Greenberg and Koufax Sit on Yom Kippur

I have an essay today in Tablet Magazine, When They Were Kings: Greenberg and Koufax Sit on Yom Kippur. The piece compares Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg in their respective decisions not to play on Yom Kippur 31 years apart. I argue that Greenberg's decision was especially significant given the different, and more precarious, position of Jews in America and the world in 1934 compared with 1965. The essay elaborates on what I wrote here last Yom Kippur, on the fiftieth anniversary of Koufax sitting out.

Concordia vs. Rochester

On Sunday, October 2nd, the Concordia University Cardinals defeated the Rochester College Warriors 6-5, and 11-2.

     On Sunday, October 2nd, the Concordia University Cardinals defeated the Rochester College Warriors in both games of their doubleheader.  The Cardinals won the first game 6-5, and then won the second game 11-2. The Cardinals also beat the Rochester College Warriors 12-0 on Saturday, October 1st.
     Both schools are NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) programs, and both teams compete in the WHAC (Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference).  Click on the links below for more information about the NAIA, or the WHAC.  
     The Concordia University Cardinals currently have an overall record of 7-2.  The Cardinals will not play another game until February 18th, 2017.  The Cardinals are currently riding a 7 game winning streak.  Click on the link below for more information about the Concordia University athletic program.
     The Rochester College Warriors currently have an overall record of 3-5.  Scott Kunert is the Head Coach of the Rochester College Warriors.  Kunert is a former Pitcher, and Infielder for the Warriors.  Click on the link below for more information about the Rochester College athletic program.
     Leave a comment, or email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question.  Check out Game Notes!  Click on past months to check out all of the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.

The Concordia University Cardinals (in white) are currently riding a 7 game winning streak.

The Concordia Cardinals will not play another game until February 18th, 2017.

The Rochester College Warriors currently have an overall record of 3-5.

 

Click on the links below for more information about this stuff.

                                                                       Game Notes







-  Zach Johnston is in his 3rd season as Head Coach of the Concordia University baseball team.



-  Zach Johnston was an Infielder, and an Outfielder for the Concordia Cardinals from 2006-2010.



-  Cardinals Junior Jacob Maas was named WHAC player of the week on October 3rd, 2016.  



-  Rochester College is located at 800 West Avon Road, in Rochester Hills.



-  The Rochester Warriors play their home games at Bill Shinsky Field.  



-  The Concordia Cardinals, and Rochester Warriors each field a Junior Varsity baseball team.










For more information about Concordia University athletics click on  www.concordiacardinals.com



For more information about Rochester College athletics click on  www.rochestercollegewarriors.com



For NAIA stats, and standings click on  www.naia.org 



For WHAC stats, and standings click on  http://www.whac.net 



Leave a comment!  Email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com



Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question.  There's two questions to vote on.



Click on the arrow next to previous months to see the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.




 

CU Reserves 31-24 Midwest Prep

On Sunday, October 2nd, the Concordia University Cardinals Reserve Team defeated Midwest Prep 31-24.

     On Sunday, October 2nd, the Concordia University Cardinals Reserve Team defeated the Midwestern Preparatory Academy Vikings 31-24.  The game was played at Cardinal Stadium, in Ann Arbor.  Midwestern Preparatory Academy is located in Orland Park, Illinois.  Click on the links below for more information about the Concordia University athletic program, or Midwestern Preparatory Academy.
     Leave a comment, or email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question.  Check out Game Notes!  Click on past months to check out all of the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.

Sunday's game was played at Cardinal Stadium, in Ann Arbor.

Midwestern Preparatory Academy is located in Orland Park, Illinois.

Click on the link below for more information about Midwestern Preparatory Academy.

Click on the link below for more information about the Concordia University athletic program.

                                                                            Game Notes







-  Dontae DeSalle played for Midwest Prep in 2015.  DeSalle plays WR for Concordia this season.



-  Ivan Oraha played for Midwest Prep in 2014.  Oraha is a Punter at Eastern Michigan University.



-  Marques Sullivan is the Head Coach of the Vikings.  Sullivan played 5 seasons in the NFL.



-  Marques Sullivan played for the Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants, and the New England Patriots.



