The Business of Sports Network is undergoing a restructuring that will see several independent sites closed down. The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball, and The Biz of Hockey will soon close as independent sites. These URLs will remain associated to the Business of Sports Network. The Biz of Baseball will not be affected, and will remain in its current format.
Following the site shutdowns, a new site that covers all sports under one location will be created. Documents and other artifacts that were on the football, basketball, and hockey sites will then be moved there. Content from The Biz of Baseball will also be repurposed or summarized in this new site location, BusinessOfSportsNetwork.com.
We believe that in doing so, not only will we continue to provide support for basketball, football, and hockey, but branch into all aspects of sports business under one portal, allowing ease of access and continued growth.
We want to thank all those that have continued to support the Business of Sports Network, and we look forward to providing this fresh, new website in the coming days.
Best regards, Maury Brown President Business of Sports Network Bizball LLC
The Biz of Baseball has been updated with new data…
Each year, those tracking the interest in Major League Baseball look to television ratings and viewership numbers to frame the discussion. Since 1967, those numbers have been tracked by the Nielsen Company. Now, the Biz of Baseball has been updated with those numbers, along with other details out of the data. The data includes:
Year
Network broadcast on
Ratings number
Share number
Total television households
Difference in ratings from year prior
Difference in television households from year prior
The data also comes with two graphics: one tracking ratings and share, the other tracking television households. Further analysis can be found on Baseball Prospectus: Playing the MLB All-Star Game Television Ratings Game
The page can be linked at directly here All-Time MLB All-Star Game TV Ratings and can be found in our site navigation to the lower left under “Resources”
The challenge… Spread autism awareness, today, and every day. On the first day of International Autism Awareness month, we set aside sports in favor of advocacy.
Autism. You’re living with it. You either have a family member affected by the mental disorder (remember, it’s not a disease), you know someone connected to it, or you’re impacted in the future through impacts to the health care system.
But, make no mistake, you and autism are linked.
This year, autism hits home more than any other. Please see my message and personal fundraiser: A Father and the Cost of Autism
This is the fourth year of our Autism Awareness Challenge. The premise is simple: set sports aside and spread awareness about the Autism Spectrum Disorder. This year takes on added urgency. A recent report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows alarming numbers. According to the report:
About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network
ASDs are reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups.
Those diagnosed as being on the autism scale has increased 78% in the last decade, alone
ASDs are almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 54) than among girls (1 in 252).
Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified individuals with an ASD with an average prevalence of about 1%. A recent study in South Korea reported a prevalence of 2.6%.
About 1 in 6 children in the U.S. had a developmental disability in 2006-2008, ranging from mild disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism.
“The CDC numbers are alarming, yet they don’t begin to tell the story of the real families, real individuals struggling every day,” said Autism Speaks President Mark Roithmayr. “From fighting to get a diagnosis and secure appropriate educational services and therapies, to trying to manage tremendous financial and emotional burdens or find a satisfying job opportunity, families are engaged in a daily battle against this disorder. We need to marshal the same resources and attention that the government has devoted to other diseases and disorders and finally make this a fair fight.”
As we have done each year, we have reached out to the sports and entertainment community to help lend support. In doing so, we have seen individuals that simply wish to help, but also those that are touched directly by autism. Be it the granddaughter of Seattle Mariners President Chuck Armstrong who has autism, Dodgers’ outfield Matt Kemp who has a brother with autism, actress Alyssa Milano who also has been directly touched by the developmental disorder, or Ryan and Dawn Neufeld, in reaching out to the community we have seen just how far reaching autism is.
With today being the beginning of International Autism Awareness Month, all the Business of Sports Network sites have been rebranded to remind you about this campaign, and within each post this month, we will be providing a link to Autism Speaks for those that wish to donate to assist in funding research on autism.
