Alex Rodriguez became the seventh -– and youngest –- major league player to hit 600 home runs, reaching the milestone Wednesday at Yankee Stadium against the Blue Jays.

Rodriguez connected off the Blue Jays’ Shaun Marcum for a two-run homer in his first at-bat, in the bottom of the first inning.

GALLERY: Photos of A-Rod

GALLERY: A-Rod’s milestone home runs

With the home run, Rodriguez, 35, joins Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Willie Mays (660) and Sammy Sosa (609) with 600 or more homers. Ruth was 36 when he reached 600 home runs.

None of them had a longer drought between homers No. 599 and 600 than A-Rod. Rodriguez was homerless in his previous 46 at-bats entering Wednesday’s game, going 9-for-46 with eight RBI in that span.

No. 600 was his 17th homer of the season, and snapped an 0-for-17 drought preceding his historic round-tripper. The ball landed in protective netting above Monument Park in Yankee Stadium, preventing a public scrum for the souvenir. The ball will be returned to Rodriguez.

The Yankee Stadium scoreboard began advertising A-Rod 600 home run T-shirts immediately after his home run. Between innings, a video montage played on the high-definition screen as Orleans’ “Still the One” played over the sound system.

“It’s an amazing feat — quite an accomplishment,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi had said of the accomplishment. Girardi hit just finished with 36 home runs in his 15 seasons as a major league catcher.

Rodriguez’s home run drought coincided with a period in which the Yankees tumbled from first place in the AL East. They’d gone 6-6 in the games since Rodriguez connected for No. 599 against the Kansas City Royals.

Among active players with 600 homers in sight, Jim Thome of the Twins is at 577 and Manny Ramirez of the Dodgers at 554.

Rodriguez’s home run came three years to the day he hit home run No. 500, against Kansas City’s Kyle Davies, and more than 15 years since his first career home run, off the Royals’ Tom Gordon.

He’s now 162 home runs behind Barry Bonds, baseball’s all-time leader. Like Bonds, Rodriguez’s home run total came under greater scrutiny when it was revealed he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and Rodriguez admitted using steroids between 2001-2003. That period accounted for two of his top three home run seasons, and he hit 151 in all in that span.

By Seth Livingstone via USAToday

LeBron is meeting his free agency suitors at the IMG offices in Cleveland today.

So picture this — LeBron, Jay-Z, and one of the richest freakin’ men in the world all at one table.  Might be the first time in a long time LeBron is the poorest guy in the room … for now.

Mogul Jay-Z, the Nets billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, and coach Avery Johnson all made a presentation and pitch to LeBron James to woo the basketball sensation to the New Jersey Nets.

The trio, along with several other team officials, made a 90-minute pitch to the two-time NBA MVP. James officially became a free agent at 12:01 today.

The Associated Press offered a detailed account of the meeting, but reports have sprouted in various media outlets.

“Prokhorov left with a few members of the Nets’ entourage at 12:43 p.m. Lagging a few minutes behind them was Jay-Z, a close friend of James, who was sitting in the back seat of a black sedan leaving the garage as the Knicks’ motorcade – 2 sedans and 2 SUVs – pulled in,” the AP wrote.

Sources with AllHipHop.com revealed that Jay-Z may have had a private, albeit brief, meeting with James. Avery Johnson reportedly stated the meeting “went well.”

The sentiment echoed the New York Knicks views of their meeting right after the Nets.

“I think it went well,” New York coach Mike D’Antoni told The Associated Press. “But obviously everyone that gets the chance to talk to him will probably say same the same thing.”

James is expected to meet with the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow.

Looks like Jay-Z isn’t playin’. On Thursday, Jay-Z and Nets majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov plan on visting Akron, Ohio to recruit free agent LeBron James. By tomorrow though, Jay and his Russian homie will appear in this 225 x 95 foot mural created near the Knicks’ Madison Square Garden home. The new dynasty?

[via: RapRadar]

In professional sports, there are often financial incentives tied to winning. How much are they and how do they relate to figures like a team’s valuation, star salaries and revenue generation? The Lakers provide a good case study.

