Everything But The Game

EBTG on Hiatus

Published on 2007-08-09 20:04:00

EBTG will be taking summer vacation from August 10 - 19. The weather is supposed to be beautiful this week, so I thought I'd take some time off and curl up with the NFL Network for some pre-season football.

Odds to Win the 2008 Super Bowl

Published on 2007-08-09 19:49:00

I just turned on the TV, fully expecting to flip around and settle on some sort of game show featuring either Drew Carey or Jeff Foxworthy. Instead, I found pre-season football on FOX. I love the NFL, but I have a hard time watching football when its 95 degrees outside. Anyway, it got me thinking about the upcoming season, and what the odds were that my Jets would win the Super Bowl.Here are the up to date odds to win the 2008 Super Bowl according to Intertops.com.Win Odds Team5.00 New England P

Bond's Elbow Armor: A Hitting Machine

Published on 2007-08-08 13:49:00

Everyone knows that Barry Bond's elbow protector gives him an advantage by allowing him to lean over the plate without fear of being hit. Michael Witte of Editor and Publisher says that is not the only advantage of the armor. Witte claims that the protector is literally a "hitting machine", hinged at the elbow, that allows Bonds to release his front arm on the same plane during every swing. Witte concludes that Bonds' armor "may have contributed no fewer than 75 to 100 home runs." Unfortunately,

More Evidence NHL Salaries are Just Fine

Published on 2007-08-08 12:34:00

Despite the fact that NHL salaries seem to be out of control, franchises are worth more now than ever before. The NHL's salary cap has risen to $50.3-million a team, an increase of $11-million in just two years. This is bad for the owners, right? Wrong.In a previous post, Allan Muir argued that NHL salaries are fine, and teams are now paying for how players will perform during their contract years, and not for how they performed in the past. Allan Make of The Globe and Mail now provides further

NHL Salaries Out of Control or Just Fine?

Published on 2007-08-08 08:16:00

Dustin Penner: five years, $21.5 million. Pavel Datsyuk: seven years, $47 million. Patrice Bergeron: five years, $23.75 million. It's easy to point to these contracts and conclude the the NHL's CBA contract is not working the way the owners had expected. However, Allan Muir argues otherwise in his piece in SI. Muir says that these salaries are just fine, and teams are finally paying for what a player will perform during his contract years, and not what they performed in years past.from Allan Mui

TNA Announcers Reading off Script?

Published on 2007-08-07 20:46:00

This sure looks like a video of TNA announcers reading off a script. Its possible that they are looking at an off-screen monitor, but it doesn't look like it. You be the judge.

NHL and Versus Each Can Opt Out of Deal

Published on 2007-08-07 20:29:00

Both the NHL and Versus have options to opt out of their current rights deal, Multichannel News is reporting. Versus has already exercised an option to extend their deal through the upcoming 2007-08 season. They still have an option to extend the deal three additional years.The NHL can also opt out of the deal at the end of this season if Versus does not meet certain subscriber benchmarks. It is not known exactly what these benchmarks are. However, Versus has increased its subscribers from 63 mi

NBC to Offer Live Streaming Olympic in 2008

Published on 2007-08-07 20:03:00

NBC will be presenting 3,600 hours of coverage of the 2008 Olympics. Interestingly, they will be offering approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming broadband video coverage on NBCOlympics.com. That's 2,200 more hours we can goof off at work.Other highlights include:3,600 HOURS: Over the 17 days of the Beijing Games (Aug. 8-24, 2008), NBC Universal will present more than 3,600 hours of coverage highlighted by NBC in primetime which will feature live swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyba

Fastest Growing Brands in Sports

Published on 2007-08-07 19:55:00

Forbes has published a study in which they determined the fastest growing brands in sports. They calculated the brand value of the 122 teams in the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB by adding up their revenues from sponsorships, naming rights, local media, tickets and merchandise not attributable to demographics. Since their study focused on growth rather than absolute value, that most of the teams on our list are turnaround situations.According to Forbes, the fastest growing brands in each sport are as fo

Tiger Woods and Amex Part Ways

Published on 2007-08-07 19:45:00

After a 10-year partnership, Tiger Woods and American Express have parted ways. Woods' second of two five year deals ended recently. Woods and AMEX decided not to sign another deal, thus ending the partnership. This story was reported by Sports Business Radio.American Express will still be very much involved with golf though, as the company signed a deal with the PGA of America. Amex vice president Rich Lehrfeld told the AP that while the relationship with Woods was strong, the company's marketi