Everyone is trying to figure out exactly what is happening to our economy these days, but most people think it can largely be attributed to the price of gas. If gas goes up, so does the price of doing business. Now every industry has to raise prices yada, yada, yada. Well, Eye On Sports Media recently came across a passage by Michelle Brutlag Hosick from NCAA News, and she says that this state of affairs could possibly lead to some changes to the NCAA Tournament in 2009....

After high fuel prices, decreased flight capacity and new trip-related fees resulted in higher-than-budgeted expenses for championships travel during the past fiscal year, all three NCAA divisions are studying how to respond to those conditions during 2008-09.

The Executive Committee Finance Committee approved a review of travel-related issues and requested that various governance bodies, including the Division I Championships/Sports Management Cabinet and the Divisions II and III Championships Committees, provide an initial report and any recommendations related to championships travel management to the Executive Committee and leadership in each division by October 30.

The NCAA national office staff has been monitoring a changing environment that resulted in a $7.2 million increase in championships travel expenses during the recently completed fiscal year, compared to 2006-07. Costs in Division I increased 31 percent last year and 58 percent over the last three years. In Division II the increase was almost 13 percent last year and 44 percent over the last three. Division III has seen increases of 7.5 percent over the last year and about 43 percent for the three-year period.

Indications are that the trends will continue, with a projected increase of $6 to $7 million in Division I travel expenses, assuming no changes to current travel, seeding and bracketing policies are made.

While a shrunken field is highly unlikely, it's apparently a possibility that's being considered at the present time. However, the people who are probably going to be hurt the most are students. It's highly unlikely that a school will be able to fly some of their student body to tournament games this upcoming season, and this will in turn lead to teams staying on their same coast and the seeding being even harder to work out for the committee.

That's certainly not good news for one of the most popular sporting events in the country.

Increasing travel costs concern for championships (NCAA)
NCAA March Madness Field Size To Be Cut Next Year? (Sports On The Air)

(Usually) Everyday I'll throw out a photo from the AP or one of the bigger sites and you provide the caption. Hilarity ensues. I'm also adding a handful of links at the bottom of the page that you should check out each day.

Yesterday's Winners....


"Colbert obviously distraught over the ineffectiveness of the nets later said, "I thought they were supposed to keep the annoying shit on the outside?"- Mez

"Are you sure Simmons had to do this too?"- Steve

"Usually only Reilly's jokes are transparent and flimsy."- Chopper Dave

"After urging from Americans everywhere, Colbert sticks Reilly under the Cone of Silence."- Pete
_______________________________________

Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of the Mets celebrating after finally beating the Nats?


Daily Links:

Shrutebag Is Trashing Syracuse For No Reason Now (Troy Nunes)
Come On Rays Fans! (Ryan Parker)
Dwight Howard At The Rays Game (Bugs and Cranks)
Big Papi Is Selling His Bed (Red Sox Monster)
Ed Hochuli Is A Red Herring (Rumors and Rants)
Will Gilbert Ever Be The Same? (Sports Lounge)
Dancin' With The Boss (HHR)
Speaking Of HHR, Here's An Interview With Them (The Big Picture)
An Jordan Video Compilation (NESW Sports)
Confusing Names In Sports (Mondesi's House)
No Way Should Manny Be NL MVP (I'm Writing Sports)
Bring Back Recess! (Steady Burn)

No, it's not for comparing every quarterback in the NFL to Brett Favre, it's actually an existing matter from one of his other business ventures. Ron Jaworski has a ton of non-Football related ventures and one of those is apparently called Ron Jaworski Golf Management. Well, the owner of Running Deer Golf Club in Elmer, New Jersey is taking Jaws to court and claiming that the MNF analyst deceived him and forced the club into bankruptcy. From NJ.com....

The suit depicts how the Monday Night Football broadcaster and motivational speaker convinced Carman in early 2008 "that he would never do anything to hurt (them)" and allow his family to continue operating the club.