The Los Angeles Lakers, who won their 16th NBA championship, get to take home the Larry O’Brien trophy for the second time in as many postseasons. The team also gets to take home a little pocket change: $2,125,137 in playoff bonus money. In fact, even the losers of the NBA Finals are winners in a sense. The Boston Celtics get to split a $1,408,168 pool, or roughly two-thirds of the Lakers’ take.

In the NBA, there is no championship prize money – just a $12 million bonus pool split by the playoff teams. “Like most professional sports leagues, there is a pool of playoff money generated from a portion of home gate receipts that is allocated to players on playoff teams,” said Patrick Rishe, Director of Sportsimpacts and associate professor of economics at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. “The team amount earned escalates as one’s team advances in the NBA playoffs.”

Considering the relatively high salaries of professional athletes, and considering the fact that we just witnessed one of the best rivalries in sports, the NBA bonus pool isn’t an earthshaking amount.  But it’s hardly chump change either.

The Lakers’ $2.1 million bonus will be split according to each player’s relative value or contribution to the team, but every player comes out looking like a winner. The playoff pool is icing on the cake. The monies come with a year’s worth of bragging rights – and the potential to earn tens of millions of dollars in product endorsements.

“It’s kind of the old saying: ‘to the victor goes the spoils,’ and I think that does translate individually to players in helping them get individual sponsorship deals,” said John Black, director of communications for the L.A Lakers.

In addition to the Lakers’ and Celtics’ share, the $12 million NBA playoff pool is distributed to teams as follows:

Best Record in NBA:  $346,105
Best Record in Conference, $302,841each (for $605,682)
Second Best Record in Conference, $243,411 each ($486,822)
Third Best Record in Conference, $181,706 each ($363,412)
Fourth Best Record in Conference, $142,800 each ($285,600)
Fifth Best record in Conference, $118,990 each ($237,980)
Sixth Best Record in Conference, $81,157 each ($162,314)

Teams Participating in First Round, $179,092 each ($2,865,472)
Teams Participating in Conference Semifinals, $213,095 each ($1,704,760)
Teams Participating in Conference Finals, $352,137 each ($1,408,548)

The playoff bonus is “extra pay” for postseason work. “For a player making more than $1 million a month, and there are some players making $3 million a month, this is a nice chunk of change,” said Bob Myers, sports agent with the Wasserman Media Group who represents, among others, Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics’ six-foot-10-inch, 280 pound center.

Winning the NBA championship increases the earning power not only for players but for the team. The playoff run added $20 million to the Lakers’ revenue in 2009, according to Forbes.com.

When the playoff drags out to seven games,the NBA and the teams make a killing. It results in higher ticket revenue, higher local media revenue, greater licensing and merchandise revenues, and higher response/ad rates from arena signage and web space.  And when the teams are bitter rivals, audience interest hovers at peak levels.

In fact, when the Celtics lost game 6 after having trounced the Lakers in game 5 in Boston, it only fueled speculation that the longer the playoff, the better it was for all concerned.

“The Celtics went into game 6 and should have won the championship in LA, but they didn’t even look like the same team,” said Hugh Lewis, former sportscaster and sports talk show host in Austin, TX. “As a result, [they went to game 7] and revenue kept pouring in. That made a lot of people very happy.”

The NBA Finals was a ratings bonanza. Game 6 had 13.9 million television viewers, according to Nielsen.  Before game 7, average audience levels were up by 2.1 million viewers overall compared to last year, when the Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in five games. The TV ratings for game 7 marked basketball’s biggest ratings in 14 years.  Final numbers are not yet tallied, but it is thought that as many as 25 million people watched the game.

In the end, winning the championship can benefit players tremendously. “The public appreciates winning, so if you can be associated with a winning product or labeled a champion, it certainly can add to your attractiveness to a company,” said Myers. “Guys like Peyton Manning, Derek Jeter – guys who have won championships – are consistently winning in commercials, in advertisements, and endorsing products.  If you are able to win a championship, it garners more interest from corporations, from companies looking to use athletes to endorse products. It’s a clear positive to win a championship in whatever sport you’re playing.”

