I like sports, a lot. All sports, from football to cricket. I was in New York City this past weekend on a rainy Saturday taking a nap while watching the Six Nations Rugby Championship on BBC America.
However, if you follow sports, the constant conflicts between the team owners and the player unions are always in the news. The NHL lost a season to a labor dispute in the early 2000's, and the NFL and NBA are potentially facing lockouts or strikes after the 2010 or 2011 seasons. The disagreements between the two groups is all about the Collective Bargaining Agreement, or the rules pertaining to signing players and offering contracts in each league.
The Collective Bargaining Agreements themselves are quite interesting reads for an attorney, or a sports geek. It is interesting to see the things negotiated on behalf of the players.
For instance, if you ever found yourself thinking how players deal with getting traded mid-season, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in the NBA answers this. Players get hotel accommodation for up to 45 days, rent reimbursement of up to $4500/month for three months, and all reasonable moving expenses paid. Not a bad deal. Do NBA players have to pay for their own meals on the road? Not at all. They get $102/day meal money in 2005 dollars, adjusted for inflation using the CPI. That buys a lot of room service.
The NBA CBA also covers the completely mundane as well. The NBA Players Association also has the right to inspect any facility used by the NBA to conduct practices or games and can get a grievance heard within 24 hours. If players get the right to be given tickets, senior players have to be given better seat locations. Players with more than three years in the NBA have the right to buy two tickets to every game. And also, each NBA team agrees not to hold any player responsible for an injury in a fight to another player.
Also, if you're an NBA played demoted to the NBDL (see Thabeet, Hasheem), you are entitled to fly first class and not have a roommate in a hotel room, and you still get your $102+/day per diem. Not a bad deal at all, especially when considering all the other players will be jealous and angry with you for not having to suffer as they do.
All and all, for sports geeks interested with the rules of what perks players get, what sort of accommodation they are entitled to, and just the minutiae that needs to be negotiated for there not to be a lockout or a strike. It's not just about player contract size or length, it's how much meal money or how many tickets each player gets as well.
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, November 16, 2009
4th and F
What a kick in the teeth, Belichick.
It is one thing to show confidence in your offense to get the job done, but it is completely another to show such a lack of faith in your defense that you will do something so risky. Why risk giving an offense with so much momentum such a short field?
This could be the Colts Baltimore Ravens game, when the Patriots in 2007 continued their undefeated season by beating the Ravens by the skin of their teeth thanks to a poor time-out call at the end by the Ravens. Here, Belichick threw the game away to the Colts.
If the Colts are going to go undefeated (which I sincerely doubt... their defense is just horrible), here's hoping they do just as well in the playoffs as the 2007 Pats.
It is one thing to show confidence in your offense to get the job done, but it is completely another to show such a lack of faith in your defense that you will do something so risky. Why risk giving an offense with so much momentum such a short field?
This could be the Colts Baltimore Ravens game, when the Patriots in 2007 continued their undefeated season by beating the Ravens by the skin of their teeth thanks to a poor time-out call at the end by the Ravens. Here, Belichick threw the game away to the Colts.
If the Colts are going to go undefeated (which I sincerely doubt... their defense is just horrible), here's hoping they do just as well in the playoffs as the 2007 Pats.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Colbert US Speedskating Team
The US Speedskating Team must be very hard up for donations. Stephen Colbert is having the "Colbert Nation" sponsor the team, and the sponsorship idea seems to be that Colbert will solicit donations for the team and not contribute anything himself.
On the one hand, people may not give the team as much money as the previous sponsor DSB Bank.
On the other hand, Colbert is going to beat the Speedskating team like a dead horse on his show. Speedskating is in the middle of the road in terms of popularity in the Winter Olympics. Colbert's show gets 1-2 million viewers a night, and likely in a different demographic compared to those who watch the Winter Olympics.
But no publicity is bad publicity, and public donations are probably better than sponsorship by an insolvent Dutch bank, so the Speedskating Team is probably better off for it. Large sponsors of sporting teams or events are not easy to find, sponsors are much more likely to be backing out than willing to support teams in this economy. When Colbert showed interest, the Speedskating Team probably jumped at it, realizing it was probably their most lucrative opportunity.
