http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/116 Recent articles about Shawn Chacon en-us Baron Davis led the Golden State Warriors to one playoff appearance in three seasons and he has been injury-prone for most of his career, so the Warriors understandably declined to offer him a long term contract extension--but they inexplicably are reportedly willing to pay more than $100 million to pry Gilbert Arenas away from the Washington Wizards. Fortunately for Golden State fans, the Warriors apparently will not have a chance to overpay Arenas because the Wizards and Arenas have reached a verbal agreement for $111 million over six years (contracts cannot be signed until July 9 when the precise amount of next season's salary cap is calculated). If that deal goes through it will be the sixth largest NBA contract signed since the implementation of the 1999 Collective Bargaining Agreement. While the L.A. Lakers--who signed Kobe Bryant for $136.4 million in 2004--and the San Antonio Spurs--who signed Tim Duncan for $122 million in 2003--are undoubtedly pleased with the return they have received on their sizable investments, the Indiana Pacers (Jermaine O'Neal, $126.6 million in 2003) and Sacramento Kings (Chris Webber, $122.7 million in 2001) surely have experienced serious buyers' remorse. It remains to be seen what the Orlando Magic will think of the $126 million investment they made in Rashard Lewis in 2007 but that seems to be an awfully steep price for a player who has made one All-Star appearance in 10 NBA seasons. Arenas missed 69 games due to injury last season, was a shell of his former self during the playoffs and missed the entire 2007 postseason due to injury. He has led the Wizards past the first round of the playoffs once in five seasons. The word "elite" is poorly defined in reference to NBA players and it is thrown around far too casually. Bottom line: if you are not on one of the three All-NBA Teams--or a player who deserved to be there but clearly got snubbed--then you are not an elite player. An All-Star is not an elite player; every year there are 24 All-Stars plus another 5-10 players who could just as easily have made the cut. An elite player must be no worse than one of the top five players at his position and one of the top 15 players in the NBA. Even when fully healthy, Davis and Arenas operate at the fringes of elite territory: Arenas made the All-NBA Second Team in 2007 and the All-NBA Third Team in 2005 and 2006, while Davis made the All-NBA Third Team in 2004. Of course, the most relevant issue is the likelihood that they will be elite players in the future. Let's compare Arenas and Davis to the truly elite NBA point guards. 1) Chris Paul is the gold standard for current NBA point guards. He scores, passes, rebounds and defends. His main weakness is that because he is only 6-0, 175 he can be posted up by bigger point guards and in certain situations he can be taken advantage of defensively when switching pick and roll plays. His shooting touch was a bit suspect prior to this season but Paul largely put those concerns to rest by putting up career high numbers in field goal percentage (.488), three point field goal percentage (.369) and free throw percentage (.851); however, in the playoffs he shot poorly from three point range (.238). Key 2007-08 numbers: 21.1 ppg, 11.6 apg (first in the NBA), 4.0 rpg, 2.7 spg (first in the NBA), .488 FG%, .369 3FG%, .851 FT% in the regular season; 24.1 ppg, 11.3 apg, 4.9 rpg, 2.3 spg, .502 FG%, .238 3FG%, .785 FT% in the playoffs while leading Hornets to the second round. Finished second in MVP voting, made the All-NBA First Team. 2) Steve Nash won the 2005 and 2006 MVPs. It should be obvious that he was not in fact the best all-around player in the NBA during those seasons but it is equally obvious that he was the best point guard in the league during that time and that is all that is relevant in this discussion. Nash finished second to Dirk Nowitzki in the 2007 MVP voting but was still the best point guard in the NBA. Last season, Paul ended Nash's three year reign as the assist champion and Paul also took the crown as the best point guard. Nash is the best pure shooter among NBA point guards and he is a tremendous passer, particularly in pick and roll situations. Nash is a poor one on one defender and his weakness in that area has really hurt Phoenix during the playoffs. Key 2007-08 numbers: 16.9 ppg, 11.1 apg (second in the NBA), 3.5 rpg, .7 spg, .504 FG%, .470 3FG% (second in the NBA), .906 FT% (fifth in the NBA) in the regular season; 16.2 ppg, 7.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, .4 spg, .457 FG%, .300 3FG%, .917 FT% in the playoffs during a 4-1 first round loss. Finished ninth in MVP voting, made the All-NBA Second Team. 3) Deron Williams will likely be battling with Paul for many years to earn recognition as the NBA's best point guard. The 6-3, 210 Williams is significantly bigger and more physically powerful than Paul but he is not as explosively quick and is a surprisingly poor rebounder considering his size and strength. I'd give Nash a slight edge over Williams in 2008 based on Nash's shooting prowess and his greater amount of experience but I expect Williams to be the superior player starting next season. Key 2007-08 numbers: 18.8 ppg, 10.5 apg (third in the NBA), 3.0 rpg, 1.1 spg, .507 FG%, .395 3FG%, .803 FT% in the regular season; 21.6 ppg, 10.0 apg, 3.6 rpg, .6 spg, .492 FG%, .500 3FG%, .773 FT% in the playoffs while leading the Jazz to the second round. Finished 12th in the MVP voting, made the All-NBA Second Team. 4) Tony Parker has yet to make the All-NBA Team even once but he is worthy of being considered an elite point guard in light of his 2007 Finals MVP performance and the fact that he has been a vital contributor to three championship teams as the starting point guard. Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili divide the scoring load pretty evenly and Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich limits their regular season minutes to preserve them for the playoffs, which means that none of the Spurs' "Big Three" put up huge regular season statistics. Parker is not as good of a pure shooter as Paul, Nash or Williams, nor is Parker quite as adept as those guys in terms of playmaking, but Parker's blazing quickness and ability to finish strongly at the rim make him very difficult to contain. Parker has wisely slashed his three point attempts from a career-high 243 in 2002-03 (his second season) to 36, 38 and 66 the past three seasons. Nash had better regular season numbers than Parker but Parker completely outplayed Nash in the Spurs' win over the Suns in the first round. Key 2007-08 numbers: 18.8 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.2 rpg, .8 spg, .494 FG%, .258 3FG%, .715 FT% in the regular season; 22.4 ppg, 6.1 apg, 3.7 rpg, .9 spg, .497 FG%, .350 3FG%, .753 FT% while leading the Spurs to a 4-1 loss to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. Paul, Nash and Williams were the only point guards on this year's three All-NBA Teams. The other guards (Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Manu Ginobili) are shooting guards, as is Denver's Allen Iverson, who received the most points (116) in the voting of any player who did not make the team. Chauncey Billups and Baron Davis received slight consideration, amassing 38 and 32 points respectively; Ginobili, the last guard on the All-NBA Third Team, received 123 points, while Williams--who had the lowest total of the three point guards who made the cut--had 228 points. Billups could perhaps be granted "elite emeritus" status based on his 2004 Finals MVP, his fifth place finish in the 2006 MVP voting and a pair of selections to the All-NBA Team (Second Team in 2006, Third Team in 2007), but he is a level below Paul, Nash, Williams and Parker now. In the 2007-08 regular season, Billups put up these numbers: 17.0 ppg, 6.8 apg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 spg, .448 FG%, .401 3FG%, .918 FT%. His performance declined across the board in the playoffs.Davis had an excellent season, perhaps the best all-around campaign of his career when you consider both production and durability, but I would not take him over Paul, Nash, Williams or Parker. Davis averaged 21.8 ppg, 7.6 apg (sixth in the NBA), 4.7 rpg, 2.3 spg (third in the NBA), .426 FG%, .330 3FG% and .750 FT% in 2007-08. Davis settles for jumpers and three pointers far too frequently, a flaw that he shares with Arenas, who played in just 13 regular season games and four playoff games in 2007-08. At his best, Davis is an explosive talent who can physically dominate bigger players but his shot selection, subpar shooting ability and inconsistent defense render him a less reliable player than the truly elite point guards. Similarly, Arenas is a streak shooting talent who can be dazzling when he is hitting his shots but his shot selection is poor, his defense is worse than Davis' and he often seems to be more concerned about being the center of attention than winning games.Davis and Arenas are not better than Paul, Nash, Williams or Parker and thus it is very difficult to objectively justify awarding a maximum contract to either of them. I say "objectively" because there are many other considerations that come into play: marketing, ticket sales, the reaction of the fan base of their respective teams, etc. However, purely on the basis of their individual skill sets and their ability to lead a championship contending team, neither Arenas nor Davis are worthy of receiving maximum contracts. Arenas is being lauded now for "giving back" $16 million instead of insisting on receiving the absolute maximum deal from the Wizards--I put "giving back" in quotation marks because you cannot really give something back that you never had in the first place; Arenas said, "You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don't wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can't do anything about it." That is a laudable sentiment but even at this supposedly "discounted" rate Arenas is still vastly overpaid and it is questionable how much the Wizards will be able to do with that $16 million, an amount that could do a lot of good in the real world but does not necessarily give the team that much ability to significantly upgrade the roster. I commend Arenas for making that gesture but I still maintain that with him as the featured--and highest paid--player the Wizards will not get past the second round of the playoffs.OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK The First Six "Governors" of Red Sox Nation Announced - The Biz of Baseball MLB TV Ratings Down. Networks Look Past All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball XM Satellite Radio Has Complete Coverage of All-Star Gm - The Biz of Baseball MLB Names Jacqueline Parkes as CMO - The Biz of Baseball Linkin Park, MLB Properties Hook-up For 3rd Year - The Biz of Baseball Wrigley Field It Is: NHL Outdoor Classic in Chicago Jan. 1 - The Biz of Baseball Passing Gas? Rays, Hess to Give Away $5 Cards on July 18 - The Biz of Baseball All-Star Game Starters, Reserves, and Pitchers Announced - The Biz of Baseball Is the Ed Wade/Shawn Chacon Altercation a First? - The Biz of BaseballYou Really Like Me! Rays See Highest TV Ratings Ever - The Biz of Baseball Chicago's Wrigley Field to Host Next Outdoor Classic on New Years Day - The Biz of Hockey Jaromir Jagr First Major NHL Player to Crossover to Continental Hockey League - The Biz of Hockey Free Agent Signings - July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey NHL Free Agent Listing As of July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey Commissioner Roger Goodell to Be First American Sports League Exec to Visit Iraq - The Biz of FootballDan Patrick and Keith Olbermann to Reumite for NBC's "Football Night in America" - The Biz of FootballXM Satellite Radio Locks Up SEC. Adds Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Vanderbilt - The Biz of Football Don Imus, "Pacman" Jones and Media Correctness - The Biz of Football 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports David Friedman is a weekly contrinutor to the Business of Sports Network. To read more of his basketball articles, just take a 20 Second Timeout. His general sports commentary can be found at Best Ever Sports Talk, where "Rafael Nadal is Coming for That Number One Spot," "Torres' Tough Training Pays Off," "Brett Favre's Selfishness" and "Dara Torres Turns Back the Clock in Bid to Make Olympic Team for Fifth Time" are among the subjects that have been recently discussed. Wed, 09 Jul 2008 09:12:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287949 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287949 A little bit of history happened tonight at the NBA Draft when you weren't lookinmg...Idaho Stampede guard Mike Taylor was selected with the 55th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers becoming the first player from the NBA Development League to be