All an Atlantic Coast Conference spokeswoman and a spokesman for ESPN will say is “negotiations are ongoing.” Representatives from University of Maryland’s Department of Athletics won’t even talk about it.

But unconfirmed reports are running wild on the Internet and it appears Maryland and the ACC’s 11 other schools are due for a huge financial boon in 2011 as the conference nears a television deal that could increase each school’s share by roughly $7 million per year.

According to reports, the ACC has reached a 12-year, $1.86 billion television deal with sports giant ESPN, doubling the conference’s broadcast agreement with Raycom Sports and ESPN, which ends at the close of the 2010-2011 season.

Citing unnamed sources, the Sports Business Journal reported Monday that ESPN will pay the ACC $155 million a year to broadcast the conference’s football and basketball games through the 2022-23 season, more than double the approximately $75 million the ACC is making now.

Charlotte-based Raycom will continue its long association with the ACC by subleasing games from ESPN for regional syndication.

Maryland’s Department of Athletics serves 27 sports teams and has an annual expense budget of approximately $55 million, according to the school.

Translation: $7 million more a year will put each school’s share at about $13 million. That’ll make a nice difference for a school considered to have a mid-sized budget. And let’s not forget the cuts Maryland had to make in this most recent year’s athletics budget (for more details click here.)

And for the cherry on top of the sundae, rumors have it that Maryland could get an even bigger slice of  conference revenue sharing pie — but not with the ACC. According to The (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press’ Teel Time blog, the Big Ten Conference’s planned realignment could include Maryland. No one’s saying anything yet (again, unnamed sources cited here) but money-wise it’s huge: Big Ten schools receive about $22 million per year.

For you math nerds, that would be a near-quadrupling of Maryland’s conference money (although Maryland would have to play in a historically much tougher conference).

Either way it appears good financial times are ahead for Maryland athletics. Now about that football team …

Powered by Bookmarkify™

First naked bowling, now lingerie football … if TDR readers are sensing a theme with my latest blog posts, I assure you it’s just a coincidence.

But I can’t help it, I’ve got to chime in on this one. There’s been a lot of chatter over the airwaves, in print and around the water cooler about the Baltimore Charm, the city’s new lingerie football team that held auditions this weekend.

The basic question is, is women playing football in their underwear exploitation? Or is it just good marketing? The Charm will be the newest team in the 10-team Lingerie Football League, which has teams like the Dallas Desire and the San Diego Seduction. The league bills itself as “true fantasy football.”

Gotta give them credit for just putting it out there — league organizers know what sells tickets.

And it seems as if the women trying out for the squad are perfectly willing to buy into this image. After all they know the deal going in and no one’s forcing them to strip down to their undies and run around like Pamela Anderson did for Baywatch in the 1990s. (It should be noted that the women do wear pads … but they’re neatly positioned so as not to take away from the main attraction.)

So if the players are OK with it, should we be making a fuss? After all, it’s been pointed out that women’s beach volleyball players are just as scantily clad — and they’re on NBC on a regular basis (not to mention the Pro Beach East Women’s Volleyball Tournament that will be held May 15 at the Preakness Infield Fest).

But there is a difference. In beach volleyball, two-piece bathing suits are the uniform. And it’s the same for the men (although some do cheat by wearing sleeveless t-shirts with their shorts, but you get my point). Here, the difference in uniforms is almost the whole point. The league’s coaches and organizers may say fans are drawn in by the lingerie at first but come back for the football, but just one look at the league’s homepage and it’s clear what this is about.

But again, I wonder — should we care? An interesting note is that this league says it is profitable. Would it still be profitable if it was just women playing football? Maybe that’s a question for the Independent Women’s Football League, which I’ll note, I’d never heard of until five minutes ago when I did a Google search.

If women want to make some extra money running around playing football in their underwear, and if people want to buy tickets to watch, should we stand in judgment? Or should we applaud them for finding a business model and a marketing angle that seems to be working?

