NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell punished the New Orleans Saints and members of its coaching staff earlier this week for paying players to hit opposing players hard and knock them out of the game. Sunday evening CNN takes a closer look at the bounty program in a special report:

There is also a media angle to the bounty story. Former player Warren Sapp–now a commentator on NFL Network–said on Twitter that former Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey was the “snitch.” NFL Network ended up discussing Sapp’s comments, and naming Shockey, on air.

In response, Shockey denied the allegation, and is calling on the NFL to punish Sapp:

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Major League Soccer has had a good year. Attendance is up. Attention is up. Interest is up. Stars such as Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez joined MLS and are helping to improve the level of play.

But what about revenue?

Well… not so much. According to Tim Leiweke, chief executive of AEG, only a couple of squads will make a profit in 2010. MLS is on solid financial ground, but recruiting big-name players – who come with enormous pricetags – isn’t the route to making money. Sports Business Daily offers three ways teams can improve their cash flow.

The first is relatively obvious: ticket sales. Although the league averages around 16,000 tickets per match, it could be doing better, especially as more teams get their own soccer-specific stadiums. MLS is the first league to offer ticket sales training, so we may see the results soon.

And the other two? Read more