League Notes

The N.Y. TIMES’ Jack Bell cited several sources as saying “there is a possibility” that France MF Zinedine Zidane, could join the MLS Red Bulls. Bell wrote Zidane would not cost MLS a transfer fee since his contract with Real Madrid has expired (N.Y. TIMES, 7/9). Zidane is actually under contract with Real Madrid through next season. The team paid a transfer fee of $66M to Juventus for his rights in ’01. Zidane was honored today with the Golden Ball award, which is given by media to the best player in the World Cup (Mult., 7/10).

MLB: In St. Paul, Gordon Wittenmyer writes MLB has “raised questions about its credibility with news releases making false claims” about its new Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California. The academy “hasn’t been open long enough to run a formal instructional program,” but an MLB release on June 16 said “13 young men who played at the academy and Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) were selected in the June 6-7 draft. The release also stated the Dodgers 13th-round pick was an “alum” of the academy. MLB Senior VP/PR Rich Levin acknowledged the release was “a little misleading.” Levin: “‘Alum’ is probably a bad word to use.” Levin said that the PR firm responsible for the release was probably “overaggressive,” but he added that MLB officials “should have caught the discrepancies.” Levin said, “I apologize for that” (ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS, 7/10).

Instant Replay Technology Likely To Be Used At ’07 Wimbledon

FINCHEM BASHING: PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem continues to be criticized for changes to next year’s schedule. In DC, George Solomon writes Finchem “has lost his credibility around here” since he announced last week that the Tour will not stop in the DC area in ’07 after setting a September deadline to find a title sponsor for the event (WASHINGTON POST, 7/9). The BMW Championship – the new name of the Western Open beginning next year –- will be held in Chicago once every other year, as the event will also go to Indianapolis, St. Louis and Minneapolis. In Chicago, Rick Morrissey writes Finchem “should be ashamed of himself.” Chicago has “embraced golf forever and with a fervor not seen in many other towns.” It is also the third-largest city in the U.S. (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/10). In Augusta, Scott Michaux wrote that with the PGA Tour’s new playoff format, Finchem has “done nothing but give birth to another flawed BCS concept that ultimately won’t resolve anything.” Finchem has “callously dismantled or neutered some golfing traditions that have been around for more than a century in the process, shackled the tour to the ultra-fringe Golf Channel for an astonishing 15 years and stepped on the toes of every other worldwide golfing entity with his avarice” (AUGUSTA CHRONICLE, 7/9).

HAWK-EYE: All England Club CEO Ian Ritchie said that initial testing of the Hawk-Eye instant replay technology at Wimbledon this year was “positive” and that the technology will likely be used during the ’07 tournament. Ritchie said, “We will start looking at the data properly a few weeks after the championships. We want to make sure that it is accurate and fast.” Hawk-Eye will make its grand slam debut at the U.S. Open next month (GUARDIAN, 7/10).