It seems like everywhere I look these days there is a former sports star in trouble. The AP reported on the court-ordered auction of former Nebraska football player Aaron Taylor. The former center and guard's seven championship rings and his Outland trophy brought in $28,500 today. Bids were taken in person and online and the bronze statue sold for $6,800. The auction was forced by the closure of the Huskers-themed Scarlet and Cream Letter Club restaurant and Taylor's bankruptcy. The former college player who went on to be drafted by the Indianapolis Colts started the restaurant in Omaha with other former Nebraska players.

The AP reports says that some Nebraska fans donated money to help Taylor try and save some of his memorabilia. Taylor was one of seven Nebraska players who won the Outland Trophy and was awarded All-American honors at two different positions (offensive center and guard).

In his bankruptcy filing earlier this year Taylor said he owed at least $109,543 and had assets worth $5,300 (excluding the value of the rings and trophy). The restaurant owed state and federal taxes including $69,000 owed to the IRS. He had tried to have his memorabilia excluded from the bankruptcy liquidation but under the terms of Chapter 7 he was forced to surrender them.

After last night's game the New York Yankees are hopeful that their World Series dreams are about to come true. And their fans are hopeful too, jumping on the first round of World Series tickets which went on sale this morning. Prices range from $51 to $1,706. Tickets in the Legends area run from $731 to $1706 and offer a close-up view of the action. In order to accommodate more fans the Yankees will make 59 Café seats per game on the Field Level concourse available for $156 per ticket and approximately 220 standing room tickets per game for dedicated standing locations on the Field and Main Levels available for $104 and $93, respectively, per ticket.

Most memorabilia related to Muhammad Ali isn't quite as personal as the letters going up for auction at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas and online, October 1 and 2 (the same auction where Lenny Dykstra's memorabilia will be auctioned off). The three early 1960s handwritten letters to his sparring partner written by Ali when he was still known as Cassius Clay are the earliest known Clay letters. The letters were written immediately before and soon after his light heavyweight gold medal victory at the 1960 Olympics. Chris Ivy, Heritage Auctions Director of Sports Auctions says that the letters are "early insights into the mind of one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century as he makes the transition from Louisville, Kentucky amateur to international professional boxer." Each letter is expected to sell for $10,000 or more.

The surfers out there know how much difference a good board can make, and Rayskin is targeting them with their line of handmade hollow wooden surfboards. More eco-friendly than typical foam boards, Rayskin's wooden creations are meticulously designed to be both elite collector's items as well as hydrodynamic high performance sports equipment. A wide a variety of exotic wood types are used, and each surfboard is a numbered one-of-a-kind (because they're handcrafted and unique) "work of rideable art." Pricing done individually upon request.

Via Bornrich

Billionaire Tom Hicks (#701 on the Forbes list for 2009) has found himself in a bit of a tight financial spot. His holding company which owns the Texas Rangers baseball team and the Dallas Stars hockey team has defaulted on about $525 million in loans. Hicks has said the move was deliberate, a business strategy as part of his negotiations with the banks. His company want changes to the lending agreement including full access to reserve accounts and a revolving credit line.

Hick describes the decision as a "nonevent for the teams, fans, sponsors and vendors" and has said he is doing fine financially, well, as fine as one can be in these times. Last week reports came out that he was looking to sell large minority stakes in both teams.

Sports teams generated a lot of revenue but they are also extremely costly and much depends on audience interest. The economy has has a deleterious effect on ticket sales for many teams. Last year's attendance at Texas Rangers games was particularly low and Hicks is hoping for better luck this season. The Rangers have their home opener on Monday.

If you know basketball and love cigars, take a look at this new contest from CigarsDirect.com. Join the company's fantasy league on CBS Sportsline – choose your winners wisely – and you could walk away with up to $1,000 worth of cigars. Prizes are available for the top 10 participants based on points earned.