NBA players are paid among the best-paid athletes in professional sports. The median NBA salary is $3.1 million. In other words, players earn $37,804 per game – and there are 82 games per season.

Financial incentives abound. A rule of thumb might be: the more games a player wins, the more he is likely to earn. “In my estimation, 10-15% of players have what you’d call playoff bonuses in their team contract,” said Myers. “For a lot more players probably you’d find [bonuses] in their shoe contract” – meaning Nike, Adidas, Reebok, etc.

Kendrick Perkinshas incentives built into his four year, $4.25 million team contract and his shoe contract according to Myers. “The total number surpasses six figures,” he said.

Thursday’s win, his fifth NBA championship, put Kobe Bryant atop the basketball heap.  In fact, he may be the king of basketball. With his three year contract extension, signed in April, he will join the sports megastars. He is destined to become basketball’s second $30 million man.

Bryant is slated to earn $31.5 million in 2013-14 season. Michael Jordan, the only other NBA player to make that much, earned $30.1 million in 1997 and $33.1 million in 1998.

By the time it’s all said and done, Bryant will have been paid $280 million by the Lakers. And that’s just his salary.  He makes many millions more in product endorsements. In 2008, Bryant earned $45 million, ranking No. 10 on Forbes’ list of powerful celebrities.

Is he worth it?  His statistics say so. For the 2010 playoffs, Bryant averaged 29.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. “People want winners on their team,” said Myers. “People want winners endorsing their products. It’s all tied together.”

Winning will almost certainly earn Lakers coach Phil Jackson more if he decides to return next year. Jackson is a virtual franchise, having won more NBA championships, 11, than any single team except for the Lakers and the Celtics.  And he earns more than any other coach in sports history. He is the NBA’s $10 million man.  He earns $3 million more than the second highest paid coaches – NFL Super Bowl winners Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan.

NBA players costs have skyrocketed.  Including bonuses and benefits, they increased to $2.3 billion during 2008-09 season, from $2.2 billion the previous year. The Lakers have the highest team payroll in the NBA – at nearly $91.4 million annually, versus the Celtics’ $86.5 million.

But the Lakers are the league’s most valuable franchise. The team’s current valuation is $607 million, and its 2008-09 revenue was $209 million, with operating income at $51.1 million. The New York Knicks ranked second, valued at $586 million with revenue of $202 million. The Celtics ranked as the league’s eighth most valuable franchise, at $433 million, with revenue of $144 million.  By way of comparison, the average overall revenue for the league’s 30 teams was $126 million last year.

At the beginning of this past season, the Lakers held the record for having the most wins (3,000), the highest winning percentage (61.8%), and the most NBA Finals appearances (31).

“For the past few seasons, the Lakers have sold out every game, giving us an average attendance of 18,997,” said Tim Harris, the Lakers’ senior vice president for business operations and chief marketing officer. “Average ticket prices for the 2009-10 regular season were $143.69.”

Courtside seat ticket holders are willing to cough up $107,500 for the season. The renewal rate is around 97-99%. “The last few years, we have enjoyed rates in that range.  I am assuming we will do the same this summer but won’t know for sure until we get through the process,” said Harris.

With the priciest tickets in the NBA, each game generated $2 million in revenue for the Lakers’ owners last year, according to Forbes.

Kobe Bryant is the team’s main attraction. And he can afford to be a grateful champion. In 2008, he bought $9,000 Swiss watches for each of his teammates. It was his way of saying thanks for helping him win his first MVP award. So now the question is, what will he buy them this year – a car?

Check out the apartment that LeBron James was rumored to be touring the other day. It’s in the Time Warner Center (same building that JAY-Z has a Penthouse in) and it’s beautiful: hardwood floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, marble-covered bathroom, and an amazing view.

Apparently, the folks over at New York Magazine actually suggested that LeBron check it out, and he is said to have taken their advice. According to The Huffington Post, one of the brokers over at Prudential Douglas Elliman, Sherri Shang, was heard saying that she gave James a tour of the apartment.

It’s available for rent at $45,000 a month, or for purchase at $14.95 million.

