Dollars & Sense - Federal Court Says No to Sports Betting in New Jersey

Is there really anything in America as hypocritical as sports betting?

"Well, you can do it in Nevada, Delaware, Oregon, and Montana, but everywhere, yea, sorry about that," they say.


New Jersey is the latest state to feel the hypocritical wrath of America's stance on sports betting.  On Tuesday, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 against legalized sports betting in the state. Governor Chris Christie has made the legalization of sports betting in the state a priority, citing increased revenue.

According to an article on Philly.com, casinos in the state of New Jersey brought in $1.77 billion. In 2008, the effective New Jersey casino tax rate was 9.5-percent, thus giving the state a large chunk of change when it comes to taxes.

After losing the judgement, New Jersey can appeal further to either a different U.S. Court of Appeals circuit or to the U.S. Supreme Court. New Jersey is trying to amend the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act that bans sports betting in all but four states.

Opponents to legalized sports betting often cite famous examples of game/match fixing and point shaving scandals as a reason to keep the practice illegal.  Perhaps the most famous example of fixing is the 1919 Black Sox Scandal where eight members of the Chicago White Sox purposely threw games so that the Cincinnati Reds would win the MLB World Series and the gamblers would cash in on big bets.  Pete Rose has been famously banned from the MLB and the Hall of Fame for their roles in gambling with the game of baseball.

Match fixing has been a prominent topic in tennis, recently. Star players like Nikolay Davydenko have been caught up in major betting scandals.  According to a recent ESPN Outside the Lines report, Bobby Riggs allegedly threw the "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973 against Billie Jean King.

Those in favor of legalized sports betting often cite the increased economic benefit to the increasingly cash-strapped state governments and that legalizing the action will allow the states to benefit from the illegal black market that exists.  Job creation can also be cited, though on a lower level relative to other gambling outlets like, say, casinos.

Delaware legalized sports betting in 2009 to the heavy opposition of the four major sports leagues and the NCAA. Since then, though, it does not seem that the sports world nor the state of Delaware has been torn apart by any scandals relating to the legalization.  The simple fact is, what can be done in any newly legalized state can already be done in any previously legalized state.  Perhaps the most logical opponent to that fact would be that the sports books can be more easily monitored and policed if they are kept in only select few states.

Either way, no matter which side of the sports betting argument you are on, the hypocritical law continues on. No worries, though, did you see the MGM Mirage has the San Francisco 49ers favored by 10 over the Indianapolis Colts this week?  The Colts just got Trent Richardson from the Browns!  I'll see you in Las Vegas.


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Dollars & Sense - The Man Behind The Winning Pirates

How bad is your favorite team? Maybe they are really bad or, if you are lucky, maybe they are really good. They could also fall somewhere in the middle – like toiling between the eighth and ninth spot of the NBA playoffs every year middle – but fans are too emotional to ever admit being in the middle.

For years the Pittsburgh Pirates were one of those teams that were really bad. Really, really bad. Just ask Bryan Fyalkowski who used to write the Route 30 Detour for us. A tortured Pirates fans for all of his years on earth, the years of losing certainly got to him.

espn.com

But now, as of this very week, the Pirates are winners. After 20 straight losing seasons, the beloved Buccos have reached 81 wins meaning that no matter what they do the rest of the way they will finish .500. Just talk to a Pirates fan and you will see what it feels like to get a monkey the size of an entire city off your back.

The greatest news of all is that the Pirates have the framework in place to keep winning. Last year looking like the year that they were finally going to do it until a wretched final month and a half of the season derailed their chances. This season they finally did it, and they can do it again going forward.

At the core of the Pirate’s recent success is All-Star outfielder Andrew McCutchen. McCutchen is only 26-years-old and is working off of one the most team-friendly contract in all of baseball after signing a6-year $51.5 million extension prior to last season. “Cutch” has also been able to keep his name in the National League Most Valuable Player discussion for the last two years, going for 31 home runs, 96 RBI, and a .327 average last year followed by 18 home runs, 75 RBI, and a .320 average through 135 games this season.