-  Lonnie Pries is the Head Coach of the Concordia University Cardinals.



-  Lonnie Pries also serves as the Athletic Director at Concordia University.    










For more information about Concordia University athletics click on  www.concordiacardinals.com



For more info about Midwestern Preparatory Academy click on  www.midwestprepacademy.com



Leave a comment!  Email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com



Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question.  There's two questions to vote on.



Click on the arrow next to previous months to see the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.  

Best of September 2016

     The month of September featured 11 posts that were viewed by people all over the World.  Scroll down to see what everyone is clicking on.  You can always leave a comment, and you can email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com  Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question. Click on past months to check out all of the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.














                                                              Best of September 2016













1.  "Concordia 41 - 24 Trinity"  posted 9/26/2016

2.  "Blue Sky 9/1/2016"  posted 9/5/2016

3.  " Flat Rock Speedway 9/3/2016"  posted 9/10/2016

                                                                     Best of the Rest














-  "Horse Riding Lessons"  posted 9/30/2016

-  "Best of August 2016"  posted 9/10/2016

                                                                 Pic of the Month  

The Pic of the Month is a photograph of Flat Rock Speedway.

                                                                       Link of the Month





                         For information about Horse Riding Lessons click on  superiorstable.com 







                                                                      Blog of the Month





                For more information about the Blog of the Month click on  https://pregame.com 









                                           Mitten State Sports Report's monthly Poll Question.  






                                  Should Jake Rudock be the Detroit Lions backup Quarterback?







                                                 Yes                                                      100%





                                                 No                                                           0%









                                                Will Calvin Johnson play in the NFL again?







                                                   Yes                                                   100%  





                                                  No                                                        0%  










                                                                           Game Notes







-  Game Notes is the Mitten State Sports Report's newest feature.  It began on October 2, 2016.



-  The first Best of the Month post was published on May 5, 2012.



-  The first monthly Poll Question was unveiled on March 3, 2013.



-  The first Pic of the Month was unveiled on February 8, 2015.



-  The first Link of the Month was unveiled on February 8, 2015.










Leave a comment!  Email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com



Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question.  There's two questions to vote on.



Click on the arrow next to previous months to see the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.

NJ Horsemen Question "Legality" of DFS Laws in SCOTUS Filing in NJ Sports Betting Case

New Jersey's quest to legalize sports betting has officially landed at the United States Supreme Court--for a second time. In an under-the-radar legal filing on Friday (which I exclusively reported on Twitter), the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association ("NJTHA"), which represents the interests of Monmouth Park Racetrack, filed a formal petition with the Supreme Court asking the high court to review the Third Circuit's recent en banc decision in the "Christie II" case. That decision--entered on August 9th--upheld a lower court's ruling preventing New Jersey from partially repealing its state-law ban on sports gambling which had sought to decriminalize sports betting (and remove any and all state law restrictions, including any applicable regulations) at the state's casinos and racetracks.

The NJTHA petition focuses on two central issues: (1) whether PASPA violates the Tenth Amendment anti-commandeering principle by requiring states to maintain unwanted state-law prohibitions on sports betting; and (2) whether state laws legalizing daily fantasy sports also violate PASPA. As to the first issue, the NJTHA identifies the following "Question Presented" as meriting review by the Supreme Court: "Does a federal statute that prohibits adjustment or repeal of state-law prohibitions on private conduct impermissibly commandeer the regulatory power of States in contravention on New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), and Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997)?" Answering that question in the affirmative, the NJTHA argues that the Third Circuit's decision "flouts" the Supreme Court's anti-commandeering jurisprudence by "requiring the State of New Jersey to keep in place criminal prohibitions that the State has chosen to lift." The NJTHA asserts that principles of "federalism"--which are designed to protect both the States and the People--"have been nullified" by the Third Circuit's decision which results in "the content of New Jersey law [being] dictated by the national government, in derogation of the will of the people of New Jersey and their elected representatives." 

