Bill Kostroun - AP

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This story is probably old news to Bucks fans, but it's new to me and I happen to think it's pretty damn cool...and a smart business move for Bogut and the Bucks.  For those who don't know, Andrew Bogut, the Bucks Aussie born big man (insert requisite Crocodile Dundee quote) noticed a lack of attendance and enthusiasm at home games recently and he decided to do something about it.  Bogut purchased 100 lower level seats to Bucks home games for the rest of the season, and rather than fill the seats with a bunch corporate stiffs rocking double bluetooth headsets, he gave the seats to diehard Bucks fans. 

The best part of Bogut's plan is how he gave away the tickets...he could have held some self serving sweepstakes where he promoted his own merchandise or by hyping a local car dealership, but Bogut was all business.  He made these fans earn their spot by holding tryouts (3 rounds) and making fans audition for the group that now goes by Squad 6 (Bogut wears #6).  The lucky fans that made it to the end, now get prime seats for the rest of the regular season...but they still have to earn them.  Fans in the Squad 6 section are expected to attend every home game, and basically remain standing from tip off until the final buzzer or they risk losing their spot.

So far it looks like Bogut's investment is paying off.  Since Squad 6 has been attending games Milwaukee  is 2-8 on the road compared to 9-3 when playing in front of the home fans. (are you paying attention Nets?)  After a recent trip to Milwaukee, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said this about Squad 6 on Twitter: "Those fans were the most fun fans I have seen on the road EVER. It made the atmosphere 100x better. More P.B.R. for them."

More PBR indeed.  We love to hear about this type of stuff at Project Franchise, and once our team takes the field, we will definitely be rewarding our most loyal and passionate fans.  Let us know in the comments if you have any specific ideas about how fans should be rewarded.

Also,  if anyone knows anyone from Squad 6, send them our way because we would like to talk to them about their experience so far.

More photos » Tony Dejak - AP

Danny Ferry is hoping Antawn Jamison is the last piece to the championship puzzle in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

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On Wednesday night, a day before the NBA trade deadline came to its conclusion on Thursday, the Cavaliers made a move to acquire Antawn Jamison from the Washington Wizards.  Not only did the Cavaliers acquire the "stretch 4" they have coveted for so long, but all they gave up in return was Zydrunas Ilgauskas' expiring contract and a first round pick. 

This deal in terms of talent was an absolute homerun.  Jamison provides Lebron James with another player with his ability to create his own shot off the bounce or in the post.  Additionally while Jamison is only good from the perimeter as a standstill shooter, these are exactly the kind of looks that Lebron will create for him.  

The best part of this trade for the Cavaliers is that is the Wizards are expected to waive Ilgauskas in a few days and after a 30-day waiting period he will be allowed to sign back again with Cleveland.  

The worst case scenario for Cleveland would be to come up short in the playoffs and a disgruntled James feeling that he will not succeed with the Cavs leaves via free agency this summer to ply his trade elsewhere.  Ultimately I expect James to remain with Cleveland, but the possibility looms that Lebron could leave for greener pastures. 

I have defended Ferry before for making the best of a bad situation when he took over reins of the organization, but this is a move that will define the future of this franchise and Ferry is the man pulling all the strings.  If this experiment ends in yet another season of disappointment expect him to be looking for employment elsewhere.

Another franchise that faced a big decision in the past week was the Phoenix Suns.  Throughout the past few weeks the Suns have been involved in a number of trade rumors, all centering around power forward Amare Stoudemire.  the hottest rumor was Stoudemire being shipped to Cleveland in return for J.J. Hickson, Ilgauskas and in all probability a first round pick or two.  

Instead the Suns failed to pull the trigger on that deal on Wednesday when the Cavs pressed them for a decision and at that point it was too close to the trade deadline to find another suitor and make a trade for them.  

Now Phoenix has to deal with a disgruntled Stoudemire who has been frustrated by seeing his name involved in a number of possible trades the past two seasons.  Subsequently they can expect that Amare will forgo his player option for one more year at $17.7 million and enter free agency this summer in hopes of getting a long-term contract possibly leaving elsewhere.

