A new health epidemic looms on the horizon like a ticking time bomb. It is the spectre of cumulative brain damage suffered from repetitive sub-concussive hits to the head in football and other sports. A concussion does not necessitate being knocked out cold. It is a blow to the head or body creating a change in brain function. Research is now showing that damage is occurring in regular action to most football athletes on most plays. And none of it is diagnosed or charted.

The simple act of an offensive lineman hitting a defensive lineman to start a play produces sub-concussive damage to both players. I have made the point before that a lineman who plays high school, collegiate and a long career in the NFL could emerge from the sport with 10,000 sub-concussive hits -- none of which are diagnosed. The highest percentage of concussive damage on a football team occurs to the offensive line. Quarterback is actually a safer position.

The enhanced size, speed, and strength of contemporary athletes with modern nutrition and training techniques amplify the physics of every hit. The cumulative damage does not necessarily manifest immediately, some years may pass before impairment becomes evident. But come it will, and the numbers will be staggering. Remember that premature senility, dementia, ALS, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, depression and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy are some of the results of excessive hits.

What is the responsible position to take in the face of this onslaught? I am forming a new foundation called Athletes Speak to focus attention on the problem and fund research on the solution which will have iconic athletes speaking out. Hall of Fame footballers Earl Campbell and Warren Moon are the first two members of the Board of Directors and more will soon be announced. To make sure we have access to the state of the art research in the field we have assembled the pioneers in the field of head injury. Dr. Robert Cantu, Dr. Julian Bailes, Dr. David Hovda, Dr. Kevin Guskiewicz and Dr. Kristen Willeumier have agreed to serve and they will soon be joined by other experts.

The imperative here is to try and prevent more future pain and suffering. What makes this injury different than any other athletic injury is that it affects the brain. It impacts memory, reasoning, and character -- what it means to be human. The adolescent brain is at risk for more severe, long-lasting damage. There are many groups and researchers who are doing heroic work on this issue, but having athletes speak out is critical.
I sat through a presentation by the creator of a new helmet technology that promises to revolutionize the actual protection provided to athletes. I will write more on that later. Meanwhile we welcome any help or ideas for Athletes Speak.

There is no joy in SoCal baseball fandom. The mighty local teams have struck out. The Los Angeles Dodgers had an opening day payroll of $216,597,577, second only to the Yankees. Their record through Friday was 13-20, which placed them fifth in the National League West.

The Angels had a more modest opening day payroll of $127,896,250, which still placed them as the seventh highest paid team. Their record Friday was 12-22, which had them occupying fourth place in the American League West.

So much for the myth that larger spending on player costs automatically translates into victory on the field.

The new Guggenheim ownership group, flush with revenue from a staggering Time-Warner local television contract and its own substantial resources, set out to make the Dodgers the shining jewel of a franchise they had been in previous eras. They re-signed Matt Kemp (eight years/$160 million), signed Adrian Gonzalez (seven years/$154 million) and Zack Greinke (six years/$147 million) while taking on Carl Crawford (seven years/$142 million) from Boston. And they kept on spending. And they have produced a team of constant injury, pitiful hitting, fielding, and pitching.

Arte Moreno, the Angels owner, once again moved boldly to keep his team competitive with Texas by signing free agent and former Ranger oufielder Josh Hamilton (five years/$125 million) after last year signing free agent first baseman Albert Pujols (10 years/$250 million). Hamilton is hitting .213 so far with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs, and Pujols is hitting .238 with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs, and the team is floundering.

The NBA and NFL have salary caps designed to keep some parity in spending. Baseball allows free spending with a luxury tax. The fear has always existed that cities like New York and Los Angeles and Chicago -- the largest media markets generating the most revenues -- would field dominating teams that would take all the competitive fun out of the sport. It is clearly true that teams like the Houston Astros with a payroll of $22 million, 10 percent of the Yankees outlay, cannot reasonably expect to compete. Neither can the Miami Marlins at $36 million. But at a certain level, coaching and team cohesiveness, complimentary skill-sets and lack of injuries play a leveling role.

If spending were the total story, the New York Yankees should have won the past five World Series. Their payroll this year is $228 million -- $60 million more than the third highest Philadelphia Phillies. But they have won only once in 2009. The San Francisco Giants won last year with the eighth highest payroll. In 2011 it was the St. Louis Cardinals who were 11th ranked and spent half what the Yankees did. In 2010 it was the Giants who spent less than $100 million to the Yankees $206 million. In 2008, the Phillies won spending less than $100 million to the Yankee total of $209 million.

It would appear that building a strong minor league system that produces a consistent flow of young, homegrown stars who stay with a team for their careers is a formula which produces more winning franchises than relying on high spending for aging free agents. This is the formula the Dodgers won with for years and the Angels relied on to win their only World Series.

