The A's-Giants Dispute Over San Jose Continues

The on-going dispute between the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants regarding the A's proposed relocation to San Jose (territory claimed by the Giants) is once again heating up this week (click here for an earlier 2009 post on the dispute). After patiently waiting three years for an MLB panel to resolve the matter, A's owner Lew Wolff went public Wednesday questioning the Giants' supposed claim to San Jose. The Giants franchise alleges that it controls the San Jose territory under a 1990 agreement in which the A's voluntarily relinquished their rights to Santa Clara County (which includes San Jose) so that the Giants could themselves relocate to the area.

However, Wolff issued a statement on Wednesday referencing the minutes of the relevant 1990 owners meeting, which he says clearly provide that the Giants' claim to Santa Clara County was contingent upon the team actually moving to the area. Because the Giants never left San Francisco, Wolff asserts that the Giants have no rightful claim to San Jose. The Giants disagree with Wolff's interpretation, issuing a statement arguing that the franchise's claim to Santa Clara County has been ratified in the MLB Constitution on multiple occasions since 1990. Indeed, if the Giants' claim to San Jose was as flimsy as the A's now allege, then MLB would likely have settled this dispute a couple years ago.

Frustrated by the delay, San Jose Councilman Sam Liccardo suggested on Wednesday that a reconsideration of baseball's antitrust exemption might be in order if the A's are unable to move to the city. The suggestion that the government should reevaluate baseball's antitrust exemption in light of the A's-Giants dispute is not unexpected, as the exemption has historically helped shield MLB's territorial restrictions from antitrust scrutiny. As I detailed in a recent paper, Congress has frequently threatened to revoke baseball's exemption in order to motivate MLB to make a variety of concessions. Liccardo's threat alone is unlikely to force MLB to allow the A's to move to San Jose, but that could change if a sufficient number of Congressional representatives become interested in the A's plight.

Cardozo Law Symposium: Amateur Athletics, Professional IP: Sponsorship, Surveillance, and the London 2012 Olympics

A reminder for those in the NYC area: The Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law is hosting a symposium tomorrow from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm on the law and business of the London 2012 Olympic Games. I'm honored to be one of the speakers. Other speakers include Harvey Schiller (former CEO of Turner Sports and later CEO and Chairman of YankeesNets) and attorneys from NBC Sports and Latham & Watkins. It should be a great event - hope to see you there.

The best bowling celebration you will ever see (yes, bowling)

I love the off-season. It allows me to put up posts like this.



"Who do you think you are?!  I AM!"

Uh...okay.

ESPN Radio/True Hoop on Rationality, Race Sensitivity and Legality of NBA Age Limit

During last week's MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference -- which was truly amazing -- ESPN's Henry Abbott interviewed for me for 21 minutes on the NBA age limit (more technically called the league's "eligibility restriction").  The rule requires that players be 19-years-old plus one year removed from high school.

We talk about why the rule exists, how it relates to the commercialization of college basketball, whether it, along with the NFL and WNBA's age limits, could be deemed racist in light of the absence of such restrictions in other sports and forms of entertainment, and its vulnerability to legal challenge.  I also accepted Henry's challenge to impersonate Tom Cruise from the movies The Firm and Jerry Maguire.

Hope you can listen to the interview.  For a related piece, be sure to check out SI's Zach Lowe's excellent analysis and summary of the age limit issue.

Update: Henry also interviews Sonny Vaccaro and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on this topic and related issues.

Lazio Menjadi "Raja" di Kota Roma

Akhirnya, Lazio berhasil membuktikan diri sebagai "raja" di kota Roma, setelah dalam pertandingan derby berhasil mengalahkan AS Roma dengan skor 1-2. Dengan hasil ini maka untuk kompetisi Serie A musim 2011/12 ini, Lazio mempertegas dominasinya atas AS Roma, karena pada pertemuan pertama juga berhasil megalahkan AS Roma dengan skor yang sama.

Pertandingan sendiri berlangsung cukup keras, pada awal dimulainya pertandingan sudah harus "memakan korban", Maarten Stekelenburg, kiper AS Roma melakukan pelanggaran terhadap Miroslav Klose di kotak penalti, dan wasit langsung mengeluarkan kartu merah dan memberikan hadiah penalti untuk Lazio. Hernanes yang mengambil tendangan penalti tidak menyia-nyiakan kesempatan tersebut, 1-0 untuk keunggulan Lazio.

Meski dengan 10 pemain, AS Roma mapu menyamakn kedudukan melalui gol Fabio Borini. Namun sayang, AS Roma akhurnya harus kebobolan lagi, Mauri berhasil melesakkan gol hasil dari umpan tendangan bebas, skor 1-2 untuk keunggulan Lazio. Pertandingan yang berlangsung keras menghasilkan banyak kartu, dan pada akhirnya pemain Lazio, Scaloni, harus keluar lapangan karena mendapatkan kartu kuning kedua. Namun demikian, AS Roma tak mampu mengejar ketertinggaln, dan tak ada gol lagi setelahnya. Sampai peluit akhir dibunyikan, skor tetap bertahan, AS Roma harus mengakui keunggulan Lazio.

New Sports Illustrated column: Legal Fallout of Saints Bounty Scandal

Is it a crime or tort to pay someone to injure another person? Sure. But how about if it the crime/tort happens on a football field? Check out my column for Sports Illustrated | SI.com on the Saints bounty system.

Here's an excerpt:

* * *

The bounty system implicates at least two types of criminal charges: battery and conspiracy. Battery, which under Louisiana law is punishable by up to six months in jail, refers to the intentional use of force upon another person without that person's consent. Here, a Saints player who intentionally tried to injure another team's player could have battered that player. In response, a Saints player might argue that offensive players assume the risk of serious injury on every play, especially since defensive players are rewarded for stopping the advancement of the ball. That rationale would be deeply flawed, however, because while offensive players assume the risk of injury on a tackle, they do not assume the tackle is intended to injure them. The Saints' "pay for injury" model is clearly outside the boundaries of the game and an assumption of risk defense holds little weight. ...

***

While the above provides a road map to criminal prosecutions of Saints players, coaches and front office personnel, prosecutors seldom seek charges for incidents that occur on the field. This is true even for on-field incidents that would clearly be crimes if they occurred on a public street. Prosecutors and judges generally defer to leagues to enforce their own rules and assign their own penalties. While this deference makes sense on some levels, one may wonder whether an NFL penalty provides adequate deterrence for preventing future bounty systems: even the most serious NFL fine -- banishment from the game -- could never come close to the threat of a judge sentencing someone to jail or prison. Besides, in the rare instances when criminal charges are brought by authorities, they are often brought outside of the U.S. (such as when Vancouver authorities charged Boston Bruins defenseman Marty McSorley for his vicious slash of Vancouver Canucks forward Donald Brashear).

* * * 

To read the rest, click here.

Women's hardwood team falls in NCAA First Round

While losing is never enjoyable, Ferrum's Women's Basketball team should board the bus with their heads held high. Tonight, Ferrum ran into a much taller and much more experienced basketball team in the form of the Bears of Washington University of St. Louis (Ranked #9 in the Nation). The Panthers lost 79-64.
Still, Ferrum showed their metal, and never gave up. Playing a team that has been to the NCAA tournament 24 of the last 26 years, and has been in the championship game the last 2 years, (winning in 2010, and being National Runner Up last year) Ferrum was not intimidated, and represented the College with strength and integrity...as they have done all season. They should be very proud of their effort.

Way to go Panthers!!!