"Jaworski intended (Carman) rely on representations of his good intentions," according to Greiner. "Carman believed that he was dealing with a future partner rather than someone hostile to his interests."

Greiner said Jaworski offered at first to either enter into a near equal partnership so Carman could continue operating the club, or purchase the mortgage and resell it to Carman for a small profit. Jaworski, 57, the CEO of Ron Jaworski Golf Management of Blackwood, apparently reneged on his offer, instead opting for outright control by seeking to buy the mortgage from Sterling Bank for $3 million and make an unreachable proposal to Carman, according to the suit.

The mortgage package included the course and the Carman home, Greiner said.

Wow. Now I know that someone with a handful of small businesses like Jaws often runs problems of this nature, but that reads pretty bad for the analyst. Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding and that Jaworski wasn't trying to snake his way to steal a man's livelihood and home. If any of you lawyers out there want to weigh-in, feel free to do so in the comments.

Course owner suing ex-Eagle (NJ.com)

Last year it seemed like the "very funny" TBS crews were hastily put together without much thinking and a lot of local guys (Don Orisillo) were grabbed up at the last minute. TBS tried to nip that in the bud this year by hiring some people in the middle of the season, and even though they still picked up some locals, I think they have a good collection of leads and analysts for this year's playoffs.

The biggest addition though could be the very personable, Curtis Granderson of the Detroit Tigers. Granderson should add some energy to a studio show that was somewhat boring last year. The teams haven't been decided yet but here are your players....

Studio: Ernie Johnson, Cal Ripken, Dennis Eckersley and current Detroit Tigers centerfielder Curtis Granderson
Play-By-Play: Chip Caray, Dick Stockton, Don Orsillo and Milwaukee Brewers announcer Brian Anderson
Analysts: Ron Darling, Buck Martinez, Tony Gwynn, Joe Simpson, John Smoltz, and Harold Reynolds
Reporters: Tom Verducci, along with field reporters Craig Sager, Marc Fein and David Aldridge.

Caray, Darling and Martinez are on the call of the ALCS, but if I'm guessing on the rest of the teams, here's what I've come up with. They'll probably have Orsillo and Simpson back together, and then go with Stockton, Reynolds and Smoltz and then have Anderson and Gwynn round out the crews. Gwynn could very well end up with Stockton though as well.

Obviously it's early on, but I already like what I'm seeing here on paper. The Playoffs are right around the corner people, I hope you're ready.

How ironic is it that two days ago we were talking about how certain airports are adding SI stores to their terminals, and now we get this. Denver International Airport's Internet filter is apparently blocking certain websites because they have been deemed inappropriate, and yep....Sports Illustrated is one of them. From The Seattle Times via SbB....

Want to browse VANITY FAIR magazine on the Denver airport’s free Wi-Fi system? Sorry. You’ll have to buy it at the newsstand, because Denver International Airport’s Internet filter blocks VANITY FAIR as “provocative.”

Nor can you get to the popular gossip column perezhilton.com on the Denver airport’s Wi-Fi signal. Or the hipster-geek favorite BOINGBOING.NET. Or the SPORTS ILLUSTRATED swimsuit photos, even though the magazine’s bare-breasted cover shot is on prominent display at airport stores, right next to PENTHOUSE and HUSTLER.

Airport officials are erring on the side of caution in blocking access to certain sites through the free Internet browser offered to travelers. They say they’re using prudent judgment in a public, family-friendly atmosphere.

Well that's random now isn't it? Apparently even the airport spokesman is aware of the matter, but doesn't plan on doing anything about it. Sorry SI, you won't be getting any of the over 4,000! wi-fi connections from the airport anytime soon.

Denver airport Wi-Fi blocks popular magazine Web sites (Seattle Times)
Denver Airport Considers SI.Com A Porno Website (Sports by Brooks)

In an interview yesterday with Sports Business Daily, your rowdy friend and mine, Hank Williams Jr. was asked a couple of questions about the differences between MNF on ABC and ESPN. The man who's been singing the opening MNF theme for twenty years didn't pull any punches when comparing the two and had this to say....