Powered by Bookmarkify™

So if the Ravens make the big game (I won’t say the official title for fear of jinxing it), will we be adding purple to the Maryland state flag? At this rate, that seems like a possibility.

Last week, Ravens grounds crew members painted City Hall and Federal Hill with the large Ravens logos. Now, with the blessing of the area’s county and city governments, late last night and early into this morning, the Ravens staff continued painting the town purple with spray chalk and smaller stencils.

From a Ravens press release: “As Baltimoreans wake up this morning, they will find the Ravens’ logo and team mantra ‘Play Like A Raven’ at over 100 locations throughout Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County. These locations consist of high-trafficked areas, marquee destinations, hospitals, libraries and other key spots such as the Inner Harbor, Cross Street Market, the Hippodrome and the Hunt Valley Town Center.”

Kidding aside, stuff like this is one of the reasons Baltimore is such a great sports town. But it takes two to tango — the Ravens are clearly marking their territory and making a big effort to keep the team in the forefront of people’s minds.

As Ravens President Dick Cass told me in a recent interview, the Ravens have a smaller market area than most NFL teams. And, being surrounded by teams in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Washington, they do not have a strong secondary market. So, the team has to put a lot of effort into the areas that are solidly pro-Ravens to keep its fan base energized.

“Trying to generate more out of Baltimore is important for our future,” Cass said.

This weekend the Ravens face a tough opponent on Saturday in the Indianapolis Colts, who started off the season 14-0 before slipping to 14-2 at the finish.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

No sooner did the clock wind down on the Baltimore-Oakland game Sunday, than did the Ravens playoff gear emerge from its hiding place. At exactly 7:22 p.m. Sunday night, the e-mail announcing the “Play like a Raven” playoff tees was sent out.

This year’s theme seems more team-oriented — not singling out any one or two players but including a group of the team’s stars (including its coach) on the front of the shirt.

The shirts, which are retailing for $26 and $29 each, no doubt add a nice little revenue cushion for the Sports Legends Museum store this winter. The longer the Ravens stay in the post season, the longer the official team store can keep selling playoff gear.

I like the design this year and it’s a good thing these shirts didn’t have to go the way of last year’s “Baltimore AFC Champions” tees, or this year’s Pittsburgh playoff tees (which were undoubtedly made…you know — just in case the team got incredibly lucky Sunday).

But that’s OK, somewhere in Central America, Pittsburgh made the playoffs.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

The Ed Block Courage Award recipients are scheduled to be announced by the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation today at Baltimore’s Sports Legends Museum — but don’t expect it to be a totally congenial display of what’s great about the NFL.

Some fans in the city are upset over the Philadelphia Eagles’ choice for their award recipient, Michael Vick. (The Ed Block Courage Award is given to NFL players who have been selected by their teammates. The team selects someone from their squad they believe exemplifies a commitment to sportsmanship and courage, according to the foundation.)

According to The Baltimore Sun, animal lovers in Baltimore plan to protest the press conference that officially announces the 32 players set to receive the award this year. The Baltimore Ravens, by the way, selected Dawan Landry as their 2009 winner.

In case you were under a rock this summer, Vick was released from prison after serving two years for his role in a brutal dog-fighting operation and signed with the Eagles in August. Those upset about Vick getting the award say the Eagles’ selection is offensive and Vick in no way reflects the intention of the award.

“The Ed Block Courage Award Foundation is an NFL-supported charity dedicated to recognizing courage in the League while improving the lives of abused/neglected children in NFL cities throughout the country,” according to the foundation Web site. Ed Block was the longtime head athletic trainer of the Baltimore Colts, was a pioneer in his profession and a respected humanitarian, the Web site says.

Do you think Vick getting this award is out of line?  On the one hand, he’s served his time, he’s now working with the Humane Society and does seem to be turning his life around. On the other hand, it’s only been two years — is it too soon to start congratulating Vick and forget his past?

Powered by Bookmarkify™

It seems like a good problem to have but managing millions of dollars can come around to bite a pro football player in the tush.

That’s why the NFL Players’ Association has called upon Financial Finesse to help players out with planning ahead for their future without football.