Even though he plays in Pittsburgh, McCutchen is marketable as well. He has a notable endorsement with EvoShield, a company that makes protective athletic gear such as McCutchen’s shin guard. He is most known, though, for his appearance on the cover of the popular video game MLB 2013 The Show.

Most importantly, in this day and age when the actions of athletes are often overblown, McCutchen has managed to stay away from it all. Keeping a clean image in the current social media ultra-microscopic climate is essential and something that McCutchen recognizes which helps to boost his approval amongst fans and endorsers alike.

It is difficult for an MVP caliber player on-the-field to be just as effective off-the-field, but McCutchen is doing just that. Now that the Pirates have broken the 20-pluc year curse, McCutchen’s marketability will continue to climb and he will continue to put Pittsburgh on the baseball map.

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Alex Rodriguez Set To Lose More Than Salary

Major League Baseball handed down some impacting punishments for many players on Monday stemming from the Biogensis performance-enhancing drug scandal. The biggest name being suspended was Yankee third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. After frequent denial of drug use, Rodriguez was suspended for the remainder of this season and all of the 2014 season. It is likely that he will be able to play some more games this year as the appeal process takes time to complete.

If the suspension is upheld Alex Rodriguez will lose considerable dollars in salary. It is projected that Rodriguez is set to lose anywhere between $30.6 million and $32.7 million. Although this is a significant loss for any person, Rodriguez will be able to handle the financial hit better than most people.

Alex Rodriguez will lose more than just his salary with his suspension. Rodriguez was not a well-liked athlete before the scandal broke. In fact, Forbes magazine ranked Alex Rodriguez in the top ten list for most disliked athletes in 2013. With the news of the suspension, fan support for Alex Rodriguez will be expected to fall further. For a player that has already made hundreds of millions of dollars, image must mean something.

Final Thought
Alex Rodriguez has proven that his image as a player and a person are important too him. If Rodriguez willingly took a risk by taking performance enhancing drugs, he clearly cares what others think of him. Rodriguez has a guaranteed contract and he knew how much money he could potentially be risking by trying to remain a dominant player in baseball.

I believe that performance-enhancing drugs provided Major League Baseball with years of success. Exciting players appeared all around the league and they were able to set records that previously seemed untouchable. Rodriguez was a part of this exciting era in baseball and I honestly can't blame him for using the drugs. The unfortunate decision for Alex Rodriguez was the continual denial of his use of the drugs. Had Rodriguez stopped using PEDs once baseball started to get serious about the situation, many fans around the league would have better understood the situation. Alex Rodriguez now faces over a year suspension that could potentially cost him a lot of money and any brand equity that he had left.

  @dmrosen7 

MLB All-Star Game Viewership

Tonight's MLB All-Star Game will determine which league has home field advantage for the World Series. Will this be enough of an intrigue for fans to watch? Major League Baseball sure hopes so. Mixed reactions are still felt today after the MLB decided that home field advantage would be determined via the All-Star Game starting in 2003 to make the game more competitive.

Many fans liked the idea because it was an incentive for players to "play harder." The plan was also devised to help the problem of declining television viewership. The plan initially worked in 2003. Although viewership did not rise from the previous year, it did stay the same. Major League Baseball was satisfied with this result but expected increases in the years to come.

The prevailing trend since the change when it comes to television viewership revolves around the quality of the game. If the game is interesting in score, more viewers have tuned in. Unfortunately for Major League Baseball, the 2012 All-Star Game was anything but a close game. The National League beat up on the American League 8-0. This lead to the lowest-rated and least-watched All-Star game since they started keeping track of television data.

Final Thought
Hopefully for Major League Baseball the game tonight is competitive. It is difficult to determine prior to the game how close it will be because the game features the best players in all of the sport. For the All-Star Game to be viewed more heavily, MLB had to be hoping for Yasiel Puig to be voted in by the fans. If he were to have been voted in, he would have been a major attraction to the game. It will be interesting to look at the television viewership for tonights game!