Conflict with Commandeering Decisions on Marijuana Decriminalization Laws

Although no "circuit split" has yet arisen on the issue of PASPA's constitutionality, the NJTHA seeks to elicit Supreme Court review based on a conflict between the Third Circuit's decision and the decisional law of three state supreme courts and one other federal court of appeals on the broader issue of whether a state is free to repeal its own state-law prohibitions without interference from the federal government. On this critical constitutional issue, the NJTHA petition points to case-law from four other jurisdictions (besides New Jersey) upholding state marijuana decriminalization laws:

In conflict with the Third Circuit's decision, the highest courts of several States have recognized that the national government lacks the constitutional authority to require States to freeze in place State law prohibitions. See Reed-Kaliher v. Hogatt, 347 P.2d 136, 141 (Ariz. 2015); Ter Beek v. City of Wyoming, 846 N.W.2d 531, 538 (Mich. 2014); State v. Nelson, 195 P.3d 826, 834 (Mont. 2008). In these decisions, the Supreme Court of Arizona, the Supreme Court of Michigan, and the Supreme Court of Montana each relied on anticommandeering principles to uphold the validity of State laws removing, for qualified patents, prior State law prohibitions of marijuana. See also Conant v. Walters, 309 F.3d 639, 645-46 (9th Cir. 2002) (Kozinski, J., concurring) ("much as the federal government may prefer that California keep medical marijuana illegal, it cannot force the state to do so. . . . If the federal government could make it illegal under federal law to remove a state-law penalty, it could then accomplish what the commandeering doctrine prohibits: The federal government could force the state to criminalize behavior it has chosen to make legal.")

"Under the Third Circuit's interpretation of the United States Constitution," the NJTHA petition declares, "all of these State Court decisions are wrong. Under the Third Circuit's reasoning, Congress has the constitutional power to prohibit States from selectively removing State law prohibitions on private conduct." The NJTHA insists that the Third Circuit, unlike the aforementioned state court decisions, "failed to recognize that while State law cannot create a defense to federal prosecution, a State remains free to prohibit as little private conduct as it chooses under its own law." Continuing on this theme, the NJTHA petition adds that the Third Circuit "failed to see that the Constitution, properly interpreted, leaves the people of New Jersey as free to exercise their liberties and partially remove New Jersey's prior state law prohibiting sports gambling as it leaves the people of Arizona, Michigan, and Montana free to partially remove their prior State law prohibitions on marijuana."

The NJTHA warns of the "truly deplorable" results and "public mischiefs" that would ensue from such a lack of uniformity in the federal constitutional case-law. In urging the Supreme Court to review the Third Circuit's anomalous result, the NJTHA petition stresses that "[o]nly the Court alone can make the Constitution uniform across the nation." Thus, the petition concludes this argument section by urging the Supreme Court to "grant certiorari and make this promise of liberty-enhancing federalism uniform throughout the country."

New Jersey's commandeering argument in this latest round of litigation is arguably more compelling than its prior iteration advanced in the Christie I case. In its previous Supreme Court petition, New Jersey's commandeering argument was directed to PASPA's "negative command" forbidding states from licensing or authorizing sports wagering. That argument was always an uphill battle given the Supreme Court precedent limiting the anti-commandeering doctrine to cases where the federal government requires states to engage in some type of "affirmative activity," such as taking title to radioactive waste (as in the New York case) or performing background checks on prospective handgun purchasers (as in the Printz case). But this time around, New Jersey's commandeering argument addresses the flip-side of PASPA: its "affirmative requirement" compelling states to prohibit sports wagering. This view of PASPA fits more nearly into the Supreme Court's anti-commandeering jurisprudence, and, as such, greatly enhances New Jersey's prospects for Supreme Court review. Nonetheless, this is still a long-shot proposition at best since the Supreme Court typically grants less than two percent of all petitions seeking certiorari review. Still, this one has a better shot than most.

Selective Enforcement of Daily Fantasy Sports Laws

Turning next to the hot-button issue of daily fantasy sports, the NJTHA's petition highlights the fact that the professional sports leagues (the plaintiffs and appellees in the Christie II case) "continue to reap enormous profits on daily fantasy sports--wagering based on the performances of players in the Leagues' sports contests--where the Leagues are actively promoting such betting and/or owning daily fantasy betting platforms that are now authorized by law in numerous states despite the fact that PASPA may prohibit daily fantasy wagering." (The italics are mine to note that the NJTHA would obviously prefer not to jeopardize a prospective future DFS law in New Jersey).

