According to a rough draft of the upcoming Major Soccer League schedule that is supposed to be released as early as next week, the Galaxy are going to have to play on the road for a good part of the second half of the season so that David Beckham's Tour Across America can take full effect, according to a story this week in the Sports Business Journal.

Which means that those who buy Galaxy season seats will be stuck with a bunch of early-season Beckham-less games at Home Depot Center in Carson until he arrives sometime in July or August? It stands to reason that a front-loaded home schedule doesn't do the Galaxy any good, but the league's back-loaded idea will make everyone more money.

It's a 30-game season, with 15 set for home and 15 on the road. If 11 of those second-half games are in other MLS cities, well ... you do the calculus.

The only blip here is that the Galaxy usually faces each MLS team once or twice in each of those cities per season. A "roadie" against Chivas USA counts as much as when the Clippers face the visiting Lakers at Staples Center a couple of times a year, so that's an added appearance, apparently.

According to the story, if the Galaxy was to sell out once on the road in every MLS market at an average ticket price of $16, roughly the league’s average, it would deliver a $4 million bump in revenue leaguewide, says a guy crunching the numbers and crossing his fingers.

If each MLS team had some pull, they could also try to stage a Spice Girls reunion tour to coincide with each game. Oh, right. The idea is to attract fans.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 10:55 AM | Permalink

Barbaro.... dead.
Laminitis ... just too much.
Unable to ever reproduce again.
Former Detroit Tigers utility player Barbaro Garbey ... unavailable for immediate comment.
First, Gump Worsley ... and now this.
How will we all get through this national nightmare?

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By CHRIS DIXON
New York Times
SAN DIEGO — Wandering the teeming halls of the San Diego Convention Center on Friday afternoon,
the former professional surfer Peter King said of the goings-on at an action sports trade show, “I’d say it’s a lot more fun than a Dell computer convention.��?
It is easy to see why. On Thursday and Friday, scores of bikini-clad models, tattooed and scarred skateboarders and tanned surf bums plied their wares or promoted their sponsors’ brands. From Thursday to Sunday, more than 18,000 people are expected to pass through the convention center’s doors for an event that helps shape the future
of the billion-dollar industry.
To some, like King, the 26-year-old show is a “bro-fest��? that offers a chance to catch up with old friends and talk about future video or broadcasting projects. To others, like Tina Novak of Freestyle Audio, it is
a chance to share business cards and sell the waterproof Billabong Soundwave MP3 player.
“It’s got 40 hours of battery life and can go 10 feet underwater,��? she said, demonstrating a line of wet-suit and life-preserver tops that hold the music machine.
When asked why a surfer would want a music player, she said that runners have been listening to their headphones for years. “It’s like starring in your own surf video,��? she said.

Read on ...

A few booths away, Jeff Kelley, founder of the Sanuk sandal company and a lifetime San Diego surfer, showed off a new line of shoes from an elaborate booth, along with pictures from celebrity magazines showing his company’s Sidewalk Surfer shoe being worn by Julia Roberts’ husband, Danny Moder, and Brad Pitt.
Sanuk made a splash a few years ago with a turf-covered shoe. “It’s the ultimate white-trash sandal,��? the shoe’s sales tag read. “Made outta real indoor-outdoor carpet. Just like your lawn.��?
“That’s our flagship,��? Kelley said. “People were like, ‘What the heck are you thinking?’ But folks like Fred Siegel and
Louis Boston picked it up.��?
In addition to surfers and professional climbers, Kelley also sponsors the ultimate fighting champion Jason Miller, known as Mayhem. “He text-messaged me today,��? he said, pointing to his cell phone, “and said that his girlfriend told him, ‘Look honey, Brad Pitt’s wearing your shoes!’��?
In the skateboarding corner, a series of ramps and rails beckoned new-school pros who skated alongside old-school heroes like Tony Alva.
Near the halfpipe, the entrepreneur Jim Bell showed off his skateboard ramp kit. “My dad told me, ‘I can’t believe you’re making a living doing this,’��? he said. “Next week, I’m going in to hook up with the guys from the ‘Pimp My Ride’ TV show. We’re going to build a skateboard ramp off the back of a Hostess bread truck.��?
Out among the surfers, the most obvious change to the sport has been the new surfboard designs and materials since the 2005 closure of Gordon Clark’s Clark Foam surfboard blank factory — a day the surf journalist Ben Marcus termed Blank Monday.
In the absence of Clark’s low-cost and reliable blanks, which were rough polyurethane foam boards later shaped and sanded, traditional surfboards have become more expensive. But a myriad of new materials — like carbon fiber, epoxy and a portable inflatable model by C4 Waterman of Hawaii — are rapidly filling the void.
Matt Biolos, founder of San Clemente’s Lost, displayed new epoxy blanks, which cost several hundred dollars, and new machine-molded carbon fiber shapes that sell for $1,200.
“Since the loss of Clark Foam there’s been some confusion,��? Biolos said. “Some surfers don’t really know what to buy into. But there’s so much that the cream is going to rise to the top in the next 24 months.��?
In the Hobie booth, Robert August, 61, a surfing legend, said he had shaped more than 30,000 boards in his lifetime. Covered with foam dust, he said there was still something special about the hand-shaped polyurethane and fiberglass surfboards.
“The Surftech is a great product,��? he said, “but you get a nine-foot Robert August model and there are 245 other guys riding exactly the same board. It’s got no personality. With a hand-shaped board, no two machines are ever the same.��?

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 10:48 PM | Permalink

By Jamie Malernee
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Football fans who planned to show up at the Super Bowl this year to enjoy a little tailgating are in for a nasty surprise: It’s banned.
There’s no grilling allowed. Forget about bringing a cooler full of beer. If you don’t have tickets for the game, you won’t be able to get near Dolphin Stadium.
A lot of local fans aren’t happy about it.
“Tailgating is part of the whole football experience; it’s one and the same. I was very surprised and disappointed and didn’t really even believe it at first,��? said Bill Krawiec, a Cooper City resident and lifelong Chicago Bears fan. “I mean, there aren’t that many people who follow the teams that can afford tickets. I guess they just want it to be a corporate event where people drive up in their limos, go to the game and go home.��?
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the “no tailgating��? policy has been in place at the Super Bowl for several years, the result of tightened security following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. This game day, Feb. 4, only those with tickets for the championship match between the Bears and Indianapolis Colts will be allowed near
Dolphin Stadium and the surrounding parking lots.
“The parking lot and traffic flow will look a lot different than it will during normal season games,��? McCarthy
said. “We’re going to have a security perimeter so we can screen people coming in.��?
Among the items banned: containers of any type, coolers of any size, backpacks, bottles, banners, noisemakers and horns.
“We’ll have security people out in the parking lots,��? McCarthy said. “If they see something that’s obtrusive to other fans, they’ll say you should put that back in your truck.��?

So, what are we supposed to do with this $319 gas-powered blender we got as a Christmas gift?

Read on ...

