Technology has changed the way sports teams view ticket scalping.  Now that they can get in on the act, scalping isn't the pariah it once was.  Technology is also changing the way at least one MLB team is setting its ticket prices. Qcue LLC, founded in 2007, completed a season-long b...

A weekly commentary on some of this week’s news items from Libertarianz Party leader Dr Richard McGrath Cannabis growers lose their home – A Vietnamese immigrant has been jailed for three years, and his family has had its Christchurch home seized by the state, for the cultivation of 143 cannabis...

In my most recent post at The Sports Economist*, I write about Tim Harford's Slate article about a novel way to distribute the ball in overtime in the NFL.  He notes that the team that wins the coin toss, as currently done in the NFL, is much more likely to win the game.  He describe...

The 2004 Super Bowl was played in Houston, Tx on Febraruy 1st, 2004 (here is my earlier post on the 2003 San Diego Super Bowl).  The New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers 32-29.  It was also the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" Super Bowl.  What effect did the 20...

From the Toronto Star which is reporting that the NHL players are having 13.5% of their salaries placed into escrow. "Soon, one-quarter of our paycheques may be gone," said San Jose defenceman Dan Boyle. "Everyone out there is taking some kind of cut. It’s tough for everyone.&qu...

Wow, who'd have thunk it: Hard work, humility, a willingness to ask questions (and listen to the answers!), and a healthy dose of brains. Even better, it takes guts and brains to be a teenager, take $50 from an NFL player to wash his car, bring it to a drive-in car wash, and keep the difference. Oh,...

Form Vic at TSE Bryan Engelhardt, Rob Baumann, and I ran the numbers for employment in Washington during inaugural years and came up with the usual answer for mega-events: inaugurations have no statistically significant impact on employment and are as likely to worsen the employment picture as impro...

Nascar tracks are cutting prices and being more creative with discount packages, from coast to coast. This story at USAToday -- "Tough economy fuels creative ticket plans" -- has a list. The city of Vancouver is picking up the tab for financing the Olympic Village, after credit was cut off from the ...

From Pat Forde at ESPN: Oklahoma ran it up last and loudest, scoring 45 fourth-quarter points in its past two games against Oklahoma State and Missouri -- 31 of them in the last half of the last quarter. The Missouri game was particularly egregious, with Bradford chucking for the end zone with less ...

With all the support and encouragement I got to buy the team, I think its appropriate to share the  decision making process behind what happened and why. Buying the Cubs was a unique opportunity to own one of the most storied franchises in sports.  Its a team that represents so much to so many, wi...