The main point of the autism awareness campaign is for you to spread the word, and reach a better understanding of the developmental disorder. All day April 2, Maury Brown will be providing information via Twitter on ASD
Here is how the Autism Society of America describes autism:
Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.
Currently, the Autism Society estimates that the lifetime cost of caring for a child with autism ranges from $3.5 million to $5 million, and that the United States is facing almost $90 billion annually in costs for autism (this figure includes research, insurance costs and non-covered expenses, Medicaid waivers for autism, educational spending, housing, transportation, employment, in addition to related therapeutic services and caregiver costs).
Know the Signs: Early Identification Can Change Lives
Autism can be addressed through therapy. Children do not "outgrow" autism, but studies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantly improved outcomes.
Here are some signs to look for in the children in your life:
Lack of or delay in spoken language
Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
Little or no eye contact
Lack of interest in peer relationships
Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
Persistent fixation on parts of objects
IF YOU ARE WITHIN THE MEDIA, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN THE CAMPAIGN, AS WELL AS AUTISM SPEAKS EFFORTS. LINK OR REPURPOSE THIS MATERIAL TO HELP THE CAUSE.
The following have lent their name in saying they support autism awareness, if you wish to be added to the list, please contact Maury Brown, president of the Business of Sports Network via email for more details.
Stan Kasten - Baseball exec. Future President and CEO of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Allan Walsh - NHL player agent, Octagon
Martin Havlat - Right Wing, Minnesota Wild
Matt Kemp - Outfielder, Los Angeles Dodgers
Peter Gammons - MLB Network, MLB.com, NESN
John Thorn - Author, Official Historian Major League Baseball
Chuck Armstrong - President, Seattle Mariners
Larry Cancro - Senior Vice President of Fenway Affairs for the Boston Red Sox. Also Chairman of Autism Speaks, New England. Board member Melmark, New England a school that specializes in autism and similar cognitive disabilities
Jim Trotter - Senior NFL writer, Sports Illustrated
Sean Foreman - President, Sports Reference, LLC
Ken Davidoff - National baseball writer, Newsday
Kathy Conners - Principal & Founder KMC Consulting
Doug Farrar - Writer for Football Outsiders, Yahoo! Sports, Sportspress Northwest and The Washington Post
Chuck Greenberg - Founder, Greenberg Sports Group, Owner, Myrtle Beach Pelicans and State College Spikes
Jim Duquette - Sirius/XM Radio MLB Network Radio, former GM Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets
David Kahn - President, Basketball Operations, Minnesota Timberwolves
Alyssa Milano - Television, screen and stage actor
Ryan and Dawn Neufeld - Ryan is 7-year NFL veteran playing tight-end; Dawn has been featured on VH1's "NFL Wives", honorary chairs of Dallas Rocks Against Autism
Jonathan Schaech - Actor and social activist. As seen in the movie "That Thing You Do" and more.
