OUTLAW ADS

Monday, March 22, 2010

NFL owners opt out of CBA

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement, initially negotiated in 1993, has been extended on several occasions, most recently in March 2006. The 2006 extension, which could have continued through the 2012 season, gave both the NFL and the NFLPA an option to shorten the deal by one or two years.

NFL clubs today voted unanimously to exercise that option and to continue negotiating a new agreement for the 2011 season and beyond that will work better for both the clubs and the players.

What does this mean to fans and games on the field?
Even without another agreement, NFL football will be played without threat of interruption for at least the next three seasons. The 2008 and 2009 seasons will be played with a salary cap. If there is no new agreement before the 2010 season, that season will be played without a salary cap under rules that also limit the free agency rights of the players. If not extended, the agreement would expire at the end of the 2010 league year.

We are resolved to do our best to achieve a fair agreement that will allow labor peace to continue through and beyond the 2011 season.

What are the issues?
A collective bargaining agreement has to work for both sides. If the agreement provides inadequate incentives to invest in the future, it will not work for management or labor. And, in the context of a professional sports league, if the agreement does not afford all clubs an opportunity to be competitive, the league can lose its appeal.

The NFL earns very substantial revenues. But the clubs are obligated by the CBA to spend substantially more than half their revenues – almost $4.5 billion this year alone -- on player costs. In addition, as we have explained to the union, the clubs must spend significant and growing amounts on stadium construction, operations and improvements to respond to the interests and demands of our fans. The current labor agreement does not adequately recognize the costs of generating the revenues of which the players receive the largest share; nor does the agreement recognize that those costs have increased substantially -- and at an ever increasing rate -- in recent years during a difficult economic climate in our country. As a result, under the terms of the current agreement, the clubs’ incentive to invest in the game is threatened.

There are substantial other elements of the deal that simply are not working. For example, as interpreted by the courts, the current CBA effectively prohibits the clubs from recouping bonuses paid to players who subsequently breach their player contacts or refuse to perform. That is simply irrational and unfair to both fans and players who honor their contracts. Also irrational is that in the current system some rookies are able to secure contracts that pay them more than top proven veterans.

Our objective is to fix these problems in a new CBA, one that will provide adequate incentives to grow the game, ensure the unparalleled competitive balance that has sustained our fans’ interest, and afford the players fair and increasing compensation and benefits.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Will there be TRIPLE CROWN winner in 2010?

In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.

Only eleven horses have ever won the Triple Crown, none since 1978. In 1973, Secretariat established the largest margin of victory in the history of American Grade 1 stakes races with a 31 length win. Of those eleven horses, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons won the Triple Crown twice (the only trainer to do so), and an eleventh trainer, D. Wayne Lukas, scored a Triple Crown as a trainer in sweeping the 1995 races with different horses, the only individual in the Triple Crown to do so. Ten jockeys have won the Triple Crown.

The three American Classic Races are collectively known as the U.S. Triple Crown. As of the completion of the 2008 season, the races have attracted 3,889 entrants (a figure that counts a given horse twice if it enters two of the races). Of these, 274 horses have won a single leg of the Triple Crown, 50 horses have won two of the races (21 the Derby & Preakness, 18 the Preakness & Belmont, and 11 the Derby & Belmont), and 11 horses have won all three races. The 11 Triple Crown winners are Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973), Seattle Slew (1977), and Affirmed (1978).

Since 1931, the order of Triple Crown races has been the Kentucky Derby first, followed by the Preakness Stakes, and then the Belmont Stakes. Prior to 1931, the Preakness Stakes was run before the Kentucky Derby eleven times. On May 12, 1917 and again on May 13, 1922, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes were run on the same day.

At completion of the 2008 season, the three Triple Crown races have attracted 3,889 entrants. Of these, 274 horses have won a single leg of the Triple Crown, 50 horses have won two of the races (21 the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, 18 the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, and 11 the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes), and eleven horses have won all three races. Pillory won both the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in 1922, a year when it was impossible to win the Triple Crown due to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes occurring on the same day.

There has not been a Triple Crown winner since June 7, 1978, and this is the longest drought in Triple Crown history. Since 1978, eleven horses have won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Of those, Real Quiet has come the closest to winning the Triple Crown, losing the Belmont Stakes by a nose in 1998. Charismatic led the Belmont Stakes in the final furlong in 1999, but fractured his left front leg in the final stretch and fell back to third. The four most recent horses to win the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes but lose the Belmont Stakes were War Emblem in 2002, Funny Cide in 2003, Smarty Jones in 2004, and Big Brown in 2008.