In this scintillating final section of the petition (covering three pages), the NJTHA also urges Supreme Court review based on the "selective enforcement" of PASPA by the professional sports leagues due to their failure to challenge the recent spate of state laws authorizing daily fantasy sports, which the NJTHA suggests are also encompassed by PASPA (as I have long maintained; see here and here). The NJTHA petition asserts that the Third Circuit's decision has "nationwide significance" because "it casts a long shadow over numerous state laws and regulations authorizing daily 'fantasy' sports wagering" (royalty owed here to Joe Asher, the CEO of William Hill US, for originally coining the phrase "daily fantasy sports 'betting'").

Noting that there are currently nine states that have laws authorizing daily fantasy sports "wagering" on athletic performances, the NJTHA petition cautions that the Third Circuit's decision "calls into question the laws and regulations of numerous States that have enacted regimes regulating daily fantasy sports betting." Correctly observing that the provisions of PASPA "apply both to wagering on the outcome of sports games as well as wagering on the performances of the athletes in such games," the NJTHA contends that "all States that are currently licensing or authorizing 'by law' daily fantasy sports (as well as DFS operators in those States) are, under the Third Circuit's decision, at some risk under PASPA." Here, the NJTHA petition stresses that Supreme Court review is necessary to resolve the "uncertainty" as to whether the state laws authorizing daily fantasy sports may also violate PASPA:

The Third Circuit's decision creates uncertainty as to whether the efforts of the numerous States that have licensed or authorized DFS by law may violate PASPA. A determination by this Court as to whether PASPA is constitutional or not eliminates that uncertainty across the nation.

The NJTHA petition also highlights the sports' leagues' economic self-interest in refusing to invoke PASPA to block state DFS laws, while selectively wielding it as billy-club against states like New Jersey that dare attempt to legalize a different form of sports gambling over the leagues' objections. The petition questions the wisdom of allowing the sports leagues (the de facto "gatekeepers" of PASPA) to determine the question of the enforceability and constitutionality of PASPA, instead urging the Supreme Court (and the Supreme Court alone) to resolve that crucial question:

Whether PASPA is a constitutional statute should not be left in the hands of the Leagues. They have already shown that they seek to enforce PASPA only when it suits their economic interests. It is emphatically the province of this Court, not the Leagues, to decide whether PASPA is constitutional or not. . . . Under PASPA, the only entities hat have the authority to commence suit enjoin a violation of PASPA are the United States and the "sports organization whose competitive game is alleged to be the basis of such violation." . . . As evidenced by this action, the United States is not independently seeking to enforce PASPA. And the Leagues have no interest in seeking to enforce PASPA with respect to DFS because the Leagues are significantly involved in DFS--indeed, the Leagues have equity stakes in DFS operators such as FanDuel and DraftKings.

Finally, in an interesting footnote sure to spark some debate among DFS aficionados, the NJTHA petition contends that paid DFS contests are not immune from the same "integrity" concerns that have caused the leagues to historically oppose traditional single-game sports betting. On this score, the NJTHA posits that "if sports betting on the Leagues' games somehow causes irreparable injury to the integrity or the appearance of the integrity of such games[,] then a fortiori[,] daily fantasy games where each individual performance is at issue would [likewise] cause irreparable injury."

The NJTHA petition is the first of three certiorari petitions that are expected by the appellees in the Christie II case. The other petitions--one from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the other from the President of the New Jersey Senate and Speaker of the New Jersey Assembly--are expected to be filed later this week.

Blog of the Month - October

                                                                     Blog of the Month


                                                  http://www.minorleaguemom.blogspot.com


                                                                     Blog of the Month










     Pam Carey is a writer, and the author of Minor League Mom: A Mother's Journey Through The Red Sox Farm Teams".  Pam Carey is also the author of "Elderly Parents With All Their Marbles: A Survival Guide For The Kids".  http://www.minorleaguemom.blogspot.com is the Blog of the Month for October.  Click on the link below for more information about Pam Carey, and her books.
     Leave a comment, or email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question.  Check out Game Notes.  Click on past months to check out all of the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.  










