It's all fun and games until money is involved

Image Credit: New York Daily News/ Sabo - NY Mets 2B Jose Reyes

When you have a player locked-up with a contract for a couple of years, regardless if you're team has a successful championship year or a losing year- it's still all good, because there is always next year.

But if that player is in a contract year or is able to opt-out from their contract, then the worrying starts. Such is the nature of sports and such is the predicament which befalls the New York baseball teams. While there are some teams and players which have developed a mutual respect for each other and will be loyal when time of resigning comes around, these cases are rare.

There are nearly 150 players in the Major League Baseball that will take the role of a free agent and of those players, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets have two of the biggest valued agents in CC Sabathia and Jose Reyes. The big question in this baseball-town is whether or not these teams can return their major players, or hook in an even bigger fish.

The Yankees have already made an offer to CC, and the Mets are looking to test the market with Jose. Sabathia is reportedly looking for a record deal, and I suppose Reyes will also be looking for the most money that he can collect. Both players have amazing stats and reputations, but in the end it comes down to business. Sometimes with all the fun, the memories and the familiarity, people forget that sports is also a business and the players and organizations have to do the best to succeed efficiently.

For fans its hard to imagine a player like Albert Pujols, who has known one team (the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals) in another uniform, but think about it this way; for Albert, Albert needs to get the best deal for Albert's services. It's fairness, not selfishness.

Of course unless of course he wants to play for a certain team (see LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Joe Mauer). But if the Brewers don't resign Prince Fielder, although fans will be upset, its another part of sports. The media makes a good job to insight fear into fans by proposing the opposing teams that are interested in their star, but honestly fans should realize this reality already.

In the article below by the daily news it outlines the players on the Mets that will become free agents after this year and details about them. Fans will have to face the harsh reality that all seven of these players including All-Star second baseman and battling title winner Jose Reyes could be on a different team next year unless the organization acts. But again it will act in with its best interest at heart, because while there is fun and games in sports, it's still a business.

Source: NY Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/shortstop-jose-reyes-ny-mets-heading-free-agency-article-1.969276

Michael Beasley and Sports Journalists' Role in NCAA Violations

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Michael Beasley in the news because he is suing his former agent for conspiring to represent him while he was still a teenager. In addition, he is suing his former AAU coach for providing his mother with money that was illegal, in terms of NCAA rules.

Now, this isn't necessarily the story that interests me. The more interesting point, I found, is what the role of a journalist is when it comes to NCAA rules and their enforcement.

The NCAA uses a system of rule enforcement that is largely based on self-reporting and the reporting of others to tip them off to violations. Does this mean that sports journalists are really the NCAA's police?

The underbelly of NCAA is not clean. Some people know that and some people don't. But why has it become the job of those in sports journalism to find violations (those that are not illegal in the eyes of United States law)?

Are crime journalists obligated to find crimes and report them to cops? Of course not. It is the police officer's job to find criminals and newspapers simply report on them.

Investigative journalists who uncover fraud and other malpractices are working in the interest of the consumer or the general public. Their reporting benefits the wider mass of people.

By reporting NCAA violations, journalists are ultimately working for the established organization.

The true free press in the United States was designed to fight tyranny, or the concentration of power in one entity. The NCAA is a completely concentrated entity, with journalists ultimately working for it to enforce rules.

What the NCAA calls violations (players selling their property; getting paid, as in the Cam Newton investigation, to play) is what the free market calls "business".

The job of a sports journalist should be to protect players from abuses of the NCAA and not the other way around.

The Nail in The Coffin of The Epstein Regime

As if the clubhouse shenanigans, the general manager resigning, the manager being fired, and a late September collapse weren't enough for the Red Sox organization, another blow has been dealt to the New England based ball club with the news yesterday that John Lackey will miss the entire 2012 season due to mandatory Tommy John surgery.

At this point, fans in Beantown must be sarcastically asking themselves "what next?" This is certainly one of those scenarios which fits the old adage when it rains it pours.

This could not have been remotely close to what newly appointed Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington had in mind for his first official press conference. Tuesday, amid his welcome party, Cherington dealt the news to Red Sox Nation like the angel of death himself in regards to the future of the 2012 season. Lackey, a former Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim standout, is currently signed with the Red Sox through 2014, with a club option in 2015. To this point, Lackey's output can not be what Theo Epstein had envision when he signed the big righty to a 6 year, $82 million dollar contract three years ago.

