Maury Brown’s Biz of Sports

He sits on the floor, taking pieces of toys that don’t match and placing them inside larger parts. He squeals or moans, jumping up and down when something excites him, oblivious to all around him. Then, without prompting he glances up, makes eye contact, smiles and asks, “Cookie?”

It’s been a while since I released, When Sports Becomes a Small Matter: A Child and Autism, detailing the news that our son, Travis, has been diagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD. Since then, we have gained much more insight, information, and well wishes.

Here’s an update.

First off, we were informed of the “100 Day Kit” available on Autism Speaks, through Travis’ clinical psychologist. The 81 page PDF has been an indispensable walk through everything from the emotions that parents go through when they receive word that their child has ASD, how Autism is diagnosed, the variety of symptoms of Autism, how the extended family and siblings are impacted and much more. As mentioned, this primer has been outstanding in better understanding the road ahead and the key element: get moving.

On the “get moving side”, as I have been advocating awareness of ASD, the earlier a child is diagnosed the sooner therapies suited to the child can begin. We have now gone through having Travis observed in the variety of settings that are required to allow him to be part of Early Childhood Intervention. Travis will receive weekly sessions at the home until he is 3, and move to the next phase, after that.

We will be enrolling him in year-round pre-school for children that have ASD through the public school system. We also will make the investment in a private speech therapist.

On this…

Unfortunately, this situation has not allowed me to run the Business of Sports Network exclusively. Wishing to take advantage of insurance, and the pay that comes with my consulting has pushed me into contracting my services out (yes, if anyone wishes to hire me to write, I’m available. Being able to write from home freelance would be beneficial in assisting in Travis’ development).

While this situation isn’t perfect, the consulting gig is with the State of Oregon, and with that, I have been looking at information on Autism.

Sobering news… A 2006 memo shows that over a twelve-year period beginning in 1992, ASD has been the fastest growing disability in Oregon schools. It increased almost 582% during that time.

Clearly, ASD is growing at a considerable rate. This may be due to better understanding of ASD, or as our clinical psychologist said, those that may not have been diagnosed with ASD in the past are now seen to fall within the spectrum.

Lastly, the number of emails I and my wife have received offering well-wishes have been overwhelming. The support offered and information given is sincerely appreciated and thanks just doesn’t seem to say enough.

Within those emails, many have asked about Travis and our older son Tyler, offered prayers, and wondered about Travis’ level of ASD.

We are hopeful and optimistic. Realistic and not in denial. Proactive and engaged. Travis will need all of this as he is more of the “classic” autistic (spinning, hand flapping, unable to verbally communicate at a level close to where he should be, little to no eye contact, etc.). He is, however, not at the part of the scale where physical contact is unwanted, or tantrums ensue.

As for how he is… Well, he’s a child. He plays. He laughs more often than cries, engages with his brother, and has signs that he through therapy, he will be able to communicate, and hopefully, function on his own in society.

For those that want a face to go with this story, we recently shot this one. It is the best picture ever taken of him in that he’s smiling and looking at the camera – something we always have tried to get but never have been able to pull off. I am unabashedly biased, but he’s one of the cutest kids I’ve ever seen. As anyone that has met me will say, this is a testament to his mother.

Once again, I, and the Business of Sports Network are working to promote Autism awareness (see the The Business of Sports Network’s Sports Challenge for Autism Awareness). If you are involved in the sports industry or media, please help promote awareness.

I hope that if you are already involved in sports and Autism awareness you will contact me to allow me to report on the work you are engaged in.

Thanks,

Maury Brown
Founder and President
Business of Sports Network
Bizball LLC

SOME OTHER RECENT STORIES OF MINE ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK

• The Business of Sports Network’s Sports Challenge for Autism Awareness - The Business of Sports Network
• Turner Creating Applebee’s Ads w/ Carey, Mitch Williams - The Biz of Baseball
• Sports Leagues Fight “White Spaces” Use - The Biz of Baseball
• Remembering Buzzie - The Biz of Baseball
• Jacoby Ellsbury Signs Endorsement Deal with owater - The Biz of Baseball
• Inside the Numbers: A 6-Year Look at the Forbes Valuations - The Biz of Baseball
• Blackhawks Moving to WGN-AM (720) - The Biz of Hockey

There is no category for this topic here. There is baseball, basketball, hockey, football, and auto racing, but there is nothing for topics of far more importance.

This, being my personal blog, has been about commentary on sports. It has never been about my views on matters outside of that.

And, it has never been a place where you would find anything personal. Today, that changes as I find myself placed in a new cause. It is one that touches myself, my family, and as I will outline below, a growing and alarming number of families.