Q: How much do you feel like your career is identified with Monday Night
Football?

Williams: I'll put it this way. I checked into a hotel in Detroit and
everybody is saying, "Who is that?" And then one of the doormen says, "Man,
what's wrong with you? That¹s the rowdy friend." That was hilarious. He
couldn't come up with my name. He just called me the rowdy friend. I went to
a game in Yankee Stadium last year, and, let me tell you, they were all over
me.

Q: Just because of Monday Night Football?

Williams: Oh, of course. I mean, come on. Twenty years of millions of
viewers, seven Super Bowls -- yeah, that had a little bit of an impact. A
one-year deal that's turned into an American signature of sports.

Q: How have things changed on the broadcast?

Williams: In the words of AL MICHAELS, he said, "Man, you¹re the only one
left." We kind of all know each other. And we¹ve been through the Mickey
Mouse thing, you know.

Q: What do you mean?

Williams: ABC moving to ESPN. Now they're all over there at that other
place.

Q: Have you noticed a change in going from ABC to ESPN?

Williams: I think everybody has, sure. You've got different people, you've
got a learning curve with new people, you've got other people that come back
into the fold. And all of a sudden, it's a little bit different. We're not
back there with (HOWARD) COSELL and (DON) MEREDITH and all that. But it¹s
still special.

"Special" is right my friend. If you ever want a shock to your system, sit through both the Sunday and Monday nighter this week. From top to bottom, NBC is a far superior product. And while ESPN is certainly trying to improve, they seem to be stuck in the mud at the moment. Well in every facet but ratings that is.

Oh and Hank, be careful my friend. That "Mouse" is very powerful and those twenty, one-year contracts you've enjoyed can quickly come to an end. Don't bit the hand that's been feeding you all these years.

(Via SBD)

ESPN has released its day-long timeline for covering the final game at Yankee Stadium this Sunday, and while a little over the top, the network does have some cool features planned. There will be a total of seven hours of pre-game content including the pre-game ceremonies (ESPN2, 7pm) before turning the broadcast over to Jon Miller and Joe Morgan for the call of the game.

The Baseball Tonight crew of Karl Ravech, Peter Gammons, John Kruk, Steve Phillips, Buck Showalter and Buster Olney, will be on hand as well. And while thhe list of special guests is still growing, here's who's confirmed to appear in the booth so far: Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Billy Crystal, and former Negro League Rookie of the Year Mahlon Duckett.

It's a lot to take in, but here's the schedule if you want mark anything down....

ESPN’s Day-Long Yankee Stadium Coverage

SportsCenter Specials (1-3; 4-6 p.m.), Baseball Tonight (6 p.m.) and SportsCenter
(7 p.m.): Live reports and discussion with commentators from Yankee Stadium; Interviews with current and former Yankee players and executives; A re-air of the 30 Yankee Stadium vignettes recounting some of the most memorable events ever held at the landmark venue; Classic innings in New York Yankees history.

(ESPN will re-air Yankee Stadium: Baseball’s Cathedral presented by Chevy, a one-hour documentary produced by MLB, at 3 p.m.)

Yankee Stadium Pre-Game Ceremonies: ESPN2, ESPN Radio, ESPN360.com and ESPN Mobile TV will present all pre-game ceremonies live from Yankee Stadium.

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles (8 p.m.): ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and ESPN International will present the final game from Yankee Stadium.

Post-Game Coverage: ESPNEWS will cover the entire post-game ceremonies live, with ESPN offering coverage within SportsCenter.

ESPN Classic: Beginning September 21 at 12 a.m., ESPN Classic will televise 20 consecutive hours of programming featuring events which occurred at Yankee Stadium.

