Morning Report: Spending spree in the Bronx

Mark Teixeira officially became the newest Bronx Millionaire yesterday when he signed a $180 million, eight-year deal.

The Bronx Millionaires have committed $423.5 million to three free agents this off-season, an apparent reaction to last season, when they failed to make the postseason for the first time in 14 years.

On Dec. 18, the Millionaires completed a $161 million, seven-year contract with lefthander CC Sabathia and an $82.5 million, five-year deal with righthander A.J. Burnett.

This has caused consternation among other teams and their fans, and even some sportswriters who otherwise support the free-enterprise system.

But according to the Associated Press, the Millionaires' payroll currently projects to start about $10 million to $20 million below last year's opening-day figure of $209 million.

"We all feel like we do a lot for this industry, between the revenue-sharing dollars we contribute, the merchandise we sell, the tickets we sell," co-chairman Hal Steinbrenner said. "So if you've got some owners that are upset, I'm just not going to let it worry me. I'm not going to lose sleep over it. It's a shame that they feel that way."

Hey, Hank? The World Series trophy is in South Philadelphia. Put that in your bank account.

Shoe police? If you think J.C. Romero is getting a raw deal from baseball's steriod cops, think about skier Bode Miller: He's in trouble with the shoe police.

The New Hampshire skier was disqualified for wearing boots one-hundredth of an inch too high in a World Cup slalom in Slovakia yesterday.

Miller finished 29th in the first of two legs. Before the second run, he was disqualified by the International Ski Federation after a random check showed the soles of his boots were a tad high.

"It's black and white," Forest Carey, the coach of Miller's independent ski team told the Associated Press. "The rules are clear, so nothing we can do about that."

The rules limit the height of ski boots to 1.35 inches because knee injuries often occur when boot soles are higher. Miller's boots were 1.36 inches.

Carey said Miller, who was wearing brand new boots acquired yesterday morning, was not aware he was racing in illegal footwear.

Maybe if he had walked around on concrete and scuffed them across the floor a few times, he'd have been OK.

Those shoe cops are tough.

Jags update. Jeff Jagodzinski might have just opened up a job for one of Joe Paterno's first stars.

"Jags" met with New York Jets officials yesterday to discuss their head coaching vacancy - an interview that was expected to cost him his job at Boston College.

Jagodzinski, who became BC's coach in 2007, was told by athletic director Gene DeFilippo that he would be fired if he met with the NFL team.

"It's just a matter of putting two and two together," Chris Cameron, BC's associate director for media relations, told the AP last night. "He was told by Gene on Saturday that if he went on the interview he'd be fired."

If Jagodzinski leaves, defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani is considered a potential replacement in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

A defensive end on Paterno's first bowl teams in 1967 and 1968, Spaziani has been a BC assistant for 12 years, the last 10 as defensive coordinator.

DeFilippo is the former athletic director at Villanova.

Real estate listings.

For those of us who live in the real world, the following prices are incomprehensible. But this is how the other half lives.

Shaquille O'Neal has put his Miami Beach estate up for sale, with a price tag of $25 million, according to the New York Post. That sounds like a lot, but in November 2007, the 19,000-square-foot home was priced at $35 million.

Built in 1992 by former Miami Heat center Rony Seikaly, the house has eight bedrooms and 10 bathrooms. The property, which sits on 2.5 acres of land, also features a tennis court and a two-bedroom guest house.

O'Neal bought the house in 2004 for $18.8 million.

The rich really are different from the rest of us. They have bigger houses.

Finally. It had to come to this. The college football championship will be decided where it should be - in court.

Utah's attorney general is investigating the Bowl Championship Series for a possible violation of federal antitrust laws after an undefeated Utes team was left out of the national title game for the second time in five years.

Jeez, all that nasty legal maneuvering. The BCS should just let Utah play the Big Ten champion every year. That's a sure payday!