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 General WiretapChapman Set To Take Big Tax HitCuban free-agent pitcher Aroldis Chapman is unlikely to sign with a team before the end of 2009. That means he won't be able to receive his bonus prior to the end of the year, which will have unfortunate tax implications for the youngster. If he signs in 2010, Chapman's bonus will be eligible to be taxed by the U.S. government. "Signing bonuses that are received outside the U.S., by a non-U.S. resident, and in a tax year in which the person did not work in the U.S., are not subject to U.S. taxation," wrote agent Joe Kehoskie in an e-mail to ESPN.com. "As far as I'm aware, neither the Hendricks brothers nor Rodney Fernandez (who represent Chapman) have ever completed a contract for a foreign free agent, so I bet this issue flew right under their radar. Right now, it's shaping up as a $3 million (or more) loss for Chapman. "For most players, the net effect is that they pay 20% or 25% in taxes at home instead of 35% or 40% in total state and federal taxes in the U.S.," Kehoskie added. "Thus, it can be a nice savings, but it's not a windfall for the average player from Latin America. For Chapman, however, his residency in tax-free Andorra could have resulted in several million dollars in tax savings -- savings that, with 2010 only days away, now seem all but lost." General Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Selig Proud Of 'Wonderful Year'Baseball commissioner Bud Selig is proud of what he calls a "wonderful year." "It was a difficult year, but a wonderful year," he said in an interview with MLB.com. Like a majority of businesses, economic struggles reached the game of baseball, but it wasn't fundamentally changed by the recession. "There were a lot of clubs that had difficulty, some were significantly impacted," Selig said. "But in terms of management, in terms of the popularity of the sport, which is just enormous, it was a remarkable year in a lot of ways. We launched a [television] channel which had remarkable success, [MLB.com] continued to do very well, we draw 73, 74 million people. It's a great tribute to the sport. "[The decline in attendance] was fractional. If you take out the two New York ballparks' reduced capacity, we're down about five percent. There isn't a business, there isn't an entity in America who would be unhappy being down only five percent in this economy. You bet, I'm very proud of that. "It's been a great year. Given the economic environment that we live in and all the great concerns and trepidation that we had late last year, into January, February and March, the year turned out remarkably well. It was a difficult year, but a wonderful year. "On the field, it was fabulous. A great year, beginning to end. We had more competitive balance. It was just a terrific year, under the worst circumstances since the Great Depression. That's the point you have to keep in mind." General Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Steroids Is AP Sports Story Of YearThe Associated Press has named baseball's ongoing drug problem as the 2009 Story of the Year. "The impact that that story had made it the story of the year," said Lance Hanlin, sports editor of the Beaufort (S.C.) Gazette and The (Hilton Head) Island Packet. "It was a big, ongoing, overall story." The Tiger Woods scandal finished fifth in the top story voting. Jimmie Johnson's unprecedented fourth straight NASCAR championship was second, followed by Roger Federer winning his 15th Grand Slam and Brett Favre ending his retirement to lead the Minnesota Vikings to the division title. General Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback General Dec 2009 Archive
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