It is perhaps worth mentioning that the two teams that made it to the Super Bowl on Sunday represent Colorado and Washington – the two states that recently legalized marijuana. If this somehow helps accelerate the recent decline in public support for the War on Drugs, it will almost be enough to offset my disappointment […]
Archive | Sports and Games
Germany’s President May Be Boycotting the Sochi Olympics
German President Joachim Gauck may be boycotting the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in order to protest Russia’s human rights abuses: German President Joachim Gauck will not represent his country at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, his office says. The announcement makes Gauck, a former pastor, the first major political figure to boycott the […]
Proposed Settlement of NFL Concussion Lawsuit
Just before the Labor Day weekend — and just in time for the start of the season — the National Football League announced a settlement agreement with former players who sued the league over concussion injuries sustained while playing professional football. The plaintiffs alleged the NFL had not adequately addressed concussion risks to players and, […]
Sacramento and Washington, DC Threaten to Use Eminent Domain to Take Property to Build Sports Stadiums
Nick Sibilla of the Institute for Justice describes Sacramento and Washington, DC’s ill-advised plans to use the threat of eminent domain to acquire property to build sports stadiums on: In less than a week, two capital cities are preparing to use eminent domain to build professional sports stadiums. Talk about foul play. The Sacramento city […]
Should We Boycott the Sochi Olympics?
Gay rights advocates such as actor Harvey Fierstein are calling for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, over Russia’s highly repressive new law banning “homosexual propaganda,” any speech that equates the social status same-sex relationships with heterosexual ones. Others argue that the West should not boycott the Olympics, but should instead […]
Sports Stadium Corporate Welfare Continues in Detroit
By Ilya Somin on July 26, 2013 3:38 pm in Democracy and Political Ignorance, Political Ignorance, Public Choice, Sports and Games
Despite the having filed for bankruptcy, Detroit is going ahead with plans to spend over $400 million in public funds on a new hockey arena for the Detroit Red Wings [HT: Josh Blackman]: Detroit’s financial crisis hasn’t derailed the city’s plans to spend more than $400 million in Michigan taxpayer funds on a new hockey […]
Did the Taxman Make Howard a Rocket?
All-Star Center Dwight Howard accepted less money to sign with the Houston Rockets than he could have earned had he remained on the Los Angeles Lakers, yet it appears he actually increased his after-tax income. According to analyses rounded up by Paul Caron at TaxProfBlog, Howard stands to make more money with the smaller contract. […]
Canada Day
By Ilya Somin on July 1, 2013 8:56 pm in Canada, Economic LIberties, Federalism, Growth of Government, Sports and Games
Since today is Canada Day, this is an appropriate time to thank that nation for giving us most of the greatest Boston Bruins players, including Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ray Bourque, and Rick “Nifty” Middleton (my favorite player when I was little). I even rooted for Canada more than the US in the 1984 and […]
The Highest-Paid Government Employee in Your State is Probably a Football or Basketball Coach
At Deadspin, Reuben Fischer-Baum has an interesting piece cataloguing the highest-paid state employees in each of the fifty states. Forty of fifty are coaches, all but one of them in either football or basketball. As Fischer-Baum notes, this state of affairs is not quite as egregious as it may at first seem. Many of these […]
Yankees Admit that they are “Baseball’s Evil Empire”
Fans of rival teams, especially Red Sox fans, have long known that the New York Yankees are the Evil Empire, as well as major recipients of corporate welfare. But in a recent legal proceeding, the team has now officially admitted it [HT: Josh Blackman]: A panel of trademark judges in Washington, D.C., earlier this month […]
High School Football Goes to Court
There’s a bit of confusion about how a late season forfeit should affect seeding for the Ohio High School Athletic Association football playoffs, which are scheduled to start tonight. And so the confusion is being resolved in the typical fashion: A lawsuit. Make that multiple lawsuits that have already resulted in conflicting court rulings. According […]
Can You Tebow(TM)?
The AP reports: The New York Jets backup quarterback is trademarking “Tebowing,” the move in which he goes down on one knee and holds a clenched fist against his forehead while praying during games. . . . The devout Christian says his representatives filed on his behalf not for financial gain, but “to just control […]
Johnny Pesky, RIP
Boston Red Sox legend Johnny Pesky passed away today. Gordon Edes of ESPN has a good obituary here: More than anybody else, Johnny Pesky embodied the Red Sox. More than anybody else, Johnny Pesky loved the Red Sox. More than anybody else, Johnny Pesky shared that love with anyone who ever asked for a picture, […]
Munich and the Politics of the IOC
Tonight’s opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics has been marred by the International Olympic Committee’s refusal to hold a brief moment of silence for the 40th anniversary of the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. IOC president Jacques Rogge claims that the reason is that “the […]
Corporate Welfare for the Washington Redskins
Richmond-Times Dispatch columnist A. Barton Hinkle describes a massive corporate welfare handout that the Washington Redskins just got from Virginia’s state and local governments: The announcement that the Washington Redskins will move their training camp to Richmond was met with mixed emotions, as they say. It’s certainly great news for Virginia’s capital city. Virginians across […]