Several horses have won two of the three races since the last Triple Crown win, most recently Afleet Alex in 2005, who lost the Kentucky Derby but won the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. The most unusual of those situations was in 1995, when Thunder Gulch won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, and stablemate Timber Country won the Preakness Stakes. Both horses were trained by D. Wayne Lukas, making him the only Triple Crown-winning trainer without a Triple Crown-winning horse.

Only one horse, Alydar, has placed (second place) in all three races. He was defeated by Affirmed in all three races in 1978 by a combined margin of two lengths. In addition, Mane Minister finished third in each race in 1991, and Hawkster finished fifth in each race in 1989.

Gallant Fox is the only triple crown winner to sire another triple crown winner, Omaha.
On May 21, 2005, the Visa credit card company withdrew its sponsorship of the Triple Crown, effective in 2006.[citation needed] It relieved Visa of paying the $5 million bonus to the owner of a horse that would win the Triple Crown. Triple Crown Productions has sponsored the races since 2006.[citation needed] The $5 million bonus remains intact.[1]

Many believe Visa withdrew its sponsorship as a result of the New York Racing Association's decision to break with the other two tracks on a television contract. On October 4, 2004, NYRA announced that the American Broadcasting Company and ESPN would hold television rights to the Belmont Stakes, breaking from Triple Crown Productions' deal with NBC Sports.[citation needed] NBC Sports holds the broadcasting rights to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes until 2010. Triple Crown Productions was formed in 1986 with ABC. Prior to that, the individual racing associations made their own deals with the television networks (ABC and CBS).

The Outlaw Micheal Tomsik
Outlaw Sports Radio on Blog Talk Radio

Monday, March 15, 2010

There's unrest aplenty on the NFL labor front

It's a fight between millionaires and billionaires, so it's not something that's going to elicit much sympathy from everyday Americans.

But the dispute between NFL players and team owners could result in a lockout in 2011 — the first labor meltdown since the 1987 strike — and that would certainly grab the attention of football fans.

As the NFL Players Assn. conducts its annual meetings in Hawaii this weekend, and owners prepare to convene later this month in Orlando, Fla., the two are on opposite sides of the actual and philosophical map.

What's the dispute about?

No surprise here: money. Owners believe players have gotten too much of it under the current collective bargaining agreement, struck in 2006, and that they haven't shouldered enough of the financial risk of "growing the pie" with new stadiums, NFL.com, NFL Network, international games and the like.

Is there extra pressure on the two leading men, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith?

Yes. Each is making his debut as the No. 1 negotiator on a CBA, and each has to convince his constituency that he fought hard and left nothing on the table.

Both Goodell and Smith have to live up to the legacies of former commissioner Paul Tagliabue and former union head Gene Upshaw, who presided over a long era of labor peace and unparalleled prosperity.

Smith faces the pressure of possibly being the NFLPA leader who gave back financial gains Upshaw made in the last negotiations, or being the person in charge when labor peace ended.

What got them to this point?

Four years ago, owners were facing a similar deadline, and, in the 11th hour, agreed to a CBA cobbled together by Tagliabue and Upshaw.

Owners agreed to that deal but almost immediately regretted it. They saw it as heavily lopsided in favor of the players. In the spring of 2008 — at their earliest opportunity — they unanimously opted out of that deal, setting the current countdown in motion.

In every other case before this, the labor deal was extended before the disincentive of an uncapped year was reached. Not this time. The deadline passed last March 5, and there is no salary cap for this season.

States Go All In, Expand Gaming Fix Budget

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Faced with a drop in gambling revenue, states are adding games, considering new casinos and increasing lottery options -- anything to keep their cut of the profits rolling in.

States are adamant that they don't want to take advantage of anyone, but with budgets in free-fall and tax increases a losing hand politically, lawmakers acknowledge they are dependent on gambling dollars.

At least 18 states this year are looking to expand games of chance because of a drop-off of anywhere from 5 to 14 percent in the money they collect from casinos, horse racing, lotteries or other gambling.

"Absolutely, we're addicted to gambling dollars," said Iowa state Rep. Kraig Paulsen, the House Republican leader and an opponent of plans to expand gambling in Iowa, which already receives about $300 million a year from the industry. "The current budget couldn't be close to being balanced without that money."

The idea of luring people to the craps tables when they are being battered by the recession is an awkward one for state governments -- a point that has been raised by people who deal with the collateral damage from gambling.

The new blitz "makes gambling more enticing, makes people more curious," said Doug Billingsley, whose treatment center provides counseling for problem gamblers in Iowa.

