Noticiero El Big Picture del Deporte: Yahoo Sports, Sports are usually an escape, but now we must settle into a life without them

In times of trouble, in times of terrorism, in times of uncertainty, there have always been sports. There to distract. There to inspire. There to rally. 

There. Always.

Just not now, it seems.

• March Madness is canceled. The NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball are suspended. Even high school and youth tournaments have been halted or canceled. 
• Presently, there isn’t much left. NASCAR will rev its engines in Atlanta. That’s about it. The sport may boom in popularity. 
• These are unprecedented times in America, in all of the world. The routines of life have been altered. A measure of consistency, of familiarity, of shared calm really could have helped. A sign that somewhere normalcy still ruled. 
• We’ve gotten through a lot before. This time, we’ll have to get through it without sports. At least for now.

References: 

Yahoo Sports, Sports are usually an escape, but now we must settle into a life without them, Dan Wetzel, Mar 12, 2020.

Noticiero El Big Picture del Deporte: MSN, Yahoo Sports, Already villains, the Astros should stop apologizing and go full heel

CBS Sports, Astros owner says sign-stealing scandal 'didn't impact the game' in public apology | CBS Sports HQ

The Houston Astros tried silence. They tried remorse or regret or something. I’m not sure exactly. They oversteered. They tried press conferences in which they summoned the vibes of a fifth-grade oral report. They even, way back when, tried denials. They understeered. Soon, they’ll point out that they are, if you really think about it, victims. Give it time.

• There are people out there who fear for the sport, who mourn for the lost integrity of entire baseball seasons, who wish none of this happened. There also are people who take this personally. Not all of them are in the stands, and some of their ire is valid. Even Manfred, speaking Sunday afternoon in Florida and defending the immunity-for-honesty methodology of his investigation, reminded that there is no deeper humiliation in the game than having been a Houston Astros batter in 2017. It’s no fun to have dictated the lede of your career obituary at, say, 25. The Astros have. 
• So, they will, in 2020 and for who knows how long after that, play every night against every wronged player, every angry fan, every ball writer on deadline, in every market but one. Their own.
• It will be hard. Sometimes embarrassing. The voices will be loud. The judgments louder. Teams are coming for them. And they’ll know they’ll have earned most of it, if not all of it.
• Hell, they might as well go full heel. They might as well enjoy it.

References: 

MSN, Yahoo Sports, Already villains, the Astros should stop apologizing and go full heel, Tim Brown, Feb. 17, 2020.

Noticiero El Big Picture del Deporte: ESPN, Everything you need to know about MLB's sign-stealing scandal

ESPN.com's Bradford Doolittle, Jeff Passan and David Schoenfield break down the penalties, what they mean for the Astros and Red Sox -- and what impact Monday's punishment could have across the sport.

ESPN, Stephen A. shocked to learn how explicitly the Astros cheated | First Take

Penalties and Punishment 

• Major League Baseball announced punishment for the Houston Astros, including one-year suspensions for GM Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, loss of draft picks in 2020 and 2021, and a $5 million fine, after an MLB investigation found the team used technology to cheat during its World Series-winning 2017 season. Luhnow and Hinch were subsequently fired by Astros owner Jim Crane.
• One day later, the Boston Red Sox parted ways with manager Alex Cora after the skipper was implicated in the investigation for his role as Astros bench coach. And two days after that, Carlos Beltran, the only player mentioned in MLB's report on the Astros, was out as manager of the New York Mets before beginning his first year with the team.

Bradford Doolittle

• It's clear Rob Manfred wanted to send a clear message to teams and fans alike. He has certainly done so. For that matter, so did Astros owner Jim Crane, who quickly moved to terminate Hinch and Luhnow.
• Whatever else you might think about Luhnow and Hinch, both are at the very top of their respective professions. Crane could have stated that the suspensions were adequate penalties and that the team would proceed with them both next season under a "no tolerance" policy about future embarrassments. He didn't do that, and good for him. It couldn't have been easy. 
• To think this kind of behavior was limited to one or two teams would be to deny the realities about human behavior in hypercompetitive environments with massive economic stakes in play, especially where policy loopholes and gray areas exist, as they did until very recently. Every team certainly steals signs, as teams always have. Where they draw the line in terms of the kinds of mechanisms they use to do so probably varies from team to team. However, MLB tried to draw distinct lines with policies it has written over the past couple of years, and the alleged behavior of the Astros and Red Sox would certainly cross those lines. We'll have to rely on MLB investigators to tell us just how widespread this issue actually is and has been. However, it would be surprising or even shocking to find out that the problem was limited to a small minority of teams.

