Bobby Valentine Talks College Athletes Rights, Filmmaking and Global Baseball on “Sportfolio”

NEW YORK - Sept. 25, 2013 - PRLog -- Longtime baseball manager and television and radio analyst Bobby Valentine is known as an innovative thinker and candid observer in the world of sports. This week on “Sportfolio,” the only weekly broadcast television show dedicated to sports business, Rick Horrow interviews Valentine on two timely and complex topics: the financial system of college athletics, and the relationship of U.S. and Japanese baseball.

Valentine, now Director of Athletics at Sacred Heart University, is Executive Producer of the film "$chooled, The Price of College Sports," which premieres October 16 on EPIX HD. On this week's “Sportfolio,” the Connecticut native discusses the documentary's central premise that the financial model of NCAA athletics infringes on the rights of college athletes.  "We want to move this conversation from the water cooler to the dinner table," says Valentine, who formed a film production company with partner Andrew Muscato in 2010 that has made documentaries on Dominican baseball and college athletics and this week released a film on former major league pitcher Ralph Branca.

Valentine, the only foreign-born manager to lead a team to Japan's Nippon Series championship, also speaks with Horrow about the intersections of U.S. and Japanese professional baseball: commenting on the validity of Ichiro Suzuki's combined statistics in two major leagues, Vladimir Balentien's conquest of Sadaharu Oh's single-season home run mark, and the future of the "posting system" in which MLB teams bid millions for the right to exclusively negotiate with Japanese players seeking to sign U.S. contracts.

The program also features Horrow's interview with NFL Media CEO Brian Rolapp on the league's upcoming "Sunday Ticket" negotiations and expansion on digital and mobile platforms, as well as a look at San Francisco's investment in the 2013 America's Cup yachting championships.

The only weekly show dedicated to sports business, this week’s show is in its new slot, Thursday night at 9:30 PM and 12:30 AM ET Friday on Bloomberg TV (DirecTV 353, check your local cable systems for the channel near you). The show reaches more than 270 million households through first-run and syndicated airings.

"Sportfolio" premiered on September 27, 2011 and has now produced over 50 original episodes, all of which can be viewed at bloomberg.com/video/sportfolio. The guest list has already included: NBA Commissioner David Stern, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, MLS Commissioner Don Garber,  MLB Executive Vice President for Business Tim Brosnan, American Athletic  Commissioner Mike Aresco, Pac 12 Commissioner Larry Scott, Ivy League President Robin Harris, Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross, Dodgers and Warriors co-owner Peter Guber, Wasserman Media Group CEO Casey Wasserman, Atlanta Braves general manager Frank Wren,  Atlanta Falcons GM Rich McKay, Cubs general manager Theo Epstein and owner Tom Ricketts, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio, 49ers president Jed York, Los Angeles Angels GM Jerry DiPoto, San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer, Brooklyn Nets CEO Brett Yormark, NASCAR’s Brian France, Carl Edwards and  Jeff Gordon, the N.Y. Knicks Carmelo Anthony, the L.A. Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, NBA Hall of Famer Earl Monroe, Masters Champion Bubba Watson, Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, golf hall of famers Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus, and many, many others.

Contact: Joe Favorito/917-566-8345/fatherknickerbocker1@yahoo.com