Bang For Their Buck: The Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout Signings

Major League Baseball teams have been known to dole out the big bucks to their star players, with no maximum on how much the contract can be worth. This has led to contracts like Alex Rodriguez's 10-year, $275 million, or the recent signing of Robinson Cano by the Seattle Mariners, for 10-years, totaling $240 million. Within the last week, two more names have been added to list of top contracts in all of sports; Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. Ironically, these two are regarded as the top two players in all of baseball.

Becoming a Professional MVP: The Kobe

In 1996, the Charlotte Hornets elected to draft a young 19-year old kid from Philadelphia, as the 13th overall pick, to play for them in the NBA – his name, Kobe Bryant. Wait!?! Kobe has only played for the Los Angeles Lakers, right?

Baseball is Back: NL, AL West Preview and Prediction

Who takes the NL West?

After taking a look at the NL and AL East and Central, it is only right to look at the West. Then you will be all ready for the baseball season!

Dr. Staurowsky talks Northwestern union ruling on MSNBC

Baseball is Back: NL, AL Central Preview and Prediction

Who takes the NL Central?

After taking a look at the NL and AL East, I will be looking into the National and American League Central.

Under Further Review: The Good and Bad of the NCAA Tournament Opening Weekend

The first four days of the NCAA tournament are basically the sports equivalent to four straight days of Christmas. And I mean Thursday through Sunday; the "first four" doesn't count. Each day featured 12 or so straight hours of nonstop madness, and luckily thanks to Ohio State's first round flop, we could all enjoy the rest of the day without worrying about our bracket being perfect. Those 48 hours were put on the national television stage by CBS and Turner (TNT, TBS, and TruTV), and, as expected, there were One Shining Moments and there were Chris Webber Timeouts.

Baseball is Back: NL, AL East Preview and Prediction

March Madness is happening right now and I bet some of your brackets are already busted but let’s not forget baseball season in right around the corner! Or you can say it has already started with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks playing a two game series in Sydney, Australia. Like always, there were some major off season signings that will impact the season. Over the next few days, I will be taking a dive into each division in baseball and giving some key notes. I will be predicting the standings because I’m still in March Madness mode.

Are the 76ers "Tanking" or do they Actually Suck?

Year in and year out, fans witness teams in all leagues appear to "give up" or "not try to win."  With the 2014 NBA Draft appearing to be one of the strongest and deepest in recent times, it appeared from the beginning that some teams would attempt to purposely lose in order to have the opportunity to draft a talent like Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker.  This past week, the Philadelphia 76ers lost a franchise-record, twenty-one straight games.  The question is:  Are they tanking on purpose, or are they actually a bad team?

Water Cooler Talk: What to do Over Co-op

Co-op is right around the corner for a lot of us.  This is always a nice time of the year because we are done being full time students and can just focus on gaining professional experience.  If this is your first co-op what you might not realize is how much free time you are going to have.  You should use this free time wisely and try to develop yourself professional and personally.  I have come up with a few suggestions for things to do over these next six months.  

FIFA World Cup 2014: Pokemon Stadium

 

The teams have been selected and the World Cup is just around the corner. There has been a last minute team added to the cup this year, and it happens the be comprised of Pikachu and friends. Yes, there will be Pokémon in the stadium this year! If you don’t get that joke it probably just means you didn’t grow up glued to a Nintendo 64 like I did. It’s ok though, all you need to know is that Adidas, The Pokémon Company, and Japan’s National Team will be teaming up in a new exciting marketing plan. 

Atlantic Division Noteworthies: Knicks, Sixers

For most of the season the Atlantic Division has displayed some fairly bad basketball.  If it weren't for the Brooklyn Nets seriously turning their season around, and the Toronto Raptors surge following the trade of Rudy Gay, the Atlantic Division might have boasted five sub .500 teams. There are only five teams in the division. As it stands three teams, Philadelphia, Boston and New York will be finishing well below that mark. While unlikely the wheels could still fall off for the Nets.  Toronto looks safe, as they lead the division with a 37-28 record.  However, as the proverbial stretch-run to the playoffs begins in the NBA, it may come as a surprise that two of the below .500 teams from this very division have recently commanded NBA headlines. 

An Offer You Can Refuse: A Look at the Qualifying Offer

Baseball free agency allows players to be signed to some of the largest contracts in all of sports. Alex Rodriguez was able to command a contract that had him being paid just shy of $30 million last year, while Clayton Kershaw just signed a contract extension that will give him an annual salary of over $30 million dollars. Talks of money this high have led to certain agreements being made in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between Major League Baseball executives and the Players' Union. These changes made it so that teams with very high payrolls, such as the Yankees or Dodgers, would not be able to sign all the top players in free agency without giving up some sort of compensation in return to the team that the player is leaving.

