Bob Dylan Signs New Book Deal

It’s not official, but Bob Dylan reportedly has signed a six-book deal, according to Crain’s New York Business.

The singer is expected to release the books through Simon & Schuster. The deal is rumored to include the next two volumes of Dylan’s New York Times bestselling Chronicles series and a collection of material from his Sirius/XM radio show, Theme Time Radio Hour.

Dylan’s literary agent, Andrew Wylie, put the as-yet-unconfirmed deal together with Simon & Schuster, the same publishing house that took care of Chronicles: Volume One.

The autobiographical Chronicles: Volume One was released in 2004 and nominated for a National Book Critics Award. The title spent 19 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

The 69-year-old singer-songwriter hosted his weekly show on Sirius/XM from 2006 to 2009; he played a variety of music from his personal collection, told jokes and even recited poetry.

There’s no word yet about what the other three books in the Simon & Schuster package will be about. We also have no clue when any of the books will hit stores. But no doubt wherever Dylan is right now – he’s writing.

News From: beatcrave.com

Yankees and Andruw Jones Agree Deal

Yankees and Andruw Jones Agree to a One-Year Deal

The Yankees and the free agent Andruw Jones agreed to terms on a one-year, $2 million contract Thursday, all but eliminating the possibility of Johnny Damon’s return to the team. Jones, a right-handed hitter once considered the most gifted center fielder in baseball, will serve as a backup outfielder.

The Yankees were searching for a right-handed-hitting outfielder to replace Marcus Thames, who signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. Curtis Granderson and Brett Gardner bat left-handed, as does Damon, making him less desirable to the Yankees.

On Wednesday, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman met with Scott Boras, the agent for Jones, after the news conference to introduce another Boras client the Yankees had signed, relief pitcher Rafael Soriano. A deal was worked out pending a physical. Boras also represents Damon.

Jones, who had 19 home runs and 48 runs batted in in 328 plate appearances for the Chicago White Sox last year, was looking to be a starter but had to settle for being the Yankees’ fourth outfielder. He will turn 34 on April 23.

Jones is a five-time All-Star and has won 10 Gold Gloves during his 15-year career, the first 12 of which were with the Atlanta Braves. Jones has 407 home runs and a .256 batting average. In 2005, he hit 51 home runs with 128 R.B.I. and finished second in the voting for National League most valuable player.

News From: www.nytimes.com

Nets Owner Tells Team to Drop Anthony Deal

Nets owner tells team to end discussions on the Carmelo Anthony deal
The megadeal to bring Carmelo Anthony to the New Jersey Nets is dead.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov told the team to end trade talks with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, saying he was unhappy with how it played out in public, that it took too long, got too expensive and cost the team games.

The Russian billionaire also canceled a planned meeting with Anthony on Thursday and said there was no chance — that's a big nyet — that the trade would resurrected.

"There comes a time when the price is simply too expensive," Prokhorov said in a news conference before Wednesday night's game against Utah. "I have instructed our team to walk away from the deal."

Previously, New Jersey had offered to ship six players and at least two first-round draft picks to Denver in a deal that would have sent Anthony to the Nets along with former Pistons teammates Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton.

Prokhorov decided on Tuesday to end talks with the Nuggets, and general manager Billy King said he informed them via a text message as Prokhorov was speaking on Wednesday.

"Really I am not happy with the way this deal has gone until now," Prokhorov said. "It has taken too long ... and I believe it has cost us several games."

The Nets have lost six straight games, including all four on a just completed West Coast roadtrip that ended in Oakland on Monday.


News From: www.abcnews.go.com

Prince Fielder’s Deal For King Albert’s Ransom

Prince Fielder’s Deal Clears Path For King Albert’s Ransom

After the Milwaukee Brewers signed Prince Fielder on Tuesday to a $15.5 million 1-year contract, many baseball pundits exclaimed, “If you’re going to pay Fielder this much, how much is Albert Pujols worth?”