For years, teams will claim to be part of the civic fabric of an area when they ask for fan loyalty. They want the support of their fans in losing days and winning ones alike. They advertise themselves as "your Sacramento Kings" in an effort to have parents hand down a heritage of passion for a franchise to their children. They encourage fans to buy everything from T-shirts to mugs to show that they're true fans.

And then they move?

Franchises in professional sports are purchased by owners with the understanding that the league subjects them to rules and restrictions. They share national television revenue equally, notwithstanding the size of the market, which is hardly a free enterprise concept. There are rules governing trades and player acquisition. And they specifically agree to be bound by restrictions on franchise movement for "the good of the sport".

If a franchise has fielded quality teams and marketed well and they are stuck in a market that simply will not support the team, or if they are playing in a substandard facility, the case can be made that they ought to be able to move to a region that really wants them.

But to allow teams to abandon areas which have loyally supported them so an owner can make a windfall profit is another matter: Every time a franchise moves it sets off a destructive ripple effect.

By Marilen Cawad
The Street

Juan Ruiz, a 30-year-old NBA fan, is betting on a New York Knicks-Miami Heat showdown in the Eastern Conference finals. With less than a month till game one, Ruiz has wagered $1,655 to see the two teams meet at Madison Square Garden.

Believing that he will not have a shot at limited tickets through Ticketmaster when matchups are decided, Ruiz decided to buy a pair of 100-level tickets for the contingent game through reseller StubHub, an eBay company. Excluding fees, each ticket cost him $750.

If the Knicks don't make it to the finals, StubHub will give him a full refund. But if they do, and ticket prices skyrocket closer to game one, Ruiz said he would consider reselling his tickets.

The purchase seems risk-free, unless one believes that ticket prices in the secondary market would drop closer to game day. Highly unlikely, says Brittany Menard, ticket broker and author of The Ticket Broker Guide.

Demand, says Menard, is at its highest after the initial sale of tickets to the general public. If the event is a quick sellout -- which is expected if the Knicks are in the finals -- "fans will be left scrambling for tickets and would be willing to pay more money on the secondary market to secure their seats."

Madison Square Garden has a total capacity of around 19,000 seats for New York Knicks home games, but a representative for MSG would not disclose how many tickets will be made available for the finals. Season subscribers are offered seats before tickets can be sold to the public.

For big games, Menard says teams hold back the majority of tickets for a number of reasons: corporate partnerships, team and building sponsors, promotions, friends and family associated with the team, contests and season-ticket holders. "Some premium seats are never even released to the general public and are held back to be auctioned off on sites like Ticketmaster's TicketExchange," says Menard.

To make a profit in the secondary market, Menard -- who has been buying and selling tickets since 2006 -- explains that the "investor" should buy the tickets before the matchups are decided.

According to ticket search engine TiqIQ, for the NBA Eastern Conference finals, the average ticket price in the secondary market for home game one of the Knicks is currently $1,523; the average ticket price for the first Miami home game is currently $592.

During the NFL draft, fans will be scratching their heads in befuddlement as their favorite team picks a player they have never heard of or who makes absolutely no sense. How do teams ever make these selections?

The NFL draft, along with free agency, is the primary method of roster composition for America's most popular sport. The right selection, in whatever round, can turn out to be the cornerstone of a franchise's success for years, the wrong selection, just a wasted opportunity.

Teams put much thought and millions of dollars into the creation of a scouting system for college talent. Each team has a Director of Player Personnel in charge of College Scouting. There are also a variety of team scouts who are responsible for a geographical region or specific position. They put together a checklist of attributes: Size, speed, strength, athletic ability, agility, character and then head off to spring ball, summer training, and regular season games to judge every potentially draftable player.

They use a numerical system 4-1 with one being highest, or one through ten with ten being highest, to rate players and assign them a numerical grade. They also watch game film and talk with the player's coaches. The second source of input for a team is the scouting reports they use from a pooled scouting company called a combine, which service many teams. Teams can subscribe to "BLESTO" or "The National" and receive the same scouting ratings.

A team will then establish its own draft board, rating players by overall highest grades, then breaking it down by position. These boards are modified by the ever important second season of scouting. Seniors have the opportunity to play in All-Star Games, scouts can interact with players between practices and judge the practices and the game performance.

The major scouting event of the second season is the Scouting Combine held in Indianapolis in February. Players are given strenuous physicals, drug tests and IQ tests. They compete in five drills: A 40-yard dash, 225-pound bench press, vertical leap, broad jump and lateral drills. Teams have the opportunity to evaluate their personality in twenty-minute interviews. Teams have done extensive character and criminal background checks. Players can work out at their position. Ratings on a player will continue to change.

Campus visits in March to Pro Scouting Days allow scouts another opportunity to interact with players and see them do the same combine drills for the first time or another time. The largest single variable in elevating or plummeting a draft pick is speed in the 40. The NFL is speed crazy. And then teams compile their final draft boards with the input of position coaches, head coaches and team executives.