Professional Wresting Executive Linda McMahon Launches Connecticut Senate Campaign

Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has announced her candidacy for nomination as Connecticut's Republican senatorial candidate:

I'm sure we can expect a colourful, no-holds-barred primary campaign from Linda, Vince, Stephanie and Shane.

Anyone else looking forward to a series of steel-cage debates on pay per view? I'm wondering who she will choose as her campaign manager - Paul Bearer or the "Mouth of the South," Jimmy Hart?

As is often the case in U.S. politics, truth really can be stranger than fiction.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAW • CIVIL LITIGATION • WILLS AND ESTATES • FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG • SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Phoenix Coyotes Bankruptcy Decision: "Monumental Repercussions" for Professional Sports

As Gary Bettman and Jim Balsillie prepare to take the stand on Friday, the experts weigh in on the outcome of this week's auction of the Phoenix Coyotes in an Arizona bankruptcy court:

..Yet at the core of the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy auction is whether the NHL controls its own properties and whether its bylaws can legally determine who can and can not own them.

In essence, Judge Redfield T. Baum is going to tell us if Gary Bettman and the Board of Governors must bow to a higher authority, now and going forward, regarding one of the one of the most seemingly inalienable rights of pro sports leagues.

Richard Powers, dean of the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto, told Damien Cox that"the repercussions on professional sport could be monumental." But Stephen Ross, a law professor at Penn State University, told David Shoalts of the Globe & Mail (in a great column) that Jim Balsillie's bid for the Coyotes should win, and that the NHL should have its bid knocked out and no longer be a gatekeeper for franchise ownership.

See the original article from Puck Daddy at Yahoo News: Experts opine as Coyotes auction arrives; future of Gretz cloudy

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAW • CIVIL LITIGATION • WILLS AND ESTATES • FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG • SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Will Twitter Revolutionize Professional Sports?

Washington Post writer Rick Maese takes an intriguing look at how professional athletes' increasing use of Twitter to communicate directly with fans will change everything:

For the first time, fans aren't dependent on media reports for training camp updates. Players themselves are divulging certain details, from the humorous to the inconsequential, using Twitter feeds.

...While athletes have used blogs the past couple of years, they say Twitter is quicker, more accessible and less likely to be filtered through agents, publicists or team officials before publication. From the perspective of both fan and athlete, that's a good thing. But the National Football League is an image-obsessed league, routinely beset by athletes' off-the-field antics. Twitter has already grown into a social media tool over which the league has little to no control.

..."I don't think in my lifetime we've had a platform that allowed direct access and communication like this," said Reggie Bradford, CEO of Vitrue, an Atlanta-based marketing company that tracks social media.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAW • CIVIL LITIGATION • WILLS AND ESTATES • FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG • SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Lightening Up For A Moment...

(h.t - Susan M)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAW • CIVIL LITIGATION • WILLS AND ESTATES • FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT WISE LAW BLOG • SUBSCRIBE TO WISE LAW BLOG

Barry Bonds Indicted for Perjury, Obstruction

According to CNN Barry Bonds has been indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges:

Barry Bonds was indicted Thursday on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, the culmination of a four-year federal investigation into whether he lied under oath to a grand jury looking into steroid use by elite athletes.

Wikipedia details Bonds' illustrious and controversial career in Major League Baseball:

Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964 in Riverside, California) is a left fielder who is a free agent of Major League Baseball. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds, the godson of Hall of Famer Willie Mays, and a distant cousin of Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

He debuted in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and joined the San Francisco Giants in 1993, where he stayed through 2007. Giants management has stated that he will not be with the team for the 2008 season, and Bonds filed for free agency following the 2007 World Series.

Bonds holds the all-time Major League Baseball home run record with 762, after surpassing Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 in a game against the Washington Nationals on August 7, 2007. He is also the all-time career leader in both walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688). He holds numerous other records, including the single-season Major League record for home runs (73), set in 2001, and a record seven Most Valuable Player awards.

Since 2003, Bonds has been a key figure in the BALCO scandal, though he has never failed a steroid test. He was under investigation by a federal grand jury regarding his testimony in the BALCO case, and was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges on November 15, 2007.

A copy of the actual indictment documentation is at Smoking Gun

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

EMPLOYMENT LAW • CIVIL LITIGATION • WILLS AND ESTATES • FAMILY LAW & DIVORCE