Over the past year, our youngest son has not been developing at the rate that most children do. At first, we chalked this up to him just not accelerating at the rate of our first son, who was ahead of the curve. Now, coming up on the age of three, we saw that he was not communicating, even on rudimentary levels such as pointing when he wanted something. Only when prompted would he respond verbally to a very small list of known words. Things that we initially thought were cute were really signs of something else. There was the jumping up and down when he was excited, spinning in circles, and the one we thought was the funniest… never calling me “Daddy”, but rather, “Mamma. “

Given these signs, we met with his pediatrician and from there, other specialists. The diagnosis was that our son is autistic.

As my wife and family come to grips to this news, we now find ourselves in a life altering experience. The good news is that with early detection, one-on-one and what is called “mainstream” therapy, we can hope that our son will eventually be a productive part of society. What was alarming to me was the incredible trend of more and more being diagnosed within the ASD spectrum. There was a point where the word “autism” would elicit confused stares. Now, nearly everyone in America has a family member or friend touched by ASD.

Based upon this, I am challenging all that have a platform to do so, to link to this news below, or pass it along. Call it the sports autism challenge, whatever. The hope is that by getting this news to as many as possible in the hope that others can be educated.

The following information comes by way of the Autism Society of America:

• 1 out of 150 children in U.S.
• 1 out of 90 boys
• Affects four times as many boys as girls
• Lifetime cost of caring for a child with autism: $3.5 to $5 million
• Current annual cost to U.S.: $35 billion
• Estimated annual cost by 2010: $90 billion
• 1.5 million Americans affected

Researching has found information that will be valuable to my wife and I, and some indications that we now see as classic traits of autism spectrum disorder that are within our son’s behavior. Passing some of these behavioral traits along may help you, or someone you know, get their child to their pediatrician for an evaluation. Early detection is critical as the earlier a child is enrolled in therapy, the better the odds are that when they grow older they will be able to function in society.

Here are some signs to look for in the children in your life:

• Lack of or delay in spoken language
• Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
• Little or no eye contact
• Lack of interest in peer relationships
• Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
• Persistent fixation on parts of objects
• Reaching a development milestone only to see regressively disappear
• Odd dietary behaviors, such as eating only starches
• No fear of danger

How can you help? Donate. Spread the word.

To Donate:

Donate to the Autism Society of America

As I said, there is no category here for social causes. However, this is the one time it seemed appropriate and a responsibility to do so. If you know someone with autism, please leave your comments.

OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK

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• BREAKING NEWS: MLB Drug Testing Policy Updated - The Biz of Baseball
• Curse? Red Sox T-Shirt in Slab of New Yankee Stadium - The Biz of Baseball
• MLB Drug Policy Oversight Will Not Be Wholly Independent -The Biz of Baseball
• Yahoo! & MLB.com Reach Video Distribution, Ad Sales Deal - The Biz of Baseball
• Red Sox Celebrate Home Opener In Style - The Biz of Baseball
• Red Sox to Raffle Off World Series Rings. Volvo C30 - The Biz of Baseball
• The Official “Red Sox Nation”? Stop the Bus, I Need Off. - The Biz of Baseball
• See It: NBA D-League Schedule Set - The Biz of Basketball
• NBA.com Shatters Traffic Record. Kobe Bryant & Pau Gasol Lead in Rankings - The Biz of Basketball
• CBS’ ‘Shinning Moment’ Down 6% from Last Year - The Biz of Basketball
• Nike and Kobe Bryant Launch Hyperdunk Basketball Shoe - The Biz of Basketball
• Walsh: Isiah Thomas To Coach End of Season. Any Changes Before Draft - The Biz of Basketball
• Emails Show Sonics Ownership Pushed as Early as April ‘07 to Relocate to Oklahoma City - The Biz of Basketball
• Bobcats Trade Stadium Naming Rights for New TV Deal – The Biz of Basketball
• Are NCAA Final Four Teams Actually Losing Money? - The Biz of Basketball
• It’s Awesome Baby! Vitale, Ewing, Olajuwon Among 2008 Naismith Hall of Fame Class - The Biz of Basketball
• Biz of Football Editor of Content Bill Jordan’s 2008 NFL Mock Draft – The Biz of Football
• Bears and United Airlines Reach Naming Deal for former Cadillac Club at Soldier Field – The Biz of Football
• Former Ram and Cardinal Sharpe Pleads Guilty to Four Drug Charges – The Biz of Football
• Detroit’s Fox Theatre Tower to Shine Red Throughout Red Wings Playoff Run – The Biz of Hockey
• Detroit Red Wings Announce Winners of ‘Are You In?’ Video Contest - The Biz of Hockey
• As Credit Crunch Hits, Purchase of Lightning Drags Out – The Biz of Hockey
• Republican and Democratic National Convention Leaders Have Friendly Wager on NHL Playoffs -The Biz of Hockey