12-2AM: 1976 ALCS, Game 5: Royals vs. Yankees – Chris Chambliss hits a walk-off home run
2-4AM: 1977 World Series, Game 6: Dodgers vs. Yankees – Reggie Jackson hits three home runs in the deciding game of the World Series
4-5AM: 1983 Red Sox vs. Yankees – Dave Righetti pitches Yankees’ first no-hitter since Don Larsen’s perfect game
5-6AM: 1983 Royals vs. Yankees – the George Brett pine tar incident
6-7AM: 1993 Indians vs. Yankees – Jim Abbott no-hits the Indians
7-9AM: 1996 World Series, Game 6: Braves vs. Yankees – the Yankees win their first World Series title since 1978
9-10AM: 1998 Twins vs. Yankees – David Wells becomes the first Yankee to toss a perfect game during the regular season
10-11AM: 1999 Expos vs. Yankees – on “Yogi Berra Day,” when Don Larsen threw out the ceremonial first pitch, David Cone tosses the 15th regular season perfect game
11 AM-1PM: 2001 World Series, Game 5: Diamondbacks vs. Yankees – Scott Brosius hits a home run with two outs
1-2PM: 2003 ALCS, Game 7: Red Sox vs. Yankees – Aaron Boone hits a pinch hit, game-winning home run in the bottom of the 11th inning
2-2:30PM: 1993 Max Schmeling vs. Max Bear
2:30-3PM: 1936 & 1938 Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling I & II
3-3:30PM: Joe Louis’ Greatest Hits, KO of Arturo Godoy at Yankee Stadium
3:30-4PM: 1946 Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn II
4-5PM: Joe Louis’ Greatest Hits, KO of Jersey Joe Walcott in 1947 at Yankee Stadium
5-6PM: 1950 Joe Louis vs. Ezzard Charles
6-6:30PM: 1954 Rocky Marciano vs. Ezzard Charles
6:30-7:30PM: 1955 Rocky Marciano vs. Archie Moore
7:30-8PM: 1957 Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Carmen Basilio

Esquire recently got a hold of one of Lebron's new agents, and childhood friend, Maverick Carter (one-fourth of James' LRMR management team) for a feature on the "75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century" to talk about the marketing of his client and what's on the horizon. The 26-year old mogul is much more than a charity case and a friend that Lebron gave a job to and some of the answers he gives to the mag are almost a completely new way to think about promoting an athlete as a brand. There are talks of a possible ABC sitcom, a Buzz Bissinger written book and a story of how fun it is to turn down $10 million, but the whole thing is worth a read. Here's a brief section of the article in Esquire....

"Absolutely. If it's not AUTHENTIC to LeBron, then definitely not. We don't do sponsorships. See, sponsorship is" -- he points to the State Farm logo on one of the bike-a-thon banners -- "State Farm pays, then they get to put their names on it. Partnership is: State Farm pays to put their name on it, but they also bring something to the table. Instead of just money."

"The biggest deal we've said no to," Maverick says, scratching his chin and considering the options, "was $2.5 million a year. Now that's per year. Four years. Per year. It wasn't necessarily that the brand wasn't right. It just wasn't the right time for LeBron to do it."

To fully inhabit the future, LRMR is occupying every media medium and fanning out its breadth like a many-necked cobra. In each medium, they are partnering with someone who is tried-and-true. They are developing a sitcom with ABC based on LeBron; they are in talks with H. G. "Buzz" Bissinger about writing a book. (Maverick says, "You know him, he did Friday Night Lights.") They are releasing a documentary called, More Than a Game. Maverick's very excited about this one. He says, "It's true, it's real life, it's three hundred hours of footage -- the director was embedded in LeBron's high school world. If you got the best writer in Hollywood, you couldn't write a better script."

There are very few articles about Lebron that break any new ground these days, but this could possibly be the greatest glimpse inside "Camp James". I thought it impossible for anyone or anything to overtake the "Jordan" brand within Sports, but after reading that, it's not out of the question. When you consider Lebron's sheer popularity, and the globalization of Basketball, he very well could be the heir apparent to Jordan's advertising throne. What really fascinated me though was how both the author, and his agent, almost seemed to refer to Lebron as an inanimate object throughout the piece. He's almost robotic when proclaiming that his favorite drink when he goes out is "Vitamin Water" and he's even referred to as a "commodity" in the article at one point.