   @dmrosen7 

Dollars & Sense - A-Rod's Impact on Minor League Attendance

For a paper in one of my classes back in my freshman year of college, I sat down with the General Manager of the Trenton Thunder (NY Yankees Double-A affiliate), Will Smith, to talk about what it is like to be a GM at the minor league level.  Of course, one of the major points that I wanted to touch on was how to consistently put butts in the seats, which is the goal of any GM in sports but especially minor league baseball.  He went through the laundry list of business promotions, the focus on selling to groups, the whole nine yards.  But minor league baseball has a unique attendance draw that nobody else has.

Rehab assignments.

Now, he was clear that they do not ever root for a player to get hurt just so that there will be the inevitable rehab assignment.  But these assignments are such a huge draw.  Where else can you see major league stars play while sitting in a $10 seat in the first row?

Alex Rodriguez, the New York Yankees third baseman recovering from hip surgery, recently began a 20-day rehab assignment through the Yankees’ minor league system.  A-Rod’s presence was certainly felt, drawing huge crowds (Single-A speaking) out to the ballpark.

usatoday.com

The assignment began in Charleston, N.C. with the Riverdogs, the Yankees’ low-A affiliate.  According to Bleeding Yankee Blue, last year the Riverdogs averaged just under 3,800 fans per game.  Their stadium seating capacity is about 6,000.  On July 2^nd, the first game that A-Rod played in Charleston, an impressive 8,255 fans came out to Joseph P. Riley Park.  It was the second largest crowd on head at the park, just behind its opening day in 2007.  

After another night with the Single-A Riverdogs and another night above capacity, A-Rod made his way down I-95 (Hey, that’s us!) to play for the high-A Tampa Yankees. The night prior to A-Rod’s arrival, Tample had a crowd of about 1,500 fans.  The very next night with A-Rod in the lineup, the Tampa Yanks more than doubled the attendance with 3,148 fans in attendance.

As A-Rod moves his way up through the system, more of the Yankees’ farm system will feel the power of having a superstar major-leaguer on their field.  With likely stops in Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, A-Rod’s name will be a huge draw.  Eduardo Nunez recently finished a rehab game with Trenton on the Fourth of July and Derek Jeter has been in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for a few days.  

Although Thunder GM Will Smith said that they certainly do not root for players to get hurt, he certainly does not mind the extra faces in the stands. The Thunder are one of the more successful minor league franchises and even after a couple of days of fireworks and a retirement party for their long-time bat-dog, Chase, A-Rod’s presence will surely bring the best crowds of the season.  

 Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Broken News - San Francisco Giants Open Social Media Cafe

While some teams are left wallowing in the past, some are blazing a trail for the future.  Professional teams that are ahead of the curve on the technology side of the game are the subject of envy from many top industry executives.  Social media has been one of those technologies that some teams find themselves on a road to success while many are left scratching their heads in the dust.

The San Francisco Giants have been one of those trailblazing teams for some time now.  Just check out some of their stats from a press release on Monday:

They currently lead all of baseball in Instagram (over 255,000) and Google Plus (over 1 million) followers; are ranked fourth with 434,000 Twitter followers and fourth with 1.69 million Facebook fans. Of the top 10 trends in sports for 2012, #SFGiants ranked fifth, ahead of #Jeremy Lin, Super Bowl, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and the New York Yankees. In 2012, AT&T Park was the third most "checked-in" Facebook venue in the world, behind Times Square and Disneyland.

The Giants have taken another big step forward, this week announcing the opening of their social media cafe called "@Cafe."  The cafe will serve coffee, tea, and your typical cafe affair, but it will feature TVs showing the batting practice for those that arrive early and the game.  @Cafe's big feature is its video board that will show Giants-related Tweets, Instagrams, Facebook content.

bayareasportsguy.com

One of the most recent social media projects from the Giants that I thought was well done was a question and answer session on Vine with outfielder Hunter Pence.  Vine, a social media platform where users post 6-second videos, has been tough for many to figure out how to leverage.  The Giants, of course, found the way by having fans send their Vine of a question using a specific hashtag and Pence would then answer in a 6-second Vine of his own.