Larry Stone - National baseball writer, The Seattle Times
Troy Renck - MLB beat reporter, Denver Post
Kevin "'Duk" Kaduk - Editor of Y! Sports' Big League Stew
Dave Goren - Executive Director of National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association & Hall of Fame
George Atallah - Assistant Executive Director of External Affairs for the NFL Players Association
Mike Donnelly - Media Coordinator for the NFLPA
Ken Rosenthal - FOXSports.com, MLB Network
Dave Sims - Television play-by-play commentator for the Seattle Mariners, radio play-by-play for Sunday Night Football on Westwood One, television play-by-play host for UFL on VERSUS
Joe Hamrahi - Baseball Daily Digest, Baseball Prospectus
Richard Justice - Sports columnist, Houston Chronicl
Todd Radom - Graphic artist, sports logo creator
Joe Briggs, Esq
Curt and Shonda Schilling
Mike Ferrin - Host & Anchor, MLB Network Radio
Brent Gambill - Executive Producer, Sirius/XM Radio
Dave Barr - Producer, Sports Talk With Bo Mattingly. KREB 1190 Fayetteville, KTTG ESPN 96.3 FM Ft. Smith, KABZ 103.7 FM Little Rock
Russ Levine, VP of Digital Production for NHL.com
Jamie Newberg - NewbergReport.com
Pat Courtney - MLB VP Public Relations
Mike Dilorenzo - NHL spokesperson
Jason Rosenberg - It’s About the Money, Stupid blog
Jason Collette - DRaysBay.com /BaseballProspectus/Rotowire
Scott Jackson - Host of Last Call on Sporting News Radio, Co-Host of The Brian Mitchell Show on 1067 The Fan DC and SBNation DC Columnist
Lou Imbriano - CEO at TrinityOne Sports & Professor of Sports Marketing at Boston College. Former CMO of the New England Patriots & 2011 McGraw-Hill Author
Gordon Edes - ESPNBoston.com
Peter Abraham - Boston Globe
Victor Rojas - Television play-by-play voice of the LA Angels, formerly with MLB Network
Will Carroll - SI.com
Jesse Sanchez - MLB.com
Devon Teeple - Business of Sports Network
Jordan Kobritz - Business of Sports Network
Joe Tetreault - Business of Sports Network
To understand autism's reach, please see this PSA with NASCAR driver, Jamie McMurray
The Biz of Baseball has been updated with new data…
In an effort to provide information to readers, The Biz of Baseball has been updated with information on MLB club sales.
The data, which provides info on the latest purchase, includes the followings:
Club
Price sold for
When
Who sold to
Notes that detail aspects such as the current controlling owner and other aspects of the sale.
Below is an example:
Marlins
$158.5 million
2002
Jeffery Loria
Included a $38.5 million no-interest loan from MLB to Loria. Sale of Marlins tied to the sale of the Red Sox and Expos. Henry sells Marlins to Loria who sells Expos to MLB for $120 million. Expos later relocated to DC and sold to Lerners who rechristen the club "Nationals"
Select Current MLB Club Sale Prices from under the “Resources” menu to the left (current listed at the very bottom).
The Biz of Baseball has been updated with new data…
For those following MLB, the Competitive Balance Tax, or as it’s commonly known as the Luxury Tax, has been a much discussed topic, but often misunderstood.
The tax is baseball’s soft cap. Pass the threshold number, and pay a tax figure for every dollar over the threshold.
It’s often thought of as part of revenue-sharing (it isn’t), with much going back to the players in the form of benefits, as well as into an Industry Growth Fund.
The Yankees have paid out nearly all of it… From 2002 to the present.
Try this: during that time, it wasn’t the Yankees that had paid the most, it was the Orioles (remember, the club from Baltimore at one point had the highest player payroll in all of baseball).
That’s not surprising? Try another: the Florida Marlins paid Luxury Tax in 1997, the year they won the World Series.
Who else has been dinged? (You know some because I just mentioned), but there are a total of 10.
Here’s how the site’s been updated:
We are still tracking the yearly totals from 2002 to the present
We’ve added the 1997-99 Luxury Tax totals
We’ve added a table totaling up the all-time collected money across both systems that also shows the percentage of the total collected (for the record, $243,078,709 in Luxury Tax has been collected, and will surely pass $250 million this year).
Each table has a corresponding bar graph
Each table shows total for each club and total paid out in each year
To see the data, select MLB Luxury Tax Totals, which can also be found to the left of any page on The Biz of Baseball under “Resources”
SPECIAL BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK REPORTS: The Labor Battle in the NFL. See BizOfFootball.com for details
BizofBaseball.com is nominated for Best Sports Business Blog while Brown is nominated for Best Sports Business Twitter Account and People’s Choice awards
(LEAVE COMMENTS AT THIS LINK TO VOTE IN THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD)
Last year, Darren Rovell won Best Sports Business Blog, Kathleen Hessert took best Twitter account, and the SportsBusiness Journal won Best Sports Content.
