Just in case you haven’t heard, there’s a lot going on in the world of sports right now. The NFL’s players are locked out, Barry Bonds is facing trial for perjury, there’s some sort of basketball tournament happening, and the usual scandals surrounding college athletes and recruiting violations are going on. Did you know that all of this has to do with law? Specifically, it all has to do in one way or another with sports law.

Sports law covers a lot of areas of law that interact with sports – contracts, ADR, antitrust, IP, torts, and employment law being just a few. The Legal Information Institute, a site that we love, has a pretty good overview with links to some of the major statutes and most recent cases. In the Law Library,we have some great books on the subject, like Sports Justice, Female Gladiators, and Courting the Yankees, which features a chapter by our very own Professor Jack Williams.

If you’re more interested in what’s going on now, check out a few of the many blogs devoted to sports and the law, like Findlaw’s Tarnished Twenty or the aptly named Sports Law Blog. If you’re interested in college sports, keep an eye on the College Sports Law Blog and the NCAA Bylaw Blog. If you’re more interested gender issues in sports, there’s the Title IX Blog. Finally, for those who are really invested in their fantasy baseball/basketball/football leagues, there’s always the Sports Judge Blog. In addition to discussing legal issues affecting fantasy gaming, SportsJudge also handles dispute resolution for fantasy sports leagues, complete with options.

Now, we’re not saying that watching ESPN can substitute for, say, studying for classes, but the next time you’re watching SportsCenter, just remember – there’s a lot more law there than you’d think.