For those interested in what other writers find interesting, Rumors and Rants has a collection of The Blogsphere’s Favorite Baseball Teams. I was asked to participate, and mine is the 1972 World Champion Oakland A’s. Here’s an excerpt:

That World Series Champion team with Reggie, Vida, “Blue Moon”, Bando, and Hunter were the coolest of the cool. My former favs, the Giants, had the drab gray uniforms, while the A’s wore “Kelly Green, Fort Knox Gold and Wedding Gown White.” They were rebellious, raucous, and great. Never mind that Jim Hunter had never been fishing for catfish. Never mind that I thought “Blue Moon” was really Odom’s name. Johnny Lee? That would have been boring. Besides, if there was a Vida Blue, why should that name be any different than “Blue Moon.”

There were others… Of course, Dick Williams had to be the greatest manager at the time. Yes, we can argue that now, but if you lived anywhere on the West Coast (short of LA), Williams was the man.

There was Bert Campaneris, and Gene Tenace and Sal Bando, and that crazy Rollie Fingers. Geez, looking back, they still look great.

And who put them all together? The guy that seared my brain into thinking the biz of baseball was just as cool as the game on the field… Finley, you crazy, insane, genius. Man, I loved that team Charlie. That’s my fav.

Select the link provided to read more.

• Inside Stadium Financing: Part II - The Biz of Baseball
• Happy 35th Birthday, Designated Hitter! - The Biz of Baseball
• Back in Black: Extra Innings and MLB.TV Blackouts - The Biz of Baseball
• Cubs Minor Leaguer Hernandez Suspended 50 Games for PEDs - The Biz of Baseball
• Browns DB Wright Arrested - The Biz of Football
• Judge Gives Partial Victories to Both Rodriguez and WVU - The Biz of Football
• Arkansas Drops Texas from 2009 Scedule; Adds Texas A&M - The Biz of Football
  
• As Credit Crunch Hits, Purchase of Lightning Drags Out- The Biz of Hockey
• Blackhawks to Broadcast all 82 Games Next Season - The Biz of Hockey
• Madison Square Garden to Get $500 Million Renovation - The Biz of Basketball
• Drake’s Keno Davis Voted AP College Basketball Coach of the Year - The Biz of Basketball

The turning point for my studies in sports as a business may have had far, far earlier beginnings, but there is certainly no point more important for me than the relocation of the Montreal Expos. As one that resides in Portland, OR. I worked closely with former Indiana Pacers general manager, and now owner of several NBA D-League teams, David Kahn on some of the material that was submitted to MLB regarding why the Portland market could support the relocated Expos and how to fund the development of a new stadium.

Of course, the story of the relocation ends in Washington, D.C. where the Expos became the Nationals.

The final part of this event culminates Sunday when the Nationals take the field against the Atlanta Braves at the newly completed Nationals Park, a $611 million ballpark along the Anacostia River in the Near Southeast area.

Since becoming a sports business analyst and reporting on it, there has never been a project that I have followed more closely.

There is also never been a process that I have been more critical of.

I deemed the project a “boondoggle” based on the ever increasing price tag that was estimated to build the stadium that would be home to the then Expos, should MLB decide to take up the District on their offer.

Understanding that any stadium that the relocated Expos would play in would be coming with the least amount of assistance from the new owners, the District, as early as 2001 mentioned a price tag of approx. $300 million and grew to what is now $611 million, based on the conditional award of the franchise.

In other words, give the District the team, and they’d build the stadium.

MLB knew that this method of awarding the team first would place the power with the city that won the bid, and initially balked at the notion of conditional award, at least until other markets, such as Portland, helped leverage DC into more concessions.

It also would give MLB time to try and deal with Peter Angelos, the Orioles owner who was hell bent on stopping any relocation into the region, due to the dilution of the fanbase, both at the ballpark and via television territory.

When the time arrived and the award was finally given to DC on September 29, 2004, it seemed fitting and sad that MLB made the announcement on the final game of the season for the Expos in Montreal.

To get around Angelos, baseball awarded the Orioles owner an exceptionally lucrative stake in a joint regional sports network that would become Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). The deal gave Angelos 90% of MASN, and pays the Nationals $20 million a year to control the rights to their newly created broadcast area. The Nationals’ stake in the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) will increase to 33 percent over the next two decades.

It also seemed fitting that a battle royal would happen over the funding of the stadium.

The funding for the ballpark, however, came with plenty of controversy, and nearly created a legal battle with MLB when the $581 million that the District was now on the hook for, got locked up within the political wranglings of the DC Council.