Full 90: World Cup Update

We are 89 days out from the World Cup in Brazil. Here is an update on events surrounding the most coveted soccer tournament:

The Sports Biz Report - Episode 2.14 - Co-Op Panel Recap

Guard the Post: Sport is a business, but should the bottom line always be the first concern?

Patrick Hruby, keynote presenter at the first annual Sport for Social Change conference, said yesterday, "when someone tells you it's not about the money, it's probably about the money. And when that same someone won't even acknowledge said money, it's definitely about the money." A few weeks back, I highlighted the current state of the movement to change the name of the Washington football franchise. Naturally, it has developed. Again.

Under Further Review: March Media Madness

You're probably still sitting around thinking up the wildest conspiracy theories for True Detective, but remember that this is the only one that matters: the show was placed to run from the Sunday after the BCS National Championship Game to the the Sunday before Selection Sunday. I know. I'm just sayin'. As you get caught up in filling out brackets and wrapping your mind around the upsets, it can be easy to lose track of how big of a media event March Madness has become. Fear not; here are the most important media facts for you to remember as the NCAA men's basketball tournament approaches.

Sport For Thought: Johnny Football is the First Pick of the 2014 Endorsement Draft

Although uncertainty surrounds the pick in which Johnny Manziel should be chosen in the upcoming 2014 NFL Draft, he was unanimously the most sought after rookie by all major endorsement companies. A reigning Heisman trophy winner on the field, and a multitude of events that have been magnified by the media off the field, Manziel is arguably the most marketable and well-known athlete entering this year's draft.

 

Is Damian Lillard Leaving Adidas?

Is Damian Lillard, the rising star of the Portland Trail Blazers, about to opt out? No, this isn’t about his contract with the Portland Trail Blazers when he was drafted in 2012. It’s about his shoe deal with Adidas. Damian Lillard signed a shoe endorsement deal during his rookie year with Adidas and it has incentives which allows him to opt out of his contract. 

Remembering Dave O'Brien

On March 1, Dave O’Brien passed away after a long fight with cancer at the age of 57. Drexel University lost a professor. Drexel Sport Management lost the one who built up the program. Temple, Long Beach State and Northeastern lost a former director of athletics. Students and faculty everywhere lost a teacher, a mentor, and most of all a friend.

Here are some reflections students of Drexel made of Dave O’Brien:

Shocked by the Shockers

by: Micah Sokolsky

In college basketball, a new team seems to surprise the country each year.  People tend to consistently look at major college basketball conferences for top teams:  ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC, and the Big East/American.  Currently, the ACC has four teams in the top 15 in the nation and the new American Athletic Conference has five in the top 25.  Because of all the conference realignment, schools that used to play in smaller conferences and were considered “surprise” teams are now accepting invitations to the major conferences.  However, some of the mid-major schools are continuing to have success in college basketball, but how come they are rarely, if ever, the top ranked college program in the nation?

The Sports Biz Report - Episode 2.13

Water Cooler Talk: It's a Women's World in the UFC

Three years ago Dana White was asked about if women will ever be in the UFC.  His respond to this question was quick and one word, NEVER.  Boy has things changed.  Since then women fighters have helped make the sport of UFC even better.  They have put on great fights while also headlining cards and being on the Ultimate Fighter.  Women fighters have proved that fans want to watch their fights equally or more than the men’s fights. 

Three + Philadelphia = The Answer

If you don't know... shame on you

This past Saturday, March 1, 2014, many former Philadelphia 76ers and a sell-out crowd gathered at the Wells Fargo Center for a celebration they'd never forget and a Sixer's game they might soon wish to forget.  One might ask, what could the Philadelphia 76ers possibly be celebrating in a season where they are 15-45 and second worst in the entire NBA.  Great question, but the celebration had nothing to do with anybody playing in the game that night.

MLB Offseason Winners and Losers

With Spring Training under way, many teams have their 40-man rosters set, and ready to decide who will get the nod for the Opening Day team, and who will have to work their way through the minors. This offseason, not many teams were to shy when it came to opening their wallets, and shelling out the big bucks to get what they need. The trade front was rather quiet this deadline, with big names like David Price not being moved. Here is my list of some of this off-season's winners, losers, and surprises.