Media & Entertainment Law

A Few Good Links

Posted on January 25, 2011
* Barry Bonds received some bad news last Friday, as Judge Susan Illston ruled that other big league players who were clients of Greg Anderson will be able to testify for the prosecution in Bonds's case. I write about Judge Illston's ruling in a column for SI...

Quebecois Roulette?

Posted on January 25, 2011
Should Tommy Morrison be Licensed to Box in Quebec if He Continues to Refuse HIV Testing? Tommy (The Duke) Morrison, 48-3 (42 KOs), once one of the most exciting heavyweight contenders in the world between his all-American looks, explosive punch, and questionable chin, made headlines this past week when he announced that he will not submit to HIV and hepatitis testing in advance of a possible February 25, 2011 bout in Montreal against journeyman Eric Barrak...

Seton Hall University School of Law?s Annual Sports & Entertainment Law Symposium

Posted on January 25, 2011
On Tuesday, February 15, 2011, Seton Hall University School of Law and the Seton Hall Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law will be hosting its Annual Sports and Entertainment Law Symposium. The symposium will address current sports and entertainment issues, with a specific focus on the professional and ethical dilemmas confronting attorneys representing athletes and entertainers...

New Sports Law Scholarship

Posted on January 22, 2011
Recently published scholarship includes:Parker Allred, Note, From the BCS to the BS: why ?championship? must be removed from the Bowl Championship Series, 2010 UTAH LAW REVIEW 183Jessica K. Baranko, Comment, It?s my name and mine alone: how Chad Ocho Cinco affects the right of publicity, 20 MARQUETTE SPORTS LAW REVIEW 463 (2010)Luke P...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Catching up with Links

Posted on January 21, 2011
* I have a Question/Answer for Sports Illustrated on collusion charges filed by the NFLPA against the NFL. I talk about the quality of NFLPA evidence showing collusion and how the NFL can defend against that evidence.* Brian Baxter of American Lawyer also writes about the collusion charges and has some interesting insights on the law firms and lawyers involved...

Public Forum: MMAdness - Issues Surrounding the Legalization of Mixed Martial Arts in NY : Update

Posted on January 21, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 Location: 14 Vesey Street, New York, New YorkTime: 6:00pmSpeakers:* Joseph M. DeGuardia, Esq., owner of Star Boxing, a boxing promotional company, and president of the Boxing Promoters Association;* Michael DiMaggio, Esq...

Does lack of real insurance drive players to NFL?

Posted on January 20, 2011
With a record number 56 juniors declaring for the NFL draft this week people begin the debate of who made a good decision and who made a mistake in giving up their collegiate eligibility. Further confusing the situation is the uncertain labor future given the expiring CBA making some form of work stoppage a distinct possibility...

Welcoming Warren Zola as a Guest Blogger

Posted on January 20, 2011
We're thrilled that Warren Zola will be a guest blogger on Sports Law Blog. Warren is Chair of Boston College's Professional Sports Counseling Panel. He is also an Assistant Dean at Boston College, a sports business and law professor and a sports attorney...

Are the NFL Playoffs really better than the BCS?

Posted on January 18, 2011
We spent a lot of time debating the legality and merits of the BCS on our blog, but is the BCS actually better than the NFL playoffs as a mechanism for determining which is the best team? Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated asks that question. Here is an excerpt:Is a playoff really MORE FAIR? What does fair even mean? This year in college football, the BCS system had Oregon play Auburn for a trophy they called the national championship trophy...

Scorecasting: The Hidden Influcnes Behind How Sports and Played and Games are Won

Posted on January 18, 2011
Howard had a good post a few days ago on a Sports Illustrated article by Jon Wertheim and Tobias Moskowitz on the causes of home-field advantages in sports. Howard relates their article to the umpire-judge analogy, a favorite topic on this blog.If you're interested in reading more about Jon and Tobias's work, you can now purchase their book on Amazon: Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won...

New Sports Illustrated Column Previewing Barry Bonds Trial

Posted on January 18, 2011
I have a new SI.com column that previews the upcoming Barry Bonds trial, which is scheduled to begin on March 21. Here's an excerpt:* * *. . . [P]rosecutors have signaled an interest in calling [Greg] Anderson to the stand, knowing that he would once again refuse to testify and therefore be placed in contempt of court...

Sports and Recretional Law Association Conference March 3-5 in Savannah, Georgia

Posted on January 17, 2011
The Sport and Recreation Law Association will be holding its 24th annual conference from March 3rd to 5th in Savannah Georgia. The conference features peer-reviewed presentations on many salient topics involving sports and recreation law. Topics include issues involving personal injury liability, risk management, high school and collegiate athletics, products liability, Title IX, First Amendment, intellectual property...

Home-field advantage and the umpire analogy

Posted on January 16, 2011
An article by Tobias Moskowitz and L. Jon Wertheim in the new Sports Illustrated (I cannot find it on-line for some reason) examines the cause of home-field advantage in sports. If the study is empirically sound (and I want to down with some empiricists to help me figure out if it is), the results are groundbreaking...

N. Jeremi Duru's Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL

Posted on January 16, 2011
Our colleague and friend Jeremi Duru, a professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law, is the author of an outstanding and timely new book: Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL (with forward by Tony Dungy)...

F.T.C. to Investigate Football Helmet Manufacturer Riddell

Posted on January 15, 2011
The Associated Press reported on Friday that the United States Federal Trade Commission is looking into potentially misleading and deceptive trade practices by football helmet manufacturer Riddell. Riddell is the official helmet manufacturer of the National Football League...

