League Notes

FOXSPORTS.com’s Jason Whitlock writes, "What's wrong with the NBPA, and what’s not addressed in the carefully crafted and manipulated, $4 million FIRE BILLY HUNTER report, is the lack of engagement in union affairs by the overwhelming majority of NBA players in general and the league’s top players in particular.” What is wrong with the NBPA is that "players who matter don’t care enough to get involved.” Until the NBPA is “led by an executive director with the necessary passion and intellect to push a vision strong enough to capture the engagement” of the players, the union will “always remain a toothless, dysfunctional mom-and-pop operation at best or an exploited puppet regime of power agents at worst.” The NBPA is the “most underachieving organization in all of sports” (FOXSPORTS.com, 1/23).

IMPORTS & EXPORTS: SPORTING NEWS' Brian Straus noted MLS is “stepping in and holding up a transfer agreement between one of its teams and a foreign club.” FC Dallas MF Brek Shea “now wants to play in England.” FC Dallas not only is “willing to sell the winger’s rights, it is understood to have agreed to a transfer fee with Stoke City pending the player’s return to full fitness following foot surgery.” The fee reportedly “was around $3.2 million,” but MLS “thinks Shea is worth more” (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 1/22).

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE: The AP's David Ginsburg reported the first-down line that appears on NFL broadcasts “could one day become part of the in-game experience at all 32 NFL stadiums.” First Down Laser Systems Developer Alan Amron said that the system “projects a first-down line across the field that can be seen in the stadium and on TV.” NFL Senior VP/PR Greg Aiello said, "We have not been convinced that it would work for us, but we are open to further discussion after the season." Amron created his system with “financial backing from former NFL player and broadcaster Pat Summerall” (AP, 1/22).