sports

Rayskin Handmade Wooden Surfboards

Filed under: Sports

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

Gallery: Rayskin Wooden Surfboards

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Tags: handmade, Rayskin, skate decks, skateboard, skateboarding, SkateDecks, sports, surfboard, surfboards, surfing, wooden

Billionaire Sports Owner Tom Hicks Stops Making Loan Payments

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports, Wealth

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.

Tags: dallas stars, DallasStars, sports, texas rangers, TexasRangers, tom hicks, TomHicks

Contest! CigarsDirect Giveaway for "March Madness"

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Cigars

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]

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Tags: basketball, cigar, cigars, contest, fuente, giveaway, giveaways, march madness, MarchMadness, opus, sport, sports

Baseball Fans Can Take It With Them After All

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

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.

Gallery: Baseball Fans Can Take It With Them After All

Tags: baseball, casket, caskets, headstone, headstones, major league baseball, MajorLeagueBaseball, sports, tomb, tombs, urn, urns

Watch the All Star Game in 3D

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

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.

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Tags: 3d, cinedigm, nba, sports

LeBron James Charity Cuts Staff

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Sports

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.

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Tags: charity, cleveland cavaliers, ClevelandCavaliers, lebron james, LebronJames, sports

Alyssa Milano Designs for NFL Fans

by Lisa Palladino (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

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.

Gallery: Alyssa Milano Designs for NFL Fans

Touch By Alyssa Milano Oakland Raiders Women's Ruffle Vest

Touch By Alyssa Milano Minnesota Vikings Women's Short Zip Jacket

Touch By Alyssa Milano Tampa Bay Buccaneers Women's Denim Jeans

Touch By Alyssa Milano Green Bay Packers Women's Full Zip Hooded Fleece with Sherpa

Touch By Alyssa Milano New York Giants Women's Long Sleeve Top

Tags: Alyssa Milano, AlyssaMilano, apparel, clothing, fanwear, football, NFL, sports

The Economy Of Sports

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

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.

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Tags: nascar, nba, nfl, sports

Rocket Racing League Is One Step Closer To Reality

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Sports

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.

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Tags: racing, rocket racing league, RocketRacingLeague, rockets, sports

"The Laptop" Will Be The World's First Underground Stadium

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

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.

Gallery: Qatar On The Rise

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Tags: doha, qatar, sports, stadium

Allen Iverson in Villanova, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping, Sports

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.

Gallery: Iverson in Villanova

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Tags: allen iverson, AllenIverson, basketball, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, sports, villanova

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Jason Kidd Gives His Gold Medal To The Wynns

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

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.

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Tags: elaine wynn, ElaineWynn, gold medal, jason kidd, JasonKidd, sports, wynn

Right To Play, Charity of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity of the Day

All children should have the right to play but for some on the world's most disadvantaged communities, the simple joy of sport and play is not always available. The Right to Play program uses the medium of sports and activities for a variety of purposes including teaching HIV prevention, helping rehabilitate children affected by war, encouraging the healthy, phsycial, social and emotional deveopment of refugees and simply bringing laughter and play to children in need. The program accepts donations and trains volunteers as coaches but one simple way you can help is by buying a mini red ball which is available at Adidas stores.

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Tags: charity of the day, CharityOfTheDay, children, right to play, RightToPlay, sports

The GoldenPutter For Ladies

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

When I was first learning to play golf when I was young, it was a big thrill that there were finally orange and lime green balls. Then came the hot pink golf balls and I was in heaven. My teenage self would have loved this pretty princess putter from The GoldenPutter but it would have been a bit out of my price range. Each Golden Putter has a 24 carat gold plated shaft, a leather grip (in pink but other colors are available) and a head with customizable crystal inlays. The First Special Lady Edition of the "GoldenPutter" will be available for 1995 euros. For those with more money to spend there is the possibility to create a diamond lady putter will be available for around $150,000.

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Tags: golf, pink, putter, sports

Salvation for the House-Bound Golf Nut

by Tom Barlow (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports

Are you stuck in the northern climes, glued to the tube watching Tiger win one tournament after another on sun-drenched southern courses? Before you snap and find yourself sneaking onto your closed local course garbed in seven layers of sweaters and hip boots, consider investing in the world's best golf simulator, by Full Swing Golf.
I use the word 'invest' because this system will set you back $40-50,000, about the cost of a weekend at Pebble Beach.

But your money will bring you as close to the real course as you'll find in the virtual world. Full Swing Golf includes a enclosure with a hi-def projector, 680 infra-red ball tracking sensors and a touch screen game controller to register the distance and direction of your ball strike. Different surfaces are available to simulate the tee boxes, bent grass fairways, and rough (not the knee-length gorse of the U.S. Open, though; reasonable rough.) Players can choose among 50 championship courses that have been digitized in exacting detail.

The entire system can be internet-connected to allow you to play against other live opponents and compete in on-line tournaments. Practice features allow you to record and work on the weak parts of your game ( in my case, that would be everything).

The system still doesn't quite capture the full flavor of a round of golf, though. For that, they'd need to include a foursome of glacial-paced golfers preceding you that refuse tot wave you through, a sprinkler that decides to start halfway through your back swing, a swarm of mosquitoes in the tee box, and blisters that appear on your heels halfway through your first round wearing your new $300 shoes.

Come to think of it, this game may be better than real golf. Especially if my wife would put on a bikini and bring me a beer every few holes.

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Tags: Full Swing Golf, FullSwingGolf, golf simulators, GolfSimulators, indoor golf, IndoorGolf, o, online golf, OnlineGolf, sports