Lackey will be the second high profile Red Sox starter to undergo the heavy rehab-laden surgery, in addition to Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. It is a surgery which often times players return from better than ever, if not at least to the same level of effectiveness.

On a satirical note, maybe if he had a clubhouse attendant pouring the beers for him this would have never happened. Cheers to that.

Information used during this blog post can be found here: http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/7148697/boston-red-sox-john-lackey-tommy-john-surgery

T.O. to Old?

Yesterday, Terrell Owens held a workout for NFL teams to show he was ready to return to the field after his ACL tear this off season only problem though was...no team was there.

Is it the age (37) or is it maybe the baggage that Owens will bring that doesnt just include his cleets, shoulder pads, helmet and his sharpie.

Last season, Owens nearly eclipsed the 1000 receiving mark to go along with 9 touchdowns while with the Bengals so we can't really think age is the reason teams are staying away.

Owens is without a doubt a Hall of Fame player but his attitude has been his hindering attribute through his career and at this point, there is no way for him to fix it.

I think that there are still a team that will take a chance on him but it will be slim. The Rams and Titans look the most promising but then again, why would a team who has no chance at the playoffs go bring Owens in? Especially the Rams with a young QB in Sam Bradford.

I say the only way you see Owens in a uniform is if a playoff bound team loses a wideout and needs to replace them. Other then that. Owens 2011 season is in doubt.

What do you say?

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Farmers Play Fantasy Baseball, Too

Thousands of wild baseball fans participate in fantasy games through The National Fantasy Baseball Championship, but one man wins. Twice.

Lindy Hinkelman has won two of the last three contests in this "league," and he has earned over $300,000 in prize money. When he's not acting as a fantasy manager, he's farming pigs in Greencreek, Idaho.

The small town farmer credits a lot of his success to his experience on the farm:

"Raising pigs and this baseball thing really go together. There are certain things in farming: keeping track of productivity, indexes for your sows, the genetic lines there. To do well, you’ve got to be pretty proficient in numbers. Math has always been my strong suit. I can see things with the numbers."

Fantasy sports got their start in 1980, but the concept really caught on with the boom of the internet. The fantasy sports association says that about 13 million people currently play fantasy baseball, second only to fantasy football.

What does this say about society as both sports reporters and sports watchers? It is a crazy phenomenon that is financially paying off for fans. Think of it this way: Hinkelman made more money off of fantasy championships than most reporters, stadium workers and other employees in the industry.

In some ways, this fantasy obsession benefits the sports industry: more people are watching, paying attention and tracking games. With their fantasy team on the line, fans now watch the games of all teams, not just their own. At the same time, does this desire to win a fantasy game kill the essence of watching a game in the first place? Is it creating the wrong kind of fans?

Staying Classy

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/7144471/new-york-jets-rex-ryan-san-diego-chargers-stay-classy-san-diego

This past weeks football game between the Chargers and the Jets was a difficult one to watch for me personally. I know that being in New York right now, I am definitely the minority when it comes to that, but putting loyal aside for a second. It was a good football to watch. There was a lot of drama, there has been history between these two teams in recent years, and the team that was losing had an opportunity to win the game during the last minute. The Chargers managed to blow an eleven point lead after dominated the first half of the game. The Chargers came out flat while the Jets made some good halftime adjustments. After such a dramatic comeback, it begs the question, did the Chargers lose the game or did the Jets win the game? Chargers tight end Randy McMichael made his stance clear when he said that the Jets had no affect on the outcome of this game saying that the Chargers lost it. While former Charger and current Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie says that the Jets won it. Jets head coach Rex Ryan didn't answer the question about who won or lost the game but did remind San Diego to stay classy.

Is Tim Tebow The Next Big Thing

Sunday's late comeback over the winless Miami Dolphins already has people talking about the great things Tim Tebow seems almost destined to accomplish. But just how good was Tebow on Sunday? Tebow completed just 13 of his 27 pass attempts, and only threw for 161 yards, yet his late game heroics have caused a hysteria in the media. In the last minutes of the game, Tebow threw for 2 touchdowns, and rushed for a 2 point conversion to force overtime. The Broncos would go on to win this game after a 52 yard FG in overtime, and Tebow instantly became the star that Broncos fans hoped he would be, even though his performance was pretty mediocre. Tebow and the Broncos are set to face the Detroit Lions next week, a team that has surprised almost everybody even though it is currently coming off of a 2 game losing streak. This should be a real test for Tebow, and is his first real chance to prove he has what it takes to be a starter in the NFL.