Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for March 24, 2011 from Len Berman at ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* The Sweet Sixteen gets underway tonight with 4 games. All times Eastern.
* 7:15 Connecticut/San Diego State -- CBS
* 7:27 BYU/Florida -- TBS
* 9:45 Arizona/Duke -- CBS
* 9:57 Butler/Wisconsin -- TBS
* A Manny Ramirez line drive nails Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt in the neck. The Phils say he's OK.
* Former Mets pitching bust Oliver Perez lands a minor league deal with Washington.
* Derek Jeter's was the top selling Major League jersey in 2010. Joe Mauer of the Twins came in second.
* The Arnold Palmer Invitational gets underway today at Bay Hill in Orlando.
2. Money Ball
Not that you had any doubt, but the Yankees are the most valuable franchise in baseball. According to Forbes, they are now worth $1.7 billion. Nobody else is over a billion. The Red Sox come in second at $912 million. And despite the Mets' financial issues, they are still ranked 5th at $747 million. And to graphically illustrate the have/have not issue that suffocates baseball, in the NFL, Dallas is #1 at $1.8 billion. Half the league is worth a billion or more. The lowest ranking team is Jacksonville. $725 million. So the worst is a bit less than half the value of the top team. In baseball, Pittsburgh brings up the rear at $304 million. The Yankees are worth nearly 6 times as much!
3. Football Related Violence
I'm guessing this might be the only time that the Top 5 quotes the Quarterly Journal of Economics. They published a study which equates upsets in football to a spike in domestic violence. They studied 6 NFL teams over a 10 year period and when a team got upset, domestic violence rose 10%. When the team got upset by a rival, it jumped 20%.
Just curious what part alcohol and gambling plays into the equation?
4. You Play the Commish
Lots of great entries to our little game show (without prizes) "You Play the Commish."
*Bruce C. "One minute between innings. And no commercial messages over the stadium PA."
*Ron K. "I would make spectators who want to sit behind home plate take a quiz to see how much they know about the game. Those prized seats should go to real fans, not business people."
*Glen T. adds, "If there any empty/unsold seats behind home plate, the home team must offer them to some under-privileged youths from the home team city."
*Joe F. "Any politician who leaves a World Series, Opening Day etc game from his front row seat in the 4th inning is banned from every major league park... for life."
*David S. "To help speed up the game, institute a per at bat maximum number of times a hitter can step out of the box to adjust his batting gloves, helmet and crotch."
*David B. "There must be a 10-run differential before fans can partake in the Wave."
Editor's Note: You're fired as Commish, David. No wave period!
5. National Treasure
And a Top 5 nod to Elizabeth Taylor who died yesterday at the age of 79. She starred in National Velvet in 1944. She played a young girl who dresses as a boy and rides a horse to victory in the Grand National steeplechase. So, on her incredible life resume, she even starred in a sports movie. Why are we not surprised? She was a star at everything she did.
Happy Birthday: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. 35.
Bonus Birthday: Actress Alyson "This one time at band camp" Hannigan. 37.
Today in Sports: The longest game in NHL history. Detroit beats Montreal 1-0 in 6 overtimes on a goal by Mud Bruneteau. 1936.
Bonus Event: Finally we have a college where sportscasters can get in. Syracuse University is founded. 1870.
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