Traffic flow is another reason the NFL wants to limit the number of people congregating at the stadium, McCarthy said. About 70,000 fans are expected to attend, but only 11,000 stadium-side parking spots are available.
If they want to park near the stadium, ticket holders should buy special permits in advance. They range in price from $60 to $325 per vehicle. Officials expect most people to use the cheaper Park and Ride option, which allows ticket holders to park in remote lots and get bused to the game. No private shuttle drop-offs or pick-ups at Dolphin Stadium will be allowed.
Much of the stadium’s usual parking area will be used to host the 1 million-square foot “NFL Experience,��? billed as an interactive football theme park and party. On Super Sunday, it will only be open to ticket holders. It costs $15 for
adults and $10 for children younger than 12.
“That’s not tailgating; that’s corporate sales,��? said Ray Bridges, a Colts fan with tickets to the game.
The Indianapolis resident has already paid big money to be able to fly down to South Florida with his wife and friends, stay at a Fort Lauderdale hotel and attend the game. Now, he’s scurrying to plan a tailgating party for himself and his fellow Colts fans. He’s thinking of asking his hotel or local superstores, which have large parking lots, if they would allow a tailgate party in Broward County the night before the game.
Considering what he’s already spent, Bridges said, it’s a bit much to be told that he won’t be allowed to barbecue his own bratwurst before kickoff.
“I understand they want to get their concession sales, but...when you are paying two, three, four thousand for a ticket, for them to say you can’t bring in a grill, I just don’t understand the thinking,��? he said.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:19 AM | Permalink

The Dodgers have locked in some of their promotions for the 82 dates on the 2007 regular season schedule. Some of 'em you can probably figure out. Others, we're not so sure.

Guess which promotion is real, and which one we made up:

--Bring Your Dodger Dog to the Park
Before the Sunday, July 8 game, fans can bring their dogs for a parade on the field dressed in their favorite Dodger attire. A contest will award the top five dogs, and a grand prize winner will be allowed to stay in the park and sit in a seat with their owner.

Answer: False.
What do you think this is, Petco Park?

-- Fans Vote Bobblehead Night:
Fans get to vote online for the player they'd like to most see on a bobblehead. The first 50,000 who show up to the Aug. 2 game will receive the winner player's bobblehead.

Answer: True.
We'll cast the first votes for Joe Beimel
(Unfortunately, he's not one of the six choices you have to pick from. And you gotta vote by April 3 so they have time to get it ready by August.)

Read on, if you're curious ...

-- Nomar Garciaparra Mania:
First, a Garciaparra batting practice jersey night to kids 14 and under on April 14. Then a Garciaparra bobblehead to the first 50,000 on April 26. Then, a Garciaparra batting glove night on May 27, where all the fans are welcome to stand up and keep readjusting the Velcro on the batting glove everytime he comes to the plate.

Answer: True. Except that last one. But wouldn't it be cool?

-- Oldtimers Day:
Reviving the tradition of inviting back former Dodgers players, the stars from the 1977 World Series team, celebrating the 30th anniversary of their NL championship, will take on players from the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s before the Saturday, June 9 game.

Answer: False.
The Dodgers haven't done an Oldtimers Game for years, unfortunately. This year, it ain't happening again.

-- Cap Night
On three different nights -- April 13, May 12 and June 29. Each has a different design. One night, it's a distressed cap.
Answer: True. Why make them all different? A traditional interlocked "LA" isn't good enough? Don't stress over distressed.

-- Jason Schmidt T-shirt night
The new Dodgers starting pitcher will be featured on a T-shirt giveaway to the first 50,000 at the April 20 game.

Answer: True. They're doing it this early in the season before he goes back on the DL.

--Mother's Day Catch
Following up on the success of the Father's Day Catch, moms will be able to come on the field with their children to toss a baseball around prior to the May 13 game.

Answer: False.
Is there a reason why they don't do it?

-- Rafael Furcal bobblehead night
The Dodgers shortstop will be honored with the July 6 giveaway.

Answer: True. They're just taking the old Cesar Izturis bobbleheads from last year and repainting a few things.

-- Hollywood Stars Night
The 49th edition on June 9 brings out all the top stars in Tinseltown: Jimmy Kimmel, James Denton, James Ven Der Beek, and a couple of starlettes who've never seen a left-handed fielders glove.

Answer: True. And it'll be a softball game again, no hardball. At least they're not using those spongy balls they give out for dads and sons to toss around on Father's Day. But not on Mother's Day

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 3:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Even more spillover from today's Daily News media column :

-- By the way, next week (Feb. 2) we start the 15th annual Best and Worst of the L.A. sports media with the Top 10/Bottom 5 list of sports-talk show hosts. The four-part series runs through the end of Feburary covering TV sportscaster/personalities, live game analysts and live game play-by-play men. Submit your suggestions ASAP to thomas.hoffarth@dailynews.com ...

--As the newspaper's notebook item covers, Jim Nantz got to see the Jeremy Piven immitation of him on "Saturday Night Live" from a version of the skit posted on YouTube.com. After that one disappeared, this one popped up:

--CBS' Nantz, on what covering this weekend's PGA Tour event at Torrey Pines means as a sort-of season opener (and Tiger Woods' 2007 debut) even though there's been three tournaments played before this, all on the Golf Channel: "I don't want to take away from what the Golf Channel has done already, but San Diego has been given a primo spot on the West Coast schedule. It's not by accident that (CBS Sports chief) Sean McManus and (executive producer) Tony Petitti helped set this up. When you lock in the week between the NFC and AFC Championships games and the Super Bowl, going unopposed to the NFL juggernaut, this becomes a big tournament for many years to come. I've watched in my 20 years the West Coast truely be the opening for the tour, and it used to be the Mercedes (Classic, now in Hawaii) got everyone's attention but that lost a lot of luster and the Doral Open (in Florida) got the windfall. Now it's shifted back to the West Coast. And again not to slight the first three events, but when you have Mr. Woods riding a win streak, it's the tournament that will awaken every golf fan and fringe fan." CBS (Channel 2) has the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday from noon-to-3 p.m.

--Save the date: Someone at ESPN with access to a calculator and a great imagination has decided that the 30,000th live edition of "SportsCenter" happens to fall in a prime-time Sunday spot on Feb. 11 (8 p.m.). Stuart Scott and Steve Levy will host the episode that'll be mashed in with plenty of the usual retrospective, a Bob Ley appearance and plenty of self-congratulations. No Chris Berman walk-on cameo? At least it's not in the script. Yet.

-- The Lakers-San Antonio game is the back end of an NBA doubleheader on ABC Sunday, tipping off at noon after the Cleveland-Phoenix contest. Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Michele Tafoya call the Lakers-Spurs, and the broadcast will feature SkyCam and something called Freeze Cam, which uses a wide lens to halt video during a replay, then expands the view to show the surroundings before resuming to roll video, allowing commentators to better analyze the play (according to the ESPN press release).

Read on, if you please ...

-- Harkening back to the days when HBO would crank out its “Hard Knocks� reality series prior to the NFL season, the premium cable channel says plans are in motion for a four-episode series that’ll go all access and behind the scenes of preparation for Oscar De La Hoya’s May 5 junior middleweight championship bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr. Which, of course, leads into HBO’s pay-per-view coverage of the event, which many expect to break all kinds of viewing records. The first three half-hour episodes of “De La Hoya/Mayweather 24/7� airs on April 15, 22 and 29 (Sunday nights, 10:30 p.m.) with the final episode on Thursday, May 3, leading into the main event. HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg says in a release: “The producers will be living at the fighters’ camps 24/7 and the programs we present will appeal far beyond the hard-core boxing fan. Our approach will be to produce a totally unique viewing experience as these two world-class athletes prepare for a defining moment in their respective careers. And we appreciate the commitment and cooperation of the fighters and their teams with this ambitious project.� De La Hoya has actually been on HBO 29 times since he turned pro after the 1992 Summer Olympics gold medal; Floyd has made 20 appearances on the network as a pro following the ’96 Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.

--ABC's coverage of the U.S. Figure Skating championships -- most noteworthy, the women's long program final, which includes Granada Hills' Bebe Liang -- runs live from 1-3 p.m. Saturday. The men's long program goes to ESPN2 live from 8-to-11 p.m.