Reporting from Las Vegas - What would appear to be a natural — a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. super fight — might not be. Egos, greed and grudges could get in the way.

“It’s a simple negotiation,” Ross Greenburg, HBO Sports president, said minutes after Pacquiao knocked down welterweight world champion Miguel Cotto twice en route to a 12th-round technical knockout Saturday.

“There’s so much money to be made. If it doesn’t happen, there’ll be a revolt. Nothing else is acceptable, and I’m speaking on behalf of the American public and the sport itself.”

But obstacles exist. Will the rich rivals fight over who gets more than a 50% cut of the purse? Of course. Can Mayweather and Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, set aside their deep personal dislike? Perhaps.

Richard Schaefer, the Golden Boy Promotions chief executive who has promoted Mayweather’s last three fights, expressed confidence that he’d be able to work with Arum to make a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

Schaefer told The Times he planned to speak today with Mayweather and Arum. Pacquiao said, “It’s my job to fight. It’s my promoter’s job to pick the fight.”

Said Schaefer: “Bob and me — how often have we failed to make a big fight?”

Yet, that deal is expected to require a diplomatic effort on a scale usually reserved for the State Department.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 knockouts) formerly fought for Arum’s promotional company Top Rank after being an Olympian but left, saying he felt obscured by the popularity of former stablemate Oscar De La Hoya. The mega paydays that followed, against De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez, have emboldened the unbeaten star’s public statements that Arum shorts his fighters, including Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs).

Arum bluntly said this week that a deal will not hinge on whether he likes Mayweather — “and I don’t,” he said.

Pacquiao, usually polite, this month directed some verbal blows at Mayweather, saying he doesn’t think the fight will happen because of Mayweather’s attitude.

“I’m sure he doesn’t want to fight me,” Pacquiao said. “With Floyd, boxing is like a business. He doesn’t care about the people around him watching. He doesn’t care if the fight is boring. As long as the fight is over and he gets the money, it’s good. I want the people to be happy. If I was in the audience, I’m going to watch the boxing because it’s a good fight.”

Mayweather hasn’t launched back, but he does strongly believe he’s the world’s best fighter and has made it pretty clear he deserves the larger purse. He was considered the world’s top pound-for-pound fighter before retiring for more than a year and watching Pacquiao seize the title with the battering of De La Hoya, Hatton and Cotto.

Cotto went to the hospital after suffering facial cuts in the loss but said he planned to fight again, with possible foes being Shane Mosley or Antonio Margarito.

As for Pacquiao-Mayweather. . . .

“All we can do is try to encourage both sides to sit at a table and hammer out a deal,” said Greenburg, who likened the situation to the 1971 deal between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, when Ali returned from boxing exile to face the champion Frazier. They settled on a 50-50 purse split of $5 million, Greenburg said.

Why not 50-50 again, with so much cash available?

Mayweather and Pacquiao have displayed tremendous greed. Pacquiao kept asking for more money to fight Hatton in May until the Hatton camp nearly walked.

Now, Pacquiao probably will be able to say his fight with Cotto easily surpassed Mayweather’s million-seller against Juan Manuel Marquez in September. But Schaefer already has a reply.

“How did Pacquiao-Marquez do versus Mayweather-Marquez? How did Pacquiao-Oscar do versus Floyd-Oscar?” Schaefer said, well aware of the disparity.

Greenburg made it clear: “Floyd’s calling the shots for this fight to happen.”

And Arum’s matchmaker at Top Rank, Bruce Trampler, said it’s naive to believe intangibles like “the good of boxing” will influence the deal.

“This has nothing to do with that,” Trampler said. “These are two businessmen who are going to do what’s best for themselves.”

Said Schaefer: “Getting them together is a mega-fight that has to be made. We’d all have to be morons to not let this happen.”

[via: LA Times]

This was one of the best scenes I have ever seen as an NFL fan. Check out this video of Atlanta Falcons headcoach Mike Smith sticking up for team and going nose-to-nose with DeAngelo Hall. The former Falcon was outspoken all week leading up to this game against his former team. The former Falcon was released two years ago and run out of town after a tumultuous 2007 season. The former Falcon has been running his mouth all week about his former team and the franchise. Coach Smith had enough and what ensues is just all-out chaos on the sidelines.