• 1st Place: 2008 Opus X Cigar Charity Box ($999.95 retail value)
• 2nd Place: Opus X Robusto Cigar Box ($839.55 retail value)
• 3rd Place: Hemingway Between the Lines Cigar Box ($799.95 retail value)
• 4th Place: Arturo Fuente Anejo #77 "Shark" Cigar Box ($575.95 retail value)
• 5th Place: Padron 1964 Anny Torpedo Natural Cigar Box ($319.95 retail value)
• 6th Place: 2006 God of Fire Robusto Tubo Cigar Box ($184.75 retail value)
• 7th Place: Hemingway Short Story Cigar Box ($139.99 retail value)
• 8th Place: 1992 Rare Estate Opus X Robusto Cigar Tin ($94.95 retail value)
• 9th Place: Padron 1926 Series Sampler Maduro ($74.95 retail value)
• 10th Place: $50 Gift Certificate good toward any purchase on CigarsDirect.com

My goal, I have to admit, would be to finish fourth, fifth or ninth.

[Photo by Steve Zak]

Their die-hard devotion to their team, that is. Eternal Image offers Major League Baseball-licensed urns ($799), caskets ($4,499, coming soon), and headstone markers ($199).

Each MLB Urn is made of die-cast aluminum with a clear coat finish and sits atop a "home plate" base. The urn has a baseball display dome at the top for a favorite collectible baseball. Thirteen teams currently are available: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals.

The MLB Caskets (see gallery photos) will feature the same teams as the urns. The first eight to be ready will be Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals. The caskets are crafted from a proprietary composite and decorated with wood and metals. The interior fabric features the team logo and colors for the pillow and fabric trim.

The MLB Medallion Headstone Markers, available in all 30 teams, are a half-pound of solid bronze and can be fixed to headstones and monuments of all types. The markers are painted in team colors with long-lasting, all-weather paint.

What they won't think of.

Want to make points with your basketball loving sweetheart this Valentine's Day? Select movie theaters around the country are offering a LIVE 3D HD presentation of NBA All-Star Saturday Night on February 14, starting at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Turner Sports, which has televised the NBA All-Star Game for six consecutive years on TNT, is collaborating with the NBA and Cinedigm to bring this 3D HD presentation exclusively to select theaters throughout the country. Theaters will also offer contests and prizes, opportunities to text and to vote on the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk contest while taking in the super crisp, every-bead-of-sweat-falling digital coverage. The first sporting event to be broadcast publicly in this digital cinema format was the BCS College Football Championship on Jan 8, 2009 and the All Star game is the second event. You can find the theater near you on the Cinedigm website.

LeBron James may make millions but his nonprofit organization isn't so lucky. The LeBron James Family Foundation launched by the Cleveland Cavaliers star is cutting its staff and some of its charitable work. The foundation will still do their annual June bikeathon but will use consultants instead of staff. James has said that the foundation is being streamlined to make better use of money. The foundation may end up only having a board of directors. Charities all over are cutting back. The major draw for sports star charities is of course the name of the player. Over the past few years having a foundation has become pretty much mandatory for players of note in a variety of sports but these charities also depend on community and corporate support which may be lacking in the current economic climate.

Alyssa Milano has an option for female NFL fans tired of wearing oversized men's logowear but still wanting to look fashionable while supporting their team: her "TOUCH" apparel and jewelry line, available at NFL Shop.

Launched in spring 2007, TOUCH, which also includes lines for the NBA and NHL, was born out of necessity, according to Milano's Web site. When Milano, an avid baseball fan, went to games, "she wanted to wear fan gear to support her team, but found that the product mix offered in the marketplace did not address her everyday fashion needs. She felt women should be able to look stylish while cheering on their favorite team. So, she partnered with G-III Apparel Group and Major League Baseball to design and distribute a line of juniors' ladies MLB apparel." And so it began.

I just learned about the line when I saw a TV ad during a Sunday night football game; it seems the NFL partnership is fairly new. This line includes 245 products that range in price from $16.99 - $89.99.

View the gallery for some examples. Most of the products are available for multiple teams.

So far most of the news I've heard about sports teams in this economy has been pretty positive. New stadiums are still being built and luxury suites are being filled. But Gary West writing in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a piece that points out that sports are going through their own cost-cutting measures. Attendance is down at professional baseball games. The NCAA is curbing spending on postseason travel and the Grand Prix du Canada, the only Formula One race in North America is struggling to find funding. And layoffs have even come to the NBA which is cutting their work force by 9%.