In many states, the funds for helping problem gamblers have been cut sharply because of the budget problems.

Some gamblers say they don't know how they can afford to wager more when they are earning less.

"People don't have as much to spend," said Freda Lofthus, 71, as she was playing slot machines at Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino near Des Moines. "I spend about half of what I used to."

But in state capitols, the urgent budget problems trump other concerns.

Pennsylvania, where recently legalized casinos have installed 25,000 slot machines over the past few years, is among states now allowing table games, such as poker, blackjack, roulette and craps. New York is putting 4,500 video lottery terminals at the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell wants to offer keno in restaurants so that people can gamble while they eat.

Socially conservative states are no less ambitious. Lottery ticket machines have been installed in grocery stores in Florida. Florida joined Powerball last year and is considering a second multistate game.

Kansas is promoting the outlaw ambiance of Dodge City, which now lures gamblers with 600 slot machines and a full spread of gaming tables. Missouri casinos have upgraded their slots with dazzling 3-D graphics and themes like "Star Wars" and "The Wizard of Oz."

"As the recession became deeper, that expected revenue became more important," said Shaun Adamec, a spokesman for Gov. Martin O'Malley of Maryland, where at least 10,000 slot machines are being installed in five locations.

The only alternative in Maryland and elsewhere would be to raise taxes. "There's no appetite in the Legislature for an even modest tax increase," said Gary Tuma, a spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, which hopes for an additional $140 million in the 2010-11 fiscal year from its gambling expansion.

Iowa already has 17 state-licensed casinos, and Gov. Chet Culver recommended this month that the state approve four more, citing the potential for new jobs.

According to the American Gaming Association, the nation's nearly 450 non-Indian casinos saw their revenue from gambling drop 5.6 percent from 2008 to 2009, after a decline the year before. Casino revenue is down from $34 billion to $30.7 billion since 2007. States typically get a percentage of the revenue, though the formula varies.

Among the states seeking to expand games of chance, Illinois saw a 14.6 percent decline in its gambling revenue and New Hampshire a 9.7 percent drop from 2008 to 2009.

Clyde Barrow, a gambling expert at University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, said states rationalize gambling "as a voluntary tax because nobody has to gamble." But he said studies show that many respond to the temptation.

"We do know the closer you put casinos to people the greater propensity to gamble," Barrow said.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

NEW ATTITUDE BY THE OUTLAW

Outlaw Sports Radio will air every Thursday 8PM to 9PM est.
No Sponsors, no commercials, no co-host!
Live on Blog Talk Radio!
No more videos, no more main web pages, just visit me at MySpace, Twitter, Blogger, or Facebook.

Show is taking a twist also I am going after the leagues, the sports, the players!

The show could be interesting if you want the truth and can handle being an Outlaw!

Show links here:
http://www.myspace.com/outlawsportsradio
http://twitter.com/TheOutawmtomsik
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/outlawsportsradio

Friday, March 12, 2010

Outlaw Sports Radio shuts down Florida Operatiions

Outlaw Sports Radio
Calls it quits in Florida
The small broadcasting company called Outlaw Sports Radio throws in the towel in Florida!

Today was a sad day indeed when the owners of Outlaw Sports Radio threw in the towel on the operation of a small web casting company located on Jacksonville Florida.

After nearly a year on the world wide web, and a brief ESPN début the Outlaw from Outlaw Sports Radio says that the interest in his company has not been as high as his family hoped in 2010.

With sponsors cutting ads, and local sports groups, radio stations, and newspapers not finding any interest in our company we found it nearly impossible to continue operations of the company.

Even after obtaining co-host for the show in Feb 2010, and higher ratings on the world wide web in Feb and March 2010 the company was not able to obtain interviews, guest, and major sponsors needed to operate the company in Jacksonville, Florida.

The company is not completely closed we are still broadcasting on Blog Talk Radio once per week on Thursdays from 8PM to 9PM.
We have no official contracts or sponsors for this show!
We are continuing the show for fun at this point.

We have a my space, twitter, and face book page you can visit.
Just look up:
Outlaw Sports Radio

You can contact us at: outlawsports@live.com
We are looking to find a place to call home on a local radio station if any one is interested.
The Outlaw is also interested in co-hosting and hosting on any local sports shows in Jacksonville, Florida.

The company is planning on re-opening in 2011 on the West coast.
Possibly in Nevada, Arizona or Oregon.

Thanks to everyone involved in OSR!
Micheal Tomsik, 3/12/2010