Jeff Passan 

• The blurring of lines with regard to the use of video, particularly before the new rules in 2018 and 2019 more clearly defined what was allowed, allowed teams to develop questionable habits. Were those habits blatantly illegal? That's a question with an expansive gray area. Were those habits morally or ethically objectionable? That's not entirely clear, either, but if this were to go in front of an unwritten-rules arbiter, the judgment would pretty clearly be: not cool.  
• Should MLB just ban in-game video use altogether? Players wouldn't like it, but here we are, in this position because of players' choices. 
• The hope from the league is that the penalties here are so harsh that nobody would dare consider doing this in the future. Which ... sounds an awful lot like what happened when the league first instituted penalties for PEDs. The problem here is that cheating runs on such a wide-ranging continuum whereas PED use is extraordinarily binary. There are either drugs in your urine or there aren't. If there aren't, you're cool, and if there are, you're suspended.
• Electronic cheating tends to be a multiperson exercise from two different populations -- players and team employees -- and standardizing suspensions is almost impossible, even if knowing for certain the hammer was going to be laid might deter some from even considering it.

David Schoenfield

• For those arguing that using technology to steal signs is going on throughout the sport and that the Astros don't deserve to be punished for what everyone else also might be doing, I disagree. The Astros got caught and got caught doing it in a year they won the World Series. This is exactly how you tell an entire sport to knock it off. You go after the big boys and send a strong message that this will not be tolerated. It's time for baseball to return to a competition between players -- not a competition between technology. 
• So, is stealing signs against the rules or not?
  That's where things get complicated. The old-fashioned way is not against the rules. In the wake of the Red Sox incident from 2017 and accusations from the 2018 playoffs, when the Indians and Red Sox both discovered an unofficial employee of the Astros pointing a cellphone camera toward the Cleveland and Boston dugouts, MLB instituted new guidelines in 2019 regarding electronic sign stealing. (The Astros claimed the employee in 2018 was deployed in a preventative measure, although Luhnow admitted "it made us look guilty."
  The guidelines in the six-page document created rules concerning placement and usage of center-field cameras, plus TVs and monitors, and mandated screens be on an eight-second delay. MLB also placed league employees at stadiums to monitor activity.
• Have there been any past punishments for sign stealing?
  The Red Sox were fined an undisclosed amount in 2017, with commissioner Rob Manfred issuing a statement at the time that "all 30 clubs have been notified that future violations of this type will be subject to more serious sanctions, including the possible loss of draft picks."

References: 

ESPN, Everything you need to know about MLB's sign-stealing scandal, Jan. 15, 2020.

The Big Picture of Sport News: USA Today Sports, MLB, The chain effect of Stephen Strasburg's record-setting deal

The Strasburg deal leaves massive repercussions in its wake, starting with the likely departure of All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon, a $300 million contract-in-waiting for pitcher Gerrit Cole, and an enhanced marketplace for the rest of the free-agent pitching class.

• Strasburg already had four years and $100 million remaining on his original contract when he opted out. He had a spectacular season -- going 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA and league-leading 209 innings. He topped that by winning the World Series MVP. Still, no one was quite sure how much more he could command on the open market.
  He turned it into an extra $145 million over three years, a cool $48.3 million a year.
  Why, even at $245 million over seven years, Strasburg sets the record of $35 million a year for a pitcher, eclipsing Zack Greinke’s $34.3 million annual average salary with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

And just like that, it’s now quite possible that Cole, the No. 1 pitcher on the free-agent market, becomes the first $300 million pitcher in history.

• The Yankees certainly will be offering more than $245 million now. Cole should be wearing pinstripes by the end of the week.
  It certainly is a financial bonanza, too, for free-agent starter Madison Bumgarner, whose request for a $100 million deal no longer seems unreasonable.
• The Nationals, who drafted Strasburg with the first pick in 2009, will have paid him about $370 million by the end of his contract, which includes a full no-trade clause and no opt-outs, and perhaps an all-expenses trip to Cooperstown.

References:

USA Today Sports, Opinion: Fallout from Stephen Strasburg's record-setting deal will affect Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Bob Nightengale, December 10, 2019.