This would be an absolute catastrophe for the organization.  They will be facing the prospect of losing an All-Star quality big man in a loaded Western Conference and getting nothing in return.  The Suns over the past 5-6 years have been a study in how to turn your team from a potential dynasty to an also ran by being more concerned about profit margins rather than the product on the floor.

They have traded 1st round picks away for nothing, sold picks for money, given ridiculous contracts for one-year wonders like Boris Diaw and refused to pay budding stars like Joe Johnson.  In most cases you can point to a team's GM or president for screwing a team's future up, but in this case the main culprit is owner Robert Sarver.  

Unfortunately for Suns fans he can't be fired or traded.  He calls the shots and unfortunately his penny pinching ideology has led directly to poor management decisions culminating in this most recent Stoudemire fiasco.  

In two years if Stoudemire is putting up his customary 20 points and 8 rebounds elsewhere and Steve Nash is on his last legs carrying a bunch of 2nd and 3rd year players to a .500 season in the desert just remember that Sarver is the jackass that led to the destruction of a team that should have captured at least one championship.

More photos » Matt Slocum - AP

"I once caught a fish this big..."

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The NBA All-Star festivities were held in Dallas today, where they do everything bigger - but tonight they really proved their point. Despite a dissapointing dunk contest on Saturday night and a unmemorable musical performance at halftime, the two teams combined to put on the solid alley-ooping display we've become accustom to seeing on All-Star Sunday - and they did so before a Guinness World Record sized hoops crowd of 108,713.

The new Cowboy Stadium, complete with its 800million sq foot jumbo-tron, played host to the massive audience and from all reports the city and venue did a very good job keeping the fans happy and entertained. All-Star games are all about the fan, and no pro league gives fans as great of access to their stars than the NBA - and for that longtime commish David Stern deserves some props for knowing how to keep fans so happy that a whole city of them will cram into a massive building to watch a game that technically doesn't matter.

This is just my personal read on the situation, based on nothing more than casual observation and rampant speculation...but I think something is up at USC.  Not necessarily something sinister on Carroll's part, but I think that he sees rough times ahead for the Trojans.  One theory is that Carroll might see some penalties for recruiting violations coming down the pike, followed by NCAA sanctions. He has been very lucky to have come out unscathed amid some major accusations made against the USC program and their boosters in recent years, including allegations regarding Reggie Bush and Joe McKnight.  Imagine if the same rumors were swirling around Miami or Alabama, Sports Illustrated would have been calling for a death sentence for 4 years now. The NCAA has already caught up with the USC basketball program, and although there is no reason to suspect that Carroll had anything to do with these incidents (he is by all accounts a stand up guy) it would foolish to believe that he alone could prevent the types of impropriety alleged.  I think Carroll is reading the writing on the wall and is attempting to make an early exit before the s&#t really hits the fan...much like John Calipari did at Memphis.  Unfortunately for USC, I think it has been Carroll's reputation and demeanor that has held the media at bay for this long.

Everyone is asking the question, "why now, and why the Seahawks?".  It is beyond dispute that USC is currently the premier coaching job at the premier football school in the country (sorry golden domers, you're delusional).  Carroll, a well known "surfer dude" is the de facto king of football in Los Angeles, a setting that seems perfect for his lifestyle and persona.  Of course it's possible that he just got the itch to make it in the pros, but he's had other, more attractive offers...including the Miami Dolphins in 2006 and undoubtedly countless inquiries from other teams over the years.  While Seattle is a great city with great fans, and an unbelievably loud home field...the timing seems a little odd, and the destination just doesn't seem to fit.

Best of luck to you Pete, the college to NFL jump hasn't been an easy transition recently, and I don't know how full the cubbard will be for you in Seattle...but if this causes a few stud USC recruits to look elswhere and spread the love, then I'm all for it. 

So, now the Red Sox have added Adrian Beltre, a massive defensive upgrade over Mike Lowell. He should be healthy a lot more than you'd expect Lowell to be, and they hope that his power plays well in Fenway Park.

For essentially the same price as Jason Bay, the Red Sox have managed to add Beltre and Mike Cameron, giving them one of the better defensive teams in all of baseball. They also added a solid pitcher in John Lackey, and got themselves a shortstop coming off a great year in Marco Scutaro. 