“With no guarantees in NFL contracts and the potential for a 2011 lock out, we want to make sure our members are prepared for injury or anything that cripples their career,” said DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA executive director. “We’d also like them to transition from football to a lifetime of financial security and independence — something that is possible only with smart financial planning.”

Financial Finesse is based in California and the NFLPA is in Washington, D.C.

I have written about this topic before and focused on pro baseball players, but saving money for the future can be an even tougher concept for football players.

As financial adviser Joe Geier told me then, football players are drafted and go straight to the NFL with a lot of money at a young age — many go from living it up in college to living it up in the league but with a mush bigger expense account.

Baseball players can be a little more worn down by the time they arrive in the majors. Most are drafted, spend a few years in the minors getting paid a pittance and have the chance to calm down a bit before they’re called up. While they are certainly capable of blowing through paychecks when they finally do get their millions, the problem is more prevalent in the NFL (and the NBA for the same reasons).

While much of the spending is for toys like a big house, cars, etc., another large part of players’ spending goes toward taking care of their family members. That plus taxes, and these guys aren’t as insanely wealthy as it might seem. (They’re just semi-crazy wealthy.)

I go back and forth between feeling sympathetic for players — mostly for the ones who don’t get their jerseys sold in stores but who protect the guy that makes 10 times as much as him — and thinking it shouldn’t be that hard to save money when you’re still paid a premium by anyone else’s standards.

What do you think?

Powered by Bookmarkify™

When I told my friends about the story I was writing for today’s paper on Delaware’s sports betting they all asked me the same thing. So why the heck are the pro leagues against this?

It’s a good question and it’s one I have a hard time answering.  Here is the gist of the leagues’ argument against why Vegas-style betting on sports should not be expanded to Delaware:

“Sports betting lotteries involving single-game betting threaten the integrity of professional and amateur sports and are fundamentally at odds with the principle — essential to the success of the MLB, the NBA, the NCAA, the NFL and the NHL — that the outcomes of professional and collegiate athletic contests must be perceived by the public as being determined solely on the basis of honest athletic competition.”

Also, “The implementation of a full sports betting scheme in Delaware would irreparably harm professional and amateur sports by fostering suspicion and skepticism that individual plays and final scores of games may have been influenced by factors other than honest athletic competition.”

Click here for the full complaint.

Here are a couple of popular arguments against that statement.

1) NFL injury reports: why in the world should teams be required to submit injury reports Tuesdays and Thursdays if people weren’t watching the point spread? Sure, the reports also help for fantasy sports — which also turns into a form of gambling when players contribute money into a winner’s pot — but injury reports have been around much longer than fantasy sports. Read the rest of this entry »

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Wow. In this 24-hour news cycle, if you don’t get in front of something right away, the rumors will fly.

Nike issued a statement this morning saying it is NOT signing Vick. From the Washington Post:

“Nike does not have a contractual relationship with Michael Vick,” the spokesman, Kejuan Wilkins, said, according to the reports. “We have agreed to supply product to Michael Vick as we do a number of athletes who are not under contract with Nike.”

Meanwhile a quick Google news search shows that about 850 news articles and opinion colums were published between 6 p.m. yesterday and this morning on the Nike “deal.”

So what the heck took Nike so long to correct this error?

Powered by Bookmarkify™

UPDATE:  Nike is now denying that it has entered into a new endorsement deal with Michael Vick. See Liz Farmer’s updated blog here.

His is the fourth-highest selling jersey in the NFL this year — I’d guess you’d have to be insane to pass up on the opportunity to cash in.

Nike, which dropped then-Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in 2007 after he plead guilty to running an interstate dog fighting ring, has resigned the reinstated QB who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. After his release from prison this summer, questions abounded about Vick’s ability to repair his image, get back into the league and be a starting player once again.

Seems we’re getting closer to those answers.

After serving his league suspension, Vick played last Sunday and took a few snaps for Kevin Kolb, who was starting in place of an injured Donovan McNabb. He threw two incomplete passes and ran for 7 yards, but the fans seemed to embrace him.