The Big Picture of Sport News: Total Sportek, 25 World’s Most Popular Sports (Ranked by 13 factors)

Sports journalists have been facing this conundrum of ranking sports for some time now.  For ranking any sport’s popularity it is imperative that we set the criteria for ranking first. For us (Total Sportek) TV viewership isn’t the only criteria for a sports popularity rather it should be the number of other factors combined to get the best popularity ranking.

• These are the factors we consider in ranking the top 25 sports in the world. So lets begin our countdown for the biggest, most popular sports in the World.
• CRITERIA USED.
1. Global base & audience
2. TV  Viewership numbers
3. Number Professional leagues around the world
4. TV rights deals
5. Endorsement & Sponsorship deals
6. Average athlete salary in top league
7. Biggest competition & (number of countries represented)
8. Social media presence
9. Prominence in sports headlines on media outlets (websites, tv)
10. Relevancy through the year
11. Regional dominance
12. Gender equality
13. Accessible to general public worldwide

#1. Football/Soccer

With over 4 billion followers of football, it is by far the most popular sport in the world. Football is one of the most accessible sport in the world and there is hardly anyone in this world who has not kick a ball at some point in their life. Football dominate sports headlines in some of the major countries in the world including almost all European nations like United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain etc. In South America football is more than just a game, it represent dreams and joy for kids in Brazil, Argentina and other latin countries.

Most watched competition in the world: Football World Cup is by far the most watched sports competition in the world. 3.9 billion people tune in at some point during the FIFA World Cup 2014 making it by far the biggest sport competition. While the final of 2014 world cup was watched by as many 700 million people all around the globe.

Highest paying sports competitions: $1.5 Billion is awarded in prize money and bonuses every year in UEFA Champions league, which is the european elite club competition where clubs from 54 countries participate. in fact four of the top 5 competitions with highest prize money are football events (Champions League, FIFA World Cup, Europa League, UEFA Euro).

Most expensive sports TV rights deal: English Premier League (English top football division) is the most watched professional sport league in the world. it broadcast in 212 territories across the world with over 5 billion viewer tuning in to live action at some point every season. SkySports and BT Sports paid over £5.3 billion to get premier league rights in the UK for three years while another £3 billion will be generated from international rights.

Highest Paid Athletes: Top players like Ronaldo and Messi are paid around £300,000 a week in salary by their respective clubs while Ronaldo and Messi also feature in the top 5 of the most endorsed athletes in the world.

Richest Sports Teams: If we talk about the richest sports team in the world, around 30 clubs feature in the top 50 list of most valuable sports teams.

#2. Basketball

Basketball has over 1 billion followers. Its a major sport in USA with NBA generating over $4.75 billion a year in revenue. Established Professional leagues in Spain, Greece, Turkey, Italy, France, Argentina, China and more leagues getting setup every year makes it the fastest growing sport in the world.

Third most powerful sports league in the world: NBA (American basketball league) is the third biggest professional league in all sports behind NFL (American football) and Premier League (Football/Soccer) in terms of revenue over $4.75 billion was generated in 2014 in terms of revenue.

Highest Average Salary: NBA average yearly salary for athlete is around $4.4 million a year, thats second highest average wage of any sport league in the world. While top 40 players in NBA earn more than $13 million a year in salary while top 10 earn more than $22 million a year with Kobe Bryant earning as much as $25 million a year.

Endorsement Deals: Lebrone James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant features in the top 10 list of highest paid athletes with their massive salaries and endorsement deals with take their yearly income well over $50 million a year.

Fastest growing sport: Basketball is also the fastest growing sport on every scale from revenues, to competitions/leagues. More and more professional leagues are getting established in countries across the world, specially in easter european countries like Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Serbia, Lithuania where basketball is easily the second favorite sport.

#3. Cricket

Estimated 2 billion+ followers makes cricket one of the most popular sport mainly in commomwealth countries like England, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, New Zealand, Carribeans and South Africa.

Cricket is a dominating sport in many countries specially from indian-sub continent. Pakistan, Indian, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh while England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are other big cricketing nations with cricket as second favorite sport. Cricket is also very popular in Caribbeans with international team callled West Indies is comprised of players from different countries across Caribbeans. Cricket also has its roots in countries like Ireland, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Holland.

#4. Tennis

A global reach and over a 1 billion followers makes Tennis the most popular individual based sport. It comes up triumph in many of our criteria factors.

