February 27, 2020 Baseball / Litigation / MLB

The Tail of the Phillie Phanatic – The Hidden Underbelly of the New-Look Mascot

As reported by the Philadelphia Phillies, “[h]e has evolved, but clearly hasn’t matured.”

This week, the Phillies unveiled their new-look mascot… who received little more than a touch-up. As discovered at the Phillies’ spring training home opener, the infamous Phillie Phanatic arrived with new feathers, stars outlining the eyes, an enlarged backside, and a brand new powder-blue tail, among other minor detail changes.

Most casual fans will hardly notice a difference, and even die-hard Phillies fans are split; some prefer the traditional style, while others …

February 25, 2020 Litigation / NBA

Vanessa Bryant Brings Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Helicopter Owner

On Feb. 24, 2020, attorneys for Vanessa Bryant brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the owner of the helicopter that crashed last month, causing the deaths of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna Bryant, and seven other individuals. The suit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court while a memorial service took place at Staples Center, the arena where Kobe made much of his history. a well-known car accident attorney in Baton Rouge is heading the case.

In the complaint, Bryant …

February 19, 2020 Ethics / Soccer / Sponsorships

UEFA Calls Penalty, Bans Manchester City from Champions League for Two Seasons

Last week, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) made waves among the soccer universe when it announced Manchester City Football Club (Man City) has been banned from the Champions League for two years, as well as fined 30 million euros (roughly 32.4 million USD).

First, some brief background. In 2018, emails were hacked and released that showed senior officials within Man City discussing implicit attempts to circumvent UEFA’s financial regulations. According to Spiegel International, a German newspaper, the released articles demonstrated that – among …

February 13, 2020 Contract / Golf / Litigation / PGA

PGA Tour Calls Big Miss, Requests Dismissal of Hank Haney Lawsuit

While much of the golf universe is preparing for Tiger Woods’ next outing at the Genesis Open, his former hitting coach has also returned to the headlines.

On February 10, 2020 the PGA Tour responded to a lawsuit filed by Hank Haney, a former radio host and coach for Tiger Woods. In May 2019, on the “Hank Haney Golf Radio” show on SiriusXM, Haney made comments regarding the U.S. Women’s Open that were considered openly sexist and racist. Following a formal apology, Sirius suspended Haney …

January 10, 2020 NCAA

Instant Impact: Why Former UGA Standout Cade Mays Will Likely Receive Transfer Waiver to Play in 2020

As astutely pointed out by Rustin Cohle in True Detective, “time is a flat circle. Everything we have done or will do, we will do over and over and over again – forever.” For any fans of college football, this certainly rings true as it pertains to NCAA transfers.

This week, prominent University of Georgia sophomore offensive tackle Cade Mays entered into the infamous transfer portal, and all signs point to his instant enrollment at the University of Tennessee. Georgia is no stranger to …

January 6, 2020 Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

The Garden of Even Odds: DraftKings and Madison Square Garden Reach New Partnership

With the New Year now underway, sports betting news has skipped the typical holiday lull and continued its deluge into the mainstream.

On the second day of this new decade, the Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) and DraftKings, Inc. announced a renewed partnership. Under this new marketing agreement, DraftKings is set to become the exclusive sports betting and daily fantasy sports partner of MSG – which includes massive market teams, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.

Notably, this new deal will allow …

September 26, 2019 NFL / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

NFL Partners with Australian Sports Bookmaker, Signals Future Cooperation in America

With the emergence of widespread sports betting in the USA, we’ve seen the vast majority of the major sports leagues – including the NBA, MLB, and NHL – join forces with sports books, allowing the bookmakers to use live statistics and official licensing on their platforms.

Notably absent from these deals, however, has been the NFL. While ESPNews recently rebranded to show live odds and statistics concurrently with its primary programming, nothing official from the NFL may be shown—the sport is listed as Professional Football, …

City of Phanatic Love: Phillies Face Lawsuit Over Beloved Mascot

He’s green, a little mean, and often obscene – it’s the mascot everyone loves to hate, the infamous Phillie Phanatic. After the filing of a new federal lawsuit, however, there’s an ominous question looming of whether the 41-year-old relationship will continue in the city of brotherly love.

Back on August 2, 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies filed a copyright lawsuit in federal court against Harrison/Erickson, Inc. (H/E) over the future use of the Phanatic as a mascot. Reportedly, H/E asserts that its primary members, Bonnie and …

Bat Out of Court: Meat Loaf Settles Copyright Lawsuit Over “I’d Do Anything For Love”

Multi-platinum musician, Meat Loaf, successfully flew out of the frying pan and into a settlement over a copyright dispute involving his hit song, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).”

Back in 2017, Enclosed Music LLC filed a copyright lawsuit in California, alleging Meat Loaf ripped off “[I’d Do] Anything for You” by Jon Dunmore Sinclair, whose catalog Enclosed owns. The song in question received tremendous accolades and success during its release in 1993; commercially, the album sold more than 14 million …

June 5, 2019 Gambling / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

Status of Online Sports Betting in New York

New York’s legislature approved back in April 2019 the 2019-20 state budget of $175 billion. Notably, while provisions had been considered for inclusion into the budget regarding online sports betting, lawmakers ultimately nixed the issue from the final version of the budget.

Background

To date, the most obtrusive hurdle to overcome in the eyes of the legislators is the New York State Constitution. While Governor Andrew Cuomo has no opposition to limited, on-site sports betting at particular upstate casinos, he has consistently maintained that a …