-- The latest video clip of Tiger Woods' new Buick commercial, where he luckily doesn't seperate a shoulder by accident:

-- NBC’s Tom Hammond, Gary Stevens, Kenny Rice and Donna Barton Brothers call four races from Santa Anita – the Sunshine Millions Distaff, Turf, Sprint and Oaks – in coordination with Sunshine Millions Classic, Fillies and Mares Turf and Sprint, and the Dash stakes races at Gulfstream Park in Florida in a two-hour window (1-to-3 p.m.) on Saturday.

-- ESPN’s kid-friendly Winter X Games from Apsen, Colo., which started Thursday and run through Sunday, are predictably Internet friendly with various original video streaming on EXPN.com and ESPN360 broadband (more than 10 hours live). Video downloads are also available in the Apple iTunes store and ESPN’s mobile phone services. The TV coverage starts today (6:30 p.m. live). Sirius Satellite Radio also has live coverage this weekend on its Faction channel (28).

--Versus has struck up a partnership with World Extreme Cagefighting to televise mixed martial arts competition starting this summer. The deal will include three live events and six one-hour highlight shows.

-- NASCAR.com will relaunch on Thursday, Feb., with a new look and design for the first time since 2002. Among the features will include a TrackPass Race View 3-D application that allows users to watch a particular driver during a Nextel Cup event ($12.95 a month or $79.95 for the year). Turner Sports New Media is helping with the facelift.

--The NFL Network is in a tie for second among the channels that cable operators say they’d like to add by year’s end, according to the Cablefax Daily reporting of a Beta Research study. The others? PBS’ Kids Sprout was first (71 percent), followed by the NFL Network and the Hallmark Movie Channel (70 percent) and College Sports TV (69 percent).

--David Beckham’s first major American TV interview will apparently come before CBS’ Feb. 4 Super Bowl, the London’s Sunday Mirror reports. The paper also says that Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey “lost out in the bid to clinch� his first major interview.

-- ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith will, for some reason, fulfill a live-long dream and appear on "General Hospital" (on parent company's ABC network) on Friday, Feb. 2 playing the role of a reporter covering a hostage situation. Yelling ensues. Smith admits he's been a fan of "GH" since he was five years old. “I grew up with four sisters, so it was either watch General Hospital or watch nothing,� Smith said. “I’ve been an avid viewer for over 30 years. Let this be a lesson to all the ladies out there: there are men who love the soaps.� Not us.

-- Ducks regular FSN Prime Ticket TV analyst Brian Hayward will work for NBC on its coverage of Sunday's 12:30 p.m. Ducks-Dallas regional contest with Dave Strader and Joe Micheletti. Main crew Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Pierre McGuire are on the Colorado-Detroit game, while the network will also do Philadelphia-Atlanta.

-- And finally, what we've come to learn as the new most frightening words in sports radio: “This is Shelley Smith with an ESPN extra point� …

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If former Grant High of Van Nuys star Gilbert Arenas ever went back to college, he says he'd have a lesson to teach Coach K and Duke.
To the tune of "84 or 85 points."
The Washington Wizards’ All-Star, who left the University of Arizona after his freshman year, is still miffed that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski cut him from the U.S. National team last summer. He promised this season to take out his frustrations on Krzyzewski’s Team USA assistants, Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni, and Portland coach Nate McMillan.
Arenas scored 54 points against the Suns last month and has said his next 50-point game will come against the Trail Blazers on Feb. 11.
That prompted D’Antoni to say: “I can’t wait to see what he does against Duke. He’s gonna kill Duke.�
On his blog posting on NBA.com, Arenas answered: “He’d like to see what I’m going to do against Duke. I thought it was funny because if I have the chance to go back to college, I’ll give up one NBA season to play against Duke.
“One college game that’s five fouls, right? ... 40-minute game at Duke, they got soft rims ... I’d probably score 84 or
85. I wouldn’t pass the ball. I wouldn’t even think about passing it. It would be like a NBA Live or an NBA 2K7 game, you just shoot with one person.�
When Arenas was cut from the U.S. team, it was announced he had a strained groin. Arenas said the injury was
minor and a convenient excuse.
Arenas, who trailed Vince Carter by more than 200,000 votes as of Jan. 11 for a starting spot on the NBA All-Star Eastern Conference team, ended up outpolling Carter by 3,010 votes to make the lineup announced Thursday.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This here is Sarah Spain. She's a big Chicago Bears fan. She wants to go to the Super Bowl. She doesn't have a ticket.
Wanna be her Sugar Daddy? Then go somewhere else. This high-matience gal has other plans.
Spain, a Brentwood resident who works at Fox Sports, started begging/pitching her plea on eBay.com to get someone to find her a ticket to Miami for Super Bowl XLI in exchange for nothing more than companionship for the afternoon. She then presented her case Thursday on the D'Marco Farr Show (With Kevin Kiley) at 710-AM.
Spain said her date would be: "Show up, go to the game, have some beers, go crazy, cheer for the Bears and enjoy the biggest game of the year.� The 26-year-old is single, but she's not an escort, she says, even if this Super Bowl date ends up going terribly wrong and she's escorted to someone's hotel room afterward.
Her thought was that someone with corporate seat connections probably was given a couple of tickets, is trying to find someone to go with, and might take her up on the offer.
For more info on Ms. Spain: www.myspace.com/spainy. There are many more flattering pictures of her there than this Rebecca Lobo-looking mugshot above.
eBay.com took down her initial posting, because of the ridiculousness of it, but she has figured out another way around it by offering up two pom-poms for auction -- not the ones attached to her chest -- as long as she can go along with them to the game. Sounds like a pretty creative bimbo.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

God bless Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy for being the first two black head coaches to make it to a Super Bowl. One of them will end up as the first to actually win the big game.
And they can say they're the second to actually win a pro football championship.
Back in 2002, Darren Arbet (pictured) coached the Arena Football League's San Jose SaberCats to the largest victory in league history, 52-14, over Arizona in ArenaBowl XVI. That made Arbet the first black to win a pro football title in this country. Two seasons later, Arbet's 'Cats beat Arizona again, 69-62, in ArenaBowl XVIII.
What does Arbet think of the accomplishments of Smith and Dungy?
"They are two quality men and excellent football coaches," Arbet said through an AFL spokesman. "They both deserve what they earned this season. They are both motivators and teachers and enjoy the game.
"Minority coaches are more prevalent in all sports today, so this was going to happen eventually. I think the media is making a bigger issue out of this than the coaches themselves. Lovie and Tony are just quality football coaches who happen to be African-American."
We second that.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Al Davis has thongs older then Lane Kiffin. Not that we know for sure. Just gotta assume.
The highlighs of Tuesday's press conference, where the Raiders general managing partner (or whatever he's calling himself these days) introduced the 31-year-old former USC offensive coordinator as his new head coach are already all over the radio waves. Kiffin's robotic soundbites had San Jose Mercury writer John Ryan wondering if there wasn't a future endorsement in WD-40.
But the key may have been when Davis slipped and called him "Lance." Or, when he mentioned he was a former USC assistant coach "30 some years ago in 1959 ..."
It's been a long process, finding someone with an IQ small enough to take over this Dunder Mifflin of the NFL franchise. We understand how exhausted Al must be at this point. He's just glad he's still living and breathing without the help of an oxygen tank.
What kind of future does Kiffin have with the Raider Nation?
"Coaching the Raiders isnt going to be an uphill battle for Kiffin, it's an up-cliff battle," said Petros Papadakis on Tuesday's "PMS" show on AM-570.
If only Lance, er, Lane could just play video games like he did as the character in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin."

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In its latest Valentine’s Day newspaper ads, the 99 Cents store finally has the sense to move all the Posh Spice figurines it can out the door. The ad’s hook: David Beckham may cost the Galaxy $250 million, but Victoria has been marked down to 2 for less than a buck with “no limit.�

(Although we're looking at the ad again, and if you do the math, two Poshes at 49 cents each adds up to 98 cents, but ...)