You Can't Sit There! UVA's Ticket and Seating Policy for Men's Basketball Games Called into Question

Posted on January 15, 2011
Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo! Sports has a great piece on a UNC hoops fan who bought a $100, 2nd row seat at a UNC-UVA game played in Charlottesville VA, but because he was wearing a Carolina blue coat and because the section was primarily intended for UVA fans and athletic staff, he was told he could not sit in the seat he purchased...

Show Myself The Money? NFL agent Bob LaMonte and Representing Both Sides of Cleveland Browns Negotiation

Posted on January 14, 2011
Is there a conflict of interest when the same NFL agent represents a team's president, executive VP, general manager and the person whom the team is hiring as coach?Welcome to the world of the Cleveland Browns!Bill Lubinger of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has the story and interviews several persons, including Rick and me:* * *The middle man in the Browns' 10-day coaching search was Bob LaMonte, whose influence in Berea now stretches from the team's boardroom to the coach's office...

Even More on Antitrust Law and the BCS

Posted on January 14, 2011
While Monday evening's BCS National Championship Game commanded much of the college football world's attention this week, the antitrust implications of the Bowl Championship Series continued to make news as well. Specifically, as reported by several media outlets, the law firm of Arent Fox -- legal counsel to Boise State University and the Mountain West Conference on matters relating to antitrust law and the BCS -- recently submitted a report to the United States Department of Justice arguing that the BCS violates federal antitrust law...

Polygraph = Anti-Corruption Tool?

Posted on January 13, 2011
Does the polygraph (aka lie detector machine) have to potential to be used as an anti-corruption tool in sports? According to a recent Guardian article by Andy Wilson and Rob Bagchi, the answer appears to be "yes." The plan was hatched after reports of match-fixing in the sport of cricket...

Could the Alleged Misdeeds of Internationally Based Boxers Put Them Down for the Count with U.S. Commissions?

Posted on January 13, 2011
Back in September, hot junior middleweight contender Alfredo (El Perro) Angulo, 19-1 (16 KOs), provided the boxing world with an explicit example of what it takes to be banned from United States boxing venues, United States television, and the United States as a whole...

Mark Conrad's The Business of Sports (second edition)

Posted on January 12, 2011
Congratulations to Sports Law Blog contributor Mark Conrad on publication of the second edition of his book, The Business of Sports.This second edition is 100 pages longer, with added discussion on contemporary issues on labor, international sports and intellectual property and media...

Should MLB adopt a Rule that Limits Innings Pitched by Young Pitchers?

Posted on January 11, 2011
Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci has a good column on the relationship between an increase in innings pitched from season-to-season and injuries suffered by young pitchers. Here's an excerpt:One small part of such understanding is monitoring the innings of young pitchers from one year to the next...

Jets and Brett Favre hit with Sexual Harassment Lawsuit

Posted on January 05, 2011
The troubles of the Jets continue. Two massage therapists have filed a lawsuit claiming that they lost their jobs after complaining about "sexually suggestive text messages" from Farve while he was on the Jets in 2008.I was interviewed yesterday by Maggie Gray of Sports Illustrated Video to discuss:

Special Master Hearing on whether NFL breached Collective Bargaining Agreement in TV Contracts

Posted on January 04, 2011
University of Pennsylvania Law Professor Stephen Burbank, the Special Master of the NFL for grievances with the NFLPA, began a hearing today in New York City for a grievance filed by the NFLPA. The NFLPA alleges that the NFL breached its fiduciary duties under the CBA by -- according to the NFLPA -- taking less from TV networks for broadcast contracts in exchange for the guarantee that the NFL would be paid by those networks in 2011, regardless of whether there is a league lockout...

Red Sox Re-Sign Hideki Okajima, client of Sports Law Blog's Joe Rosen

Posted on January 02, 2011
The Boston Red Sox have re-signed 35-year-old lefthanded-relief pitcher Hideki Okajima, whom Joe Rosen of Orpheus Sports and Entertainment - and Sports Law Blog - represents.Congrats to Joe on negotiating the contract for Okajima, who was an all-star in 2007 but who struggled at times last year...

Sugar is Sweet

Posted on January 02, 2011
A few facts to follow up on the post by Michael on the suspension of five Ohio State Football players. Thankfully, the Coach did allow the players to participate in the Sugar Bowl on the condition that the juniors agreed to return to the school for their senior year rather than throw their hats in the NFL lottery ring...

Was Suspended Ohio State's QB Terrelle Pryor in the Right or Wrong?

Posted on January 01, 2011
Stefanie Loh of the Patriot News examines the five game suspension of Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and several other players for selling their championship gear and pocketing the profits - a violation of NCAA rules but, from the players' standpoint, a way of obtaining the fruits of their otherwise unpaid labor...

A Lesson Learned

Posted on December 30, 2010
In what is usually one of the slowest news weeks, a controversy rages over President Obama?s reported conversation with Jeffrey Lurie, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, praising the franchise for giving Michael Vick a chance to perform after serving a twenty-three month prison sentence for dog fighting and related charges...

FIU wins Sports Law Blog Bowl

Posted on December 27, 2010
That was quite a game, with a lot of everything--multiple comebacks and apparent game-changing plays by all units on both teams, gutsy coaching (major props to Toledo Coach Tim Beckman for going for two and the win rather than playing for overtime), a hook-and-ladder to convert a 4th-and-17, and a game-winning-as-time-expired field goal...

Golf and the Law

Posted on December 24, 2010
The New York Times published an interesting story a couple of days ago exploring the relationship between golf and the law. The story comes on the heels of a recent decision by the New York Court of Appeals holding that golfers assume the risk of injury from errant golf shots...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.