The Los Angeles Dodgers Are Now the Most Valuable Sports Franchise on Earth

The MLB Wars have finally ended in the most epic way possible. Last year, Forbes estimated the value of the richest sports clubs in the world, Manchester United topping the list at a worth of $1.86 billion. A group of investors including former Lakers legend Magic Johnson were announced today as being the winners of the bid to own the Los Angeles Dodgers with a winning bid of $2 BILLION. That makes the Dodgers far and away the most valuable baseball team in the world, and most valuable sports franchise on the planet.

The fact alone that Magic Johnson is one of the owners of the Dodgers will create guaranteed ticket sales for the Dodgers, who will be eager to pour in money for the team and the investors can quickly recoup what they spent. Last year, many passionate Dodger fans blatantly avoided going to games to avoid giving Frank McCourt money, although it did lead to bankruptcy for the Dodgers and cutting salaries of Dodger employees, including legendary play-by-play announcer Vin Scully.

Warren Spector and Gametrailers Unveil Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two

Although Epic Mickey received an average review score of 72%, it fared very well among fans looking for a good game featuring Mickey Mouse as a playable character again, something not seen very often as Disney is very reluctant to let Mickey be used in games that are made half-assed and even in games they know are of good quality (Kingdom Hearts series comes to mind). Epic Mickey had one universal complaint, the camera that was controlled by the D-Pad on the Wii remote.


Looking to fix that issue and introduce new gameplay elements, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two was just announced. The game features Mickey teaming up alongside his "brother" Oswald the Lucky Rabbit who controls the power of electricity and also features drop-in/drop-off co-op, allowing a 2nd player to join in freely and leave freely, leaving the CPU to control Oswald. The sequel will also be cross-platform, being playable on the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3, being fully compatible with Playstation Move, but not Kinect. Early reviews of the demo have already stated that the right analog stick on the 360 and PS3 versions leave a lot to be desired when aiming the paint brush and that the visuals do not justify skipping the Wii version, unless you have Playstation Move.

Roger Goodell Unleashes the Banhammer on the New Orleans Saints

The NFL today announced how the New Orleans Saints will be punished for their "bounty hunter" program. Their punishment is as follows:

• Head Coach Sean Payton has been suspended without pay for the 2012 season, effective April 1, 2012.
• Former Defensive Coordinator (now with St. Louis Rams) Gregg Williams has been indefinitely suspended from the NFL.
• General Manager Mickey Loomis will be suspended without pay for the first 8 regular season games.
• Assistant Head Coach Joe Vitt will be suspended without pay for the first 6 regular season games.
• Fine of $500,000
• Forfeiture of 2012 and 2013 2nd Round Draft Picks

After the 2012 season, NFL commisioner Roger Goodell will review Williams' status and whether or not to reinstate him or make his suspension longer. Goodell has also publicly stated that he would have also have announced player suspensions, but the NFL Players' Association wants to review the case first and decide along with the NFL which players should be suspended and for how long. It is very obvious however, that Defensive Captain Jonathon Vilma will be hit the hardest for offering a $10,000 bounty to anyone who could knock out Brett Favre from the 2010 NFC Championship Game.

This is the harshest penalty the NFL has ever given out to a team for violating league policy. Although most people are surprised at how hard the league came down on the Saints, most are not arguing that the punishment is too harsh. The NFL had to send a message that the culture in the NFL must change for the betterment of player safety and paying players non-contract bonuses for knocking players out of games is unacceptable. Many Saints players have vented their frustrations on ESPN and the NFL Network, showcasing their incredible ignorance. Many players have said the NFL is punishing them for hard hits, which is absolutely untrue. Sean Payton and Gregg Williams had a bounty program which they deliberately tried to hide from the NFL. Drew Brees is also displeased, demanding an explanation for why the Saints were punished so hard... so Goodell explained exactly why in an interview with ESPN's lead NFL insider, Adam Schefter.

Goodell made it clear that he is confident there will never be another bounty program in the NFL. If there is one, you can expect a much harsher penalty. Now, I'm not one to usually say certain geographical regions are dumber than others, but just take a look at this poll ESPN took today:

It's not a coincidence the Deep South is opposed to the penalties incurred by the Saints.

