The arbitration numbers for San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum were revealed on Tuesday as Baseball's arbitration season nears. Lincecum is asking for $21.5 million, while the Giants are countering with $17 million. The highest figure ever asked for by a player was $22 million by Roger Clemens back in 2005, while the Giants' offer of $17 million is the most ever offered by a team. Look for the two sides to reach an agreement before the matter goes to a hearing. In 2010 Lincecum was scheduled for arbitration before the two sides reached an agreement on a two-year deal.

As the NFL gets ready for the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on February 5, there is still action going on from last years Super Bowl in Dallas. You may remember a number of ticket holders were unable to get into the game after they had purchased tickets. A class-action lawsuit was subsequently filed on the behalf of those ticket holders and that case is still around. For an update on the case, click on this link.

142 Baseball players have filed for salary arbitration for the 2012 season. Arbitration hearings will take place between February 1-21 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Usually a number of agreements take place just before the club and player are scheduled to have the arbitration hearing. One player scheduled for arbitration this year was Nyger Morgan of the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Morgan and his agent won't have to make the trip to St. Petersburg this year. The Brewers reached an agreement with Morgan and avoided arbitration with the outfielder. Morgan made $471,5000 last year with the Brewers and will get a raise up to $2.35 million for the 2012 season. This was Morgan's first year of being eligible for arbitration and salaries usually take a significant jump when a player goes into his first year of arbitration.

With a deadline of Wednesday for the Texas Rangers to complete a contract for Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish, the two sides do not see eye-to-eye on the length of the contract. Darvish is seeking a five-year deal that would allow him to benefit from free agency sooner. The Rangers are looking to sign Darvish to a six-year deal. The Rangers bid $51.7 million just for the right to negotiate with Darvish through Baseball's posting process. If the Rangers are unable to sign Darvish the team will not have to pay the posting process fee of $51.7 million.

Leigh Steinberg, who was arguably the number one of sports agent in the 1980's and 1990's, has filed for bankruptcy. Steinberg who began representing athletes in 1975, with Steve Bartkowski as his first client, built an empire based on his clean image and having his athletes strive to give back to the community. Steinberg admitted that his battles with alcoholism and former partner David Dunn, contributed to his present financial difficulties.

For more on Steinberg, click on this link.

Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross has approved a settlement between Fox Sports and the Los Angeles Dodgers that will allow the Dodgers to move forward with the sale of the team. Judge Gross in December had ruled that the Dodgers could market the media rights to future games beginning in 2014. Fox Sports then appealed to U.S. District Judge Leonard Stark, claiming Judge Gross had ignored an existing contract between the Dodgers and Fox Sports. Judge Stark indicated that  Judge Gross probably erred in his decision and issued a stay of Gross' order. Fox Sports and the Dodgers then went back to working on a settlement with the help of a court-appointed mediator.

A typo in the contracts of seven fired Jacksonville Jaguars assistant coaches could be costly. In news that may or may not be related to the contract fiasco, the Jaguars fired general manager Paul Vance.

Everyone knows that BCS Championship Game was played last night in New Orleans. You can probably name the stadium, as well. But did you get the correct name of the stadium? If you said the Mercedes-Benz Superdome you would be correct. That's what naming rights deals are all about - giving a corporation greater exposure and visibility. It was several months back that the Louisiana Superdome and Mercedes-Benz entered into this ten-year agreement. Back in October, Forbes took a look at this deal to see if the luxury automaker could actually benefit from the money spent to get the Mercedes-Benz name on the dome.

Concussion consolidation

The New York Mets have hired CRG Partners to help deal with the club's financial difficulties. CRG Partners will assist the Mets in "financial reporting and budget processes" according to the team. The Mets' organization also made it clear that CRG's services were not bankruptcy related. CRG Partners was the consulting firm that worked with the Texas Rangers during their bankruptcy in 2010.

The Milwaukee Brewers are making plans to play the first 50 games of the 2012 MLB season without National League MVP Ryan Braun. A Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel story says there are only two ways Braun's suspension will be overturned - prove that there was a lab error or that the Brewers approved of Braun treatment in advance and signed-off on Braun's use of the substance that caused Braun to test positive. It is unlikely that either of the above defenses will work for Braun.