It's actually quite a deal. A quick search of online auctions show the same doll doing for about 2 bucks, plus $2.50 shipping. But if you’re looking for real Spicy dolls, may we suggest this 1997 Sporty Spice Barbie-Sized babe on eBay that the seller claims has “no chew marks� and “is naked, as pictured.�

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By PETER PRENGAMAN
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Whether David Beckham’s American adventure proves a financial boon or multimillion-dollar blunder for Major League Soccer could depend on how well Beckham wins over fans such as Rodrigo Diaz.
Diaz emigrated from Mexico when he was 14, plays soccer with his friends at a local park and occasionally goes to watch the league’s two Los Angeles-based teams, Chivas USA and the Galaxy.
“I’ll go to one or two games to see how Beckham is playing,��? the 32-year-old Diaz said while buying a knee brace at Niky’s, a soccer store in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. “If I see he’s not into it, I’m not spending any
more money.��?
Hispanics made up a third of fans at MLS games last season, according to league statistics, with the percentage higher in Hispanic-heavy cities such as Los Angeles and Dallas. Regular-season games averaged 15,504 fans, a tiny fraction of the tens of millions of soccer fans and players the league estimates are in the United States.
Hispanic immigrants are both a substantial MLS fan base and a relatively untapped market. The 13-team league is hoping a recent deal with Spanish-language giant Univision to broadcast some games this season will help change
that.
Even with more exposure, the sell could prove difficult: Many Hispanics scorn MLS as a bush league where players show little of the panache and artistry that gives soccer its “beautiful game��? name.

Read on ...

“Soccer here looks like a game of American football,��? said Juan Munguia, a 30-year-old cook from Mexico. “It’s all blows but very little grace.��?
Enter Beckham.
Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas, a former U.S. national team and MLS standout, said the former England captain will attract savvy Hispanic fans by elevating the level of play. The Galaxy certainly hope so — the team promised Beckham millions of dollars more in salary than any other player as part of a five-year deal worth about $50 million.
That’s an unheard of compensation package for MLS, where the average player salary was $100,000 last year and the last team to sell, D.C. United, went for $33 million a couple of weeks ago.
Lalas said Beckham speaks some Spanish after playing several years for Spain’s Real Madrid, but wasn’t sure whether he’d use it in commercials or team promotions. Galaxy news releases are in English and Spanish, and the team soon will launch a Spanish version of its Web site.
“David Beckham on the surface couldn’t be more disassociated with the Hispanic community,��? said Lalas, referring to the Hollywood glitz he brings with his wife, former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. “But the fact is this is a player who has played with some of the biggest teams in the world, including Real Madrid.��?
Beckham should add to the rivalry between Galaxy and Chivas USA, said Chivas USA CEO Javier Leon. The northern sister team of Mexico’s popular Chivas Guadalajara team, Chivas USA joined MLS a few years ago and caters to Hispanic fans.
“Beckham now becomes a target,��? said Leon. “Our fans will be intrigued to watch us play him.��?
Rafael Ramos Villagrana, a soccer columnist for the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion, said many Hispanic fans are turned off by the heavy marketing of Beckham.
“Some fans are saying he just came here to sell T-shirts and Pepsi Cola,��? said Villagrana. “But if he plays well, they’ll end up falling in love with the Galaxy.��?
Since its founding in 1996, the MLS has tried to attract Hispanic fans, believing they were the key to building a permanent base — something the precursor North American Soccer League failed to do from 1968-1984.
Today, there are more than 42 million people of Hispanic origin in the United States, about 60 percent of whom are U.S. born, according to the U.S. Census.
The league directs about 40 percent of its marketing toward Hispanics and sponsors adult tournaments nationwide that draw Hispanics, said spokesman Dan Courtemanche.
“We know there are millions of soccer fans, including millions of Hispanic fans, who are
currently not MLS fans,��? said Courtemanche.
The huge number of Hispanic soccer fans who don’t attend MLS games is most obvious when Mexican teams play matches here. When Mexico played South Korea at the Los Angeles Coliseum a year ago, more than 64,000 people attended. A doubleheader in August that featured Chivas USA versus the New England Revolution, followed by Barcelona against Chivas Guadalajara, attracted 92,650 fans.
Gabriel Gabor, an MLS consultant who focuses on the Hispanic market, believes Beckham will help close that gap.
There is “a group of hardcore soccer fans who say, ‘I’m not coming out until they get a big name,’��? said Gabor. “Now they’ll have it.��?
Back at Niky’s soccer store, owner Niky Orellana said the buzz has been “incredible.��? The store gets dozens of calls each day inquiring about Galaxy tickets, while $80 Beckham Galaxy jerseys have been selling fast.
Orellana has devised another way of capitalizing on Beckham’s image. A large mural outside his store features retired soccer legends such as Pele, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane — but not the midfielder who still boasts one of the game’s most feared free kicks.
“Beckham’s going up next week,��? said Orellana. “We are going to paint him right in the middle of the others.��?

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 10:22 PM | Permalink

If Kobe Bryant's 81-point game last season wasn't voted No. 1 during Sunday night's "Greatest Moments in Sports Awards," sponsored as a fund-raiser by the L.A. Sports Council, something would have been terribly askew.
Not that we know the real definition of askew, but it's probably the right word to use there.
Bryant's feat of selfishness on Jan. 22, 2006 helped the Lakers pull out a 122-104 win over hapless Toronto and put him No. 2 behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-pointer in 1962 on the NBA's all-time single-game scoring performances.

For the record, here's the Top 10 list of L.A. sports moments that were revealed at a pot-luck banquet at the Beverly Hilton:
1. Bryant's 81.
2. USC-Texas Rose Bowl (Jan. 4). Even though the Longhorns won 41-38 for the national title.
3. Dodgers hit four consecutive homers in the bottom of the 9th to tie San Diego, then win it on Nomar Garciaparra's two-run shot in the 10th (Sept. 19)
4. UCLA's 13-9 win over USC at the Rose Bowl to end a seven-game series losing streak (Dec. 2)
5. UCLA basketball reaches Final Four (April 3)
6. Clippers defeat Denver 4 games to 1 to win their first playoff series since 1978 (May 1)
7. Jered Weaver wins 9 straight to begin career (August 18)
8. Ducks set NHL record for best start at 12-0-4 (November 9)
9. Sparks center Lisa Leslie scores 5,000th career point (June 24)
10. So Cal native Tiger Woods wins 6 straight PGA events (July 23-October 1).

That last one? Sure, a stretch. What about when Luc Robitaille set the Kings' franchise scoring record with his 551st goal, scoring a hat trick in an 8-6 win. (Jan. 19).

Also:
Sportsman of the Year: Clippers forward Elton Brand
Sportswoman of the Year: Sparks center Lisa Leslie, the WNBA's MVP
Executives of the Year: Dodgers GM Ned Coletti and Ducks GM Brian Burke.

What the L.A. Sports Council calls a "blue-ribbon media panel " picked the overall Top 10 moments and ranked them in order of importance. We weren't part of the panel. Our feelings aren't hurt. But how could you call it a "blue ribbon" anything without our imput (we ask Rich Perelman, the L.A. sports historian who put the group together)?