                                                                        Game Notes







-  "Minor League Mom: A Mother's Journey Through The Red Sox Farm Teams" was published in 2009.



-  "Parents With All Their Marbles: A Survival Guide For The Kids" was published in 2014.



-  Two of Pam Carey's sons played in the Boston Red Sox farm system.  Their names are Tim, and Todd.



-  Pam Carey contributed (to the Mitten State Sports Report) a synopsis from "Minor League Mom: A Mother's Journey Through The Red Sox Farm Teams".  It was posted on April 12, 2015.  



-  Pam Carey's books can be purchased from Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.  










For more info about the Blog of the Month click on  http://www.minorleaguemom.blogspot.com



For info about Pam Carey's Minor League Mom click on  www.minorleaguemom.net 



For info about Elderly Parents With All Their Marbles click on  http://www.parentswithmarbles.com



Leave a comment!  Email the Mitten State Sports Report at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com



Scroll down and vote in the monthly Poll Question.  There's two questions to vote on.



Click on the arrow next to previous months to see the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material.

O’Bannon Case Reaches End of Road

The Supreme Court recently refused to hear Ed O’Bannon’s case challenging NCAA limits on payment from the use of players’ names, images, and likenesses (NILs) in videogames and game footage. This non-decision offers something for both sides, but raises questions for antitrust fans. 

First, it offers a win for the NCAA, which gets to keep its Ninth Circuit ruling that rejected a deferred NIL payment of up to $5,000. That court concluded that the district court had erred in upholding such a payment since “paying students cash compensation” would not “promote amateurism as effectively as not paying them.” The Court’s refusal to hear the case means that (at least in the 9 states and 2 Pacific Island jurisdictions that make up the Ninth Circuit), Division I men’s basketball and football players will not be paid for the use of their names, images, and likenesses.

Second, it offers a win for the players in the undermining of the NCAA’s prized amateurism defense. For decades, the NCAA has claimed that all sorts of anticompetitive restrictions are justified because of amateurism. Now it will not be so easy. 

In a full trial consisting of 24 witnesses, 15 days, and thousands of pages of testimony, the district court considered the amateurism defense more thoroughly than any previous court. And the more it looked under the hood, the worse amateurism appeared: football players “accept[ing] Pell grants in excess of their cost of attendance”; tennis recruits earning “$10,000 per year in prize money”; and shifting definitions of the term, with “significant and contradictory” revisions of “malleable” compensation rules. 

In addition to amateurism skepticism, the plaintiffs won because they get to keep “cost of attendance” awards, which are higher than “grant in aid” stipends since they include nonrequired books and supplies, transportation, and other expenses. Almost certainly because of the case, schoolsincluding the Power 5 conferences have adopteda similar rule. 

Third, though perhaps less exciting, it offers a loss for antitrust fans. For most business arrangements, courts apply a test known as the “Rule of Reason.” Under this analysis, courts consider the pros and cons (in antitrust parlance, the procompetitive and anticompetitive effects) of the conduct. 

Unfortunately, the Ninth Circuit forgot this, punishing O’Bannon for not offering a “less restrictive alternative” to the $5,000 NIL payment. As I have explained elsewhere, if the court insisted on rejecting this alternative, it should have proceeded to balancing, on which O’Bannon was likely to emerge victorious given the strong anticompetitive effectsof a “price-fixing agreement” that “value[d] the athletes’ NILs at zero” and weakened amateurism justifications. Adding insult to injury, the Ninth Circuit substituted its version of amateurism (one in which student-athletes could not be paid any cash at all) for the one adopted by the district court (in which NIL payments were acceptable since they did not affect demand for college sports). 

My antitrust disappointment aside, on balance the plaintiffs came out ahead in the O’Bannon case. While the NIL payment was struck down, the skeptical treatment of amateurism will have effects for years to come. For example, the ongoing Jenkins case, which takes even more direct aim at the college model by striking down all limits on payment, can now point to the bloodied amateurism defense not as an automatic savior but rather as a hobbled justification. If Jenkins or another case topples the NCAA’s system, the O’Bannon case will have played a crucial role.