on TNT continues tonight (April 24) at 8 p.m. ET with the Cleveland Cavaliers @ Washington Wizards followed by the Houston Rockets @ Utah Jazz. TNT will continue to televise the playoffs throughout the ...

When the MLB Brass Receive a Pass on the Mitchell Report
Published 4/25/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
Never let it be said that I’m not willing to admit I was wrong. In November of last year, just about a month shy of the release of the Mitchell Report, I wrote (Could MLB Get a Pass on the Mitchell Report? ): Based on reports, the Mitchell investigation will offer up a forward looking set of recommendations, and not address how the PED culture in baseball was allowed to permeate. In other words, baseball may be given a free pass for matters in the past and present, with only the named players as ones being held accountable. I then added: If this is indeed the case, then many, ...

Idaho Stampede Capture the 2008 NBA D-League Championship
Published 4/26/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
The Idaho Stampede captured the 2008 NBA Development League championship tonight by defeating the Austin Toros 108-101 in Game Three of the NBA D-League Finals at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho. “It was an unbelievable game and a special night,” said Bryan Gates head coach of the Stampede. “This is one of those days when you’re 60 years old you’ll look back and say, ‘I remember that day.’ Idaho held a 55-46 halftime edge led by center Cory Violette’s 15 points and a 26 – 17 rebounding advantage. The Toros, energized by a pair of Andre Barrett three’s chipped away at the lead at the start of the third quarter pulling within three points on a ...

Jays Minor Leaguer Jaspe Suspended 50 Games for PEDs
Published 4/26/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced today that Toronto Blue Jays Minor League player Jonathan Jaspe has received a 50-game suspension, effective immediately, for testing positive for nandrolone metabolites, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Jaspe is currently with Single-A Lansing of the Midwest League. Since mandatory drug testing was instituted, a total of 176 suspensions have been doled out across baseball for a total of 5,425 games.  The following is a summary of drug ...

Vin Scully Honored at Pepperdine University Graduation
Published 4/26/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
He called Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965, Hank Aaron's record-breaking home run in 1974, and Kirk Gibson's World Series home run in 1988. And today Vin Scully, "Voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers," answered the call as the 2008 Pepperdine University Seaver College commencement speaker and recipient of Pepperdine's highest distinction, the Honorary Doctorate degree. The commencement ceremony took place at Alumni Park on Pepperdine's Malibu campus. Jamie McCourt, president of the Los Angeles Dodgers, introduced ...

Comments from MLB of TBS (Yankees v Indians)
Published 4/27/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Baseball
The following are comments from today's MLB on TBS Sunday Game of the Week between the Yankees and Indians Announcers: Chip Caray (play-by-play), Buck Martinez (analyst) and Marc Fein (studio highlights) Martinez on the importance of Cleveland Indians pitcher CC Sabathia to his team: "I think there are only about 10 aces in all of baseball and CC Sabathia his last time out pitched like an ace, and because of that this Indians team is playing with a lot of confidence, the bats have come around and they have put together a nice win streak simply because CC Sabathia is an ...

Mile High Malaise: Lakers Flatten Listless Nuggets
Published 4/28/2008 by David Friedman at The Biz of Basketball :: Part of the Business of Sports Network
Kobe Bryant passed early (six first quarter assists) and scored late (11 third quarter points) as the L.A. Lakers dismantled the Denver Nuggets 102-84 to take a 3-0 series lead. Bryant finished with game-high totals in points (22), assists (eight) and plus/minus (+21, tied with Derek Fisher) while tying for the team lead in rebounds (seven). He shot 9-19 from the field. Even more significant than Bryant's impressive numbers is the way that he controlled the game--and has controlled the entire series so far--with his scoring and passing; the Nuggets have tried several different defensive schemes but nothing they have done has stopped him individually or slowed ...

Blackhawks Moving to WGN-AM (720)
Published 4/30/2008 by Maury Brown at The Biz of Hockey :: Business of Sports Network
The Chicago Blackhawks will have a new radio home next season. The team will be broadcast on WGN-AM (720). As reported by the Chicago Sun-Times: "'We're going to have a press conference, and that's likely what it'll be about,'' general manager Dale Tallon said when asked to confirm the change. WSCR-AM (670) has carried Hawks games since the 2000-01 season. The Blackhawks have been aggressively upgrading broadcasting and other activities such as cross-branding with the MLB Chicago White Sox.   ...