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Here’s my Q/A for SI on the end of the lockout and what is now likely to happen.  Speaking of SI, congrats to Gabe Feldman on being named by SI as the 100 top twitter users. more…

Today marks the 28th anniversary of the “Pine Tar Game.” In 1983, the Royals were playing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium on a Sunday afternoon. With two out in the top of ninth and the Yankees up 4-3, George Brett hit a two-run homer. But Yankee manager Billy Martin protested, saying that Brett had used an illegal bat containing pine tar more than 18 inches up the bat handle;R. 1.10(c) prohibited pine tar or any other grip-improving substance on the hitting area of the bat. The umps measured the amount of pine tar, found it higher than 18 inches, and called Brett out, giving the Yankees the win. In one of the iconic video images in baseball history, Brett came charging out of the dugout and tried to attack the umpire and had to be restrained by teammates, coaches, and other umpires. The Royals protested and the protest was upheld by AL President Lee MacPhail, who reinstated the homer and ordered the game resumed from that point.

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As Nathan noted last week, HBO Sports has produced an excellent documentary (narrated, of course, by Liev Schreiber), The Curious Case of Curt Flood, examining Flood’s career, unsuccessful federal-court fight to establish free agency, and life after baseball. Among the commentators is Wisconsin Prawf Brad Snyder, who wrote a fantastic book on Flood’s case, A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood’s Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports.

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Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, who was recently dropped by Champion as a product endorser after he criticized the public’s reaction to Osama bin Laden’s death and questioned what happened on 9/11, is now suing Champion for breach of contract.   Mendenhall alleges that the morals clause in his endorsement deal with Champion did not empower Champion to sever ties.  Porcher Taylor, Jeffrey Standen, and I talk to the AP about how unlikely Mendenhall’s claim is to prevail. The morals clause at issue is very inclusive and probably gave Champion authority to terminate the deal. more…

As was the case at last year’s Southern Economic Association conference, the American Statistical Association’s annual meeting (July 30 to August 4 in Miami) includes a number of presentations that overlap with issues widely discussed here on the Sports Law Blog. A panel entitled “Controversies in Sports” features papers devoted to both the BCS and the effects of steroids. A basketball-focused session includes an analysis of NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament selection process. Finally, there is an entire panel devoted to the role of human nature in judging/officiating athletic contests. Jay Emerson organized the session and is presenting his paper pertaining to figure skating. Phil Birnbaum is offering new evidence regarding possible racial bias by MLB umpires. Kurt Rotthoff’s paper involves various biases in gymnastics. My presentation focuses on NBA referees. In the course of attending a variety of conferences the past several years, my sense is that the interaction between sports law and statistics is growing. I will be curious if the (apparent) trend continues. more…

One unexpected media storyline to emerge from Sunday’s Women’s World Cup Final is the supposed unfairness of penalty kicks as a way to decide a winner. This is silly. Maybe penalty kicks are a fair process, maybe they aren’t (I don’t know or care enough about the deep structure of soccer to say). But it is conspicuous that no one said anything of the sort when the U.S. won its quarterfinal match against Brazil last Sunday on penalty kicks. And certainly no one said anything when the U.S. won the 1999 World Cup final against China the same way. more…

I have been a sports fan since I was about six years old and as a youngster did not handle my favorite teams losing–tears, yelling, mild swearing, thrashing, shouts to the heavens, and cries of “why didn’t ___ happen” were a common occurrence. When my wife and I had a daughter, I hoped that she would become a sports fan, and have been pleased that she has at a young age. She even is showing some decent five-year-old soccer skills (ironic, since that was long the sport that I just did not get).

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Be sure to read Howard’s excellent post and then I hope you have a chance to check out my column for Sports Illustrated. more…