Reinstatement into the NFL? Check.

I saw a Vick jersey last Sunday at Delaware Park’s sports betting book. When I asked him why he bought it, he had this “Well, why wouldn’t I buy it?” look on his face.

“It’s his first time back today,” he said.

Apparently that’s good enough for fans…which is good enough for Nike. I get that. Image rehabilitation? I wouldn’t say “check,” but we’re on our way. Wonder what other former sponsors will come crawling back? AirTran? EA Sports?

But not everyone feels Nike’s being sensible. Check out Charles Robinson’s column on Yahoo! Sports for his view on why Nike’s move is hypocritical after the company basically scorned Vick in 2007.

What’s your take on Nike climbing on board with Vick?

Powered by Bookmarkify™

No movies tonight
The drama is in the streets
See yinz on Monday
–Manny Thiener, Pittsburgh, PA

Today, the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page soft feature article about a Haiku contest held by the organizers of the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, which starts next weekend in my hometown. Entrants submitted predictable banal lines of verse, in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. Stuff like this, from presumed Pittsburgher Kelly Lynskey:

Neighbors of the world
Welcome to our three waters
Share with us your peace

As a fan of the World-Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, I am, like one or two other members of this newsroom, acutely aware of how high emotions run between these two cities, so I sent out a mass email to the newsroom asking for Haikus from our staff about Pittsburgh, or about the G-20, or about anything they felt moved to write after reading the WSJ story. Predictably, even though I didn’t mention football, most of the poems I got were Steelers/Ravens-related. here is a sampling.

From copy editor Wayne Countryman:

Roethlisberger won’t
End inequality or
Win the Super Bowl

From sports business reporter Liz Farmer:

Pittsburgh’s on a roll
G-20 and the Super Bowl
Luck always runs out.

Hm. Does this mean Liz is rooting for Pittsburgh’s misfortune in areas other than football? Economic development and international recognition, for example?

Associate Editor Paul Samuel was more of a civic-minded Balti-booster:

Why go to Pittsburgh
For G-20 summit?
Baltimore has much more charm

That one, however, I’m going to have to disqualify, because its syllabic scheme is 5-6-7, or so unorthodox that I’m not even sure it qualifies as a Haiku, if any poem not written in Japanese, can indeed qualify as a Haiku (energy and finance reporter Danielle Ulman, who did not submit a poem, insists that in order to qualify, a Haiku must have a reference to the seasons in it).

Richard Simon, our multimedia supporter, wins the prize for Haiku most heavily reliant on a patently false version of revisionist history, but his second line shows impressive lyrical promise, in my opinion:

Santonio Holmes
Big catch on the biggest stage
One foot in, one out

Business Editor Ed Waldman sent this in, and if anyone out there can figure out what it means (beyond the fact that Steelers rookie cornerback Keenan Lewis wears #20), they get a prize:

Steelers fans thinking
that ‘G-20′ is number
of Keenan Lewis

The last three Haikus that I’ll share are the ones that had the least to do with football. Because ultimately, the G-20 isn’t really about football. It’s about macroeconomic cooperation and public relations. Legal reporter Caryn Tamber took the high road:

I wish I could write
Pithy words about football
Sorry, no can do

Government reporter Andy Rosen, true to form, did his homework. His Haiku references the Allegheny County Department of Sanitation, Pittsburgh’s waste-disposal authority. He gets points for being both wonkish and disparaging in only 17 syllables:

Three Rivers are joined
But do not swim or sip them
It smells. ALCOSAN.

And finally, the winner of the Daily Record G-20 Haiku prize, comes from legal reporter Brendan Kearney, who got my email requesting submissions right before lunch, apparently, and we were planning on hitting up the Kooper’s Chowhound Burger Wagon for some burgers (they were delicious). He read the article, then called on all his powers of rhyme and composition to compose the following mellifluous lyrics:

Yes I am hungry
For a juicy slab of meat
And maybe bacon.

Powered by Bookmarkify™