Facing a December 31st deadline to get the financing in place, Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp, threw a wrench in the works by saying that changes to protect the District needed to be in place. The changes would later be called “Cropps’ Cap” in reference to the capping of public funds.

The key provision would be a guarantee that the city’s costs for the project would be capped at the $535 million the council approved, plus $54 million in bond financing fees. Any additional costs would have to be covered by the league, the owner of the Washington Nationals or private developers, Cropp wrote at the time.

New Years Day arrived, and the deal was still not reached.

On January 5th of 2006, MLB filed for arbitration.

The “best way to move the process forward for the benefit of the District’s baseball fans is through the mediation process,” MLB COO Bob DuPuy said in a written statement at the time. “It is our contractual right to seek mediation as a tool to convince the parties to fulfill their obligations as set forth in the contract that was agreed to more than a year ago.”

18 months after DC Mayor Anthony Williams had agreed to give MLB a stadium in exchange for the Expos, the final Council vote went 9-4 in favor of the funding deal on March 8, 2006. Finally, a D.C. stadium funding deal was approved.

It is still one of the most generous deals given by a municipality for stadium development in the history of Major League Baseball.

My Nationals Park Mea Culpa

By this point in time I had seen the massive escalation of funding, the aggressive construction schedule needed, the capped funding provision, and said, “There’s no way it will make it on time or on budget.”

There would be complications with the site location selected along the Anacostia. There would be delays in getting the stadium built due to the weather. There would something that would take the already overpriced stadium cost with ever-so-thin funds set aside in case of complications, and blow a hole right through the top of the cap.

To the credit of the DCSEC, and the Nationals ownership, namely president Stan Kasten, the ballpark is opening on time and on budget.

There are still problems to be dealt with. Parking is going to be a headache, possibly for years to come. But, after watching the process for more than seven years, the hurricane of controversy has given way to the good feeling of seeing the stadium come online, and the Nationals have a permanent facility with which to play in.

For all the years of saying the stadium would be a boondoggle, I’m left with a feeling that while the public still has paid too much, “boondoggle” was more than a bit too much.

It is a fine ballpark that the Nationals will call home. Pedestrian in most aspects of its design, and not something that will be looked upon as a signature ballpark by newer MLB standards, it will be much like Great American Ballpark, or Citizens Bank Park, which is nothing that DC or the Nationals should be ashamed of. It’s still beautiful and glorious in its own way.

So, as the Nationals play their warm-up event today against the Baltimore Orioles in an exhibition, I have to say that while I was right in seeing the scales tipped too far in favor of the new Nationals ownership when came to funding, I was wrong in how the ballpark would be completed, once the hullabaloo over funding passage arrived.

On Sunday, I will sit a coast away from the Nationals and Braves game, and slip on a cap with a curly W and set the channel ESPN to watch the drama of Nationals Park unfold and say that it is a good day for baseball, and more importantly, a good day for baseball in Washington, D.C.

To see details of the Nationals Ballpark, as well as funding information, see the following on The Biz of Baseball:

Renderings of the New Nationals Ballpark. Also, those interested in the technical details should read the “No-Relocation” Agreement between MLB & the DCSEC, the DC Ballpark - Project Labor Agreement, and most importantly, the DC Baseball Stadium Agreement (2004).

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• Jets offer Contract Extension to Wideout Laveranues Coles - The Biz of Football
  
• How’s Your Bracket? - The Biz of Basketball

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

With MLB’s Opening Day on U.S. soil taking place this Sunday at the new Nationals Ballpark, lawyers for the owners and union have been working overtime in an effort to make changes to baseball’s drug policy that will further strengthen the program in the wake of former Senator George Mitchell’s report and recommendations before the first pitch.

In terms of labor relations, the changes that have come before — and look to transpire — are nothing short of staggering.

Matters between the players and union are dealt with through collective bargaining, not arbitrarily. Over the course of the last basic agreement the seal has been broken on it to address the drug policy and changed not once, but twice. And now, we now seem on the verge of a third change to the current CBA – an incredible bit of politics given the tenuous relationship that management and union have had in Major League Baseball in the past.

The changes that are nearly at hand will reportedly include year-round testing for performance-enhancing substances (at this time, I have not heard or read whether stimulants will be included), more tests being conducted on the players, and changes in how testing is administered. On the latter, currently there is a Health Policy Advisory Committee (HPAC) that is responsible for overseeing the testing program. It is assumed that recommendations from the Mitchell Report for an independent body, that most likely would be selected by both MLB and the MLBPA, would take place.

And, once again, the changes are taking place less than a year after reaching agreement on what is now the current CBA.