Of course, we know that the Yankees haven't stayed quiet either, adding Curtis Granderson, who should put up big homerun totals in Yankee Stadium as well as giving them good defense and a fair bit of speed, Nick Johnson and a very solid pitcher as well in Javier Vazquez. 

While many prematurely counted the Red Sox out in 2010 after their early exit from the playoffs, they've made a bunch of smart moves that put them right back at the top of the pack. So who should we favor in the AL East come 2010?

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Reports this morning indicate that the Yankees and Braves are nearing completion of a trade that would send SP Javier Vazquez to the Yankees, along with Boone Logan, for Mike Dunn, Melky Cabrera and a prospect.

The Yankees add Vazquez, coming off a great 2009 that saw him the subject of minor controversy when ESPN's Keith Law had the audacity to vote him second on his Cy Young ballot, joins the Yankees already ridiculous starting rotation. It probably means that one of Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes will remain in the bullpen, too. The main loss is Melky Cabrera, who previously fit into their opening day lineup, but he shouldn't be too tough to replace for a team with the Yankees resources.

The Braves get Cabrera to slot in their outfield, though my immediate reaction is that Vazquez probably could have netted them a little bit more coming off of such a good year. They will save over $10M in salary, however, which does allow them to go fill some other holes.

The real impact of this trade - asides from further cementing the Yankees great off-season - is that it does quite a bit to change the outfield free agent market. The Braves have extra cash to spend, and the Yankees now have a spot to fill. The Yankees could conceivably jump right in and swoop up Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, or they could wait out the seemingly tiny Johnny Damon market and re-sign him at a more reasonable price later in the off-season.

When I ranked the top-five teams thus far in the off-season over the weekend, I did actually debate slotting the Red Sox ahead of the Yankees, feeling that while their moves had been less publicized, they were still great moves. Adding Vazquez to the Yankees easily changes that, and throws the Yankees back ahead.

Theo Epstein, it's your move now.

After this memorable Hot Stove week, I figured it would be a great time to take a look at the big winners thus far in the MLB off-season. Which teams have made big splashes already, and which teams should be focusing on those remaining free agents? With that in mind, here are my picks for the top five winners thus far in the off-season.

5. Minnesota Twins

While by comparison to the names ahead on this list, the Twins off-season might seem quiet thus far, they’ve been helped by circumstance as much as they’ve helped themselves. The Twins made the first big acquisition of the off-season trading for shortstop JJ Hardy, and relinquishing Carlos Gomez, a trade that most believe favors the Twins. So long as JJ Hardy can recover from a down year in 2009, the Twins will be adding a great bat, with average, power and defense, at a premium position. Add to this the rumors that a Joe Mauer extension is in the works, the loss of Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco by the Tigers, and the risky moves we’ve seen from the White Sox, and it seems that the Twins are a clear favorite to take the AL Central even with these small moves.

Next Steps: Extending Joe Mauer, and perhaps upgrades at third-base (Adrian Beltre?) or a mid-level starting pitcher.

4. Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies have made some great baseball decisions this off-season. For starters, they declined their option on Pedro Feliz and replaced him with a better-defensive player who gets on-base at a better rate in Placido Polanco. Their other big move of course was upgrading staff aces by adding Roy Halladay, despite the loss of Cliff Lee. They gave up some great prospects in the deal, but were at least able to replace them with similar talents. Phillippe Aumont, in particular, may not be far away from being able to help the bullpen of the Phillies, if they decide to keep him in a relief role in the minors. With Doc under contract for the next four years, the Phillies are in a great position to start off the next decade with success.

Next Steps: Bullpen help for Brad Lidge

3. Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox off-season seems to have taken hints from the Seattle Mariners with their defense focus. They added Mike Cameron, who will be a gigantic defense upgrade over Jason Bay. They’ve also added solid shortstop Marco Scutaro, who is a versatile defender and, if he can replicate his 2009 season, will be a big offensive boost at the shortstop position that’s hurt them for years. They are also looking to move Mike Lowell to Texas, and rumors tell us that Adrian Beltre, one of the best defensive third-basemen in the game, would be their main target for third base in that case. On top of that, they added the markets best free agent pitcher in John Lackey, which gives them a very dominant looking rotation.