Innovation is key on social media as the space becomes more crowded by the day.  The teams that get it are the teams that use social media as a way to connect with fans and more than just a simple PR broadcast extension.  The San Francisco Giants are on the cutting edge, what is your favorite team doing?

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Clayton Kershaw Looking for the Big Dollars

Clayton Kershaw is in the final year of his two year deal that paid him $19 million. Kershaw is in talks with the Dodgers over a new deal that he expects to receive after this contract expires. Recent rumors have leaked that suggest Kershaw is looking for a big payout.

Looking a Clayton Kershaw's career numbers, he is deserving of a generous long term contract. Kershaw has been in the league for five and a half seasons, all of which are with the Dodgers. In his time in the league, Kershaw has posted a career ERA of 2.70 and an equally as impressive record of 66-41. Adding to his credentials, Kershaw won the 2011 NL Cy Young Award after posting a 1.84 ERA.

Major league pitchers have been the beneficiary of big contracts especially in recent years. In March, Justin Verlander received a seven year extension worth $180 million. The rumors have suggested that Kershaw is looking to get paid more money than Verlander making him the highest paid pitcher in baseball. Most suggest that Kershaw is looking to make somewhere in the $200 million range. One Yahoo article suggest that Kershaw can be looking for as much as $300 million!

Clayton has been upset to hear the rumors come out in public and he blames the Dodgers. When asked about his upcoming contract Kershaw said, "I think the reason we've been able to continue discussions for this long it that it's not been talked about." Kershaw later went on to say that is has become a distraction and told reporters "I guess you'll have to talk to the Dodgers as to why it came out. I don't love the fact that I have to talk about it."

Final Thought
The Dodgers have shown a recent willingness to spend money under new ownership. I am expecting that Clayton will be the highest paid pitcher in baseball next season. In the current economic climate of Major League Baseball, Clayton deserves top dollar. Everyone is aware that this year is the last of Kershaw's current contract. It is no surprise that reporters are talking about what will happen next. Kershaw should not be offended or upset by the rumors circulating, he is about to be the highest paid pitcher in baseball.

@dmrosen7

Broken News - Sports Media Rights Bubble

The sports media business is a lucrative one.  We know that.  Of course over the years, especially via sports, we have become desensitized the incredibly large dollar figures (read: Alex Rodriguez's contract).  Media, namely TV rights deals, have had the same effect of late.  Look no further than ESPN's vast portfolio:

Property - Annual Payment From ESPN

NFL Monday Night Football -  $1.9 Billion

MLB - $700 Million

NBA - $930 Million (TNT shares some of the cost)

US Open (Tennis) - $75 Million

Big East - $18 Million 

ACC - $100 Million  

Big Ten - $260 Million  

Mountain West - $18 Million

Big 12/PAC 12 - $450 Million (split with FOX) 

Orange Bowl - $55 Million      

Sugar Bowl - $80 Million

Rose Bowl - $80 Million

If you cannot do math, I assure you that it is a ton of money.  And with a reported $125 million new studio in the works, money in Bristol, Conn. seems to be, well, endless.  ESPN is also in the process of creating an entire network for the SEC, so even though there are no numbers on cost floating around the Internet, we can be sure that ESPN will be going all in on the project (their recent hire of Paul Finebaum is an indication of this). 

The expenses are adding up, and that's not to say that ESPN is becoming financially unstable.  Earlier this month, Disney's (ESPN's parent company) stock hit an all-time high.  And with the television ratings for sporting events the closest thing to a sure thing in media right now, advertising will likely see a steady increase as well.

But you have to wonder, how long can this go on?  The sports media rights bubble will eventually burst.  It's inevitable.  But when?