Hall followed the altercation up by crying in post-game interviews about the incident. Hall said he is going to file a grievance with the league. Hall may have a hard time finding character witnesses for him on this one. Some of DeAngelo Hall’s greatest hits include…

Hall carried a Michael Vick poster with him out on an NFL field the day Vick was sentenced for 23 months in jail. It’s okay in Hall’s book to murder and brutalize dogs, but he draws the line at a head coach getting into his face.
Hall was outright released by the Oakland Raiders last year after signing a $70 million contract. This is a guy that was such a bad guy that the Raiders got rid of him! The most dysfunctional team in the NFL took an $8 million hit because DeAngelo Hall was such a cancer to the team. Now that is an accomplishment!

Hall managed to rack up 67 penalty yards on his own with three consecutive penalties against the Carolina Panthers. The Falcons were leading 17-10 in the fourth quarter and hadn’t won a game all year at that point. The 67 yards led to a Panthers touchdown which tied the game. The Carolina Panthers eventually won the game.

So if you are expecting a long list of character references to step up for Hall as he complains about being bullied on by a 50-year old silver-haired head coach, keep waiting.

I wouldn’t expect a similar moment from Brian Dawkins and Andy Reid in December, but it would be a lot of fun! I have a feeling coach would lose the battle in the court of public appeal on that one.

[via: CamelClutchBlog]

Hideki Matsui drove in a record-tying six runs to power the New York Yankees past Philadelphia 7-3 on Wednesday, giving them a record 27th World Series crown and their first since 2000.

The Yankees won Major League Baseball’s best-of-seven final 4-2 over the defending champion Phillies, extending the greatest legacy of championship success in North American pro sports.

Designated hitter Matsui smashed his third home run of the Series, a two-run blast to right field in the second inning, adding a two-run single in the third and a two-run double in the fifth.

The 35-year-old Japanese star matched the World Series one-game record for knocking in runs set by Yankees star Bobby Richardson in 1960.

Matsui, who batted .615 for the Series, was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series, an unprecedented honour for an Asian player.

Matsui’s heroics came in what could be his final game in a Yankees uniform since he was not signed beyond this season, but he achieved the dream he had when he joined the Yankees in 2003.

Andy Pettitte won his record-extending 18th playoff game, the 37-year-old US southpaw having also taken the game three victory.

The Yankees became the first World Series champion since Minnesota in 2001 to use only a three-man starting rotation of pitchers, including 2008 free agent signees Pettitte, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett.

After Alex Rodriguez walked to open the second inning, Matsui smashed a full-count pitch off Phillies starter Pedro Martinez high into the right-field stands to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

Philadelphia answered in the third when Carlos Ruiz tripled and scored on a Jimmy Rollins sacrifice fly.

But Matsui struck again in the third, coming to the plate with the bases loaded and two out to face Martinez – loathed by Yankees fans after his years with the arch-rival Boston Red Sox.

Matsui smacked a single up the middle to score Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon, giving the Yankees a 4-1 lead.

Damon strained his right calf while running the bases and was removed but the Yankees had plenty of slugging power without him.

Martinez, the game two loser, struggled with control problems and was removed after only four innings but his replacements had problems of their own.

Mark Teixeira singled in a run in the fifth and Rodriguez walked to bring Matsui to the plate against Phillies southpaw reliever JA Happ.

The former Yomiuri Giants star bashed a double to centerfield to give the Yankees a 7-1 lead, giving him eight runs batted in for the Series.

Philadelphia refused to surrender as Ryan Howard bashed a two-run homer in the sixth to pull his club within 7-3 and help chase Pettitte from the mound.

The Phillies put two runners on base in the seventh for Chase Utley, who had tied a one-Series record with five homers.

But the Yankees brought in reliever Damaso Marte and the Dominican southpaw struck out Utley to end the inning.

New York brought in closing relief ace Mariano Rivera and the 39-year-old Panamanian right-hander secured the final outs to touch off a wild celebration.