But hopefully they do not become too much of a joke because of it.
On the one hand, people may not give the team as much money as the previous sponsor DSB Bank.
On the other hand, Colbert is going to beat the Speedskating team like a dead horse on his show. Speedskating is in the middle of the road in terms of popularity in the Winter Olympics. Colbert's show gets 1-2 million viewers a night, and likely in a different demographic compared to those who watch the Winter Olympics.
But no publicity is bad publicity, and public donations are probably better than sponsorship by an insolvent Dutch bank, so the Speedskating Team is probably better off for it. Large sponsors of sporting teams or events are not easy to find, sponsors are much more likely to be backing out than willing to support teams in this economy. When Colbert showed interest, the Speedskating Team probably jumped at it, realizing it was probably their most lucrative opportunity.
But hopefully they do not become too much of a joke because of it.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Idiot Fan Gets Refund From Oregon Coach
Many people have been to a sporting event and felt that the team underperformed and that their ticket money was wasted. One fan took action:
Tony Seminary traveled to Boise for Oregon's opening game against Boise State. He was apparently so disappointed in Oregon's performance that he e-mailed this to the coach of the Ducks, Chip Kelly:
"I was so angry with the game (even before the post-game melee) I am sending you an invoice for my trip to Boise. The product on the field Thursday night is not something I was at all proud of, and I feel as though I’m entitled to my money back for the trip. Please see my invoice attached in this email. I will happily send along receipts if need be." (from everydayshouldbesaturday.com)
So what does Coach Kelly do when he gets this e-mail? He responds with a request for his address, and then sends a personal check (click on the quote above to see) to Seminary for the amount of his expenses, $439. Well, this apparently caused quite an impression on Seminary, because he not only returned the check but is now Kelly's biggest fan.
Sure, you want to say that Kelly is a great man for actually sending a check to Seminary, but clearly the problem is that Seminary is a real idiot. For one, it's college sports. No matter how much you complain about Oregon's effort, none of the students are getting paid for their performance. No, the scholarship doesn't count, because the scholarship is a rouse to get the players on the team and the colleges don't graduate the players. The players play because they love football and because they would love to play in the NFL, as unlikely as it may be. College sports, great as they are, shouldn't be taken so seriously by idiots like Seminary.
As Seminary is happy to say "it's really hard to shut me up." He clearly should learn how, and quit taking college sports so seriously. Just because college athletes playing for zero money had a bad game doesn't mean you need to whine so much that you feel as if you deserve a refund from the exorbitant amount of money he likely can't afford following a bunch of college kids around the Pacific Northwest.
Tony Seminary traveled to Boise for Oregon's opening game against Boise State. He was apparently so disappointed in Oregon's performance that he e-mailed this to the coach of the Ducks, Chip Kelly:
"I was so angry with the game (even before the post-game melee) I am sending you an invoice for my trip to Boise. The product on the field Thursday night is not something I was at all proud of, and I feel as though I’m entitled to my money back for the trip. Please see my invoice attached in this email. I will happily send along receipts if need be." (from everydayshouldbesaturday.com)
So what does Coach Kelly do when he gets this e-mail? He responds with a request for his address, and then sends a personal check (click on the quote above to see) to Seminary for the amount of his expenses, $439. Well, this apparently caused quite an impression on Seminary, because he not only returned the check but is now Kelly's biggest fan.
Sure, you want to say that Kelly is a great man for actually sending a check to Seminary, but clearly the problem is that Seminary is a real idiot. For one, it's college sports. No matter how much you complain about Oregon's effort, none of the students are getting paid for their performance. No, the scholarship doesn't count, because the scholarship is a rouse to get the players on the team and the colleges don't graduate the players. The players play because they love football and because they would love to play in the NFL, as unlikely as it may be. College sports, great as they are, shouldn't be taken so seriously by idiots like Seminary.
As Seminary is happy to say "it's really hard to shut me up." He clearly should learn how, and quit taking college sports so seriously. Just because college athletes playing for zero money had a bad game doesn't mean you need to whine so much that you feel as if you deserve a refund from the exorbitant amount of money he likely can't afford following a bunch of college kids around the Pacific Northwest.
Monday, August 24, 2009
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