Well, if you place any stock in the validity of one particular Sabermetric statistic called ‘Wins Above Replacement’, Albert’s worth is between $33.0 M and $35.7 M annually based on yesterday’s transaction in Milwaukee.

Because of various economic realities, however, he may be lucky to receive $25 M annually. And if he gets the $30 M annually he seeks, he may have to accept a contract of shorter length.

USING SABERMETRICS TO GAUGE PLAYER VALUE

Deep in the vault of the Sabermetics Library, there is both an intuitive and quantitative explanation for the WAR statistic, which stands for ‘wins above replacement’. As they explain:

“WAR basically looks at a player and asks the question, “If this player got injured and their team had to replace them with a minor leaguer or someone from their bench, how much value would the team be losing?”

The website Baseball-Reference.com contains WAR data, so out of curiosity I compared the WAR data for Mr. Fielder and Mr. Pujols from 2007-2010. My findings:

- Mr. Fielder’s average and median WAR was 4.025 and 3.8 games, respectively;

- Mr. Pujols’ average and median WAR was 8.575 and 8.75, respectively.

So if WAR is our proxy for productivity, and thus, player value, then this implies that Mr. Pujols was between 113% and 130% more productive than Mr. Fielder over this four-year span (depending upon whether you choose to use mean or median values).

If you multiply Mr. Fielder’s 2011 earnings of $15.5 M by factors of 113% and 130% respectively, then this would imply that Mr. Pujols would then be worth between $33.0 M to $35.7 M annually based on his career numbers to date.

A BETTER COMPARISON

Now truth be told, no one before yesterday was really comparing Albert Pujols to Prince Fielder when gauging what Mr. Pujols might fetch in his contract discussions with the St Louis Cardinals.

Many believe Mr. Pujols to be the best player in the game, and thus, should eventually be making the most money of any ballplayer. Currently that title is held by Mr. Alex Rodriguez.

In 2007, A-Rod signed a 10-year, $275 M deal with the NY Yankees. So his average annual salary under this contract is $27.5 M.

Using similar WAR comparisons, let’s assess the relative productivity of Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Pujols.

If we cover the period from 2001-2010:

- A-Rod’s average and median WAR are 6.48 and 6.95 games, respectively;

- Albert’s average and median WAR are 8.38 and 8.3, respectively.

This implies that Albert has been between 19% and 29% more productive than A-Rod over this stretch. This alone would imply (based on A-Rod’s current $27.5 M yearly average) that Albert is worth $32.8 M to $35.6 M annually.

The productivity gap is even greater if we focus just on the years since A-Rod signed his massive deal. From 2007-2010, A-Rod’s average and median WAR are 5.53 and 4.65 games, respectively.

Comparing these WARs to Albert’s from the same period would imply that Albert has been between 55% and 88% more productive than A-Rod since the beginning of the 2007 season. This would imply that Albert is worth between a whopping $42.7 M to $52.7 M annually!

WHERE IS THE REALITY?

If we focus on the Fielder comparison from 2007-2010 and the A-Rod comparison from 2001-2010, we paint a picture that Albert could command an annual salary somewhere in the neighborhood of $33 M – $36 M.

In light of this, $30 M per year seems like a bargain if the calculations herein have merit.

That said, I suspect that Mr. Pujols will stay in St Louis and sign a deal that averages between $25 M – $30 M per season. The longer the length of the deal, the lower the annual average.

St Louis is a great baseball market as evidenced from the fact that they have financially outperformed their market size (8th highest franchise value despite the 17th largest MSA) largely due to one of the most loyal fan bases in professional sports.

But they aren’t New York, Boston, Los Angeles, or Chicago in terms of local market size. And their smaller market does place an upward limit on local revenue streams from local sponsors and local media relative to these other markets.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, the free-spending Yankees and Red Sox are pretty secure at 1st base with Mark Teixeira and Adrian Gonzalez respectively, the Dodgers are hamstrung financially by the messy McCourt divorce proceedings, the Mets are not likely to spend big in light of recent inefficiencies, and it would be Ruthian of Pujols to ever contemplate a jump to the Cubbies.