Our white ribbon pannel of one -- and didn't the white ribbon at the state fair always look better than the blue one anyway, with that gold lettering and all? -- has determined the Top 5 worst moments in L.A. sports for 2006. Note some crossover names:

1. Kobe Bryant scores one point and takes only three shots in the second half of the Lakers' 121-90 Game 7 loss to Phoenix in the first-round playoff series, capping a Lakers collapse after a 3-1 lead that woul d have sent them to the second round against the Clippers (May 7).
2. The Dodgers' Jeff Kent and J.D. Drew are both thrown out at home plate on the same play in the Dodgers' eventual 6-5 loss to the New York Mets in Game 1 of their NLCS. (Oct. 5)
3. Dodgers reliever Joe Beimel is left off the playoff roster because he said he cut his hand after dropping a glass of water in his hotel room. He came clean a few days later and said he did it in a New York bar. (Oct. 4).
4. The Kings fire Dave Taylor as their general manager after nine seasons. The team also dumps its director of player personnel, its interim coach, two assistant coaches and reassignes its vice president of hockey operations. This comes a month after the team fires head coach Andy Murray, who had a 37-28-5 record. (April 18)
5. Sparks star center Lisa Leslie announces she will miss the entire 2007 WNBA season because she's pregnant (Dec. 7)

Non-sportsman of the year (tie): Kings' Sean Avery, kicked off the team for the last part of the 2006 season; Drew, who opted out of his Dodgers contract to become a free agent.
Non-executive of the year: Clippers GM Elgin Baylor, who actually was named NBA executive of the year in 2006.
Worst owner of the year: Clippers' Donald Sterling, who had the U.S. Department of Justice file a lawsuit against him and his family for housing discrimination, accusing him for failing to rent to blacks, Latinos or famlies.

Got your own additions?

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Brother-in-law Mitch, five months into his tour of duty in Iraqi for the U.S. Marines, says this is his favorite time of sports year.
Mostly because his Colts have a shot to do something they've never done in his memory: Go to a Super Bowl.
Here's Mitch (posing with a British weapon next to a British Tornado) making his latest observations and predictions from 10 hours away:

"How is everything there still cold? Lakers beat the Spurs but looked horrible against the Mavs. Who is going to win, Barkley or the ref?
"This weekends picks are the Colts and Saints. Oh yeah: COLTS and more COLTS. I wish I was there to see it with my dad (a born Patroits fan). Does anyone else realize the Patriots have not played in the RCA Dome, be it regular or post season, in over six years? Gotta love those schedule writers, huh? Indoors on turf, the Colts are much faster. Watch out Pats -- get out of the way.
"Take care."

Mitch's previous correspondence:
Jan. 5
Dec. 31
Dec. 1
Oct. 12
Sept. 19
Sept. 11
Sept. 9

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By DEBORAH YAO
AP Business Writer
Comcast Corp. is making a big bet on golf, hoping to transform its little-watched Golf Channel network into a household name.
The Golf Channel is exclusively carrying every round of the first three PGA Tour events of 2007. So for the first time in four decades, this weekend’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic will not be shown on network television.
The coverage is part of the Golf Channel’s unprecedented 15-year partnership with the tour that kicked off this month. The deal gives the channel early round coverage of every regular PGA Tour event, and every round at 13 PGA Tour tournaments. NBC and CBS pick up the weekend coverage for 31 tournaments.
The contract substantially boosts the channel’s tournament programming and for the first time gives considerable
heft to a network co-founded by Arnold Palmer 12 years ago. But it’s also likely to generate big losses in the early years for parent company Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator.

Read on ...

Last year, Walt Disney Co.’s ABC and ESPN walked away from negotiations with the tour, saying they can’t generate enough advertising revenue to offset the broadcast rights fees. In addition, the Golf Channel is shut
out of the five most lucrative events in golf — the Masters, the U.S. and British opens, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup — that are not owned or run by the PGA Tour. Those have separate broadcast deals for the weekend with the networks and for early round coverage with USA Network, ESPN and TNT.
Comcast — whose Chief Executive Brian Roberts is an avid golfer — is taking a longer view. With more than $22 billion in overall annual revenue, distribution into 24 million homes and deals with other cable and satellite TV operators to carry the Golf Channel, Comcast is gambling that it can build ratings for the network that will allow it to charge advertisers ever-higher rates.
“If we don’t generate enough ad revenue but it helps us grow our brand and grow our distribution ... (we hope the result will be similar to) what football did for Fox,� said Dave Manougian, president of the Golf Channel.
News Corp.’s Fox television network’s successful $1.6 billion bid in 1993 to broadcast the NFL’s NFC games pitched the network for the first time into the same echelon as the three major networks. What helped was the financial backing of Rupert Murdoch’s empire.
Comcast first invested in the Golf Channel in 1994, along with five other cable operators. It began increasing its stake and in 2003, acquired the final 8.6 percent stake for $100 million.
With the PGA Tour deal, ad revenues are “up, well in double digits,� Manougian said. He added that the channel
should generate enough ad revenue to offset rights fees midway through the contract.
Gil Kerr, PGA Tour’s senior vice president of broadcasting, programming and productions, said the tour has had a relationship with the Golf Channel since its inception. The channel is the exclusive carrier of the Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour.
“They weren’t in enough homes at the time to do a deal with them on their own,� Kerr said. But “their distribution has grown a lot in the last six years. We knew going into the TV negotiations that they wanted to be aggressive in acquiring the PGA Tour.�
The Golf Channel is available in 75 million homes in the U.S. compared with 92 million homes for ESPN. Manougian said the channel currently is in at least 85 percent of basic video tiers. The Golf Channel is part of the digital package of Cox Communications and Cablevision.
In 2012, when the tour’s contracts with NBC and CBS lapse, Manougian believes the Golf Channel will be able to pick up more weekend coverage.
Kerr won’t say what the Golf Channel deal is worth, only noting that the total value of all current contracts has increased. He also won’t comment on whether there’s any revenue sharing. Comcast and Golf Channel executives also declined to discuss contract terms.
Asked whether the contract has an exit clause, Manougian would only say that “any contract has disaster clauses, whether it’s a one-year deal or a 20-year deal. There’s nothing out of ordinary about this contract.�
It helps that Comcast isn’t only counting on ad revenue to offset the Tour’s rights fees. It charges cable and satellite providers 21 cents per subscriber per month, a fraction of ESPN’s average monthly fee of $2.60. And Golf Channel
officials say they aren’t planning an immediate increase to offset the costs of the PGA Tour contract — another bet that in doing so, they will be able to get picked up on more cable systems.
In 2005, 63 percent of the Golf Channel’s $267.5 million in revenue came from license fees, according to Kagan Research in Monterey. Cash flow was $116.7 million. For 2006, Kagan is projecting a 13 percent increase in revenues to $302.5 million and cash flow of $139 million.
For now, viewership of the final rounds for the first two PGA championships on the Golf Channel has come in far lower than last year, when they were on ESPN.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Start making your list of who'd play Althea Gibson in a movie about the life of the late ground-breaking female tennis player.
And start with Serena Williams, not Eddie Murphy.
Serena said she's working on a movie script about Gibson, who won five Grand Slam singles titles in the late 1950s and was credited with being a forerunner for other black athletes.
“I think Althea Gibson has a great story ... we’re working on a script right now,� Williams said Friday at the Australian Open after her three-set win over Nadia Petrova.
Williams said Gibson, the first black person to be voted by The Associated Press as its female athlete of the year in 1957, had been “a little bit overlooked ... I just feel sometimes that Althea Gibson, who did so much for people like me to play this sport, and she was the first, before even Arthur Ashe, and I just think it will be a great story to tell."
And an inspiration to do other things in her honor.
“You’ve got the U.S. Open, you’ve got the Arthur Ashe court — Arthur Ashe is a great guy, and it was my lifelong dream when I met him,� Williams said. “Then you have the Louis Armstrong Center and the center being named after Billie Jean King, who, again, I always admired Billy, and she’s someone that I love.�
Gibson, who won two singles titles each at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, and the French Open once, died in 2003 at the age of 76.
Asked what her status could be on the movie, Williams didn't seem to want to play the part.
“I definitely won’t be directing it," she said. "Hopefully I can produce it or something."
And Venus can take the lead.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

