Clarion Content

The story is only a week old, and the NFL effective buried the lead by announcing the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal the same week star quarterback Peyton Manning became a free agent.

Perhaps, if you are not a sports fan you have not heard about the story. According to the NFL, the Saints had an organized bounty program to reward players for knocking opposing teams' players physically out of the game, cash bonuses for incapacitating them via injury.

The hue and cry about this discovery from the talking heads in the media, especially at ESPN¹, has been ludicrous.

Our view, "What a bunchy of smarmy politically correct nonsense!"

The Clarion Content has no love for retired quarterback, and noted publicity hound, Brett Favre, but we think he got it right in this case. Favre said essentially, bounties or no bounties, it is a tough guy's league and people are basically trying to knock you out of the game on every play.

We at the Clarion Content cannot stand all the sanctimonious carping of the media mavens, like Dan Patrick, about how awful, how wrong, how devious these bounties the Saints put out on opposition players were.

Pul-leeze. The same folks who have been moaning about the NFL turning into flag football are suddenly horrified by bounties?? The same folks who were running weekly segments called "Jacked up!" and laughing their butts off at huge de-cleating hits are now disturbed by bounties??

Uh, huh, what?

It comes as a shock to you folks that the defenses were trying to knock quarterbacks and other star players out of the game? Really? That's a surprise?

Or it was the part where they were getting paid extra for it that bothered you morons?

Isn't that what their salary was for to begin with? NFL defensive players are performing a glorified version of the little kids' game, "Kill the Guy," week in and week out. Now somehow, because there are bonuses ponied up by the players involved its amoral?

What a crock!

Forgive the harsh language, but it is the same bullshit we see across a litany of other capitalist contexts. Whatever egregious violation of human rights or environmental degradation is being wrought, so long as it keeps costs down and it is largely behind closed doors or unreported, the mass of morons, will casually bury their heads in the sand and deny it is even happening. What Walmart/Nike/MNC X is paying little kids pennies a day in Asia to make our toys/clothes/crap? Eyes shut tight, head buried in sand, "No they aren't. No they aren't."

Undeniable mass media exposure brings said scandal to light, and the tune changes to "Oh wait, they are. Dang. Somebody needs to do something about that. Now! That's terrible."²

The standard political correct operating procedures see sanctimony rear its ugly head, and those caught out blantantly being abusive are punished, but real systemic change is never considered.³

In this case, sports is once again a microcosm of society. The reality is football is a hyper-violent sport. Kids are paralyzed and permanently injured playing the game every year. High school and college players sustain thousands of concussions annually, for a shot to make it into a pro league where the minimum annual salary is nearly $400 grand a year. Sudden traumatic death and/or disabling injury is an obstacle, but no kid ever thinks it is going to happen to them. Many serious injuries happen on otherwise seemingly innocuous plays.

Fans cheer the big hits. Violence sells.⁴

Pro football is a multi-billion dollar sport, and they play to win the game. To foolishly single out the New Orleans Saints, to pretend that their deliberate attempts to injure opponents are somehow unique is beyond ludicrous, it is civil hypocrisy of the most society annihilating sort. Don't hate the player, hate the game. Don't blame the player, change the game. Or accept that Americans are getting what we pay for, a brutal violent contest between highly compensated young athletes.


Notes
¹One of the leading practitioners of yellow journalism today.

²A similar example: Joseph Kony has been running the LRA conscripting child soldiers and committing a litany of heinous crimes for more than twenty-five years, only now when the visual evidence is positively shoved down their proverbial throats are the masses reacting. During the reign of King George the II, more than 5 million people died from civil war in the Congo, there was no hullabaloo. No call for intervention, Americans, en masse, ignored the tragedy.

³This is why most American's are fine with the United States intervening in Libya and equally fine with the United States ignoring the wholesale slaughter in Syria. It is the left to the morally stolid, the John McCain's, Ron Paul's, Dennis Kucinich's, Noam Chomsky's of the world to point out the blatant hypocrisy. Alcohol related hazing is treated the same way. 1) Deny it. 2) Over-punish the individuals involved when tragedy occurs as it inevitably will periodically. 3) Ignore the system until it happens again in such a way that the horror is an unavoidable spectacle.

