Market Power

More College Players Indicted for Gambling-Related Crimes

2012-01-27T12:02:59-06:00

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced the unsealing today of a one-count indictment charging 10 defendants with conspiracy to commit sports bribery, to operate an illegal sports bookmaking service, and to distribute marijuana. The indictment alleges that the defendants enriched themselves by operating an illegal sports bookmaking business and distributing marijuana, and with their criminal proceeds, conspired to bribe National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball players to alter the outcome of games so that the defendants could profit by betting on the games at Las Vegas, Nevada casinos.

The indictment was handed down in April, but I just learned of it today.

We rarely hear about these sorts of things happening in the pro ranks in the States today, and the most-likely explanation is that the average pro player is paid close to his marginal revenue product. But the average college player in the big money sports cannot be paid anything close to what he is worth. As long as this adherance to the principle of amateurism remains, these kinds of allegations will continue to crop up.

The Muppets - Popcorn

2012-01-27T11:16:11-06:00

Phil Miller

On Trade and Value

2012-01-25T17:03:09-06:00

I quibble with one small point. Trade doesn't take place because somebody values something. Trade takes place because somebody values something and somebody else is willing and able to sell it to him at a lower cost than if he made it himself.

That point aside, this is a fun video.

Is there a Brown M&M's Clause in College Athletic Airplane Travel Contracts?

2012-01-25T14:35:53-06:00

There's an interesting story in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch about air travel in college athletics. The main story is that Mizzou plays Okie State today in Stillwater, but the side story is about the two airplane tragedies that have affected the Cowboy athletic programs.

When the Mizzou men's basketball team traveled to Oklahoma State in 2009 and 2011, MU guard Kim English stopped in the lobby of Gallagher-Iba Arena at the memorial for the 10 members of the OSU traveling party who died in a charter plane crash on Jan. 27, 2001, in Colorado.

"It's right there when you walk in. I guess I've picked up something different reading it every time," said English, who traveled Tuesday with the Tigers to Stillwater for today's 6:30 p.m. game against the Cowboys. "I always go over there and read and say a prayer (for the families).

"I just couldn't imagine that. I mean, we fly planes so much."

Unfathomably, OSU suffered a similarly traumatic incident two months ago when women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant Miranda Serna were among the four killed in a single-engine plane crash in Arkansas as it carried them home from a recruiting trip.

The article goes on to mention how the Mizzou athletic department goes about selecting bids for contracts for airplane travel. Not surprisingly, safety is a major concern.

That got me to thinking about a wonderful story of how one of rock's legendary bands ensured that their shows were set up properly - and safely. Van Halen's contracts would spell out any and everything that had to occur before they would go on stage. Not surprisingly, since these contracts covered everything but the kitchen sink, it would be nearly impossible to make sure all the i's and lower-case j's were dotted. So they came up with a smart way to make sure everything was followed to a tee.

In their contracts, they buried a rider in that said that the band would be provided with a jar of M&M's with all the brown ones removed. The thinking was that if the contract were read thoroughly, the M&M's would be provided sans the brown ones. If that was done properly, so, likely, would everything else. So rather than checking to see if everything was taken care of, they simply looked for the jar of M&M's. If there were brown ones inside, they'd have everything checked top-to-bottom

When you think about it, that's a nearly costless way to check for quality control. So much for the dumb musician stereotype.

Which brings me back to airplane travel. The last thing any of us says when we go to a concert is "Golly, I might die." But that thought isn't far from many minds when we board an airplane to hurtle hundreds of miles an hour thousands of feet in the sky. Safety is one of the utmost concerns. Even so, are there any examples of brown M&M-type riders that can be quickly checked as a signal that the whole contract has been followed?

Sioux City Loosemeat Sandwiches, ala the Charlie Boy

2012-01-13T16:58:02-06:00

If you grew up in Sioux City, Ia. like I did, then you are aware of the mecca that SCIA is for comfort food. I may be biased, but you haven't lived until you've had a Milwaukee Wiener House hot dog, a Coney dog, Jerry's Pizza, El Fredo's Pizza, Sneaky's Chicken, onion chips from Tastee's, and a raised doughnut from Sunkist Bakery. But don't forget to include one of the biggest icons of SCIA comfort food: a loosemeat sandwich. There is none better, IMHO, than the Charlie Boy served at Miles Inn.

Here's a rough indication of the popularity of this loosemeat sandwich. Awhile back I created a fan page for the Charlie Boy on Facebook. I was having trouble sleeping one night, and I made the page on a whim. Many of my high school and college classmates and other friends joined, and their friends joined, and their friends joined, and so on, and so on, and so on. The page now has over 2,600 fans.

Let's just say the Charlie Boy is nearly synonymous with what I consider to be one of the best mid-sized cities for comfort food, SCIA.

But I digress. Now that I'm an expatriate, I have come up with a recipe that is loosely based on the Charlie Boy and that uses many ideas from various Charlie Boy recipes I have come across over the years. Unfortunately it's difficult to do a taste comparison when my kitchen is in Mankato, Mn. and a fresh, tasty Charlie Boys is nearly 200 miles away in SCIA. But my family enjoys this recipe when I make it.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, finely-chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1 tablespoon horseradish
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
water to cover mixture

Directions

Pour oil into a large skillet and sprinkle the salt into the oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft and fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add ground beef and brown, working the beef to break it into small bits.
Add mustard, horseradish, white vinegar, sugar, black pepper, and enough water to just cover the mixture. Mix well and bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has boiled away, usually about 15-20 minutes. Serve on warm hamburger buns.

If you prefer your loosemeats to not be so loose, you can stir in a little Wondra or cornstarch at the end of the cooking.

Miles Inn serves their Charlie Boys with the customer's choice of onion, pickle, ketchup, and American cheese. I also think a bacon-cheese Charlie Boy would be fabulous, but you'll have to make those at home since Miles doesn't serve theirs with bacon. Miles also serves their sandwiches with a literally ice-cold schooner of ice-cold beer.

As always, comments on and suggestions for improving the recipe are appreciated. Bon appetit!