Team In Sin City?

With the MLB Winter Meetings taking place in Las Vegas this week its hard to imagine the city not getting a professional sports team in the near future. Vegas has hosted the NBA All-Star game with hopes of getting a team but with the bleak economy and local politicians wandering if the window of opportunity has closed, people aren't so optimistic anymore.

Plans for an arena getting built by 2010 have foiled and there seems to be no expansion for MLB either-for now. The Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, is expected to make his rounds during the Winter Meetings hoping that another league will make a bet on his city.

Sports franchises in Florida, Portland, and New Orleans have recently been seen as possible movers but if a deal isn't done in the next 3 to 5 years, you may see pessimism take a strong hold of a place that once had a lot of hope for a team.

Is Your Season Over Already?

In America, unfortunately, there is no system of promotion or relegation in any of the sports leagues here like they have abroad. So if your team is at the bottom of the standings with no chance of making the playoffs, you are in for a bunch of meaningless games until the season ends.

In the NFL, there are at least 12 teams who have no chance of making the playoffs. So what the heck do you do now? Well thanks for a clever writer understanding losing cities, here is what he is suggesting:

Suggestions to Make NFL Teams Not Making Playoffs More Interesting
{Real Clear Sports}

Sunday Funday

Here's some humor before you head into the work week.

After the Minnesota Vikings game against the Detroit Lions, Fox and other members of the media decided to film the Vikings locker room honoring Head Coach Brian Childress’ son going into the Marines. But there was one problem…

A player was completely naked during the filming. It almost looks as if Coach Childress is looking in that direction and is torn between yelling at the player to cover up or continuing the ceremony. I guess he chose the latter.

What A Sports Event Could Do To A City

Recently I came across an article and I've been meaning to post something about it. It regards the amount of money that is pumped into each local economy after a major sports event such as NCAA Final Four, Super Bowl, etc.

For three of the top 10 most attended sports events here is the projected money that is pumped into the local economy.

NCAA Final Four: $50-$75 million

NBA All-Star Game: $90 million

Super Bowl: $300-$400 million


The amount of money is staggering. Couldn't a location like Detriot or New Orleans use this 'stimulus'?

Slow Start To MLB Offseason

Scott Boras has two players that are expecting HUGE paydays in Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez. Do you think he is concerned to the slow start of the offseason? He maybe should be.

With the dismal economy, everyone is saving their money including the owners. Don’t be surprised if they decide not to give out the desired contracts to the players available. They all know well that the Phillies won the World Series last year without a one-man wonder that handcuffed them with a five year contract. The Tampa Bay Rays won the AL with the second-lowest payroll in the MLB. Also, teams could be waiting for the big-time pitchers like C.C. Sabathia, K-Rod, or Peavy to finally commit to get things going.

Moreover, Scott Boras could be worried that he has overhyped a few of his clients and baseball owners are going to take heed. Most notably, look at Barry Zito. He was proclaimed the next Steve Carlton by Boras and received a huge $126 million contract. In the two years with the San Francisco Giants his ERA hasn’t been lower than 4.50. Other players that were a bust under Boras that received a big PAYDAY: Kevin Millwood, Adrian Beltre, and Chan Ho Park.

Don't Go Down The Middle Of The Field

Check out this video. Ouch..

Which team has the best brand in sports?

Each year thousands of die-hard sports fans (over 12,000) are surveyed to find out which team from the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB has the strongest team brand.

The winner is: The Green Bay Packers. Boston Red Sox came in second with the Pittsburgh Steelers coming in third.

The study is done for advertisers to see which team can give them more bang for their buck.

Full story here

Dead-End For Burress But Still Questions Remain

Earlier today Plaxico Burress turned himself into the NYPD and the criminal court set bail at 100k and ordered him to return back on March 31st.

At first what was a bizarre turn of events for Burress has now turned into a dead-end.

All day we heard reports coming out about Burress' night that makes you scratch your head. First, blood that fell from his leg at the club was immediately cleaned up when cops arrived to investigate on Saturday afternoon. Second, there is no file under Plaxico Burress at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. Lastly, it is still unclear the role Antonio Pierce had in all this. Apparently, Pierce took Burress in his car back to New Jersey then headed back to Manhattan to the hospital. When cops searched the car of Pierce there was no blood or any sign of any wrong doing.

So lets play detective. Here's what I think happened. Obviously they paid off the club to clean up the mess so there was no shelling from the bullet or blood that remained. The situation at the Medical Center is explained through Antonio Pierce. They went back to New Jersey to see if they could find someone who would not report the gunshot wound as all hospitals are liable to do so by law. Also, the gun was hidden somewhere is New Jersey so it would not be traced back to Burress because he does not have a permit for it.

And to boot, Mayor Bloomberg seemed enraged at a press conference today about the attempted cover-up by Burress and went out of his way to denounce his actions and make sure he is prosecuted to the fullest extent.

Unfortunately for Burress, the Mayors words sets the tone for this case, who is now after his Super Bowl heroics last year is looking at 3 1/2 to 15 years in jail and out of the NFL.

VIDEO...Morning Wake Up Call

How did I miss this hit? It happened on the 20th

Kidding me?

Giants Star WR Shoots Himself In Leg

What was already a controversial year for Plaxico Burress is even more so. It was reported yesterday that Burress will sit out against the Redskins due to a hamstring injury.

Reportedly he spent the night in the hospital and the injuries are not life-threatening. Look for more information to come.