If this all seems like changes that are being done because Donald Fehr and the players suddenly see the light after reading Mitchell’s report and hearing Commissioner Selig espouse the need for change to eradicate PEDs from MLB on a near religious scale, the answer is maybe, but certainly not without some poking in the ribs from behind by Big Brother.

As the old proverb goes, blood is thicker than water. The possible changes being made (again) to the policy have as much to do with baseball working to keep its house in order while being prodded by those carrying the big stick: Congress.

Lost almost entirely in conversation is the old Millerian stance of “player rights” and standing shoulder-to-shoulder in defense of privacy, in this case, one’s urine, the test results from it, and how protected those records are.

This isn’t to say that the MLBPA isn’t extremely concerned about those rights, especially as we’re still witnessing the fallout of the BALCO investigation and the “survey test” records from 2003 when the levels of steroid use in baseball was being measured to see if mandatory testing would be instituted (for more see United States v Comprehensive Testing on The Biz of Baseball). Instead, it’s become a “lesser of two evils” world for the Players’ Association.

Nothing is less appealing than having someone else tell you how to run your household.

It’s even worse when it isn’t family.

The changes about to unfold are less about Bud Selig and more about making changes to the drug policy before Congress does it for them. It’s been like that for the changes made prior, and if there is talk that enough still isn’t enough in the future, it will be Congress standing over baseball with a threatening glare.

History will most assuredly look back at this point in time and say that the union was weak, and Bud Selig and the owners strong-armed the players into the testing policy changes that have been made. Congress is the one that should be viewed as muscling the policy into place, playing a new version of stickball where the players are shoved into their positions. The players, their representatives, and for that matter, the owners, surely know anything that any laws Congress would enact for drug testing in professional sports would be far more rigorous and intrusive. Having that happened would be embarrassing for a $6.1 billion industry called Major League Baseball.

Don and Bud know it’s far better to keep their problems in the family, and the players are bending over backwards to keep it that way. It will be interesting to see how members of Congress react after the changes. It will be more interesting to see what happens if/when the next star player tests positive, or is outed in some other investigation. What happens then will be a case of reading the signals, and seeing whether, yet again, the once sacred seal of the CBA is broken and “the family” addresses its inner problems.

For more background on this column, here are some suggested articles, all on The Biz of Baseball:

• MLBPA Asks Court to Revisit Seized Records Decision
• MLB Acts on Five Recommendations in Mitchell Report
• Recommendations from the Mitchell Report
• 2006 - MLB Joint Drug Agreement (JDA)
• Update to JDA (Increased penalties – PEDs - 2005)
• Summary: 2007 – 2011 CBA
• Complete: 2007-2011 Basic Agreement
• 2005 - Professional Sport Integrity and Accountability Act
• 2004 Interview with Marvin Miller

• Bill James, this Sunday on”60 Minutes” - The Biz of Baseball
• Tigers Add 778 New Seats to Comerica Park. Ticket Prices. - The Biz of Baseball
• PBS To Air One-Hour Documentary on Clemente - The Biz of Baseball
• Broadcast Teams for “Sunday MLB on TBS” Announced - The Biz of Baseball
• St. Louis Blues Select TicketExchange by Ticketmaster as Secondary Ticket Resale Provider - The Biz of Hockey
• Edmonton Arena Study Sets Pricetag on New Facility - The Biz of Hockey
• Former No. 1 Overall Draft Pick Couch Linked to HGH - The Biz of Football
• Redskins to Play Giants on NFL’s Opening Night - The Biz of Football
• Seahawks Sign Trufant to $50.2 million, 6-year Deal - The Biz of Football
• How’s Your Bracket? - The Biz of Basketball

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

Before we get started, yes, I’m a DirecTV subscriber, and yes, I’ve been very happy with my service. Also, I have a nice clean view of the southern sky, which helps with the quality, and even during the worst rain storm the Pacific Northwest can muster, I’ve never had the signal go out on me.

So, it’s a good thing I’m writing this story today after deciding not to stay up or get up early to watch this year’s season opener between the Red Sox and Athletics from Japan. While Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts from coast-to-coast were serving up fanatical baseball fans that decided that getting up at 6am ET or 3am PT to watch the game, I decided that some shut-eye was more in order.

If that makes me sound like an undedicated baseball fan, so be it. But, if I had had to deal with what other DirecTV subscribers went through this morning, well… I’d be in anger management classes this afternoon.

As I reported on The Biz of Baseball, fans tuning into the game on ESPN2 or on NESN were greeted to an outage of those two channels in most areas. A message on ESPN2 simply read, “No need to call us. We are aware this TV station is temporarily unavailable. We’ll have this channel back as soon as possible. Sorry for the interruption”.

