USC athletic director Lynn Swann has accomplished much in his life – Hall of Fame wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chair of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, TV broadcaster and game show host, candidate for Pennsylvania Governor, to name a few. He’s also made a few controversial statements and decisions, but perhaps none more so than one he made last fall.

For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, this is the second winter in a row MLB free agents have found the thermostat turned down low. Instead of cashing in on long term contracts at big bucks, free agents have been waiting by the phone.

Black Monday, the day following the last whistle of the 2018 NFL regular season, saw five head coaches walk the plank. With three in-season terminations, the firings left eight teams - one-quarter of the league – searching for a new coach.

This is the time of year when I usually do something I shouldn’t: make predictions! My crystal ball isn’t any more reliable than yours, but sports columnists are expected to go out on a limb and pretend they know something no one else does. It’s a hazard of the profession. But this year I’m determined to make it a risk - free exercise.

Major League Baseball (MLB) and the players’ union (MLBPA) have reached an agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation (CBF) that would legalize the transfer of baseball players from the Caribbean island to MLB.

A live mouse in your Cracker Jack. Mouse droppings in a bag of cookies. Cockroaches in food storage rooms. Welcome to Coors Field in Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies.

Cue the violins and pass the hankies, Lance Armstrong is unhappy with his life.

A second sports league has settled a concussion lawsuit brought by retired players, but that won’t end the litigation or the discussion of health- related issues associated with concussions.

NASCAR wrapped up its 71st season last week and although series winner Joey Logano had reason to celebrate, the same can’t be said for the governing.

Bill James, often referred to as the father of analytics, has made significant contributions to baseball over a period of four decades. Now a senior advisor to the Boston Red Sox, James recently created a Twitter firestorm by saying, “If the players all retired tomorrow, we would replace them, the game would go on; in three years it would make no difference whatsoever. The players are NOT the game, any more than the beer vendors are.”

The United States Olympic Committee has finally responded to the most horrific sex abuse scandal – in terms of the sheer number of victims - in sports history.

Embarrassing. Disgraceful. Shameful. Dysfunctional. Pathetic. Those are the words that come to mind when describing the fiasco that unfolded at the University of Maryland last week.

The New York Mets have settled on Brodie Van Wagenen to fill their General Manager position, resurrecting a debate on whether it’s appropriate or ethical for a sports agent to go from representing players to being their boss.

Branch Rickey, one of the greatest pioneers in baseball history, famously said, “Luck is the residue of design,” the result of planning and hard work. While the benefits of hard work are undeniable, it doesn’t always lead to the result you desire. Sometimes, the only explanation for success is plain old luck, which often happens in sports.

The origin of the first sports mascot is a matter of debate but the genre may trace its roots to 19th century France. History suggests the word mascot derives from a French opera, “La Mascotte,” the story of an Italian farmer whose crops wouldn’t grow until he was visited by a virgin named Bettina. With her help, his fortunes turned around.

ESPN recently surveyed fans of teams in the four Major League team sports to determine the most miserable fan base in professional sports.

Lost amid the excitement of September pennant races and the tabloid coverage of which NBA players slept with their teammate’s girlfriend, was an announcement that AB InBev (ABI), makers of Budweiser and other brands, had signed agreements to feature active MLB and NBA players in beer ads.

Mark Cuban recently said: “I think everyone who owns a top four professional sports team just basically saw the value of their team double.”

On Sept. 3, 2003, federal agents raided BALCO, the San Francisco Bay Area Laboratory that provided performance enhancing drugs to several athletes.

A pair of academics have proposed a radical change to save baseball which is guaranteed to make traditionalists apoplectic.

Headhunting in baseball is a euphemism to describe the actions of a pitcher who intentionally throws at a batter’s head. In any other setting we would simply describe the practice as assault.

What do Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers, Trea Turner of the Washington Nationals, Sean Newcomb of the Atlanta Braves, and Sonny Gray of the Yankees have in common?

Brian France, CEO of NASCAR, announced he was taking an “indefinite” leave of absence to address his “problems” after he was arrested last weekend in Sag Harbor, New York, for aggravated DWI. He would be doing all of NASCAR Nation a great service if he made his leave permanent.

Winning in college sports is highly valued, no more so than in football. That’s why elite coaches, who are integral to the success of a program, are paid such astronomical salaries.

Yogi Berra once said, “Ninety percent of the game is half mental.” Berra, one of the most quotable baseball players of all time, was credited with innumerable sayings, some of which he never said.