OMAHA, Neb. -- A veterinarian will be in court next week to face accusations he injected horses with vodka to calm their nerves before races at Fonner Park in Grand Island.
Jay Stewart faces four misdemeanor counts of attempting to influence a race by tampering with a horse. His trial starts Wednesday in Hall County.
In a story first reported by the Omaha World-Herald, Stewart denied any wrongdoing. He didn’t immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment. A person who answered the phone at his Grand Island clinic said Stewart was in surgery Friday morning.
Stewart is alleged to have administered vodka to horses in 2005 — before the fourth race Feb. 20, the sixth race Feb. 27, the fifth race March 11 and the ninth race April 9.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spilling over from our coverage of the Golf Channel's march into the PGA Tour are these replaceable divots:

WHAT SMOKES:
=Jim Lampley, who has been accused but not charged in the domestic abuse incident on Jan. 3 involving his former girl friend, will be on the HBO telecast as scheduled for Saturday’s card from the Paris Casino in Las Vegas that starts at 6:45 p.m. The network would not elaborate on the assignment, only to say that Lampley, Larry Merchant and Emanuel Steward would be ringside. HBO also says Lampley and Co., will do the Feb. 10 Shane Mosley bout from Las Vegas for the network.

=FSN West will reair a Luc Robitaille “Kings Insider� episode prior to covering the former Kings’ great’s number 20 retirement ceremony Saturday at 7:30 p.m., leading into the Kings-Phoenix 8 p.m. game. KTLA-AM (1150) will also air the ceremony live.

=FSN Prime Ticket carries the two-hour live L.A. Sports Council’s second annual L.A. Sports “Greatest Moments� Awards show from the Beverly Hilton (Sunday, 8 p.m.) co hosted by Petros Papadakis and Bill Macdonald. Presenters include Vin Scully, Joel Meyers, Ralph Lawler, Steve Physioc and Brian Hayward.

=Word is that, even though the USC football season is done, the folks at WeAreSC.com will allow future ex-play-by-play man Pete Arbogast to continue his self-inflicting blogging - which is happening in most part because Arbogast requested he keep it going so that he’ll continue to get some minor income.
From his latest “Random Thoughts� column: “I spent most of the weekend in bed; this flu comes with not only the barfs, but also aches and pains and fever of the regular flu. Nice.� Cha-ching.

= Sage Steele is a) an adult film entertainer, b) a competitor in the mixed martial arts world, c) the newest anchor hired by ESPN. These are media notes, so of course, it's C. Steele, part of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic since its April 2001 launch, will be on ESPNEWs and ESPN SportsCenter from time to time, so don't get too freaked out. She's worked in Baltimore, Indiana, Tampa Bay and not must move to Bristol, Conn. Good luck with that and fighting off the boys in the office. Wonder how the rest of her family, Parsley, Rosemary and Thime, approve of this move.

=Bruce Arena gets a chance to critique the U.S. men's national team that dumped him after the recent World Cup, and he'll get paid for it. ESPN hired the former team's head coach for its coverage of the U.S.-Denmark contest Saturday (1:50 p.m., ESPN2) from the Home Depot Center in Carson. Rob Stone does play-by-play, and Eric Wynalda will share the booth with Arena. Allen Hopkins, who did Galaxy analysis on FSN Prime Ticket, has just accepted a job with ESPN and will make his debut as a sideline reporter for this telecast. The four will return to cover the Feb. 7 U.S.-Mexico match in Glendale, Ariz.

=Dodgers’ Spanish-language Hall of Fame broadcaster Jaime Jarrin will be a guest speaker along with his son, Jorge, the KABC-AM jetcopter reporter, at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center (Sunday, 7 p.m.) discussing their careers in the media. More information: www.TorranceArts.com.

=Part of NBC’s two-hour special on the International Auto Show (Sunday, 10 a.m.) will be host Bill Weber’s tribute to Benny Parsons, the former NASCAR champion driver who died Tuesday from lung cancer. Weber worked with Parsons at NBC and TNT on NASCAR broadcasts for the last six seasons.

=NBA TV will reair Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game against Toronto on Monday (10 a.m.), on the one-year anniversary of the accomplishment at Staples Center on Jan. 22, 2006.

= The second season of Spike TV's "Pros Vs. Joes" , 10 episodes strong with no repeats, starts Thursday, Jan. 25 with a challenge of stopping Michael Irvin from catching a pass. The first episode has several repeats. Petros Papadakis again hosts the show, which originates from the Home Depot Center in Carson.

WHAT CHOKES

=Last week, it was Stephen A. Smith finding out his ESPN2 show “Quite Frankly� was knocked off the programming schedule. This week, it was revealed that ESPN Classic will no longer have any more original programming, so no more “Classic Now.� This comes a year after “ESPN Hollywood� came and went from ESPN2. The common thread: All three shows were creations of Mark Shapiro, the former network executive in charge of programming who has since left to help Daniel Snyder run his Six Flags theme parks.

= While on the subject of Charlie Casserly, as we were with a blog item earlier this week, it was pointed out to us that the guy CBS drags in as a regular "insider" was actually getting his back patted by studio host James Brown the previous week for something that was more dumb luck than an inspired choice. As Brown introduced the former Redskins and Texans GM to the show, he said he wanted to "congratulate you for another one of your draft picks, the Texans' Dimico Ryans, being named the NFL's defensive rookie of the year ... another great draft by you." Yeah, congrats on passing on Reggie Bush and hometown favorite Vince Young to take Mario Williams, a lineman from North Carolina that most experts didn't even have on their Top 10 draft board, with the overall No.1 pick in that draft, too. So, the bottom line here is, Casserly's second-round pick was way better than his first-round pick. Why not bring that lame computer-generated Thurston Long back as long as you're trying to revert to a comedy show.

= Bill Simmons, the ESPN internet columnist who has been turned loose onto ESPNU college basketball telecasts lately, did Monday’s USF-Pepperdine contest for the network. According to reports, Simmons said with 16:36 left in the first half: “I’m very upset. Not only did the game start late, I didn’t get to say my intro. I feel cheated. My TiVo is screwed up. I’m very upset.� At least no one watched it. And you can always go back to just being a writer.

=ESPN, in announcing that Mike Goldberg and Mike Golic will be the lead broadcast team for its Arena Football League games this season, also noted that Ron Jaworski would be on the third team (with Merrill Hodge). Jaworski, who owns a piece of the Philadelphia Soul team and is their team president, won’t do games involving his team.

