MLB Games Are Over, Business Begins

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The Year of the Backloaded Contract. I'll admit that it doesn't quite have a ring to it, but for Giancarlo Stanton and Russell Martin it's a reality nonetheless.


On Monday, Stanton signed the biggest contract in North American professional sports history at 13 years, $325 million. Regardless of Stanton's current talent-level and potential to still grow, it surely surprised many to see the Miami Marlins -- yes, the lowly Marlins! -- open up the checkbook wider than ever before.

S4SC with Sonny Vaccaro Day 2 Recap

Sonny Vaccaro presented to us, on day two, on "Life After the O'Bannon Case" and how it will affect the future of collegiate athletics.  Vaccaro gave the audience a solo presentation on his opinions on the result of O'Bannon v. NCAA and life going forward.  Sonny discussed how the NCAA represents control and how it takes control of many individuals, mainly the student-athletes.  Vaccaro used examples like how the NCAA has their own vocabulary.  Words, such as "student-athlete," "true freshman," and "collegiate model" are nowhere to be found in the English dictionary, but are only in the NCAA bylaws year after year.  They use these words to defend themselves against opposition saying the "kids" are athletes first and not students or are treated unfairly.

S4SC with Sonny Vaccaro Day 1 Recap

The 2014 Sport for Social Change Conference started off with a bang Thursday night!  Fans were blessed with a wonderful conversation between ESPN's Tom Farrey and basketball marketing legend, Sonny Vaccaro.  Vaccaro began his basketball marketing career with the Dapper Dan High School All Star Game in Pittsburgh, PA in 1965.  Dapper Dan was the first high school basketball all star game in the country; a groundbreaking idea by Vaccaro to help the public see the young basketball talent in the U.S.

Sport for Social Change Conference Preview

The Drexel Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) will hold its second annual Sport for Social Change Conference, beginning on Thursday, Nov. 13 and concluding Friday, Nov. 14.

Thursday's portion of the Sport for Social Change Conference will feature a conversation with Sonny Vaccaro, the legendary sports marketing executive. The conversation will be directed by Tom Farrey, an enterprise reporter for ESPN and director of the Aspen Institute's Sport and Society Program. Vaccaro will speak about his involvement and thoughts about the Ed O'Bannon v. NCAA case.

Vaccaro and Farrey's conversation will take place at 6 p.m. in the Bossone Research Center's Mitchell Auditorium.

K.J. McDaniels Destroys a Basketball; Puts Himself in RoTY Conversation

Shooting Guard/Small Forward, K.J. McDaniels

      In the 2013 NBA Draft 76ers fans saw All-Star point guard traded for the #6 overall pick that year (Nerlens Noel) and the need to fill the hole at point guard.  With their own pick that year, #11 overall, they filled that need with former Syracuse point guard, Michael Carter-Williams.  Since then the man known as "MCW" went on to win Rookie of the Year honors for the 76ers, and will be making his 2014/15 debut within the coming days, finally healthy after off-season shoulder surgery.

World Series Ratings Down Again

The World Series this year featured great stories, the kinds that don't need media manufacturing and fluff. 

The Kansas City Royals find themselves in the World Series for the first time since 1985. Madison Bumgarner is now a cult hero. The series came down to Game 7 with a runner on third base, which apparently was only the third time ever. And the Giants themselves won their third World Series in five years.

Postseason Hero: Madison Bumgarner

A calm, cool and collected Madison Bumgarner is about to earn his third World Series ring in his first five full seasons. You can see how calm and humble Madison Bumgarner is on any of the interviews he has. This was a postseason to remember for World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner. This performance by Madison Bumgarner in the postseason is something we will probably never see again. Pitching 52 and 2/3 innings for the postseason is a single postseason record as he broke the record of 48 and 1/3 innings. His earned run average in the World Series was a sizzling 0.43 making his career World Series ERA 0.25. I can assure you there were some of you who had no idea who Madison Bumgarner was before this postseason. Obviously he stepped up in the big stage winning the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP.

Sport for Thought: The Expansion of Roc Nation Sports

It is not everyday when a rap superstar decides to become a sports agent and represent some of the biggest names in sports. When Jay Z announced the launch of Roc Nation Sports in April of 2013 with the acquisition of ex- Scott Boras client Robinson Cano, the entire sports world was shocked. At the time, not many people took the new agency seriously and thought it would turn into another Master P situation and not last. But just last week, company president Michael Yormark announced the agencies interest in expansion through the acquisition of other agencies as well as the hiring of qualified agents.