drafted by an NBA team. A member of the 2008 NBA D-League Champion Stampede, Taylor was then traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for a future second round draft pick. "Everyone at the NBA D-League joins me in congratulating Mike on his history-making achievement," said Dan Reed, NBA D-League President. "Mike is a shining example of the NBA D-League's core mission – to develop top prospects into NBA players." In 39 games for the Stampede this past season, Taylor averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists primarily as the team's sixth man, scoring 20 or more points on 11 occasions, including during the deciding Game 3 of the NBA D-League Finals presented by Delta. During that game, Taylor connected on four three-pointers in a three-minute span in the fourth quarter to solidify the Stampede's first NBA D-League Championship. "Mike brings a tremendous amount of ability and quickness to the NBA," said Idaho Stampede head coach Bryan Gates. "He really is a spark of energy and a breath of fresh air whenever he enters a game."Source: NBA D-LeagueOTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Astros GM Ed Wade Attacked by Pitcher Shawn Chacon - The Biz of Baseball Dodgers Surpass 3 Million Tickets Sold for 2008 - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football Big Ten Network Nearing First Major Cable Deal with Comcast - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287774 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287774 In anticipation of the 20th season of Minnesota Timberwolves basketball, the Timberwolves primary logo, featuring the wolf's head amidst the tree line, has undergone a facelift. Additionally, the Timberwolves have unveiled a new, re-designed secondary logo. The new-look logos, designed by adidas, usher in a new era of Timberwolves basketball as the franchise celebrates its 20th season in the Twin Cities with the upcoming 2008-09 NBA campaign. The modification to the Timberwolves primary logo includes the incorporation of white on the wolf's head as well as a cleaner and sleeker design of the tree line and the script "Minnesota Timberwolves." The intent of the adidas design group was not to replace the well-known logo, but rather let it "evolve" into something that would mark the next era of Timberwolves basketball. The wolf's head and tree line were introduced as the team's primary logo prior to the 1996-97 season, and had remained unchanged for the past 12 seasons.  The Timberwolves secondary logo has been completely re-designed. The new logo features a Timberwolf in front of a treeline howling at the moon, which is depicted as a basketball. The new secondary logo pays homage to the original Timberwolves logo with the return of a basketball in the logo's background. Prior to a basketball being incorporated in the new secondary logo, the Wolves were one of only five teams in the NBA which did not have a basketball depicted in either their primary or secondary logo. The newly-designed secondary logo will make its public debut tonight at the 2008 NBA Draft as it will adorn the hat of the Timberwolves' first-round draft pick. The Wolves NBA Draft cap, with the team's new secondary logo, and t-shirts are available for purchase at The NBA Store online at www.nbastore.com or by calling 612-673-1303. "With our 20th season upcoming, we believe it is the perfect time to re-brand the look of Timberwolves basketball," said Timberwolves President Chris Wright. "The new-look logos and soon-to-be-introduced uniforms are part of a year-long re-branding process around our franchise. In the last year, our on-court product has changed as we have re-built the team, and these off-court changes sync up with this new era of Wolves basketball." Wolves New Logos June 26, 2008 Page 2 of 2     Yesterday's introduction of the new logos is the latest step in the re-branding campaign of the Timberwolves as the team approaches its 20th season. The Wolves will also introduce newly-designed uniforms in August. Attached are jpeg copies of the Timberwolves new-look primary logos and secondary logos.Source: Minnesota Timberwolves OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Astros GM Ed Wade Attacked by Pitcher Shawn Chacon - The Biz of Baseball Dodgers Surpass 3 Million Tickets Sold for 2008 - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football Big Ten Network Nearing First Major Cable Deal with Comcast - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287772 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287772 The Boston Celtics' victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of The Finals was the culmination of the most successful sales season in NBA history, including the best post-clinch day in history at the NBA Store and NBAStore.com.  During The Finals, multiple merchandise sales records were set: Sales records set at the NBA Store in New York City and on NBAStore.com include: Largest post-clinch sales day in the history of both stores on June 18, with sales from NBAStore.com up 82 percent, and at the NBA Store up over 30 percent versus the previous best post-clinch day (2006 Miami Heat and 2002 Lakers, respectively).June 18 was the largest sales day in the history of NBAStore.com.The NBA Store and NBAStore.com each had its best sales year during the 2007-08 season. Arena Sales records for the Celtics and Lakers during The Finals include: Highest Finals average game-night sales up 10 percent from previous best (2004).Lakers set a new league single-night merchandise sales record for a non-clinching game at Staples Center's Team LA shop during Game 3 (June 10).Celtics had their highest single-night sales in history at the TD Banknorth Garden during Game 6 (June 17). Most Popular Merchandise from The Finals includes: Boston Celtics 2008 NBA Champions Locker Room tee shirt and hat from adidas sold out within minutes at the TD Banknorth Garden and have been top sellers at Modell's, Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, Champs and JCPenney.The "Beat LA" T-Shirt was the most successful team tagline tee shirt ever.Spalding Limited Edition NBA Finals Matchup basketballs sold out at the Celtics and Lakers team stores. For the first time ever, game-worn jerseys were auctioned off on NBA.com during Game 1 and Game 3.Limited Edition Kevin Garnett NBA Finals shoes from adidas sold for $1,107 a pair with all proceeds going to NBA Cares. Source: National Basketball Association OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Astros GM Ed Wade Attacked by Pitcher Shawn Chacon - The Biz of Baseball Dodgers Surpass 3 Million Tickets Sold for 2008 - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football Big Ten Network Nearing First Major Cable Deal with Comcast - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287773 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287773 Last week, Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon got into a physical altercation with general manager Ed Wade after Chacon refused to go to manager Cecil Cooper’s office, and Wade angrily approached Chacon over the refusal. There have been altercations between players and front office staff before. Legend has it that Babe Ruth once dangled Yankees manager Miller Huggins from a moving train window. Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin got into a shoving match in the dugout during a Yankees game against the Red Sox at Fenway. And, more recently, Latrell Sprewell, then with the Golden State Warriors, choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice session. But, those altercations were between those directly coaching or managing a player, not an executive -- an other layer up the chain. Since the Wade/Chacon altercation, I have been researching far and wide, as well as asking anyone that would listen, the question: “Has there ever been a case of a player and a GM getting into a physical altercation?” The answer (at least at this stage) appears to be, no. As one well-known and respected member of the media who has this type of “did you know” research in his wheel said to me, “I’ve asked countless people the question, and to date, no one could think of an instance.” Now, this isn’t to say executives haven’t been known to tussle with someone. Maybe the most well-known of the “executive that loved to fight” might be Leland (Larry) Stanford MacPhail. His final rowdy moment as an MLB executive surrounds one of the most bizarre retirement moments in history. MacPhail, crying and toting an empty beer bottle declared, That's it, goddamit, that's my retirement, the moment the Yankees won the World Series in October of 1947. Although Dan Topping and Del Webb, MacPhail’s partners in the Yankees, discounted the retirement announcement at the time. As noted in Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804338,00.html), the next day made it official in everyone’s eyes: Twenty-four hours later, there was no doubt that MacPhail was out, though not, as he had first declared, just because I wanna be. The question was settled at the Yankees' beery victory celebration at the Biltmore Hotel. MacPhail blustered in late, demanded a private room for his own party, began to celebrate with a tirade against teetotaling Dodger President Branch Rickey, whom Larry does not like. When one of MacPhail's friends defended Rickey, MacPhail punched him in the eye. His outbursts against his own partners made Topping so angry that guests had to break in to head off a brawl.Fireworks Hoopla. Fed up, Topping and Webb called a meeting with their lawyers then there. It lasted all night and most of the next day. They then announced that they had bought MacPhail's one-third interest, and were now accepting his resignation as Yankee president, treasurer, director and general manager. So, MacPhail was known to get physical, but to date... I can find no story of MacPhail getting into it with a player. To that end, the Shawn Chacon/Ed Wade dust-up may go down in history as the first time a player and executive got physical with each other.We haven't found any other player/executive altercation yet, but maybe you have? Post in the comments (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=2326 Itemid=1) if you know of one. One thing seems certain... a player and GM will probably get into it again in the future. Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29). Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:36:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287507 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287507 Last week, Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon got into a physical altercation with general manager Ed Wade after Chacon refused to go to manager Cecil Cooper’s office, and Wade angrily approached Chacon over the refusal. There have been altercations between players and front office staff before. Legend has it that Babe Ruth once dangled Yankees manager Miller Huggins from a moving train window. Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin got into a shoving match in the dugout during a Yankees game against the Red Sox at Fenway. And, more recently, Latrell Sprewell, then with the Golden State Warriors, choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice session. But, those altercations were between those directly coaching or managing a player, not an executive -- an other layer up the chain. Since the Wade/Chacon altercation, I have been researching far and wide, as well as asking anyone that would listen, the question: “Has there ever been a case of a player and a GM getting into a physical altercation?” The answer (at least at this stage) appears to be, no. As one well-known and respected member of the media who has this type of “did you know” research in his wheel said to me, “I’ve asked countless people the question, and to date, no one could think of an instance.” Now, this isn’t to say executives haven’t been known to tussle with someone. Maybe the most well-known of the “executive that loved to fight” might be Leland (Larry) Stanford MacPhail. His final rowdy moment as an MLB executive surrounds one of the most bizarre retirement moments in history. MacPhail, crying and toting an empty beer bottle declared, That's it, goddamit, that's my retirement, the moment the Yankees won the World Series in October of 1947. Although Dan Topping and Del Webb, MacPhail’s partners in the Yankees, discounted the retirement announcement at the time. As noted in Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804338,00.html), the next day made it official in everyone’s eyes: Twenty-four hours later, there was no doubt that MacPhail was out, though not, as he had first declared, just because I wanna be. The question was settled at the Yankees' beery victory celebration at the Biltmore Hotel. MacPhail blustered in late, demanded a private room for his own party, began to celebrate with a tirade against teetotaling Dodger President Branch Rickey, whom Larry does not like. When one of MacPhail's friends defended