=Not related to David Beckham coming to the Galaxy, but more soccer TV exposure news: The English Premier League doubled their previous deals and scored a $1.23 billion rights deal for overseas TV and media packages, which is on top of their $3.3 billion domestic TV deal with Sky and Setanta, according to the London Telegraph. The biggest increase in Premier exposure is the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's one way how the Galaxy can raise the money to pay David Beckham: Charge $130 a head to would-be players who want to try out for the team.
The Galaxy announced an open tryout overseen by coach Frank Yallop (pictured) that'll be held on Feb. 10 at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Those who make the first-day cut will be invited back to continue on Feb. 11.
As Rich Perleman points out on his Sports Examiner website, all it would take is 76,923 people to register so the team can collect enough to pay the soccer side of Beckham’s agreement for this season.
A recent open tryout by the newest MLS entry, Toronto FC, drew upwards of 1,000 people and yielded at least one potential prospect, reports TSN in Canada. Jamaal Smith, a York University soccer player, will attend the team's training camp next month in Florida in hopes of making the final roster.
Registration for the Galaxy tryout can be filled out on the team's website. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 2 at 3 p.m. Space is said to be limited and is restricted to those 18-year-old and older.
Those who actually win a spot on the Galaxy roster by some stroke of luck are reminded to never look Beckham directly in the eye.
Otherwise, wait around for the Galaxy's Adult Fantasy camp set for next December.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By DAVID MERCER
Associated Press Writer

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Oglala Sioux Tribe demanded Thursday that the University of Illinois return the regalia worn by the school’s Chief Illiniwek mascot, including the eagle feathers that were once part of the costume.
Whether the school still has those feathers, considered sacred to American Indians, wasn’t clear Thursday.
The resolution was submitted to the university’s board of trustees ahead of its Thursday meeting in Chicago. It called the use of Chief Illiniwek “a degrading racial stereotype.�
Telephone messages seeking comment from the tribe’s executive committee, which approved the resolution, were left Thursday at tribal offices on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, where the tribe is based.
Tom Hardy, a spokesman for the board of trustees, said the board wouldn’t yet respond to the resolution.
The university bought the costume, including a headdress with eagle feathers, in 1982 from Sioux Chief Frank Fools Crow, whose wife made it. The eagle feathers since have been replaced by turkey feathers.

Read on ...

According to the resolution, Fools Crow was long disappointed in the way the regalia was used to portray Chief Illiniwek. The document says that Mel Lone Hill, a descendant of Fools Crow, wants the regalia and feathers returned to his family. Messages left for Lone Hill at tribal offices were not immediately returned.
University officials weren’t sure Thursday night whether the school still has the eagle feathers, Associate chancellor Robin Kaler said. School officials have called and e-mailed a former band director and former mascots to see if they recall what became of the feathers, she said.
John McKinn, assistant director of the Native American House on the Champaign-Urbana campus, said trustees should return the regalia and stop using the mascot.
“I would like to think that this resolution gives the institution a chance to do what is honorable,� said McKinn, a Maricopa Indian.
The president of a group that believes the university should continue using the mascot said the Illini had no obligation to return the costume.
“This was not a gift from the Sioux to the University of Illinois, it was a purchase,� said Howard Wakeland, president of the Honor the Chief Society. He recalled the price as $3,500.
The chief mascot has been a source of turmoil for years.
Many American Indians complain it demeans them, while supporters argue that it honors American Indian contributions to Illinois.
Earlier this month the university and campus police began investigating threats made late last year on a pro-mascot Web site toward an American Indian student.
In 2005, the NCAA decided that Illiniwek and his dance are “hostile and abusive� toward American Indians, and barred Illinois from hosting postseason events

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Former "American Idol" and Grammy-winning singer Kelly Clarkson has entered into the biggest partnership that NASCAR has ever made with a music artist, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
"Anyone who knows me knows I'm a race fan and love NASCAR," she said in a NASCAR press release. "I look forward to hanging out with the fans, drivers and the entire NASCAR community."
Clarkson will be "integrated into all aspects of NASCAR," including television spots, charitable events and NASCAR's awards dinner in New York City in December, NASCAR said.
It starts with her headlining the Nextel "Tribute To America" concert airing live on Fox just before the Daytona 500 in Florida on Feb. 18. During the appearance, Clarkson will film a 30-second NASCAR spot for TV featuring a new song from her upcoming third album.
Know how she could really help NASCAR? Play the part of Ricky Bobby's wife in the remake of "Talledega Nights."

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 5:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When the question came up at the Galaxy press conference last week that David Beckham didn't attend about what number he'd be wearing and when his laundry would go on sale, AEG chief Tim Leiweke seemed rather tongue tied.
Why wouldn't they have a jersey with No. 23 or No. 7 already made and in boxes shipping out to the Foot Locker?
Because it seems they're changing the look and color scheme.
SI.com’s Grant Wahl, while breaking down this $250 million contract figure that's been thrown around, says Old Spice Boy will "never wear green and gold with the Galaxy" because they're discussing a "more worldly brand" -- Lewieke's words -- that'll probably be more blue and black. With a new logo. And new design.
And you'll have to wait about two months to see 'em because they haven't figured out which company will make them.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Baseball Reliquary has come out with its latest 50 eligible candidates for the 2007 election to the Shrine of the Eternals, the membership organization’s equivalent to the Baseball Hall of Fame, except that it's the fans who vote, not the baseball writers. This is the ninth annual ballot for the Shine, which is intended to honor those from the obscure to the well known who have altered the baseball world in ways that supersede statistics.
Nope, Mark McGwire isn't on this ballot.
There've been 24 already enshrined, from Jim Abbott to Kenichi Zenimura, with a Mark Fidrych, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Fernando Valenzuela and Bill Veeck thrown in between.
There are 10 first-timers on the new ballot: Umpire Emmett Ashford, former White Sox inept star Zeke Bonura, former relief pitcher turned author Jim Brosnan, former catcher Darren Daulton, ex-Detroit Tigers star Willie Horton, Deadball Era star Sherry Magee, Negro League third baseman Oliver "Ghost" Marcelle, former single-season home-run champ Roger Maris, fan "Nuf Ced" McGreevy, famed scapegoat Fred Merkle, former relief pitcher Dan Quisenberry and former star picher Luis Tiant. Both Maris and Tiant had been on previous ballots, but they return this year.

For a complete list of the ballot, or for membership information to the Baseball Reliquary, go to the weblink above or contact Terry Cannon at P.O. Box 1850, Monrovia, CA 91017 or by email at terymar@earthlink.net

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Among all the blather from Sunday's NFL pregame shows came this gem from Charlie Casserly, the CBS expert on behind-the-scenes matters based on his stellar career as the GM at some team that hasn't made the playoffs.
Uncle Charlie said: "There are reports that Oakland is near naming a head coach this weekend. Can't happen. They haven't complied with the Rooney Rule yet _ that's what it's called in the league for interviewing a minority candidate for your head coaching position. Al Davis, who hired Art Shell as the first modern-day minority coach, certainly isn't going to violate the rule ..."
Why wouldn't he? If he thought Shell was the best African-American candidate for the job, and he clearly wasn't, why would Darth Raider even consider ... you finish that sentence. And have a nice Martin Luther King Jr. Day yourself.
Anyway, it was actually that "Rooney Rule" reference that had us busting up.
Did he mean Art Rooney?
Andy Rooney?
Or Edward R. Rooney?

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(Evan Yee/Daily News Staff Photographer)

As we pointed out in today's "Writing On (And Off) The Wall" column, the primary goal of Thousand Oaks' Sharon Fluxman is that every kid gets a chance to play her native sport of netball, one she grew up with in South Africa before she and her husband, Colin, a radio and TV broadcaster, fled the country of turmoil and violence to settle in Southern California.
Her plan seems to be working. By launching the Thousand Oaks Comets netball club for ex-patroits, she's been able to convert a few local Americans with athletic skills to try their hand at this basketball-like sport without a lot of arm twisting.
"Don't be intimadated by the rules," Fluxman says. "They're very easy to catch on."

THE BASICS:
-- The game is played on a 50-by-100 foot court (larger than a regulation basketball court). The court is divided into thirds.
-- A size 5 soccer ball is often used. Official netballs often look like volleyballs.
-- Seven players to a side. Three players are stationed as defenders, three as offensive players, and one in the center.
-- Each of the seven players wears an apron or velcro patch that indicates their position. They are:
GS: Goal scorer
GA: Goal attack
WA: Wing attack
C: Center
WD: Wing defense
GD: Goal defense
GK: Goalkeeper
--Four quarters, 15 minutes each
--The teams alternate starting the action from the center court, no matter what team scores before action stops. The center starts in the center circle to a player who moves into the middle section of the court. The ball moves to the designated GS or GA, who can only shoot within the arch that stretches 32 feet along the baseline.
--No player with or without the ball can come into physical contact with an opponent.
--Two umpires regulate play, running up and down each sideline.