Why the outage occurred hasn’t been made clear by DirecTV at this time. My sports business colleague Tim Lemke of the Washington Times has said that he hasn’t heard back from the satcaster yet, and neither have I.

There will be, undoubtedly, more cries of, “No more Opening Day overseas. Bring it back to America.” I can understand that, to a point. Purists will certainly be in that camp. But, MLB wants to continue to grow the game internationally, and any other regular season date other than Opening Day seems nearly out of the question. Such is the price you pay when you want to get fan outside the U.S. into Major League Baseball. Just don’t call me less of a sports reporter if I don’t choose next year to get up in the middle of the night to watch your Opening Day broadcast, Bud, Bob, Don, and Gene. I don’t need to break out the old TV Brick any time soon when my DirecTV feed is blank.

UPDATE: The following has been issued by DirecTV:

“We experienced some temporary technical difficulties early this morning that resulted in some channels not being available to customers. The majority of our channels were not affected and we have since corrected the problem. In the case of the Red Sox season opener, we were able to bring the NESN channel back up at the top of the seventh inning. ESPN2 came back on later, after the game was over. (Customers who have NESN or ESPN2 in HD were able to see the entire game.) We deeply apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers - and particularly Red Sox Fans. ESPN2 is planning to carry a repeat of the game at 2 p.m.”

If you had problems with your DirecTV feed for ESPN2 or NESN, or have heard back from DirecTV on the outage, post your comments. I’d like to hear for a possible future column.

• Japan Opener: DirecTV Subs See ESPN2, NESN Outage - The Biz of Baseball
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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

As sports figures go, there may be none more profound than Jackie Robinson. With Branch Rickey and the Dodgers signing Robinson to a major league contract, Jackie broke through the deplorable Jim Crow laws that surrounded baseball until 1947 and broke baseball’s color barrier.

So, when I received word today on the panelists for “Baseball and the Civil Rights Movement” roundtable discussion at the second annual Civil Rights Game in Memphis, well, I was more than a bit uneasy reading it.

A professional sports industry that was criticized repeatedly by the African American press and public leading up to the Dodgers’ great gamble on Robinson, is now puffing its chest out about its place in history when it comes to Civil Rights.

And, MLB can claim that through the ‘50’s and ‘60’s when the diversity of the game grew with the likes of Larry Doby, Minnie Miñoso, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Roy Campanella. But, color me uneasy about baseball leading the charge on Civil Rights while being an example of bigotry for so many years. It’s hypocritical on a certain level.

So, while this year’s panelists, Hank Aaron, Martin Luther King III, Belize Ambassador Shabazz, Sharon Robinson, Omar Minaya, and Ken Williams talk about what individuals that played the game did for Civil Rights, keep an ear peeled and see if there is anything more than a passing comment about the bigotry that faced the players. Aaron, now front office executive, could surely attest to the bigotry he faced once in MLB, and well remember those that were locked out from playing against the likes of Ruth, or Cobb, if Cobb would have stood for it. Imagine how uncomfortable it would be for the panel to expend a large portion of its discussion on MLB’s stonewalling of black players for decades on end, while sitting in front of some banner showing the Civil Rights Game logo behind them. Somehow, I doubt MLB, in their arrogant wisdom would have planned for that.

Here’s a suggestion… See if any family members of “Cool Papa” Bell or Rube Foster, or Josh Gibson want to speak about Major League Baseball and Civil Rights. When MLB does that, then I will feel a little less queasy about a “Civil Rights Game” being thrown by the league of former bigots.

OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK

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• Lightning May Be Grounded for Final Road Trip - The Biz of Hockey
• Interview - Marc Isenberg - Author, “Money Players” – The Biz of Football
• Former and Current Players Begin Saying Their Goodbyes to the Seattle SuperSonics - The Biz of Basketball
• Cavs Use Old Formula to Beat Pistons with New Players - The Biz of Basketball

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

Clay Bennett has decided that Oklahoma City is more appealing than the Emerald City.

While Bennett is playing the part of a petty thief, David Stern and the NBA are driving the getaway car.

Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman, and his partners (almost entirely from OKC, as well), purchased the Seattle SuperSonics from Starbucks Coffee founder, Howard Schultz in 2006. Bennett’s purchase was based on two things: Relocation, or extort the city of Seattle into a replacement arena, built primarily on the taxpayer’s dime.

Since Seattle decided that when you walk into someone’s home, and first thing you do is decide to raid the fridge, they’ve given Bennett the cold shoulder. Bennett, either in a case of getting what he wanted all along, or otherwise, is working to relocate as soon as possible. Seattle is working the legal system in an effort to force the Sonics to stay in Seattle till the end of their lease agreement, which expires in 2010.

