Currently viewing the category: “Uncategorized”

Carter Strickland of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the commercial takeover of college and university athletic departments by Nike, and other apparel companies:

“Being new to Bulldog Nation, Matthew Stafford wasn’t braced for the reaction when he sauntered onto the University of Georgia practice fields a few weeks ago dressed in an offensive T-shirt. Go Gators? I Love Spurrier? Nope, it was even worse. ‘He’s got on Reebok,’ Mark Richt yelled to the other Georgia football coaches. He sent the star freshman … back to the locker room for a change of clothes.”

Victory! Voters in both Seattle, WA and Sacramento, CA went against sports team owner demands for corporate welfare in ballot measures on Tuesday, November 7. Field of Schemes has the breakdown:

William Rhoden of the New York Times — one of our favorite sports columnists for his consistently provocative social commentary on the sports community and for his refusal to cheerlead (contrary to many in the sports pages) for the sports powers-that-be when undeserved — is out with a new book that’s sure to upset the sports establishment: Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete.

Neil deMause, co-author of Field of Schemes and blogger of fieldofschemes.com, highlights exactly what everyone knew would happen after the DC Council approved the worst stadium deal ever — that it would continue to get even worse for DC residents and taxpayers:

George M. Steinbrenner III
Owner, New York Yankees

Dear Mr. Steinbrenner:

So you want to be the man who tears down “the House That Ruth Built.” And for what? More profit.

Neither you, nor the city government you pressured, nor anyone else should ever do this to a place so rich in history and tradition as Yankee Stadium. Would the city ever tear down Carnegie Hall? Adding wasteful insult to senseless injury, you command hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies and primary neighborhood parkland to support a new impostor stadium.

Imagine the following scenario:

Your favorite team is very popular and sells out most of its games. The owners of the team like to take advantage by finding ways to collect additional revenue. They dislike ticket scalpers making money off of their team’s popularity and getting away with it.

Sarah Moses of Indian Country Today reports that a joint petition with the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was filed on August 11, 2006 for the cancellation of the Washington Redskins trademarked term, “Redskins.” The petition was filed by six American Indian young people from across the country ranging in age from 18 to 24.

The Honorable Adrian Fenty
Council of the District of Columbia

Dear Mr. Fenty:

With the primaries fast approaching, many voters are waiting for a plan as to what you would do to fix the baseball stadium mess should you become the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

In his Sports Illustraded column (text) / National Public Radio commentary (audio), Frank Deford appreciate’s soccer’s global popularity and the World Cup’s “sport in the raw … played by … the rock stars of sweat — for the glory of their homeland.” Deford observes:

Baseball stadium legislation passed by the D.C. Council in the dead of night — after illegal closed-door discussions involving political payoffs — does nothing to curb runaway stadium costs and is a sham on the public, a citizens’ coalition charged today.