Last week, ESPN announced that they would be laying off between 300 and 400 employees.  Certainly not a great sign of things to come.  The pressure is certainly felt in Bristol.  Whether it is from the Disney stakeholders, the competition of NBC Sports and the upcoming Fox Sports 1, cable subscribers pushing back against rising costs, advertisers becoming increasingly cash strapped, or what have you, the pressure is unquestionably there.  Nothing is forever.

The point is not to say that the pin is within an inch of the balloon, just that it is coming.  As more viewing options become available and crowds further disperse to different viewing experiences, the days of rights fees reaching nearly $2 billion annually may be closing in on us. 

The question is, "when?"

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Dollars & Sense: NBA Rebranding in New Orleans and Charlotte

This week marks the beginning of the conference finals in the NBA playoffs – Memphis Grizzlies against the San Antonio Spurs (Spurs lead 2-0) in the west and the Miami Heat against the Indiana Pacers (Heat lead 1-0) in the east.  However, this week has been the week for the losers.  Between the NBA Draft lottery on Tuesday and the current rebranding efforts in New Orleans and Charlotte, the losers are becoming just a little bit more lovable.  Or at least they are trying to be anyway.

New Orleans Pelicans

The New Orleans franchise has been marred by weak performances over the years and even weaker stability.  Making their debut in the league as the Charlotte Hornets in 1988 alongside the Miami Heat, the Hornets were constantly struggling in their first three years.  Names like Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, and Glen Rice helped build the franchise to the point where Rice led them to their first back-to-back NBA playoff appearances in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Rice, Bogues, and Mourning (Soletron.com)

However, attendance and fan base found themselves in rapid decline after the 1997-98 season.  Dropping from their peak in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons where they averaged 24,042 fans per game, the Hornets found themselves averaging only 11,286 in 2001-02.  That was the final straw for the franchise in Charlotte.

The Hornets relocated their franchise to New Orleans searching for greener pastures and greener wallets.  What they found was a relatively small increase in attendance though.  In the 2003-04 season, the Hornets ranked 28^th in the NBA in attendance. 

When Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, the New Orleans franchise split their time in Oklahoma City due to the destruction in their home city.  Though the Hornets played in Oklahoma City to wonderful attendance success – proven success that later aided the Seattle Super Sonics in their controversial relocation to Oklahoma City in 2008 – it was not their home town.

Now settled back into their home in New Orleans with a couple of high profile talents on their roster in Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis, the franchise is beginning to feel like they have an identity again.  One problem… The Hornets name is still from their Charlotte days.  They want their own.

Enter the New Orleans Pelicans.  Currently undergoing the transformation, the Pelicans are now official and awaiting game one of the 2013-14 regular season to show it off.  After walking away with the sixth pick in this summer’s NBA Draft after Tuesday’s draft lottery, the Pelicans will look to add some more fire power to their young squad.

ESPN.com

The early stages of the transition from the menacing Hornets to the seemingly friendly Pelicans has been met with its fair share of criticism.  Is the criticism warranted?  It is tough to say because anybody can sit back and criticize when they have not been in the driver’s seat on this type of decision.   Let’s just give them their credit in that the logo designers made the most intimidating pelican possible.  And let’s be honest, the New Orleans franchise was doomed for a unfitting name when the Utah Jazz – Utah! – took the Jazz nickname.

Charlotte Hornets

After the Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans in 2002, the city was left without an NBA franchise.  However, despite the declining attendance numbers that pushed the Hornets to New Orleans in the first place, the NBA saw potential. 

NBA.com

The city was not without an NBA franchise for long as the Bobcats were born in 2004, two years after the Hornets left.  Expansion had been on the mind of the NBA for a little while, and Charlotte had supported a franchise in the past.  Had the NBA known the potential in Oklahoma City – potential that was not realized until after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – maybe Charlotte would still be waiting for the NBA’s return. 

Problem was that bobcats are not really synonymous with the Charlotte areas, or many areas in the world, so the nickname seemed a little bit out of left field.  Sure it sounds fierce, but that is not the point.  In the NBA where there are so many classic team names - think Lakers, Celtics, Knicks, 76ers -  few people could envision the Bobcats (or the Pelicans for that matter) becoming a name of that stature.