The biggest knock on Lebron James the player is that he's lazy and doesn't have the same fire that Jordan had. After reading that, I think he obviously has the fire, but it seems to be directed somewhere else, and not necessarily at an NBA Championship.

LeBron James's Magnum-sized, Ultrashiny, Nike-powered Lawn Mower to the Next Century (Esquire)
Buzz Bissinger’s Next Project: Book On Lebron? (Sports By Brooks)

Every time that the Cowboys and Packers get together all of Sports Media decides to hype the game by bringing up the 1967 NFL Championship game, or the "Ice Bowl" as it's better known as. It's arguably one of the greatest games ever played because of the conditions (-13 Degrees, -36 with wind chill factored in) and the intenrivalry between the two teams.

You've probably seen highlights from the game on NFL Films, but WTMJ in Wisconsin is doing something even cooler (pun intended) this go around. They've made available a retrospect that they did on the game three years ago which featured clips from the original radio broadcast....

The Packers hosting the Cowboys. Doesn't the wind chill just spiral downward in the room when you hear those words?

The Packers hosting the Cowboys. Can't you just imagine Bart Starr falling behind Jerry Kramer into the south end zone to win a record third consecutive NFL championship and thousands of fans jumping onto the field before Starr could have ever considered doing a Lambeau Leap?

(Never mind that celebration hadn't been invented until 26 years later.)

41 years ago, Newsradio 620 WTMJ carried the game considered by many to be the greatest the sport has ever seen. Three years ago, Newsradio 620 WTMJ rebroadcasted that classic contest. Now you can enjoy it on demand, anytime!

Ice Bowl: 1967 NFL Championship Game Audio

No full broadcast of the game on film or audio exists, so this is about as close as you're going to get. The game itself featured twelve future Hall of Famers (players and coaches) and it's a great way to spend an afternoon if you've got nothing else to do.

Packers-Cowboys: Listen to Ice Bowl (WTMJ)

This season is out of the gates fast and I can't believe we're already onto week three. The teams and storylines around the league are taking shape, so it'll be interesting to see which teams the networks put on which games the rest of the way. FOX has some interesting games on the slate after a terrible week two, but CBS continues to get the favorable out-of-conference matchups. Buck and Aikman get to go to Denver for the potential Broncos and Saints shootout, but CBS counters with Nantz and Simms in Philly for the extremely intriguing Steelers-Eagles game.

Other than that, I think this is the first time in two years that the Patriots have gotten less than the number two team from CBS (they actually get the 5th team in Eagle-Wilcots). Here they are the maps, and remember you can head to The 506 for a larger view of each....

FOX:















BLUE: Arizona at Washington (1pm) - Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnson, Tony Siragusa
ORANGE: Tampa Bay at Chicago (1pm) - Sam Rosen, Tim Ryan
PURPLE: Carolina at Minnesota (1pm) - Ron Pitts, Tony Boselli

RED: New Orleans at Denver (4pm) - Joe Buck, Troy Aikman (4pm)
GREEN: Detroit at San Francisco (4pm) - Dick Stockton, Brian Baldinger, Brian Billick
YELLOW: St. Louis at Seattle (4pm) - Matt Vasgersian, J.C. Pearson

CBS 1pm:















RED: Cincinnati at NY Giants - Greg Gumbel, Dan Dierdorf
BLUE: Houston at Tennessee - Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon
GREEN: Kansas City at Atlanta - Gus Johnson, Steve Tasker
ORANGE: Miami at New England - Ian Eagle, Solomon Wilcots
YELLOW: Oakland at Buffalo - Don Criqui, Dan Fouts

CBS 4pm:















RED: Pittsburgh at Philadelphia - Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
BLUE: Jacksonville at Indianapolis - Dick Enberg, Randy Cross
GREEN: Cleveland at Baltimore - Bill Macatee, Steve Beuerlein