Next Steps: Perhaps signing Adrian Beltre if Lowell is traded, and those never-ending Adrian Gonzalez rumors.

2. New York Yankees

The Yankees have essentially made two substantial moves this off-season, and they’ve both been excellent. They made a massive splash by trading for Curtis Granderson, who will allow the outfield positions to shift and create a huge defensive upgrade over Johnny Damon. On top of that, his lefty-handed bat and power to right field will play perfect in Yankee Stadium, allowing most to think that he’ll have a terrific season in 2010. He’s also got the reputation of being a great guy, and that never hurts. This week, they also added Nick Johnson, who will likely replace DH Hideki Matsui. Johnson is what I like to refer to as an "OBP Monster", and while the 2-spot is unconventional for a DH, his propensity to take walks would look great in front of Mark Texeira and Alex Rodriguez.

Next Steps: It’s hard to imagine any, really. Unless they get crazy and try to add Jason Bay or Matt Holliday, their lineup of all-stars looks complete.

1. Seattle Mariners

At the beginning of the off-season, there were rumblings that the Mariners had a ton of cash to spend, but many dismissed that rumor. I don’t think anyone expected this type of off-season from Seattle. They picked up speedy Chone Figgins to provide great defense and get on-base with Ichiro at the top of the lineup, acquired Cliff Lee to give them baseball’s best one-two pitching punch, and now added Milton Bradley, who will give them a very good bat, so long as his attitude doesn’t get in the way. The man they call "Jack Z" is being essentially universally-praised these days, and with good reason. In less than two years, he’s taken the Mariners from a train-wreck to the clear-cut favorites to win the AL West. With the pitching they have, they may even be able to make a great run through the playoffs.

Next Steps: A power-bat in the middle of the lineup, though Jason Bay doesn’t fit their defense-minded approach. A slugging first-baseman should do the trick. 

Although anyone with at least one wobbly glass eye could have seen this coming from a mile away, Univ of Cincinnati football head coach Brian Kelly has left the upstart program he created for greener pastures (or at least a lot of green) in South Bend. Kelly had a brief, albeit wildly successful, run in the Natti where he helped take a team that was mediocre in a non-BCS conference and turn them into a near national title contender.

But his team is P-O'd.

And not the, "Oh well we understand the opportunity" kind of semi-bothered - I mean there were definitely some serious "M-Fer" bombs dropped behind closed doors. Heck in front of the media they even claimed he had nothing to do with their success and that they were going to win in the bowl game literally in spite of him. YIKES - doesnt look like they'll be honoring him with a plaque on a bench in the locker room anytime soon.

From this angle he looks a lot like Charlie Weiss...

Having  been at Miami when we finished the 2000 season in 2nd place and knew we were on the verge of getting back to the title game, only to see Butch Davis flee for the NFL just before signing day, I know the feeling all too well (side note: I happened to be in the UM quad selling ESPN magazine subscriptions for charity that day, so I guess that made me the sports expert that the local news wanted to interview on the subject - so I provided a high quality, lengthy answer questioning his decision and the only clip that made the evening news was me saying 'Cleveland?!?! - UGH!'... so I know how Charlie feels on that whole taken out of context thing). And I don't mind the players wanting to win out of spite and feeling like they were the reason they won - and if those guys are as good as that 2000 Canes team then they'll go out next year and win a national championship while some bozo offensive coordinator roams the sidelines pretending to coach (ahem, Larry Coker) - unfortunately for all of the Bearcat football fans (or should i say "both of them"), I dont think this team is quite as deep as The U and may be en route to a serious beat down at the hands of Urban & Timmy, who surely want to end their romance on a high note in the Sugar Bowl, and probably a quick fade back into college football oblivion. So while just starting to come out of our own dark era since the departure of Butch (and his players), it pains me to tell the UC fans that Kelly probably was the reason that they were any good and that while he seems like an A*hole, you'll be wishing you had him back in no time... Hey, at least the basketball team is back to looking like they belong in the Top 25 - onward to March Madness!