⁴Why do you think Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) took off just when they started trying to limit the violence in boxing? Why did NASCAR, for all its attempts to run and hide from its roots, suddenly bring back the "Rubbing is racing" mantra when attendance and ratings figures started to fall off a cliff? In America, violence sells.

Labels: economics, ESPN, Ethically questionable, NFL, sports, Sports Economics

While the Clarion Content's Sports Editor was catching a game in PNC Park in Pittsburgh this month we heard an interesting theory on Albert Pujols impending free agency. The common line has been that he is going to resign with the Cardinals. Baseball's biggest spenders, the Yanks, Red Sox and Phillies are all set at first base, all have big name guys with long term contracts, Teixeira, Gonzales and Howard, respectively.

Two other big name franchises are in financial purgatory, the Mets have the Madoff mess and the Dodgers are lost in the Frank McCourt nightmare. Hence the conventional wisdom, Pujols stays in St. Louis, unless the Cubs, who have been burned badly by big time free agents, (Alfonso Soriano, anyone?) hop in from nowhere, despite new ownership and a rebuilding mindset.

But, while we were in Pittsburgh, we heard a new theory from a Pirates fan name Wish. No, it was not the Buccos themselves. Pirates fans are dreaming of the playoffs, but they haven't completely lost their minds.

How about the San Francisco Giants? The defending World Series champs could surely use some more pop in the line-up to go with all that pitching. With their beautiful China Basin ballpark and stable ownership, they have the financial resources. Having dealt with Barry Bonds, they are prepared and aware of what it is like to have a megastar in the locker room. And, as a bonus, Pujols is not known for the kind of charming personality that made Bonds so widely beloved by the media and opposing fans.

Could Albert lose his heart to San Francisco? Ever been there? Would you rather have $300 million in flyover country (St. Louis) or $270 million in the pearl of California? Interesting.

Labels: baseball, sports, Sports Economics

For Tiger Woods, has it gotten to that point?



Word is Tiger is doing commercials in Japan. Entourage fans will know how low that likely means the cashflow is. Tiger is selling back rub, some kind of Japanese Ben Gay. He has lost endorsement deals from Gillette, Accenture, Tag Heuer, and Gatorade in the last two years.

Tiger reportedly had to dole out approximate $100 million for his divorce settlement. Who knows how liquid that left him? Yahoo estimates his endorsement deals have dropped from in the neighborhood of $75 million a year to more like $20 million. His golf earnings have also dipped from the low eight figures annually to under a million dollars year to date.

Read more here.

Labels: golf, Pop Culture, Sports Economics

The Clarion Content has long derided the National Hockey League for its move into warm weather United States cities. Locally, the Carolina Hurricanes have been the exception to the rule. The exception proves the rule? Bringing the Clarion Content's northeastern Original Six hockey biases to the table, we have never bought into hockey in warm places. This is the national sport of Canada. This week the NHL agreed.

The Atlanta Thrashers were the weakest warm weather franchise this side of the Phoenix Coyotes (in bankruptcy and league receivership while sucking money out of the City of Glendale). True North Sports & Entertainment bought the Atlanta franchise and is moving it to Winnipeg, Manitoba. The underlying premise? Canada loves hockey. How much? Winnipeg sold out its 13,000 season ticket plans almost immediately.

Atlanta is lukewarm about all of its sports teams. The team was 28th in attendance in a 30 team league. Hockey doesn't play well in warm weather cities. Only one warm weather city is in the top half of the league in attendance, though to be fair San Jose, just outside the top half, plays to sellout crowds.

Bottom line, this was an obvious move for the league.

Next up what Canadian city takes the Phoenix Coyotes?

Labels: hockey, sports, Sports Economics

Word is Major League baseball attendance is lagging yet again. The moribund economy has done the game no favors. This, in combination with the struggles of a couple of major market teams, has pushed figures downward. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that through their first eighteen home games, the Dodgers averaged 36,672 spectators, which is a 16.5% drop from the same point in the season last year. The New York Mets, playing poorly and embroiled in the Madoff scandal, are also way down in attendance. Fannies coming through the turnstiles are even lower than the paid attendance figures that the Mets are reporting.

There are also a couple of smaller market teams who doing well whose public has yet to buy into their success, most notably Cleveland, but also Florida and Kansas City. Expectations are low and attendance has been still lower.