In the meantime, his hometown seems more than willing to sell themselves off at any price in order to be “big league.” If you need any more proof that OKC is willing to sell their souls for the NBA, consider this: The Ford Center, the facility built to lure a major league sports franchise, was built for $90 million and opened in 2002.

To date, it has never had a permanent major league sports team tenant. It hosted the New Orleans Hornets after Hurricane Katrina, averaging 18,716 in 2005-06 (36 games) and 17,951 (35 games) in 2006-2007.

Not content with a facility all of 6 years old, and barely used, Oklahoma City fell all over themselves and kicked up an additional $100 million through a general tax to add further improvements to the Ford Center, and build a new training facility for the team that would formerly be called the Sonics, should they arrive in OKC.

If saying that OKC is “falling all over themselves” seems harsh, you have to wonder why a city would fork over the $100 million, when they were in the driver’s seat. Seattle isn’t budging on funds, and Commissioner Stern has already said that the team is pretty much out the door (“I expect that inevitability”).

In other words, Bennett and Co. would be in one heck of a bind if they decided to tell OKC to stick it if they didn’t do even more to beg for their love, and move across the country.

Begging is really unbecoming. For anyone that’s been in a lopsided relationship, you know that when you smother and pile on gifts, when you don’t have to, in order to gain acceptance, well… the relationship never is healthy.

Oklahoma City, you’re begging.

As for the NBA, they’re the enablers in all of this. Relocation seems to be part of the landscape with the league, who is now about to sign off on moving a former NBA Champion, that has been part of the league in Seattle since 1967 (Two franchises have already been relocated since 2001 with varying degrees of success – Hornets to New Orleans, Grizzles to Memphis from Vancouver). Seattle-Tacoma is ranked 14^th in the country by DMA, according to Arbitron at 3,328,100. Where does Oklahoma City rank? 48^th, at 1,091,300. Congratulations, David Stern. You either plan on doing another relocation to Seattle, or you’ve decided that moving a team from a large market to small market is business genius. Hardly.

It’s not hard for one to root for Bennett to fail. To be clear, I’m not saying I want Oklahoma City to fail, I want Bennett to fail. If that does happen, it certainly will go a long way to proving the existence of karma.

OTHER STORIES I’M WORKING ACROSS THE SPORTS BUSINESS NETWORK

Eye of the Tiger: Cabrera Reaches $153 million Agreement – The Biz of Baseball

New Era Reaches Three-Year Deal with Korean Baseball – The Biz of Baseball

Selling the Drama: Red Sox, Collusion, and Barry Bonds – The Biz of Baseball

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

I either got one heck of a compliment, or I am officially the poster child for OCD.

Rob Neyer was talking of an article by my Baseball Prospectus colleague and newly found friend, Rany Jazayerli on, you guessed it, the Royals.

Rany is going over 25 reasons why the Royals will be better next season, and when he got to Reason #10: The Money, he contacted me for some data for the article.

Yes, I’m digressing here, but on Monday, Neyer wrote on his ESPN blog:

Rany’s finally found his destiny, writing regularly and lengthily about his favorite team, all by himself (in addition to being a doctor and a father and writing for Baseball Prospectus; the guy’s got more energy than anybody I know this side of Maury Brown).

So, knowing Rob, I’m guessing this is a compliment. Now, whether I’m a prodigious publisher of good content, is the question.

If one wonders where my energy goes, well… you’re about to find out.

Each day I hit the laptop just as early possible, and many times, it’s the last thing I’m tending to before the head hits the pillow (yes, I do have a life beyond this that is more important, like my understanding and beautiful wife, and two boys). In-between, I’m publishing the work you will find on the Business of Sports Network sites (see the images across the right for “The Biz of…”)

When I am heads down researching or reading sports as entertainment the following is where I go.

First off, all the sites on the Business of Sports Network are checked first, and with that, Bill Jordan gets massive props from me for pretty much running The Biz of Football.

This listing is far from everything I hit in a given day (approx. 50 newspaper websites each day are not listed, as well as stops at the MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL media-only sites multiple times a day), and I’m apologizing right now to those I miss and add in later.