Earlier this month, parents of two 12-and-under girls softball teams participating in a USA Softball tournament in Kingsport, Tennessee, got into a shouting match when the parents of players on one team thought the umpire was favoring the opponent.

As MLB takes a break from the regular season to play the 89th All-Star Game, one of the hot topics this year has been attendance, or rather, the lack of it. According to Baseball-Reference, overall league attendance is down over 2.5 million this year, with 22 of 30 clubs showing a decline from 2017 numbers.

The predictions of doom over the creation of super teams in the NBA is much ado about nothing. The wailing comes from people who aren’t old enough to remember the league’s early days or those who haven’t checked the history books.

In an increasingly polarized world, a host of issues are viewed in black and white – our President, climate control, abortion, to name a few. One issue may stand out above all others: sex abuse.

Ballpark and stadium entertainment is a staple at sporting events, a necessary means of attracting and entertaining fans young and old. Most entertainment routines are harmless, even if they border on being sexist or inappropriate, like cheerleaders at NFL and NBA games and ice girls at NHL games.

The World Cup, the greatest sporting spectacle on the planet, is coming to North America. The combined U.S., Mexico and Canada proposal, dubbed the “United Bid,” for the 2026 World Cup was overwhelmingly approved last week by delegates from 199 countries. The United bid prevailed over rival Morocco by a 2-1 margin.

Justify thrilled the racing world along with millions of people around the globe when he became the 13th horse in history to win the Triple Crown.

After spending months in discussions, NFL owners announced a compromise that, according to them, will end a two-year run of player national anthem protests.

Hold your horses on the notion that baseball is a dying sport. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), a non-profit trade organization that promotes sports and fitness participation, youth participation in baseball is on the rise.

Major League Baseball has an identity problem. It’s a $10 billion a year business with 30 divisions, all of which are profitable, but management and labor can’t agree on what they want the sport to be.

If you prefer to consume your sports without sex, this week’s column may not be for you. In an effort to maintain “fair and meaningful competition within the female classification,” and ensure a level playing field, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), track and field’s world governing body, recently published regulations limiting testosterone levels in female athletes who compete on the world stage.

The NFL cheerleader problem is back, and this time the league may not be able to resolve the issue as easily as it did the last time.

In the wake of last fall’s federal indictments involving men’s basketball scandals, the NCAA formed a commission to address reforms. After months of deliberations, the commission issued a 60-page report containing a number of recommendations. ...

Lance Armstrong has conceded defeat, perhaps for the first time in his life, by throwing in the towel on a $100 million lawsuit brought by former cycling teammate Floyd Landis and the U. S. government.

Two weeks into the 2018 baseball season and two trends have dominated the headlines. The first one concerns hit batsmen. Batters are being hit (HBP) at a historically high rate, a total of 149 batters or 0.42 per game.

The importance – or folly, depending on your view – of the unwritten rules of baseball was on display during the opening week of the 2018 season.

The Yankees are back and whether you’re a Yankees fan or not, their resurgence is good for baseball. As recently as two years ago the team was arguably irrelevant, finishing the season with a middling record (for them) of 84-78 and bereft of star power. Home attendance was the lowest it had been in almost two decades.

The New York Jets, who have struggled to compete against NFL teams, find themselves in a battle with a group of disgruntled fans. The team is a defendant in a class-action lawsuit brought by James Gengo, a season ticket holder.

The 2018 baseball season is almost upon us but before the games begin, fans of a number of teams are advised to consider the words of Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto.

Sports gambling is on the cusp of becoming a reality in the U.S. and professional sports leagues are intent on reaping a piece of the financial windfall.

First, it was USA Swimming. Then it was USA Gymnastics. And now, we have USA Volleyball following in the footsteps of its sister organizations. They all knew, and did nothing.

The 2018 Winter Games are over, leaving behind memories and medal counts. While U.S. athletes undoubtedly left Pyeongchang, South Korea with a lifetime of memories, Team USA’s medal count has been called “disappointing” – or worse.

Paul Beeston, a former executive of the Toronto Blue Jays and a chartered accountant in Canada, once tried to explain how businesses — including baseball teams — could engage in creative accounting.

NASCAR will open its 70th season on Feb. 18 with the running of the Daytona 500, the sport’s premier race. Unfortunately, the excitement generated by the race is in sharp contrast to the business prospects for the once-thriving sport.

If you think this winter has been a cold one, it’s been even colder for MLB free agents. With pitchers and catchers reporting next week, 110 players remain unsigned, wondering if they’ll have a job this season.