More than ever professional sports depend on revenue from advertising, sponsorships and naming rights but with many corporations in trouble those opportunities are drying up. As the Dallas Morning News reports the Cowboys have a new $1.1 billion stadium expected to be completed by next June and they are looking for a naming-rights deal that could be worth hundreds of millions. There are less and less companies now that would be interested in a deal of this magnitude.

And Nascar, which has risen to be one of the most popular sports in the U.S. is really feeling the pinch. General Motors, Chrysler, Sears Holdings and Chevron will cut or drop sponsorships next season. Perhaps more than any other sport this economy has a dramatic effect because it takes so much money to compete. Dario Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner, was forced out of the series by a lack of sponsors and teams from names like Petty, Waltrip and Earnhardt may enter 2009 with unfunded cars. Nascar may even have trouble filling up their 43-car fields because so many teams have had trouble finding sponsors.

Certainly professional sports aren't going anywhere. Watching sports has always offered distraction and succor in tough times. Cheering for our teams lets us experience both joy and defeat in a way that doesn't impact our daily living. But in a time when companies are forced to cut back, sports teams, which are businesses too, will be forced to readjust. Some franchises may have to close. Teams that have relied on lucrative corporate suites deals may have to focus more on getting regular customers into seats.

I've been writing about the plans for the Rocket Racing League for over three years but it looks like the new sports league is one step closer to reality. The Rocket Racing League, which seeks to create a Nascar in the sky with multiple races and up to 10 Rocket Racers taking to the sky on a closed circuit raceway, has been granted an Experimental Exhibition Certificate from the FAA for their next generation rocket racer. As Aero-News reports this is especially significant because it is the first time in the FAA's history that a production level rocket-powered aircraft has been cleared to perform exhibition flight demonstrations at over 20 venues across the U.S.

The Rocket Racing League has locked up a fancy sponsor, DKNY for men and their ship is called the DKNY Bridenstine Rocket Racer vehicle. It was built on a Velocity Aircraft airframe and equipped with a liquid oxygen and alcohol engine manufactured by Armadillo Aerospace. The league plans to hold a 2009 Exhibition season followed by the first official race season in 2010. The league will choose eight venues out of the possible 20 approved locations.

We've seen the splendor of China's Bird's Nest, now check out a new contender for the prize of most unique stadium. The Wall' stadium in Doha, Qatar's capital city, will be the first underground stadium and the world's first open-air, air-conditioned stadium. The stadium design by MZ & Partners Architects has already earned the nickname "The Laptop." The main stand is upright with most of its height coming from the underground field. All lights will be embedded in the surrounding architecture of the stadium. It is hoped that the underground stadium will help keep the players and spectators cooler. It is expected to be completed in 2010 and will seat 11,000 people.

Today is the latest in a long series of sports star homes lingering on the market. Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson has been looking to sell his home in Villanova, Pennsylvania for a year now. I first heard about it last year when the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties column first reported on it. Now a year later the same column reveals that Iverson has dropped the price on the 14,000 square foot home to a desperation price of $4 million. That's $1 million less than the former Philadelphia 76er and his wife Tawanna paid for it in 2003. The six-bedroom home is on four acres that include a pool house, stream and waterfall.The chateau-style home on Chateau Lane has four levels including a great room with floor-to-ceiling Palladian windows. The master suite has his and hers marble bathrooms, a coffee bar, media area and a veranda overlooking the grounds. There are four additional en-suite bedrooms and a separate guest quarters with a bedroom, living room and kitchenette. The entertainment level has a 12-seat movie theater, billiard room, and a lounge with a custom wood carved bar accommodating 200+ wine bottles. It is now listed at $3.999 million.
Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Most people, when they get an Olympic gold medal hang onto it for dear life. Jason Kidd, who played on the Olympic basketball team however is giving his away. And to whom? No other than Elaine Wynn, wife of casino mogul Steve Wynn. It turns out that Kidd met Mrs. Wynn last year while he and the rest of the U.S. team were staying at the Wynn while training in Las Vegas. They got to talking over a banquet and Kidd promised that if the team won the gold he would give her his medal. No, he's not in debt to the house, Kidd says it's just a thank you because "the way they treated us at the Wynn, it was the least I could do." I'm hoping the Wynns display the medal at one of their hotels.