Here they are by my screwy categories, none of which are in a particular order. It all depends on the news of the day, and my OCD mood:

Spanning the Globe
My must stops daily, as they find what I miss

• Ballhype
• Baseball Think Factory
• Ballbug
• Dave Rouleau
• Brian Borawski
• Kevin (‘Duk) Kaduk – Yahoo!’s Big League Stew
• AOL Fanhouse
• StumbleUpon

Just The Facts
News, and Nothing But

• Yahoo! Sports Newswire
• ESPN Baseball Newswire
• Sports Business Journal
• MLB.com
• ESPN
• Yahoo! Sports
• The Sporting News
• Sports Business Daily
• FoxSports.com
• SI.com
• Mediaweek
• Brandweek
• Bloomberg News (Sports)
• Broadcasting and Cable
• Team Marketing Report

Brain Power
The places that really make me think

• Baseball Prospectus
• The Hardball Times
• The Baseball Analysts
• Rob Neyer’s ESPN Blog
• Tango on Baseball
• Football Outsiders
• Basketball Prospectus
• Beyond the Boxscore
• J.C. Bradbury’s Sabernomics
• Field of Schemes
• Henry Abbott’s TrueHoop
• HoopHype
• Jeff Euston’s Cot’s Contracts
• David Friedman’s 20 Second Timeout
• Squawking Baseball

Great Content, Period
Reporting the news as it breaks, analysis, and more

• Ken Rosenthal
• Jeff Passan
• Rob Neyer
• Joe Posnanski
• Jayson Stark
• Tim Lemke
• Chris Isidore
• Michael Hiestand
• Jim Baker (and Jim Baker)
• Nate Silver
• John Brattain (and John Brattain)
• Salon’s King Kaufman
• Craig (The Shyster) Calcaterra
• Rany Jazayerli
• Dan Fox
• Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog
• Celtics Blog
• Awful Announcing
• The Big Lead
• Joe Siegler’s Ranger Fans
• David Pinto’s Baseball Musings
• 38 Pitches
• Athletics Nation
• Brock for Broglio
• Peter Abraham’s LoHud Yankees Blog
• Home Run Derby
• Detroit Bad Boys
• Yardbarker

When Sports Is Entertainment
Places where Sports and Entertainment Collide

• Sports By Brooks
• Bugs and Cranks
• Larry Brown’s Sports
• Fire Joe Morgan
• Deadspin

On Occasion, Let’s Discuss
Places Where I Chat

• Baseball Think Factory
• Ballpark Guys
• Sons of Sam Horn

Don’t forget… Maury holds the right to add to this list as his memory gets jogged.

GOT A SUGGESTION? POST IT IN THE COMMENTS

• Selling the Drama: Red Sox, Collusion, and Barry Bonds
• Box Seat at Yankee Stadium Costs 1029% More Than in ‘67
• Can MLB Weather the Recession?
• The Florida Marlins Love Living on Welfare
• CBSSports.com’s March Madeness on Demand Traffic Up 122%
• The NFL is Carrying $9 Billion in Debt

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

Maybe it was jetlag. Maybe it was culture shock. Maybe it explains why he went 0 for 5. But, Dustin Pedrioa got a dose of what the atmosphere is like at a baseball game in Japan, and he didn’t dig it, according to Jeff Passan.

As choreographed drums and horns, chants and claps blared in-between at bats, Pedrioa looked up from dugout.

“What the (expletive) is that?” Pedroia asked.

When it was explained to him that it was all part of taking in a game in Japan, Pedrioa continued the part of the ugly American.

“Shut up!” Pedroia yelled toward the fans, some 400 feet away.

This coming from a guy that gets an earful of expletives at Yankee Stadium each time the Red Sox visit. Apparently, “different” doesn’t sit well with “Mr. 0 for 5”.

Recently, however, I’ve been looking into some of the promotions that are done in Japan, with an eye toward how the minor leagues might leverage them into revenues. Sometimes “different” is interesting enough to turn into gold.

The question is, will American fans take an interest?

Pedroia may represent those rooted in American baseball tradition to the point of being close minded about trying something new — or at least new when it comes to rooting at games. Japanese baseball fans may be more closely related to soccer fans. We’d rather scream and yell as individuals than do something collectively. Maybe Americans are far too individualistic to engage in collective rooting for their team.

Either that, or we’re too engaged in being Americans to give something outside our little world a spin. Personally, I think we should all take in a game in Japan. Taste from a different fruit off the vine, if you like. Doing a very poor job at being Confucius: “’Different’ can often lead to wisdom.”

OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK:

Both Red Sox and A’s Win Exhibition Games in Japan – The Biz of Baseball

New Era Reaches Three-Year Deal with Korean Baseball – The Biz of Baseball

First Ever Yankees Fantasy Baseball Camp to Be Held – The Biz of Baseball

CBSSports.com’s March Madeness on Demand Traffic Up 122% - The Biz of Basketball

Checking or Rubbing? Stars’ Modano Welcomes NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson to the Ice – The Biz of Hockey

Ford Field Sues AAFL – The Biz of Football

CFL: Commissioner Cohon Working to Bring Team Back to Ottawa – The Biz of Football

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

Brown’s full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.