Albert has been a model of consistency, but is it reasonable to expect that he sustain such high levels of performance well into his late 30s? Albert will likely still be great at age 37. But $30 M great? As a Cardinals fan, I hope so. As a realist, doubtful.

So if he gets his $30 M per year asking price, expect it to be a 5-6 year deal. Any longer than that at that annual rate, and the Cardinals risk being financially hamstrung in a McCourt-ian sense by not being able to divorce themselves from Number 5’s weighty contract.

Either way, King Albert can thank his Prince for setting such a high bar.


News From: www.blogs.forbes.com

AirfareWatchdog’s Fare Alert feature

Flexible travel dates? Score a deal with AirfareWatchdog’s Fare Alert feature

I’ve written about AirfareWatchdog before; here’s the quick summary which appears in my Ultimate list of top travel sites post:

Are you a procrastinator? Do you occasionally have to travel on little notice? If you answer “yes” to either of these questions, check out AirfareWatchdog. The site has a solid record of posting bargain, fire sale and price war fares more quickly than other sites. Type in your city name, select your airport, and the site will provide “Today’s LIst” of bargain fares. The site works with partners CheapAir.com and Travelocity. Note that some fares will involve multiple stops.

Also worth noting is the fact that the site lists fares from Southwest as well as smaller airlines like Allegiant and USA3000. More info

Lawmakers mixed Comcast-NBC deal

Lawmakers mixed on Comcast-NBC deal

News that federal regulators signed off on the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal on Tuesday met mixed reviews on Capitol Hill.

Statements of support arrived late Tuesday from Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), who separately praised the reviews conducted by the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice. But more critical were Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), longtime merger opponents, and Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa.), who said he had hoped regulators had been tougher on the companies.

At the same time, new House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and other GOP panel members criticized the FCC in particular for its handling of the Comcast-NBC review, which they likened in part to a “Chicago-style shakedown.”

Upton, as well as telecom subcommittee Chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and vice Lee Terry (R-Neb.), also promised to examine “whether changes in the FCC’s transaction review process are needed as we exercise congressional oversight in the weeks to come.”

“We are glad Comcast can now get back to doing business and creating jobs, but the price of doing so should not be coerced compliance with the heavy-handed tactics of an overreaching FCC,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), is also concerned about some of the conditions.

“I am concerned that the Justice Department and FCC used this merger to impose the Obama Administration’s net neutrality agenda on Comcast and its customers,” Smith said. “The merger review process is designed to protect competition and the public interest, not to expand the power of federal regulators of the private economy.”

The Comcast-NBC merger review, finalized Tuesday, capped off a year-long inquiry into the combination of the country’s largest cable company with one of the nation’s biggest networks. Along the way, the Hill has been following the debate closely — more than 100 House members earlier this month urged the agencies to expedite their approval of the Comcast-NBC deal.

Among the supporters late Tuesday was Kerry, communications subcommittee chairman, who said regulators’ work “reflects a thoughtful effort” to balance consumer protections with business advances.




News From: www.politico.com

BP-Rosneft deal: Who are Rosneft?

Back in 2003 few people had ever heard of Rosneft. A state-owned, relatively minor player in Russia’s oil industry, the10 year old company was dwarfed by its privately owned rival Yukos, which was controlled by the country’s then richest man Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

That all changed in December of that year. A $27bn tax claim against Yukos set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to the bankruptcy of the company and the jailing of Mr Khodorkovsky, who was last month sentenced to a further eight years in prison for tax evasion.

But, it was 12 months later with the auction of Yuganskneftegaz, the main production facility of Yukos’s empire, that Rosneft was propelled into the big time as the business was sold off to help settle the Yukos tax debt.

Despite Yuganskneftegaz being one of the most attractive oil assets put up for sale in Russia, bidders proved elusive and in the end only two offers were made for the business; one from Gazpromneft, the oil business of state gas company Gazprom, the other from Baikalfinansgrup.