An Old Racing Colt Becomes a Bucking Bronco

Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, is now officially a member of the Denver Broncos. The free agent signing of Manning is being looked at as one of the biggest moves the Broncos have ever made since ironically, the Baltimore Colts traded the draft rights to now-GM John Elway to the Broncos since Elway threatened to continue playing for the New York Yankees rather than play for the Colts. Although the move is seen as a big win for the Denver Broncos - and a hilarious loss for Tim Tebow fans - many analysts are puzzled that Manning would choose to play for the Denver Broncos rather than the San Francisco 49ers, a team that would have become the automatic favorite to win the Super Bowl had he joined. Former NFL players (and former 49ers) Steve Young and Deion Sanders are particularly critical of Manning's decision, especially after seeing how much money Peyton Manning will be making. Should Manning pass his physical exams every year, he will be the highest paid player in the NFL.


So did Peyton choose money over winning? Some of the morons on ESPN First Take claim the Broncos will go 8-8 and miss the playoffs even with Manning at QB, due to how terrible the defense is. Those same morons forget that the AFC West had a 3-way tie for 1st place in 2011, with the Broncos, Chargers, and Raiders all getting an 8-8 record and the Chiefs had a 7-9 record, the whole division being mucked up by the quarterback shuffle of Tim Tebow replacing Kyle Orton, Carson Palmer replacing Jason Campbell, Kyle Orton temporarily replacing Matt Cassel, and of course Bizarro Phillip Rivers replacing the real Phillip Rivers.


Of course, that doesn't really answer the question... So did Manning choose making a shitload of money over winning a Super Bowl now? All you need to hear is that the 49ers signed Randy Moss and Mario Manningham and are retaining the core of their record setting defense, which only allowed a single rushing touchdown all year. What do you think?

The Portland Trail Blazers had the Most Epic Fire Sale in the History of the NBA

The NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone. Although ESPN would like you to believe that the biggest story is  that Dwight Howard decided to opt-in for the final year of his contract in Orlando, the real biggest story of the trade deadline is the epic fire sale the Trail Blazers had. After losing by 42 points to the New York Knicks the same day head coach Mike D'Antoni resigned, the Blazers decided to fire their own coach, Nate McMillan. Oh, but the Blazers didn't stop there! After using the amnesty clause on the retiring Brandon Roy before the season began, the Blazers decided to waive former #1 draft pick Greg Oden due to his constantly exploding knees. OH BUT IT DOESN'T STOP THERE! The Blazers also traded away Gerald Wallace to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Mehmet Okur, Shawne Williams, and a protected 1st Round Pick. EXCEPT IT DIDN'T STOP THERE! The Blazers ended things by trading Marcus Camby to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Hasheem Thabeet and Jonny Flynn.


The Blazers were a strong team at the start of the season, but things quickly went to hell in a hand basket and now the team has fallen out of playoff contention thanks to the Lakers waking up and the Timberwolves and Suns deciding to actually play like they mean it. I don't think I've ever seen a team with such an epic collapse mid-season before, but I'm sure the Blazers will continue to make all of us lol whole-heartedly for many years to come!

Mass Effect 3 - Review

Mass Effect 3 has finally arrived after being delayed a few months to polish the game. In the final epic chapter of Commander Shepard's story, the Reapers have attacked Earth and the Turian homeworld, Palaven, as well as nearly wiping out the Batarians. Shepard must lead his/her squad in a final battle against the Reapers in a fight that will determine the fate of the galaxy.


Rest of the review after the break.

Bounty Hunter Scandal in the NFL

The NFL announced today that they have found substantial evidence that the New Orleans Saints had a "bounty hunter" program headed by former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Saints defensive players were rewarded $1,000 for giving players injuries severe enough to be carted off the field and $1,500 for knocking out opposing players. Jonathon Vilma offered $10,000 for anyone who successfully injured an opposing player during a playoff game sometime between the 09-11 seasons.


Shortly after this was reported, it was revealed that the Washington Redskins had a similar system in place. I normally don't take ESPN polls seriously at all, but there is widespread outrage among the fan community. The vast majority of fans and football analysts are calling for fines, suspensions, and loss of draft picks for the Saints and Redskins. Typical of regional bias, Saints fans will settle for a fine, but not suspensions or loss of draft picks.


More as the story develops...