The Biz of Baseball is part of the Business of Sports Network. For details on our interviews, latest new on MLB, the NFL, the NBA,and the NHL from outside the lines, check www.businessofsportsnetwork.com for information and links to the Network's sites.
The new Business of Sports Network podcast show, Bizball Radio is now available for download on iTunes. The show being hosted by Maury Brown each week will focus on the top sports stories outside the lines, plus interview guests.
The inaugural edition featured The Extra 2% author Jonah Keri (listen online here). Mariners and NFL Sunday Night Football on Westwood One broadcaster Dave Sims is scheduled for next week.
Find Bizball Radio on iTunes at the following link:
The Biz of Baseball is part of the Business of Sports Network. For details on our interviews, latest new on MLB, the NFL, the NBA,and the NHL from outside the lines, check www.businessofsportsnetwork.com for information and links to the Network's sites.
This year marks the forth annual Autism Awareness Campaign launched by the Business of Sports Network. Each year, we reach out and ask that for a few moments sports is set aside in favor of spreading the word about the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as it is developmental disorder that is reaching alarm levels bordering on epidemic. As we did last year, we have reached out to the sports and entertainment community to help lend support. In doing so, we have seen individuals that simply wish to help, but also those that are touched directly by autism. Be it the granddaughter of Seattle Mariners President Chuck Armstrong who has autism, Dodgers’ outfield Matt Kemp who has a brother with autism, actress Alyssa Milano who also has been directly touched by the developmental disorder, or Ryan and Dawn Neufeld, in reaching out to the community we have seen just how far reaching autism is.
With today being the beginning of International Autism Awareness Month, all the Business of Sports Network sites have been rebranded to remind you about this campaign, and within each post this month, we will be providing a link to Autism Speaks for those that wish to donate to assist in funding research on autism. We have also partnered with Autism Speaks to help promote their efforts, such as the “Light It Up Blue” campaign.
The main point of the autism awareness campaign is for you to spread the word, and reach a better understanding of the developmental disorder.
Here is how the Autism Society of America describes autism:
Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors and is a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. There is no known single cause for autism, but increased awareness and funding can help families today.
In December 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued their ADDM autism prevalence report. The report concluded that the prevalence of autism had risen to 1 in every 110 births in the United States and almost 1 in 70 boys. The issuance of this report caused a media uproar, but the news was not a surprise to the Autism Society or to the 1.5 million Americans living with the effects of autism spectrum disorder. Nonetheless, the spotlight shown on autism as a result of the prevalence increase opens opportunities for the nation to consider how to serve these families facing a lifetime of supports for their children.
Currently, the Autism Society estimates that the lifetime cost of caring for a child with autism ranges from $3.5 million to $5 million, and that the United States is facing almost $90 billion annually in costs for autism (this figure includes research, insurance costs and non-covered expenses, Medicaid waivers for autism, educational spending, housing, transportation, employment, in addition to related therapeutic services and caregiver costs).
Know the Signs: Early Identification Can Change Lives
Autism is treatable. Children do not "outgrow" autism, but studies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantly improved outcomes.
Here are some signs to look for in the children in your life:
Lack of or delay in spoken language
Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
Little or no eye contact
Lack of interest in peer relationships
Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
Persistent fixation on parts of objects
IF YOU ARE WITHIN THE MEDIA, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO JOIN THE CAMPAIGN, AS WELL AS AUTISM SPEAKS EFFORTS. LINK OR REPURPOSE THIS MATERIAL TO HELP THE CAUSE.
The following have lent their name in saying they support autism awareness, if you wish to be added to the list, please contact Maury Brown, president of the Business of Sports Network via email (MauryATbusinessofsportsnetworkDOTcom), for more details.