If the second name is not familiar this is no surprise - the company was only set up two weeks before the date of the auction. Even more bizarrely, the company was registered in the Russian city of Tver in a building that otherwise housed a vodka bar, a mobile phone retailer, a travel agent and a handful of other small local companies.

Yet this improbable bidder won the day, offering $9.3bn after securing a multi-billion dollar letter of credit from Sberbank, a state-owned bank. Four days later Baikalfinansgrup was bought by Rosneft.

The Baikalfinansgrup deal might seem somewhat murky, but it had one substantial result: Rosneft could not be directly legally challenged by the owners of Yukos for the purchase of the company’s prize asset.
The acquisition immediately promoted Rosneft to the oil industry’s big league and took its annual production from about 20m tons to more than 70m. Today it produces more than 100m tons a year.
The second major event in Rosneft’s rise to prominence came in 2006 when it listed on the London stock market.
The deal was highly controversial and even many City financiers had misgivings about allowing a company with Rosneft’s recent history to sell its shares in the UK market.
Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros railed against the deal, describing Rosneft as an “instrument of state”. The company’s listing prospectus did little to dampen these fears, containing an admission that it might not always act in the interests of minority shareholders.
In the event the deal got done, partly with the support of BP and other major oil companies, who acted as strategic investors. The Russian state retained, as it does today, the majority of the shares, with a 75.16pc holding.
The Russian government’s hold over Rosneft is unsurprisingly strong and the company is chaired by Russia’s deputy prime minister, Igor Sechin. Other board members include senior government adviser Andrei Reus; Andrey Kostin, the chairman of a state development bank; and the company’s former president Sergey Bogdanchikov.
The only non-Russian member of the board is Swiss banker Hans-Joerg Rudloff, chairman of Barclays Capital, who is well connected in Russia having been one of the first Western financiers to do business there after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In today’s Russia, Rosneft is among the handful of state champions created by the government that have become international players in the world markets. Run out of a rocket ship-shaped skyscraper in Moscow the company employs more than 100,000 people and generates tens of billions of dollars in profits each year.

Sources: Pat Shurmur News

Pat Shurmur and Cleveland Browns are working on a deal now

NFL.com's Jason La Canfora is reporting that the Cleveland Browns are working on a deal that would make current St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator their next head coach. They expect to announce the news, officially, sometime tomorrow.

That's slightly more of a confirmation than the slightly less of a confirmation we had earlier today. Now, for the Rams and their fans, attention shifts to the search for a new offensive coordinator and the fallout on a young offense.

There's nothing new in La Canfora's report about any potential Shurmur replacements. He does repeat the news that Josh McDaniels is a candidate.

It was reported earlier today that Brad Childress, whose name had come up before only in speculation, was a "longshot" to replace Shurmur.

Maybe I'm just talking myself into the idea of McDaniels, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe the whole continuity thing is overstated in this case. The Rams offense has been mostly geared toward getting by with Steven Jackson, a young QB behind a promising young line and a mediocre supporting cast that made it slow going this year. Barring some revolutionary change, will it be that much more difficult to adapt for Sam Bradford? I never got the impression we saw the full playbook on display anyway, partly be design and partly of necessity.

It might hurt the receivers more than anything, at least some of the younger guys who would be role players with the right offseason additions. Danny Amendola wouldn't be that out of place, he is the poor man's Wes Welker, you know. The promising young tight ends, Michael Hoomanawanui and Fendi Onobun, didn't see enough time this year to be too deeply embedded in the system. Etc., etc., etc.

The biggest question about the transition is how it will effect Sam Bradford, or, more appropriately, how long it would take him to get back up to the level of expectations that would be reasonable for him in his sophomore season.

Browns Likely To Name Pat Shurmur As Head Coach

Early reports indicate the Cleveland Browns will likely name St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur as their next head coach.

Shurmur’s agent and the Browns are expected to finalize the deal by the end of the week and make an announcement.