Rickey, MacPhail punched him in the eye. His outbursts against his own partners made Topping so angry that guests had to break in to head off a brawl.Fireworks Hoopla. Fed up, Topping and Webb called a meeting with their lawyers then there. It lasted all night and most of the next day. They then announced that they had bought MacPhail's one-third interest, and were now accepting his resignation as Yankee president, treasurer, director and general manager. So, MacPhail was known to get physical, but to date... I can find no story of MacPhail getting into it with a player. To that end, the Shawn Chacon/Ed Wade dust-up may go down in history as the first time a player and executive got physical with each other.We haven't found any other player/executive altercation yet, but maybe you have? Post in the comments (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=2326 Itemid=1) if you know of one. One thing seems certain... a player and GM will probably get into it again in the future. Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29). Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:36:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287507 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287507 The NFL announced Monday that Commissioner Roger Goodell, joined by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and New York Giants defensive end Osi Mumenyiora, will soon leave on a seven-day, three-country summer USO tour led by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. It will be the first time that the commissioner of a sports league visits U.S. troops overseas as part of a USO tour, according to the USO. At the request of Commissioner Goodell, Brees and Umenyiora will join the tour along with other participants invited by Admiral Mullen, including two members of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. "It is a great honor to have been asked to join Admiral Mullen on this USO tour," said Commissioner Goodell.  "I anticipate that it will be a very humbling and memorable experience.  I am inspired by the many NFL representatives that, over the decades, have volunteered to visit our troops overseas and have talked about it being a life-changing experience.  I want to do my part and emphasize that the entire NFL appreciates and supports the work that our military does to protect our country." The NFL has partnered with the USO for more than 40 years. According to the NFL the league "was the first sports organization to send players to visit troops in Vietnam when future Pro Football Hall of Famers Wille Davis, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff and Johnny Unitas went there and to other parts of the Far East in 1966.  Earlier this year, three NFL players – defensive linemen Luis Castillo of San Diego , Tommie Harris of Chicago and Mike Rucker of Carolina – took a week-long NFL-USO tour to Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan to support the soldiers." For the two NFL players accompanying Commissioner Goodell, this will be their second time overseas this offseason on goodwill trips. Brees, the co-winner of the 2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award who has produced the first two 4,000-yard passing seasons in Saints history, visited Okinawa on a USO tour this spring.  While on those Pacific beaches, Brees talked by phone to his grandfather, who had landed as a U.S. Marine on those same beaches more than 60 years ago and participated in some of the heaviest fighting in World War II. Umenyiora, who led the Giants in sacks (13.0) last season while helping the club to its Super Bowl XLII title, joined four other NFL players – Ahman Green (Houston), Isreal Idondie (Chicago), Adewale Ogunleye (Chicago) and Amobi Okoye (Houston) -- this spring on a humanitarian mission to Nigeria to help set up college scholarships at 10 universities, distribute HIV testing kits to clinics, dig water wells in villages, and outfit a youth soccer team.  Source: National Football LeagueOTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Linkin Park, MLB Properties Hook-up For 3rd Year - The Biz of Baseball Wrigley Field It Is: NHL Outdoor Classic in Chicago Jan. 1 - The Biz of Baseball Passing Gas? Rays, Hess to Give Away $5 Cards on July 18 - The Biz of Baseball All-Star Game Starters, Reserves, and Pitchers Announced - The Biz of Baseball 214.7 Million Votes Cast Online for All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball Is the Ed Wade/Shawn Chacon Altercation a First? - The Biz of BaseballYou Really Like Me! Rays See Highest TV Ratings Ever - The Biz of Baseball Cellphone to Throw Away at the All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball Six GMs on the Hot Seat - The Biz of Baseball Chicago's Wrigley Field to Host Next Outdoor Classic on New Years Day - The Biz of Hockey Jaromir Jagr First Major NHL Player to Crossover to Continental Hockey League - The Biz of Hockey Free Agent Signings - July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey NHL Free Agent Listing As of July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey Bryan Perez Named Senior VP and General Manager of NBA Digital - The Biz of Basketball Narcissist Alert: Former NBAer Doug Christie and Wife Jackie Announce They'll Get Married for 13th Time - The Biz of Basketball A Drop in the Bucket: Why the Settlement between the Sonics and Seattle will See Bennett Making $$$ - The Biz of Basketball NBA Opening Stores in China Next Month. Using Olympics to Boost Interest - The Biz of Basketball TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.  Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:13:37 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287240 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287240 The Portland Trail Blazers announced Monday that Joe Prunty has been named an assistant coach.The announcement was made by Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard Prunty spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to his time in Dallas, he served for nine seasons with the San Antonio Spurs as assistant video coordinator, video coordinator, advance scout and most recently, assistant coach. During his time with the Spurs, the team won three NBA Championships. "We couldn't be more thrilled to add a talented, hard-working and experienced individual like Joe to the organization," said head coach Nate McMillan. "He brings to us a blend of player development and basketball knowledge that will be a tremendous asset to the coaching staff." The Sunnyvale, Calif., native joins a McMillan coaching staff that includes lead assistant coach Dean Demopoulos, assistant coach Monty Williams and assistant coach Maurice Lucas. Prunty starts work immediately as the team prepares for the 2008 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.Source: Portland Trail Blazers OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Linkin Park, MLB Properties Hook-up For 3rd Year - The Biz of Baseball Wrigley Field It Is: NHL Outdoor Classic in Chicago Jan. 1 - The Biz of Baseball Passing Gas? Rays, Hess to Give Away $5 Cards on July 18 - The Biz of Baseball All-Star Game Starters, Reserves, and Pitchers Announced - The Biz of Baseball Is the Ed Wade/Shawn Chacon Altercation a First? - The Biz of BaseballYou Really Like Me! Rays See Highest TV Ratings Ever - The Biz of Baseball Cellphone to Throw Away at the All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball Six GMs on the Hot Seat - The Biz of Baseball Chicago's Wrigley Field to Host Next Outdoor Classic on New Years Day - The Biz of Hockey Jaromir Jagr First Major NHL Player to Crossover to Continental Hockey League - The Biz of Hockey Free Agent Signings - July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey NHL Free Agent Listing As of July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann to Reumite for NBC's "Football Night in America" - The Biz of FootballXM Satellite Radio Locks Up SEC. Adds Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Vanderbilt - The Biz of Football Don Imus, "Pacman" Jones and Media Correctness - The Biz of Football 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:42:10 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287222 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287222 Former NBAer Doug Christie and his wife Jackie are amusing in a nauseating sort of way. Yes, they have done charitable work, which should be applauded. And, yes, they promote building strong marriages.But there's self-promotion, and then there's the Christies. Case in point, today the couple declared through a press release that on July 8th they will get married for a 13th time at the Space Needle in Seattle, "in a lavish ultra private ceremony." The self-proclaimed "power couple", "will donate $100,000.00 to charity and plan to invite 100 gay and lesbian couples to join them next July for their 14th wedding to marry in one joint ceremony." Charity? Good. Social causes? Ditto. Extraordinarily, gratuitous, self-promotion? Check, please. I need to leave. Think that the "power couple" reference is a bit, over the top? Try adding in how they reference their daughter. As the press release continues, "The Christie's daughter, role model and multi-talented entertainer Chani, whom recently released her debut album, 'My Dream' is following in her parents footsteps with her own philanthropy as well." Yes, nothing says "look at me now" like proclaiming "role model and multi-talented entertainer" about one of your own. More heart warming self-promotion? "The power couple is also responsible for inspiring so many other couples including celebrity couples, to marry more than once, we are so happy to see so many people now choosing to marry multiple times, or renew their vows privately and publicly. Our hearts warm when someone say's thank you for inspiring us," said Doug Christie. Remember, folks, it's great to do charity work. It's another thing to do it so that you can place attention to yourself. Reaffirming your vows? Nice idea. It shows your commitment to marriage. But, doing it every year, even as an example? Strong marriages don't need to have vows renewed every year. Only narcissists do. Finally, there's this tidbit regarding Doug Christie's time with the Kings: Aside from past public scrutiny as well as untrue rumors that the Christie's had to endure, affected not only their personal life but professional life as well. Most recent was that of veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy who refereed games in the NBA during Doug's tenure with the Sacramento Kings in 2002. Tim Donaghy was accused of betting on basketball games over the past two seasons and most recently admitted to cheating in game 6 of the semi-finals that year between the Sacramento Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers' basketball teams. "I am devastated to now find out the game was not officiated fairly," says Christie. "Not just for myself and my family but for my teammates as well who put their heart and soul on the line, the fans and the players out there on the floor right now. Who can tell what's 'real' and what's fake?" Well, Doug, let's get some things straight first: Fact: Donaghy isn't "accused" he admitted to betting on games. Fact: Donaghy didn't work Game 6 (Bob Delaney, Dick Bavetta and Ted Bernhardt did), so he didn't "cheat" during the game you claim. Here's something else, Doug (and Jackie). Genuine individuals lead by example, and do not draw attention to themselves in the process. I'm sure that there will be more press releases from the Christies touting how great they are. Isn't it ironic that Doug asks, "Who can tell what's 'real' and what's 'fake'?"OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK 214.7 Million Votes Cast Online for All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball Is the Ed Wade/Shawn Chacon Altercation a First? - The Biz of Baseball McNamee Requests that Clemens Suit Be Dismissed - The Biz of Baseball You Really Like Me! Rays See Highest TV Ratings Ever - The Biz of Baseball Cellphone to Throw Away at the All-Star Game - The Biz of Baseball Six GMs on the Hot Seat - The Biz of Baseball Eck, Reynolds, Ripken, Jr. Conference Call Highlights Online All-Star Voting: Popularity Contest or "Balanced" - The Biz of Baseball Ecko Gives Bonds' 756 HR Ball to HOF After Confusing Day - The Biz of Baseball Free Agent Signings - July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey NHL Free Agent Listing As of July 1, 2008 - The Biz of Hockey Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey XM Satellite Radio Locks Up SEC. Adds Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and Vanderbilt - The Biz of Football Don Imus, "Pacman" Jones and Media Correctness - The Biz of Football 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.  Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:16:44 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286924 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286924 Last week, Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon got into a physical altercation with general manager Ed Wade after Chacon refused to go to manager Cecil Cooper’s office, and Wade angrily approached Chacon over the refusal. There have been altercations between players and front office staff before. Legend has it that Babe Ruth once dangled Yankees manager Miller Huggins from a moving train window. Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin got into a shoving match in the dugout during a Yankees game against the Red Sox at Fenway. And, more recently, Latrell Sprewell, then with the Golden State Warriors, choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice session. But, those altercations were between those directly coaching or managing a player, not an executive -- an other layer up the chain. Since the Wade/Chacon altercation, I have been researching far and wide, as well as asking anyone that would listen, the question: “Has there ever been a case of a player and a GM getting into a physical altercation?” The answer (at least at this stage) appears to be, no. As one well-known and respected member of the media who has this type of “did you know” research in his wheel said to me, “I’ve asked countless people the question, and to date, no one could think of an instance.” Now, this isn’t to say executives haven’t been known to tussle with someone. Maybe the most well-known of the “executive that loved to fight” might be Leland (Larry) Stanford MacPhail. His final rowdy moment as an MLB executive surrounds one of the most bizarre retirement moments in history. MacPhail, crying and toting an empty beer bottle declared, That's it, goddamit, that's my retirement, the moment the Yankees won the World Series in October of 1947. Although Dan Topping and Del Webb, MacPhail’s partners in the Yankees, discounted the retirement announcement at the time. As noted in Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804338,00.html), the next day made it official in everyone’s eyes: Twenty-four hours later, there was no doubt that MacPhail was out, though not, as he had first declared, just because I wanna be. The question was settled at the Yankees' beery victory celebration at the Biltmore Hotel. MacPhail blustered in late, demanded a private room for his own party, began to celebrate with a tirade against teetotaling Dodger President Branch Rickey, whom Larry does not like. When one of MacPhail's friends defended Rickey, MacPhail punched him in the eye. His outbursts against his own partners made Topping so angry that guests had to break in to head off a brawl.Fireworks Hoopla. Fed up, Topping and Webb called a meeting with their lawyers then there. It lasted all night and most of the next day. They then announced that they had bought MacPhail's one-third interest, and were now accepting his resignation as Yankee president, treasurer, director and general manager. So, MacPhail was known to get physical, but to date... I can find no story of MacPhail getting into it with a player. To that end, the Shawn Chacon/Ed Wade dust-up may go down in history as the first time a player and executive got physical with each other.We haven't found any other player/executive altercation yet, but maybe you have? Post in the comments (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=2326 Itemid=1) if you know of one. One thing seems certain... a player and GM will probably get into it again in the future. Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29). Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:15:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286921 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286921 Last week, Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon got into a physical altercation with general manager Ed Wade after Chacon refused to go to manager Cecil Cooper’s office, and Wade angrily approached Chacon over the refusal. There have been altercations between players and front office staff before. Legend has it that Babe Ruth once dangled Yankees manager Miller Huggins from a moving train window. Reggie Jackson and Billy Martin got into a shoving match in the dugout during a Yankees game against the Red Sox at Fenway. And, more recently, Latrell Sprewell, then with the Golden State Warriors, choked coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice session. But, those altercations were between those directly coaching or managing a player, not an executive -- an other layer up the chain. Since the Wade/Chacon altercation, I have been researching far and wide, as well as asking anyone that would listen, the question: “Has there ever been a case of a player and a GM getting into a physical altercation?” The answer (at least at this stage) appears to be, no. As one well-known and respected member of the media who has this type of “did you know” research in his wheel said to me, “I’ve asked countless people the question, and to date, no one could think of an instance.” Now, this isn’t to say executives haven’t been known to tussle with someone. Maybe the most well-known of the “executive that loved to fight” might be Leland (Larry) Stanford MacPhail. His final rowdy moment as an MLB executive surrounds one of the most bizarre retirement moments in history. MacPhail, crying and toting an empty beer bottle declared, That's it, goddamit, that's my retirement, the moment the Yankees won the World Series in October of 1947. Although Dan Topping and Del Webb, MacPhail’s partners in the Yankees, discounted the retirement announcement at the time. As noted in Time Magazine (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804338,00.html), the next day made it official in everyone’s eyes: Twenty-four hours later, there was no doubt that MacPhail was out, though not, as he had first declared, just because I wanna be. The question was settled at the Yankees' beery victory celebration at the Biltmore Hotel. MacPhail blustered in late, demanded a private room for his own party, began to celebrate with a tirade against teetotaling Dodger President Branch Rickey, whom Larry does not like. When one of MacPhail's friends defended Rickey, MacPhail punched him in the eye. His outbursts against his own partners made Topping so angry that guests had to break in to head off a brawl.Fireworks Hoopla. Fed up, Topping and Webb called a meeting with their lawyers then there. It lasted all night and most of the next day. They then announced that they had bought MacPhail's one-third interest, and were now accepting his resignation as Yankee president, treasurer, director and general manager. So, MacPhail was known to get physical, but to date... I can find no story of MacPhail getting into it with a player. To that end, the Shawn Chacon/Ed Wade dust-up may go down in history as the first time a player and executive got physical with each other.We haven't found any other player/executive altercation yet, but maybe you have? Post in the comments (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=2326 Itemid=1) if you know of one. One thing seems certain... a player and GM will probably get into it again in the future. Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/), which includes The Biz of Baseball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/), The Biz of Football (http://www.bizoffootball.com/), The Biz of Basketball (http://www.bizofbasketball.com/) and The Biz of Hockey (http://bizofhockey.com/). He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus (http://baseballprospectus.com/news/?author=124), and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content view=article id=47 Itemid=18) He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (http://www.businessofsportsnetwork.com/index.php?option=com_contact view=contact id=2 Itemid=29). Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:15:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286921 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/286921 MLB recently received two black eyes due to the incidents in Houston between Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon and GM Ed Wade and the other incident also being in Houston, but this time on the visitor's side between Red Sox LF Manny Ramirez and Boston's travelling secretary Jack McCormick. The Houston Astros Incident The Astros incident arose when Chacon had a physical altercation with his GM where the player shoved his GM to the ground. The ESPN story tell of how the GM Wade asked the player Chacon to come into the manager's office (Cecil Cooper) when Chacon proceeded to shove Wade to the ground during an a confrontation when Chacon refused to enter his manager's office. The Boston Red Sox Incident The Boston incident was another argument that ended with the shoving to the ground of a club employee by a player. This time it was over tickets. A team's travelling secretary is the person who can get players tickets for family and friends on the road, when possible. The players usually get allotted tickets for each road game and it is the job of the travelling secretary to act as the team's concierge. This time Ramirez had asked for 16 tickets on game day and when McCormick told him that it might not be possible, the ESPN story, based on the original story in the Providence Journal, said that a confrontation began and ended with Ramirez shoving McCormick (who's around 30 years older than Ramirez) to the ground. Ramirez has since apologized and the team has said to have handled this incident internally. My Thoughts Personally, I have no problem with these teams penalizing these players. In fact, in the case of the Red Sox, I don't think that they were as strict as they should have been with Ramirez or if they were, they kept it very quiet. Ramirez recently had an altercation with teammate and Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis in the Boston dugout during a game against the Rays where Ramirez slapped Youkilis in the face. Given the fact that the team has explored their options of parting company with the left fielder in the past (they had once tried to release him outright a few years ago, but no one claimed him) and these two incidents and I wouldn't be surprised if they do not pick up the club option for him for 2009. In general, I am disturbed at how professional athletes, who are in the public eye, behave. To me, although they are just regular people with special athletic ability, they should still be more aware of their influence on society and therefore, handle themselves more appropriately. Now maybe I'm speaking like the father of six that I am, but also as a fan of the game who wants to see it played with respect, these incidents concern me. If I care about the sport, they should concern me. Most younger players don't seem to have as much respect for the game as players once did. Maybe it's the money or maybe it's the agents, which indirectly is also about the money or maybe it's just how teams and ownership treat the players now given the higher investments they have in their product as opposed to in years past. MLB is getting stricter with its drug policy and the next step should then be a crackdown on incidents like these in an attempt to protect the integrity of the game from its reckless youth in which it relies so heavily on. Maybe the minors should implement a program on the history of the game with an emphasis on a healthy respect of the game that we all love. What do you all think? Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:03:39 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285973 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285973 Seems to be a double standard on who gets to push team executives down. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:35:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284832 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284832 Just one week after Houston Astros pitcher Shawn Chacon fought General Manager Ed Wade, we hear of another baseball player shoving team officials around. This time it was Boston Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez. Manny reportedly pushed the teams traveling secretary, Jack McCormick, to the ground in an argument over free tickets. The Red Sox don't seem to be taking this to seriously, but shouldn't they? Let's look at the incident. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:41:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284396 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284396 Something about the city of Houston makes baseball players want to attack front office personnel. First, the immortal Shawn Chacon wasn't digging Astros GM Ed Wade's vibe. So he attacked him. Then, last week when the Red Sox visited Houston, the charming Manny Ramirez was less than enthusiastic when Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick told him it [...] Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:16:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284227 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284227