Labels: baseball, Sports Economics

The Zombie Sonics, as Clarion fave Bill Simmons calls them, were a popular second choice to win the Western Conference behind the two time defending champs, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Zombies had been holding true to form blowing the Denver Nuggets out of the water. The Nuggets are a collection of bit players and B-list stars and OKC should be pounding them. Last night, the Zombies slipped and they won't be getting to the Finals, let alone winning them, if point guard Russell Westbrook distributes like this: check out the brutal boxscore here.

30 shots attempted, five assists handed out. It is not possible to win titles with your point guard doing that. OKC fans hope it was an aberration not a sign Westbrook has been channeling his inner Calvin Murphy.

Labels: NBA, Sports Economics

The SEC can always be counted on to top itself, that is to say, when you think that you have seen just how slimy it get can get, the SEC is happy to demonstrate it can go lower still. So in off-season where March saw four Auburn football players charged with first degree robbery, in an incident where students in an off-campus house were robbed at gunpoint, the University of Georgia is angling to beat that standard.

The Auburn robbers included the leading tackler on the national title team. UGA can trump that however, because this week they demonstrated that they like players who are criminals while they are still star high school recruits. Over at Auburn and Alabama, you have to wait until you get into school to become a felon, not at Georgia.

Seven Georgia players were the victims of locker-room thefts of iPods, iPhones and other small electronic devices. Whodunnit? Allegedly, three top Georgia football recruits who stole the items during an open house event at the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. Because the value of the property stolen did not exceed $1,500 the recruits in question were only charged with misdemeanor theft, clearly, leaving Alabama and Auburn free to argue that they recruit guys that are harder than that...

As ESPN SEC blogger Chris Low notes, this likely will hardlly even slow the recruiting of these kids in the scum filled pond that is SEC football, "Talent usually wins out, even when a kid has a troubled past." So that even after word of this incident broke, two of the three recruits involved were invited by Nick Saban and Alabama to attend their Spring football game.

Labels: college football, Ethically questionable, NCAA, sports, Sports Economics

A couple of interesting baseball salary notes from legendary football writer Peter King. "The infield of the New York Yankees (Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez) makes more money than the 53 players on the Royals and Rays."

Wow!

And how about this one, "Peter Bourjos plays center field for the Angels. Vernon Wells plays left... After four games, Vernon Wells has made more money ($651,234) than Bourjos will make for the full season ($414,000)."

These statistics do answer a critique of basketball salaries made by Clarion Content fave, Bill Simmons. Simmons pointing out that the NBA's owners have made their own bed economically by over-paying fringe and mid-level players says

"In Hollywood, you don't pay "character actors" like Mike Miller or Travis Outlaw $30-35 million to appear in your next five movies. Why? Because it's bad business!!! Because it would be irresponsible! We're headed toward a lockout because NBA "character actors" should be paid like what they are -- character actors -- and because the dopey owners need to be saved from themselves. It's a broken system. Luke Walton and Ron Artest should not be making half as much combined as Kobe Bryant. Brandon Bass, J.J. Redick and Chris Duhon should not be making as much combined as Dwight Howard. If NBA owners ran Hollywood, the creepy uncle from "Winter's Bone" would be enjoying Year 1 of a six-year, $58 million movie deal."

Baseball, as one can tell from Peter King's salary statistics, has at least figured this one out.

Labels: baseball, NBA, sports, Sports Economics

VCU and Alabama, enough said. It is time for 128.

Labels: college basketball, NCAA, sports, Sports Economics

Why are the NFL owners aggressively going on the warpath against the players?

In the post King George the II economy, there are a bunch of franchises struggling with cash flow (in some cases needed to service their debt). Struggling to sell out the stadium, no new luxury boxes, no new PSLs and no new naming rights money on the horizon in: Buffalo, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Nashville, San Diego...

No doubt these greedy old white men (billionaires) are wealthy beyond belief already, but the reason they want a cash grab back from the players (millionaires) is that they don't have as many new revenue streams as they did in the 1990s. (Much like the rest of the America...)

The increase in value of their franchise is only realized when they sell. And 97% of these guys are going to own their team for the rest of their lives.