Browns’ President Mike Holmgren also interviewed New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell and Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.

Shurmur spent the last two seasons with the Rams and had the opportunity to develop number one overall pick Sam Bradford. Previously, Shurmur had been the quarterbacks coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons and their tight ends coach for three.

Under the direction of Shurmur, the Rams offense finished 19th in passing and 17th in rushing this season.

Ron Rivera News Report

Deal looks to be done: Ron Rivera to become new head coach of the Carolina Panthers

Per the San Diego Union Tribune it is expected that San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera will announced as the Panthers new head coach tomorrow morning.
Really, there was very little surprise and very little intrigue in this hiring. Rivera was the first man interviewed, the only man interviewed a second time and now it appears the deal is done.
We have been discussing the merits of hiring Rivera today, but we'll look again at the new Panthers head coach...

A second round pick in the 1984 draft Ron Rivera played linebacker for the Chicago Bears for nine seasons including their Superbowl XX win over the New England Patriots. When he retired in 1992 Rivera took a brief hiatus before re-entering the league in 1997 as a 'Defensive quality coach' for the aforementioned Bears.
Two years later Rivera worked under the legendary Jim Johnson in Philadelphia where he was the Eagles linebackers coach for four years, it was then Rivera was promoted again, this time returning to Chicago as defensive coordinator.
It's his time in Chicago at this period that is often misunderstood. While yes, Rivera was only in Chicago for three seasons the common thread is that he never should have been let go. He was a victim of Lovie Smith entering the organization and wanting 'his guys'. From the time Rivera left in 2006 to Chicago's first season without him the Bears free fell from 5th in the NFL in defense under Rivera to 28th in 2007.
It was at this time he went to San Diego first working with the Chargers as a linebackers coach in 2007. For the 2007 season the Chargers 3-4 under Wade Phillips were 14th in the NFL in 2007.
When Phillips left for Dallas to become their head coach it was Rivera's turn to run the show. 2008 was a tough year marred with injuries and transition, but despite the poor year defensively that left the Chargers ranked 25th he turned them around getting them back to 16th in 2009 and finally 1st in the NFL in 2010.
Ron Rivera's brand of defense does not necessarily dictate a certain scheme, as he has worked both under a 4-3 and 3-4 front. He's known as a 'players coach' who relates very well to defensive staffs and has run extremely aggressive systems known for exotic blitz packages and great run defense.
If I may op-ed for a moment: Carolina Panthers fans should be extremely optimistic with this hiring. From where I sit the Panthers have needed a man like Rivera for a while now, and its sure to make Monday mornings a little more interesting.
Provided they agree on a contract, which doesn't seem to be a problem the Carolina Panthers Rivera will become the fourth HC in franchise history.

TOTALLY UNEXPECTED: Ron Rivera is the New Carolina Panthers Head Coach

Carolina now calling other candidiates who interviewed that they are going another direction and mentioned how well ron did.

Well folks, that's a wrap on Ron Rivera's 2.5 year stint as a 3-4 Defensive Coordinator in San Diego. The press conference to name Rivera as the new Panthers' Head Coach will be sometime in the next 2-3 days. The only questions that remain is which offensive and defensive coaches he will (at least try to) take with him, who the Chargers will have as their DC next season and whether Ron will get caught in a terrible hurricane.

I'm sorry, that was mean. Charlotte is probably a lovely place (their airport has some delicious BBQ!), and I shouldn't be bitter at all that Ron is leaving. It's a promotion! He has a chance to go off and prove himself. And, in the few times I've actually interacted with the man he genuinely seemed like one of the nicest guys you could ever want to meet.

Good luck, Mr. Rivera, except for in 2012 when your Carolina Panthers match up against the San Diego Chargers. Bad luck then, but outside of that one day.....I hope you succeed in building a powerhouse football team in Carolina.

The good news, as reported by The Silver Fox a few minutes ago, is that all of the Chargers coaching staff is under contract with the team (except for Steve Crosby) and can not leave with Ron unless the team lets them go.

