Crawford's Sports Biz 5 mins, 59 seconds, For February 19th, 2015

By Gregory Crawford--- COO of Kiyokawa Crawford Sports Management--- on twitter @crawssportsbiz @kcsportsmgmt @wchoops

New York Knicks---- As the NBA starts up again tonight after an extended all-star break,  some teams are talking about making the playoffs, others are drooling over the potential for a future star in the NBA Draft.

As pathetic of a season as the Knicks have had this year, they still have so far sold out every home game. We will see if that continues now that Carmelo Anthony has been shut down for the rest of the year. The Knicks also have held their own with merchandise sales, as they are up 16 % from last season, helped by hosting this year's all-star game.

Many Knick fans as well are starting to think they might really be able to pick up a quality player in the draft, including possibly what appears to be the number one overall pick, Jahlil Okafor from Duke.

The Knicks are 0-13 this season so far playing without Anthony, but it really does not mean that much if they do wind up with the worst record in the entire NBA when it comes to the lottery. Since 1990, only three teams with the worst record in the regular season have won the right to get the number one pick. The last time it happened was 2004, when Orlando picked Dwight Howard.

Ohio State---The Buckeyes always have a strong overall athletic program and they have a really popular athletic director in Gene Smith. The school recently rewarded Smith with a new contract which runs through 2020. It has some unique features to it. Here is a just sampling of what is in the contract.

1. Base pay of $960,000 per year, with an additional $420,000 per year for promotional and media appearances.

2. A $1,200 per month stipend to be used for up to two cars.

3. $5,000 per year for Smith and his wife to attend away athletic events of Ohio State teams.

4. A $50,000 bonus if the football team makes the College Football Playoff.

4. A $50,000 bonus if either the men's or women's basketball team wins the NCAA championship, $25,000 bonus if they make the Final Four.

5. Here is the most unique part of the contract. A $50,000 bonus if 95 % of Buckeye student/athletes are employed in a job that requires a college degree. (It might take two full time employees to gather the information).

Apparel Battle----As mentioned before in Crawford's Sports Biz it is always fun to follow the competition between the apparel and shoe companies, in order the big 3 being Nike, Under Armour and Adidas.

It will also be fun to see if Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank is right when he says the future might be in wearables, as compared to apparel.

The thought being a wearable would have the ability with technology to change the color of your shirt, to turn your shoe into a running shoe from a walking shoe and to send reports directly to your Doctor as the wearable would be able to do on your medical condition.

Yes, we are all thinking the same thing. What would a wearable cost, in order to do the above.

Darts--- We all know our great mother threw out the baseball cards. Did she also throw out the DART board. Darts are making a huge comeback, especially in Europe.

And yes, Darts, like golf is a sport. It takes hand and eye coordination as well as a mental toughness, that all sports require.

more of Gregory's blogs--- http://gregcrawfordbasketball.blogspot.com