Corporate Endorsers
Autism Speaks
Populous (Stadium and Global Design)
Sports Management Worldwide
Portland Timbers of MLS
Oregon Sports Authority
Yardbarker Network
Sports Business Radio
Sports and Entertainment Endorsers
Allan Walsh - NHL player agent, Octagon
Martin Havlat - Right Wing, Minnesota Wild
Matt Kemp (Outfielder, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Peter Gammons (MLB Network, MLB.com, NESN)
John Thorn - Author, Official Historian Major League Baseball
Chuck Armstrong (President, Seattle Mariners)
Larry Cancro (Senior Vice President of Fenway Affairs for the Boston Red Sox. Also Chairman of Autism Speaks, New England. Board member Melmark, New England a school that specializes in autism and similar cognitive disabilities)
Jim Trotter - Senior NFL writer, Sports Illustrated
Sean Foreman - President, Sports Reference, LLC
Ken Davidoff - National baseball writer, Newsday
Kathy Conners - Principal & Founder KMC Consulting
Doug Farrar - Writer for Football Outsiders, Yahoo! Sports, Sportspress Northwest and The Washington Post
Scott Jackson - Host of Last Call on Sporting News Radio, Co-Host of The Brian Mitchell Show on 1067 The Fan DC and SBNation DC Columnist
Lou Imbriano - CEO at TrinityOne Sports & Professor of Sports Marketing at Boston College. Former CMO of the New England Patriots & 2011 McGraw-Hill Author
Gordon Edes - ESPNBoston.com
Peter Abraham - Boston Globe
Chuck Greenberg - Former owner Texas Rangers, sports attorney
Jim Duquette - Sirius/XM Radio MLB Network Radio, former GM Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets
David Kahn - President, Basketball Operations, Minnesota Timberwolves
Victor Rojas - Television play-by-play voice of the LA Angels, formerly with MLB Network
Will Carroll - SI.com
Jesse Sanchez - MLB.com
Devon Teeple - Business of Sports Network
Jordan Kobritz - Business of Sports Network
Joe Tetreault - Business of Sports Network
Alyssa Milano - Television, screen and stage actor
Ryan and Dawn Neufeld - Ryan is 7-year NFL veteran playing tight-end; Dawn has been featured on VH1's "NFL Wives" , honorary chairs of Dallas Rocks Against Autism
Dave Goren - Executive Director of National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association & Hall of Fame
George Atallah - Assistant Executive Director of External Affairs for the NFL Players Association
Mike Donnelly - Media Coordinator for the NFLPA
Ken Rosenthal - FOXSports.com, MLB Network
Dave Sims - Television play-by-play commentator for the Seattle Mariners, radio play-by-play for Sunday Night Football on Westwood One, television play-by-play host for UFL on VERSUS
Joe Hamrahi - Baseball Daily Digest, Baseball Prospectus
Richard Justice - Sports columnist, Houston Chronicl
Todd Radom - Graphic artist, sports logo creator
Joe Briggs, Esq
Curt and Shonda Schilling
Mike Ferrin - Host & Anchor, MLB Network Radio
Brent Gambill - Executive Producer, MLB Home Plate, Sirius/XM Radio
Dave Barr - Producer, Sports Talk With Bo Mattingly. KREB 1190 Fayetteville, KTTG ESPN 96.3 FM Ft. Smith, KABZ 103.7 FM Little Rock
Russ Levine, VP of Digital Production for NHL.com
Jamie Newberg - NewbergReport.com
Pat Courtney - MLB VP Public Relations
Mike Dilorenzo - NHL spokesperson
Jason Rosenberg - It’s About the Money, Stupid blog
Jason Collette - DRaysBay.com /BaseballProspectus/Rotowire
Joe Siegler - RangerFans.com
Gary Armida - FullCountPitch.com
Jeff Levine - Business of Sports Network
Pete Toms - Business of Sports Network
Click to donate to Autism Speaks
The Biz of Baseball is part of the Business of Sports Network. For details on our interviews, latest new on MLB, the NFL, the NBA,and the NHL from outside the lines, check www.businessofsportsnetwork.com for information and links to the Network's sites.
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