Basketball

Fan in Miami Heat James jersey kicked out of Cleveland ballpark

I've screened them all (thank you, YouTube) and here are the two best videos depicting the fan wearing the LeBron James Miami Heat jersey being excorted out of a Cleveland Inians game this week.

James' reputation in Cleveland seems doomed for the foreseable future. But really, how long will fans carry this grudge? This only makes them look petty and violent instead of the victim of James' selfishness here. As always, the truth probably lies somewhere in between ... (NOTE: beware of obscenities in videos.)

 

Fans booing...

 

Escorted out ....

 

 

 

New ESPN deal will help Terps, but how much?

The University of Maryland’s financial future just got a lot more stable, but how exactly that will help the school build up its athletic programs remains to be seen.

Thanks to a 12-year, estimated $1.86 billion television deal the Atlantic Coast Conference made with cable sports giant ESPN, the conference’s member schools stand to see nearly double their television revenue and get more exposure for their sports than ever before.

While the greater exposure will help Maryland’s lesser-televised sports, just how the Department of Athletics can benefit from extra money depends on the economic climate.

“A lot of it’s going to depend on where everything else is at that time,” said the university’s interim director of athletics, Randy Eaton. “If tickets and donations are still down, all it’s going to do is keep us whole.

March madness hits the workplace


By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Upper Marlboro attorney Richard Jaklitsch, who is also president of the Terrapin Club, says that in prior years when Maryland has had a game during working hours, his firm has taken off to a nearby watering hole called ‘The Office’ to watch.They call it March Madness for a reason — and it’s not always about what happens on the basketball court.

During the first two days of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, which started Thursday, offices around the country are transformed, and otherwise normal employees can become strangely insane.

Conservative business attire is ditched for unfashionably bright team colors, pizza and other junk food replaces the well-rounded lunch, and the only conferences going on in conference rooms are during commercial breaks to discuss how everyone’s bracket predictions are faring.

The tournament can create quite a dilemma for people when normal life interferes with their alma maters’ games.

Apparel lifts Under Armour’s quarter

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Baltimore-based Under Armour Inc. beat analysts’ estimates and nearly doubled its fourth-quarter profit in 2009 — an increase helped by gains in its apparel business during the holiday season, the company said Thursday.

The results prompted the athletic apparel maker to raise its 2010 projections by 10 to 12 percent to between $945 million and $960 million.

The company’s fourth-quarter net income increased by 83 percent to $15.2 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with $8.3 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier. Under Armour also reported a 22.5 percent rise in its profit for the year, netting $46.7 million compared with $36.2 million in 2008.

New complex will help Coppin share the wealth

By Liz Farmer
Daily Record Business Writer

Derrick Ramsey, Coppin State UniversityWhen Coppin State University’s basketball team tips off against local rival Morgan State University in its new home Saturday, the crowd will be louder, the lights brighter and that new-building smell may still linger in the air.

After more than 20 years in Coppin Center, the team is debuting its state-of-the-art arena — part of a $130 million physical education complex many hope will not only help recruiting but will lift the school and its Northwest Baltimore community’s revitalization.

“This is an opportunity for the people in the community to share in the wealth of the building,” said university President Reginald S. Avery, adding the new buildings could host concerts, town halls and other events. “This is not only Coppin’s building but the community’s as well.”