This year is the perfect time for the owners to attack because they have secured a deal with their television contracts where they get paid-in-full even if there is a labor stoppage.

Labels: NFL, Sports Economics

The New York Mets sent a letter to their fans base today that one supposes was meant to be reassuring. The Mets, as we have covered here, were caught up in the massive fraud perpetrated by Bernie Madoff. Since Madoff's scheme collapsed and the dollars disappeared along with it, there have been concerns about the Mets budgetary ability to compete. The new ballpark has not ameliorated those worries. The Mets do not print money like their crosstown rivals, the Yanks. Can the Mets afford the payroll to compete, especially in a division with the newly minted powerhouse ninety miles down the Delaware River...

The letter said:

"January 28, 2011

Dear Mets Fans:

As Sterling Equities announced in December, we are engaged in discussions to settle a lawsuit brought against us and other Sterling partners and members of our families by the Trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy. We are not permitted to comment on these confidential negotiations while they are ongoing.

However, to address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win, we are looking at a number of potential options including the addition of one or more strategic partners. To explore this, we have retained Steve Greenberg, a Managing Director at Allen & Company, as our advisor.

Regardless of the outcome of this exploration, Sterling will remain the principal ownership group of the Mets and continue to control and manage the team's operations. The Mets have been a major part of our families for more than 30 years and that is not going to change.

As we have said before, we are totally committed to having the Mets again become a World Series winner. You deserve nothing less.

We wanted to share this information with you concurrent with sharing it with all Mets employees and the media. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Fred Wilpon
Jeff Wilpon"

Huh. If you were a Mets fan, dear readers, would you feel reassured?

The sports editor's dearly departed grandmother was a one of those fatalistic Mets fans who endured the drought between 1973 and 1986 when the Mets were a laughingstock. Right now, Mets fans aren't there. Despite the collapses and the disaster that was last year, Mets fans can still say, 'At least we don't root for the Pirates'.

Labels: baseball, Ethically questionable, Sports Economics

Cowboy Stadium, home of this year's Super Bowl

Just when you thought, dear readers, that the $200 Dallas officials want to charge fans to stand outside the Super Bowl and watch the game on large screen television was the most outrageous rip-off you were going to hear about it; it has been trumped.

Because, your $200, or for that matter if you paid way more for tickets inside the building, does not include parking. Now the locals wouldn't attempt to gouge you for parking, would they?

ESPN reports that some lots are charging as much as $900.

That's right, $900!!! For the f*cking parking!!! At least you can tailgate and there is a porta-potty included at the $990/per North Collins spot which is only a tenth of a mile from Cowboys Stadium.

Willing to park a little further away? NFL sponsored parking a little over a mile away from the stadium will only run you at $71.40 Six Flags over Texas, but bear in mind, you cannot tailgate there.

Hmmmm, why do they call it the No Fun League?

Labels: NFL, Sports Economics

Bob Hope knew people...

The prize money in golf is unbelievable. We were once again reminded of that this weekend when they played the Bob Hope Classic in the desert near Palm Springs. As the Los Angeles Times reports, "The Hope was once a tour flagship event. Movie stars and celebrities showed up in droves. TV loved the blue skies and palm trees, and so did large TV audiences, much of them watching from snow piles back East..."

Nowadays, Bob Hope, himself, has long since slipped off the national radar. The event's tradition of playing with amateurs is not highly regarded by the touring pros, who can collect fat appearances fees for showing up at events on other continents. Which brings us back to the money, the obscene gobs of money. The Bob Hope Classic pays the winner $900,000. 900 large, 900 grand, that would be nine thousand $100 bills, but in this glistening era of recovery the purse size is among the smaller on the tour. Only seven PGA events offer less prize money, four of them are in late Fall, played after the Tour Championship when the season is all but over.

Where is the resentment at the disconnect between California's economic masses and these elites? Burbling.

Labels: golf, sports, Sports Economics

We ran across an article in the San Francisco Chronicle that cited a wonderful little piece of investigative journalism by The Sports Business Journal. Did you know, dear readers, that twenty-three of the college bowls are ostensibly non-profit foundations? Nonprofit organizations like those that operate the bowls are not allowed under the federal tax code to give excessive salaries or perks could be seen as using charitable funds to enrich private individuals.