But now, with the Hornets becoming the Pelicans in New Orleans, the window is now open for the Bobcats to return to their roots by switching back to the Hornets.  Basically, now instead of having two cities with confused nicknames, we have one wrong righted and one team still trying to figure it out and create their own identity.

---

Regardless of how you feel about the Pelicans or the Hornets or the Bobcats, one thing will always ring true: winning cures everything.  Look at the opposite end of the spectrum in Major League Baseball last season with the Miami Marlins.  Known as the Florida Marlins since their first season in 1993, ownership decided to rebrand the team with new colors, a new ballpark, a new roster, and a more geographically narrowed home in Miami prior to the beginning of last season. 

Of course, we all know that the Marlins went on to completely implode last year finishing in last place in the National League East and resulting in the fire sale of players this past offseason, and now they are terrible again.  Oh, and attendance is back to its pre-Marlins Park numbers.  If the Marlins would have kept winning, then maybe they could have build on the momentum of the new park and the infusion of talent.  Now that would have been a rebranding success.

What has become a relatively quiet rebranding success is the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL.  With a rich history in the WHA and then the NHL from 1972-1996, the Jets were a relatively successful franchise before being moved to Phoenix to become the Coyotes in 1996.  Never missing the playoffs in more than two seasons in a row in their NHL days, the Jets were always in it.  In 2011, the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg and brought the tradition back to life.

This past season, the Jets found themselves four points behind the New York Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but they were certainly in it.  Also, and probably more importantly, the Jets averaged 100-percent attendance with just over 15,000 fans per game (remember that basketball attendance capacities in arenas are higher than hockey).  It is hard to ask for more from a team that just wrapped up their second season in a new city.

By now, it should be clear that the key to rebranding success for the Pelicans and the Hornets is to do exactly the opposite that the Marlins did.  Winning is a major player in building a loyal fan base, and winning is something that the Marlins are not doing but the Jets are.  Whether it is the NBA or the MLB or the NHL or any other professional sports league in the world, the formula is simple.  Just win, baby. 


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Dollars & Sense - Miami Marlins Continued Attendance Decline

The Miami Marlins are bad.  Really bad.  We all know that, though.  It really isn't much of a secret.  But sports are about unconditionally loving your team, no matter how bad they may be.  With the way that the Miami Marlins' fans are buying up tickets (or not), they are showing us that sometimes there may in fact be conditions to fanhood loving.

Fans give their vote approval or disapproval of the current state of their favorite team by either buying tickets, watching on television, consuming any other sort of media related to the team, or none of the above.  These days it seems that more and more Marlins fans are choosing the latter.  On Monday, Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) documented the Marlins continuous attendance decline.  What began in the second half of last season, has rolled on into the early stages of 2013.

Last season, in their first season in Marlins Park, the Marlins averaged 27,400 fans per game. That was a big increase from their mark of just over 18,700 the year prior, but not as big as the front office would have liked to see with the money put into the team and on-paper firepower.  This season, the Marlins are averaging 18,864 fans per game, thus putting them within 100 fans per game of their pre-Marlins Park attendance figures.  Only the Tampa Bay Rays have seen a bigger decline from year one to year two in their current stadium.  I mean, it is not like tickets are ridiculously overpriced like the early days of the new Yankee Stadium.  We are talking $9 tickets here people!  (Thank you again to Bizball Maury Brown for the data.)

On Tuesday, the team decided to close off a portion of their upper deck.  The practice of "tarping off" sections of seats is usually saved for franchises with years and years woes and poor ticket sales.  This helps to knock down attendance capacity, which is why it is used from time to time in the NFL due to their blackout rules.  Ask the Jacksonville Jaguars how this has worked for their franchise.

