The issue of redheadedness and athletic performance took center stage before the 2011 NFL draft, when Sports Illustrated’s Peter King interviewed an anonymous head coach who questioned Texas Christian University product Andy Dalton’s ability to lead a team from the quarterback spot. The scout’s objections were based less on Dalton’s arm strength, pocket presence and his Wonderlic score than his hair color.

“Has there ever been a redheaded quarterback in the NFL who’s really done ...

A larger bite for the Appel?

Major League Baseball teams can spend a little more money on amateur draft picks this year.

The signing bonus values for the selections in next month’s draft will increase by 8.2 percent, players and owners agreed this week.

Under their memorandum of understanding in November 2010 for a five-year labor contract, the sides said signing bonus values will increase each year at the same rate as industry revenue.

The value for the No. 1 pick, held for the second ...

Do any of these guys have ugly girlfriends?

This year’s MLB Draft is unusually difficult to handicap.

The best player available, Georgia high school outfielder Clint Frazier, will probably not be the first pick. He’s a little undersized and that fact, coupled with his being a prep position player, is historically a bad combination for players hoping to go first overall. If Frazier were a little bigger, he would be a slam dunk as the first choice.

The best pitcher available, righthander Mark ...

More like a Hunter’s guide for big game…

15. DIAMONDBACKS: After an early run on pitchers, position players will be the strength of the middle of the first round. Count Arizona as one of several teams in this area who would love an unexpected shot at Meadows. Renfroe and California high school shortstop J.P. Crawford are better bets to be available.

PROJECTED PICK: HUNTER RENFROE.

30. RANGERS: Since 2006, Texas has used eight of its nine first-round picks on high schoolers. Most of the best ...

You may remember right-hander Karsten Whitson, who was drafted ninth overall by the Padres in 2010 before turning down $2.1 million to attend the University of Florida. It turns out that his gamble might not pay off.

Per Aaron Fitt of Baseball America, Florida baseball head athletic trainer Pat Hassell announced yesterday that Whitson would miss the start of the season due to continued shoulder fatigue. The exact nature of today’s procedure isn’t yet known, but Whitson’s father, Kent ...

A little-known aspect of the CBA — the market-disqualification program — is helping force a select group of teams to operate more competitively than they did in the past.

The way the program works, revenue-sharing proceeds for teams in the 15 largest markets will decline by set percentages over the next three years, and disappear entirely by 2016.

Teams that previously received such funds — Toronto, Atlanta and Washington, among them — had little incentive to field better clubs. Why ...

Mr. January is a nickname bestowed on Boras by owners flabbergasted by his propensity to snag large free-agent deals after New Year’s Day. Boras, long the sport’s villain, is the protagonist in this tussle, because baseball’s new rules governing the draft have destroyed the free-agent market for Adam LaRoche, Kyle Lohse, Michael Bourn and Rafael Soriano – the latter three of whom are Boras clients…

The new draft format included fixed bonus pools for teams based on the previous year’s ...