Yet The Sports Business Journal found that:

the Outback Bowl paid Jim McVay $808,032
the Sugar Bowl paid Paul Hoolahan $645,386
the Sugar Bowl also paid Jeff Hundley $398,023
the Chick-fil-A Bowl paid Gary Stokan $504,444
the Chick-fil-A Bowl also paid David Epps $210,013
the Cotton Bowl paid Rick Baker $419,873
the Alamo Bowl paid Derrick Fox $419,045
the Fiesta Bowl paid John Junker $415,118
the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl paid Gary Cavalli $377,475
the Orange Bowl paid Eric Poms $357,722

These bowls are all ostensibly non-profit organizations!

And the Obama administration just agreed to extend all these guys tax breaks.

The societal train has jumped the tracks.

Labels: college football, Ethically questionable, NCAA, Sports Economics

AEG football stadium project, artist's conceptual drawing

If you are a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, this note from Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback column in Sports Illustrated has got to make you very nervous. "I hear the new AEG football stadium project in Los Angeles is very close to a stadium naming rights deal with Farmers Insurance, and the insurance company will pay at least $400 million over 20 years if the deal is consummated. Which I expect to happen."

The Vikings and the Jacksonville Jaguars are the two franchises most likely to move to Los Angeles. It has been sixteen years since the NFL has had a team in L.A., that is a long time. There are definitely powerful forces at work trying to get Los Angeles a team, even if they do not agree on where to put it. The Clarion Content hates to be cynical, but it is worth noting that a time of labor strife, like the looming potential NFL lockout, might offer just the cover a franchise needed to ditch its existing fanbase.

Commissioner Roger Goodell weighed-in at the league's owner's meetings, "The No. 1 thing for us to make the economics work in Los Angeles is going to be a new collective bargaining agreement. I don’t think it is a coincidence that we have not had a new stadium built since we had an end to this collective bargaining agreement in 2006."

Look for follow-ups on how this story plays out in the coming months.

Labels: NFL, Sports Economics

The Proctor and Gamble company, makers of the Gillette razor, have elected not to renew their advertising ties with Tiger Woods going forward. Gillette said Thursday it was phasing out "Gillette Champions" marketing campaign, which featured Tiger amongst other athletes. Despite ditching Tiger and the ad campaign, Gillette did elect to retain tennis player Roger Federer, international NHL star Alex Ovechkin and the Yankee captain Derek Jeter, for new local marketing campaigns.

Labels: golf, Sports Economics

On paper, it sounds like Cliff Lee could be a problem for the New York Mets N.L. East hopes and dreams.



"You can go to Philly and, probably, on paper they look great. But we don’t know how it’s going to work out. We’re all speculating that it’s going to work out great. If you ask Philly fans, they’ll say it’s going to be great. If you ask me, I say I don’t know."---Carlos Beltran

"They look like a tremendous team on paper. But you play the games for a reason."---David Wright

"I’m a little bit surprised it was the Phillies. We knew there was a third club involved and thought it might be the Phillies. But I’m a little bit surprised he [Lee] ended back there. It’s an excellent signing for them. It makes our division a little tougher on paper."---Sandy Alderson, Mets G.M.

Labels: baseball, sports, Sports Economics

This guy is going to need help...and maybe a hat

We have, by now, likely all seen the amazing video highlights of the roof's collapse at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. This collapse led the Vikings and the Giants to reschedule their Sunday game for Monday night in Detroit. The NFL did the fans of the beleaguered city a solid and let them attend the game for free. Good job NFL.

NFL execs also pointed out the amazing job done by the Lions franchise in preparing the facility for an unscheduled game only 24 hours after a Lions home game. Vikings officials are facing an equally difficult challenge. Can the roof of the Metrodome be repaired in time to host a Monday game against the Bears this week? The speculation in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is no.

The quest for a home field would then turn to other sites. The smaller TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota's Golden Gophers, is being considered. It is an outdoor stadium. The Gophers season is over so it has been winterized, shut down. It will need the water turned back on, facilities heated and tested, and all by Monday night. Odds are the Vikings will have to be carpetbaggers again.