Hollywood Reporter

The rise and fall of Miami Marlins and their love-to-hate owner Jeffrey Loria is well documented.  In the offseason prior to the 2012 season, the Marlins signed Jose Reyes, Mark Buerhle, and Heath Bell to usher in the franchise's brand new Marlins Park.  They were even in play to land the coveted Albert Pujols!  The fact that Loria & Co. was under SEC investigation for possible violations in obtaining the funding for Marlins Park (the public funded $500 million of the construction costs) is more or less irrelevant here speaks volumes to the position of the franchise is in.

So, headed into the new season, Loria had his new group of players playing in his new ballpark, everything seemed perfect. The Marlins got off to a quick start... in the wrong direction.  Finishing the year as the cellar-dwellers in the National League East at 69-93, the Marlins were just like that guy that peaked in high school.  On paper in the offseason, the Marlins looked like contenders.  Yet as we are reminded year in and year out, pennants are not won at the Winter Meetings.

After the season, the previous year's blockbuster signings were ship up to Canada along with lifetime Marlins' pitcher Josh Johnson.  The only players of promise that remained were young slugger Giancarlo Stanton and outspoken youngster Logan Morrison.  Instead of debating whether the Marlins were a playoff team like a year ago, the media debated whether Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig should step in and stop Loria video game-esque dealings.

Is there anything that can the Marlins can do to get back on top in the eyes of their fans?  They keep losing.  They are handcuffed by the whims of the Loria Administration.  They have two young players that have been tossed around in trade rumors but are both currently on the disabled list. Add it all together with one of the worst records in baseball as we near the quarter mark of the season, and it is really a public relations nightmare in South Florida.  There is nothing to hang their brightly colored black, teal, orange, and silver hats on.

Now, the Miami Marlins are living the seemingly endless nightmare.  They are at the bottom and their is absolutely no light at the end of the tunnel.  Fans are tired of living by the stroke of Jeffrey Loria's paint brush (well the actual artist's brush anyhow), and in return they have refused to by Jeffrey Loria's tickets.  Distrust in an ownership regime rarely hits the level saved mainly for a serial cheating spouse, but this one has certainly gone there.  When it comes to Miami Marlins fans, though, you just wonder if they will ever return.


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Dollars & Sense - Professional Athletes and DUI

$778... That was the government fine for Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo when he was arrest for driving under the influence earlier in the week.  $778 is .01-percent of Gallardo's annual salary of $5,500,000.  $778 is also infinitely more than the zero dollars that Gallardo was fined by Major League Baseball.  

Stepping out of his vehicle, Gallardo proceeded to blow a .22 blood alcohol level, nearly three times the legal limit of .08 in Wisconsin.  Although any level of intoxication is a dangerous level when operating a vehicle, Gallardo was teetering on the brink of disaster driving three times above the limit.  He recognizes that he was wrong, and he apologized to the Brewers' fans.  

Gallardo Apologizing (JSOnline.com)

But why has Major League Baseball handled player DUIs with the perhaps the most Seligian silence?

Aside from the fact that Bud Selig is still in charge of the MLB, the answer is unclear.  No less than 15 MLB players have been arrested for DUI over the past three years, and it is likely safe to assume that countless others have driven an gotten away with it.  

The point is not that DUI arrests plague the professional baseball headlines a handful of times or more over a season.  The is that the MLB has a chance to take a stand.  Nobody can necessarily stop this type of behavior besides each individual and their common sense, but the MLB can at least come out and say that something is wrong with this picture and take appropriate action.

(For more on the MLB's silence on DUIs, check out Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan.)

One thing is abundantly clear here and it is that everyone - not just athletes - need to take more responsibility when they are drinking and thinking about getting behind the wheel of a car.  There are plenty of services in place the get people home safely without taking unnecessary risk.  

Since it is also abundantly clear that many people cannot handle that type of responsibility, it is time for other forces to step in.. For baseball players, that force is the MLB.  Maybe discipline will not stop DUIs from occurring, just as there is still PED use and people still blatantly break the law.  But punishing players for DUIs will deter some, make others think twice, and shame those get caught.  And on top of that, punishing players for DUIs will make the MLB look like they actually care.

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.