Report: Chargers To Lose Ron Rivera

Kevin Acee is reporting that Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera is meeting with the ownership of the Carolina Panthers today and that he is likely to be announced as the Panthers new head coach sometime Tuesday.

Shortly after Acee broke the news, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweeted the following:

AdamSchefter Adam Schefter

Panthers Exec on RR: “He’s coming in for 2nd int. Nothing done. Could it happen quickly? Yes. Could it not happen quickly or at all? Yes.”

If the news is true it would be a bit of a blow to the Chargers. Rivera is an excellent defensive coordinator and has interviewed with 9 teams for head coaching positions since 2006. He has been the front runner to land the Panthers job for a while so the Chargers were likely expecting this.

Rivera leaving the Chargers would mean all 4 AFC West teams will make some sort of major coaching move in the coming weeks. The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos are looking for head coaches and the Chiefs will of course need an offensive coordinator.

Rivera also served as the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears from 2004-2006.

What do you think Addicts? Will the loss of Rivera harm the Chargers on the defensive side of the ball?

Ted Williams Not To Deal With Pressures

Ted Williams Not Equipped to Deal With Pressures of Instant Fame, Experts Say

Ted Williams' journey from homelessness to the “Today Show” made the man with the golden voice a media darling last week. But when the dust settles, what will likely be left is a man unequipped to deal with the pressure of fame and instant fortune, experts say. “Williams is the latest pawn in the media game which celebrates what is hot at the moment and leaves it behind as soon as the next ‘it’ thing comes along,” says Cooper Lawrence, author of “The Cult of Celebrity.” “The job of the media was to use Williams to get eyes on their shows, without regard for how it affects him down the road.” Just one example that the Williams’ story hasn’t been a true-life narrative unfolding in real time was the battle last week between NBC’s “Today Show” and CBS’s “The Early Show” that kept Williams from reuniting with his 90-year-old mother for 24 hours as the networks tried to get the reunion live on film. And while the public may have made Williams’ story go viral, it was the news media that elevated him to superstardom. It's this lightning-fast transformation is what could be dangerous for the very recently homeless man. “I think there is a real danger,” says Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, author of “Starstruck: The Business of Celebrity,” comparing Williams to “Britain’s Got Talent” winner Susan Boyle, who was hospitalized for depression exhaustion following her win on the musical competition in 2009. “The fame can be too much to handle. Stars who rise in the Hollywood system have the protection of an entire infrastructure of publicists and managers and agents. People like Williams and Boyle are on their own. It was clear there was no one giving Williams career or management advice when he gave out his cell phone number on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” during his appearance last Thursday night. “How do they get a hold of you?” Fallon asked Williams about how people looking to hire him could reach him. Williams then recited his cell phone number, which NBC later bleeped out. “I don’t have a website or anything like that,” Williams explained. Moreover, a man in Williams’ position, a recovering addict who has been living on the streets, is even more vulnerable than someone like Boyle, who was propped up by the “Britain’s Got Talent” publicity machine. Homeless advocates, while cheering for Williams to succeed, say they have concerns about whether he will be able to maintain his sobriety. “Williams’ disease of addiction needs to be recognized as well as the fact that we could now have to watch something profoundly sad happen to him,” Neil Donovan, the Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless told FOX411. “Radical changes in lifestyle without a strong support system can hurt someone in recovery. If I were his case manager I would say there are red flags all over the place.” And while Williams’ case has certainly raised the profile of the issue of homelessness this past week, advocates say getting one man off an exit ramp shouldn’t be enough to make Americans feel good about helping the homeless. “The solution to homelessness is not giving everybody a YouTube video. Williams is only one visible face of homelessness, the family of five living in a cockroach infested motel is the face of homelessness we don't see,” says Mark Horvath, the formerly homeless mind behind Invisible People TV, a website that broadcasts videos of real-life homelessness. “What I hope is that Ted Williams uses this fame and his beautiful voice for advocacy on behalf of all homeless.”