I recently have been reading journalist Bruce Weber’s book, As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires. It is a fun read, providing great insight into the history, politics, and nuances of umpiring. I was interested in it for the insight it may shed on the much-despised judge-umpire analogy, this time from the umpire perspective. I may write a book review on it, focusing on the analogy and what it teaches us about that.

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I’ve previously blogged about challenges to the trademark registration of the Washington “Redskins”. Via How Appealing, the DC Circuit has once again affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs’ challenge to the trademark because of laches in the Harjo case (for a discussion of the issues, see this law.com piece). The court’s decision is here. The decision does not touch on the substance of the plaintiffs’ claims, which may yet be addressed in future litigation. more…

Back in February, an Ohio state court ruled in favor of Oklahoma State University star pitcher Andrew Oliver in his lawsuit against the NCAA (a decision that the NCAA will undoubtedly appeal once the trial is complete). Oliver had been suspended by OSU after news emerged that, years earlier, he had met with Minnesota Twins representatives with his attorneys while contemplating whether to retain his amateur status and attend college or turn pro after high school. Oliver contends the rule which prohibited that meeting interfered with his attorney-client relationship and was against public policy (For more background see Alan Milstein’s post and posts by others, including one on the NCAA Compliance Blog and those with competing viewpoints from Rick Karcher and Tassos Kaburakis).

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I have a new SI.com column on the legal implications of Roger Clemens’ interview this morning on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike in the Morning. An excerpt of the column is below.

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The ongoing story of the Somali pirates has brought the serious legal issue of piracy to the fore, with commentators repeatedly noting the heinousness and seriousness of piracy as a crime, which is lost in the mythos of eye patches and bottles of rum and parrots.

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Recently published scholarship includes:

Steven B. Berneman, Note, One strike and youre out: alcohol in the Major League Baseball clubhouse, 11 VANDERBILT JOURNAL OF ENTERTAINMENT & TECHNOLOGY LAW 399 (2009)

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There have been a lot of questions raised (including in the comments of the previous post) about the possibility of the Dodgers suspending or terminating Manny Ramirez for his use of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). I think its fairly clear, however, that the Dodgers cannot punish or terminate Ramirez for his use of the banned performance enhancing substance.

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As some of you may have noticed, Manny Ramirez was suspended for 50 games today for violating Major League Baseballs Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program (the MLB Program). According to reports, Ramirez does not plan to appeal the suspension, but I will go out on a bit of a limb here and suggest that we may be hearing a bit more about this story in the next several days. So, as you prepare for the onslaught of Manny coverage and ponder the impact this might have on Brett Favres potential un-retirement, here are some of the basic questions raised by this story, with a few answers. Please add your own thoughts, questions, and answers in the comments.

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With talk of the NFL hosting a Super Bowl in London, some sports fans are beginning to wonder if we will soon see U.S. sports leagues place teams in Europe.

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