Labels: NFL, sports, Sports Economics

about very little. The media is trying to stoke the perception that the Red Sox have massively closed the gap on the Yankees and that therefore the Yankees must sign Cliff Lee at any cost. To this, the Clarion Content says, "Hah! Pu-leeze."


More valuable to the Yanks than Cliff Lee...

The Red Sox acquisitions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez certainly help the team, but measured in light of losing Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez from their line-up, they barely represent a net gain in offense.

Gonzalez .298 AVG, .393 OBP, 31 HRs, 101 RBIs

Beltre .321 AVG, .365 OBP, 28 HRs, 102 RBIs

Victor Martinez .302 AVG, .351 OBP, 20 HRs, 79 RBIs

Carl Crawford .307 AVG, .356 OBP, 19 HRs, 90 RBIs

Remember too, Gonzalez compiled his statistics playing in the AAAA National League, whereas Beltre was playing big boy baseball in the toughest of divisions. Recall too, that Crawford's 19 dingers and 90 RBIs were career highs. Still, Crawford represents a slight step up from Martinez, who was atrocious defensively at catcher. Crawford is a plus defensive outfielder.

The other thing the Red Sox are touting about Crawford is his speed and stolen bases. This is a Trojan Horse. Last year demonstrated the foolishness of trying to play UZR based Moneyball in Fenway Park. Yankees fans can only hope they try it again. The net Moneyball World Series titles won to date, zero. As the old saying goes, "Stats are for losers."

Crawford will turn thirty next year, just about the point where stolen bases start to rapidly decline for most players. A useful analogy might be Carlos Beltran, whom the Mets overpaid almost as badly as the Sox overpaid for Crawford. Beltran had five consecutive thirty plus SB seasons before signing with the Mets. Not counting his injury decimated 2010, Beltran has averaged a meager nineteen SBs a year as a Met. Crawford is unlikely to top that number by much over the duration of his Red Sox contract.

Player-for-player, after signing nearly $300 million in bats this offseason, the Red Sox line-up still does not measure up to the Yankees. Let's go around the horn to underline the veracity of that statement.

1B Mark Teixeira vs. Adrian Gonzalez

At very worst a push, we rate it, slight edge Yankees.

2B Robinson Cano vs. Dustin Pedroia

Edge Yankees.

SS Derek Jeter vs. Marco Scutaro

Edge Yankees.

3B A-Rod vs. Kevin Youkilis

Push.

RF Nick Swisher vs. J.D. Drew

Edge Yankees.

CF Curtis Granderson vs. Jacoby Ellsbury

Edge Yankees.

LF Brett Gardner vs. Carl Crawford

Edge Red Sox.

Catcher Jesus Montero vs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Push

DH Jorge Posada vs. David Ortiz

Push

The tote board reads then, five spots advantage Yankees, one spot advantage Red Sox and three pushes. Doesn't exactly sound like much to worry about really. The Yankees bigger threat will likely once again come from the Tampa Bay Rays. The only thing that could make a Cliff Lee signing urgent would be if Andy Pettitte elected to retire. The Yanks would then need another starting pitcher. Otherwise, it is much ado about nothing, manufactured media hype.

The Yankees would actually be worse off by tying their hands with a seven year contract to an aging lefty who was 26 up and 22 down the last two years, a guy who has won more than fifteen games only twice, a guy who is already thirty-two. Cliff Lee reminds our sports editor of the Mike Mussina signing, a good player, but not worth the money.

Labels: baseball, sports, Sports Economics

Mama said knock you out! Oops upside the head, said oops upside the head.

Why are these are things that the announcers at the Illinois-Northwestern college football game might say this weekend? To lighten the mood?

Illinois and Northwestern are playing at Wrigley Field.



The famous baseball diamond with its ivy covered brick walls. Said brick walls are, approximately, twelve inches behind the back of the end zone at some points under the rightfield grandstand.

The other end zone along the third base dugout is no peach either. They cribbed the let's host a college football game idea from Yankee Stadium, but Wrigley looks great.

They have added extra padding to the brick outfield walls. With all the concussion discussion that has been in the air in recent months, we here at the Clarion Content, hope they carefully weighed the players well-being and safety against the value of the all-mighty dollar.

Playing at Wrigley Field will most definitely sell some ducats.

Labels: college football, sports, Sports Economics