THE TEAMS:
-- Thousand Oaks Comets website
-- Los Angeles Waves website
-- The California Netball Association website
-- The USA Netball Association website (based in Florida)
-- The International Netball Federation website (based in England)

THE HISTORY:
-- In 1891 in Springfield, Mass., 30-year-old James Naismith invited an indoor game for the YMCA with a peach basket. His rules had nine players a side. Clara Baer, a gym teacher in New Orleans, asked Naismith to give her a copy of his rules so she could adapt it for women. The game eventually made it to England, where it was first played in 1895. As Naismith's game evolved into what it is today, adding backboards, dribbling, etc., the netball rules remained the same but were tweeked for those who took up the sport in England, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
Korfball, a similar but distinct game played in the Netherlands and Belgium, developed from netball.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

By HARRY STEIN
Special to the New York Times

In an article that ran Wednesday — the day after he and his fellow baseball writers emphatically rejected Mark McGwire’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame — the Toronto Globe and Mail columnist Stephen Brunt recalled a news conference the St. Louis Cardinals called for their outsized slugger the first day of spring training in 1999, six months after he obliterated the single-season home run record.

McGwire was a media god, equal parts Paul Bunyan and Jack Armstrong, and, wrote Brunt, the assembled sporting press was eager to revisit his feel-good story “except that one of their number wasn’t playing along (no, not yours truly). He stood up and asked a question about drugs, about McGwire’s admission that he had used
androstenedione, about role models and messages to kids and sports ethics.

"The crowd reacted as though someone had broken wind.�

In the wake of the Hall of Fame vote, there was quite a bit of this kind of thing. Sportswriters criticized themselves and they criticized one another; they lit into Major League Baseball and they ripped the players association; and mainly, of course, they went after McGwire. On the face of it, this was pretty strange. I happen to have a number of sportswriter friends, and used to do a fair amount of baseball writing, but you would be hard pressed to find
an unlikelier collection of moral authorities this side of Rosie and The Donald. As Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe delicately observed, he and his colleagues “are probably not a group best suited to be judging other people’s character.�

Still, in a time as devoid of standards as this one, we will take our ethicists where we can get them, even if it is on the fly. The fact is, a survey of the commentary on McGwire and the Hall of Fame vote reveals a general moral seriousness and no-holds-barred candor that we could probably stand more of elsewhere in the newspaper.

Read on ...

Since “integrity and sportsmanship� are factors that baseball writers (unlike football writers) are asked to weigh in considering candidates for election to the sport’s shrine, it is unsurprising that the Hall vote occasioned much
thoughtful musing on the meaning of those terms in the contemporary sports universe.

More impressive is that many, like Brunt, seized the opportunity to examine their own lapse in having refused to see what, in retrospect, was as obvious as the neck beneath McGwire’s face.

For sheer high moral dudgeon, it is likely no one topped Gwen Knapp of The San Francisco Chronicle. “People who voted for McGwire have a moral code, too,� she observed, “one that reveres what happens on the field regardless of how it happened, and one that equates not receiving the ultimate professional honor with not being allowed to roam free in the world. They stretch the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ to ‘no felony conviction, no foul.’�

On the other hand, it’s hard for those of us raised on “High Noon� and other one-man-against-the-mob fare not to feel at least a grudging admiration for the integrity (if that is the word) of those who adamantly adhere to their own (if this is the word) standards.

“The Hall of Fame was built to honor players who achieved greatness between the white lines — not because they were selfless servants of humanity,� said Steve Cameron of The Merced Sun-Star.

“I voted for McGwire because I don’t trust baseball writers (myself included) to be moralists or scorecard-toting C.S.I. units,� said Jim Souhan of The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, adding a cautionary note that should give even his most self-certain colleagues pause. “I don’t think we (I) know enough about this generation of players to separate presumptive cheaters from the hundreds who cheated more subtly or intelligently, or who have otherwise avoided scrutiny. Like, oh, aging power pitchers who display tremendous resilience and longevity, not that I’m thinking of anyone in particular, Roger.�

Others struggled, like rabbis arguing the fine points of Talmudic law, to find an ethical middle ground. Were McGwire’s transgressions of such gravity that he should be denied entrance to the Hall forever? Might an asterisk be the answer? Or why not have an entire wing of the Hall reserved for veterans of the Steroid Age? For that matter, has McGwire really been judged not so much for his use of steroids as for his pathetic performance before a Congressional committee?

Linda P. Campbell of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote an article suggesting the reputation-saving testimony that McGwire, if he were a different sort of man, or had a better lawyer, should have given that gruesome day.

I am certainly in sympathy with the impulse to understand and forgive. In more than five decades of baseball
watching, I have seen more than my fair share of thrilling things: Jim Bunning’s perfect game in 1964; Reggie Jackson launching those three home runs into the October night; Bucky Dent’s memorable shot at Fenway. But I have never been more dazzled in a ballpark than I was standing with my son by the left-field foul pole in Shea Stadium’s upper deck watching Mark McGwire send 15 straight shots into the stratosphere during batting practice.

We are a generous-spirited people, and lots of us would love to see things work out for McGwire. But as even most of the writers who cheered him on that season (along with the rest of us) seem to realize, the circumstances may demand a more serious moral reckoning. For in the months and years to come, the quality of their own ethical sincerity will surely be further tested by new revelations, and this time they should expect to be under closer scrutiny themselves.

As Paul Mirengoff wryly noted the other day on the conservative blog Power Line, the steroid story “was staring them in the face during the 1990s. So the case can be made that no baseball reporter who was active during that time should be inducted into the writer’s wing (yes, there is one) of the Hall of Fame.�

(Harry Stein created the ethics column for Esquire magazine. His most recent book is “The Girl Watchers Club.�)

Click here for a link to this story on the New York Times website.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 1:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Beckham has the cold, hard cash to lay some money down on a few of the exotic wagers offered up now on the Internet. Fact is, he could make the bets in his wife's name and then actually make a few of these things happen and collect the rewards.
Don't let Janet Gretzky in on the scam, though.
According to the website Intertops.com, here are some odds on things they've posted that could happen to the man who's famous for being famous once he starts his new life in L.A.:

Gets a DUI = 10 to 1
Stars in a movie with Tom Cruise = 100 to 1
Attempts a field goal in an NFL game = 500 to 1
Wins "Dancing with the Stars" = 500 to 1
Divorces Victoria and marries Paris Hilton = 10,000 to 1
And the odds that he tears up a knee in his last game for Real Madrid before coming over to play his first Galaxy game? Alexi Lalas would rather not even consider that a possibility.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As reported earlier this morning on Deadspin.com, "Quite Frankly With Steven A. Smith" has taken the gas pipe and come to a screeeeeeching halt on ESPN2.
The network confirmed it late this morning with a release, announcing that Smith, the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist as well as an "outspoken and insightful commentator," will "expand his presence across numerous ESPN entities."
Just not his own one-hour show.
They're gonna find more time for him on SportsCenter. On NBA studio shows. On ESPNEWS. Write for ESPN Magazine. And ESPN.com. And hosting "interview specials" -- do I smell a Roy Firestone in the making?
Today is his last "Quite Frankly" episode (ESPN2, 8 p.m.), which was taped yesterday. It debuted in Aug. 2005, which is a pretty decent run in the TV world. Longer than "ESPN Hollywood," so we'll give him that.
Quite frankly, the show was worth trying out for ESPN. However, once the screaming stopped, even Stuart Scott probably stopped watching it two months ago.

Posted by Tom Hoffarth at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)