Highest prize money in individual sport: All four grand slams, Australia Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US offer huge prize money and the prize money given to winners mens and women singles event is the highest in any of the individual sport.

The most global calendar year: Tennis events divided in four categories (ATP 250, ATP 500, ATP Masters and Grand Slams) takes place around the world throughout every years. Only football has more global venues than Tennis which is coverage in almost every part of the world.

Most prestigious sport event: Wimbledon is not only the most prestigious tennis event but also in all sport. Over 1 billion people tune in at some point during Wimbledon 2015 and 2014. While 17.3 million viewers tuned in to BBC One only in UK in 2013 Wimbledon final.

#5. Athletics

Athletic is by far the most global sport of them all which include several disciplines of course with Running, long jump and other track/field events. Athletics is also the high point of Olympic games as Athletics based sports are the most watched during any Olympic event.

Most countries represented in Athletics: Athletics is the most represented sport in the olympics with athletes from almost all countries participating in some form of the diciplines in Athletics.

Most watched single olympic event: 100m final gold medal sprint race in 2012 Olympics was the most watched event in Olympic history with over 1 billion tv views across the world.

#6. Rugby

Rugby is a major sport in some of the most economical developed countries like All four home nations of United Kindom (England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland) in souther hemisphere countries like Australia, New Zealand and South africa also boost huge popularity in Rugby.

Second most lucrative Sports World Cup: 2015 Rugby World Cup was the biggest Rugby event in history which took place in England and Wales. It generated in access of £250 million in revenue which was alot more than what was expected.

Second most watched & Attended competition: Rugby world cup 2015 was the most attended sports event behind FIFA World cup 2014. Over 2.47 million tickets were sold with around half a million (480,000) fans traveling from oversees (24 countries).

Highest ever TV ratings in UK: ITV’s coverage of opening ceremony and opening England match was watched by 8.7 million UK viewers on average making it the most watched sports event in UK.

#7. Formula 1

550 million people tune in every year at some stage of Formula 1 season which runs from March to November. F1 is by far the most popular motoSport in the world.

Most lucrative motor-sport: As far as the yearly revenue is concerned Formula 1 generate somewhere between $1.5 to $2 billion a year. Which is soundly distributed among 10 f1 teams who in return spend between $100 million to $500 million a season on elite level motor engineers, research & development and of course on driver salaries.

Massive driver contracts: On formula 1 drivers makes around $5 million a year while the top drivers like Sebastian Vettel who has a $50 million a year contract with Ferrari, current world champion Lewis Hamilton who signed a new deal worth $40 million a year two of the highest paid athletes around.

#8. Boxing

Only combat sport in the list, boxing is truly global just like Tennis and Athletics. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has dominated the rich list in last 10 years while boxing also boost some of the greatest athletes to have ever lived. Boxing is major sport in countries like USA, Mexico, Latin America, United Kingdom, Philippines, Japan, Russia and some eastern European countries like Ukrain, Poland, Romania.

Highest grossing fight of all times: Floyd Mayweather vs Many Pacquiao was the highest grossing boxing fight of all times generating over $400 million in revenue. While Mayweather took home record $250 from nights work while Pacquiao earned $120. Both fighters has kind of dominated forbes athlete rich-list for best part of last 8 years.

#9. Ice Hockey

By far the biggest winter sport in the world and although it is popular or played in specific countries like Canada, Russia, USA, Scandinavian countries like (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) some easter european countries like Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic it can still boost huge popularity specially during the world championships and european championships.

#10: Volleyball

With no intricacies involved, this sport is as simple as you like. And probably it is the simplicity of this sport that makes it so famous among its fans. Take a trip to the hunger struck African countries or try going to the beaches of Australia, you will find people playing this sport everywhere. On professional level, players with tall heights are preferred because of the extra reach they have so if your height is somewhere to the north of 6 feet, you should fancy your chances in this sport.

Most popular in developing countries: It is quite popular in some of the developing countries with the likes of Brazil, Turkey, South Korea, some easter european nations like Poland, Ukrain other european countries like France, Italy and even in Asian region like China, Japan.

#11. Golf

Just lagging by few million fans, golf is the 8th most famous game. A very docile sport involving no real physical competition and can be played by people of all ages. For too long American Golf Star, Tiger Woods, overawed all his competitors through his exquisite playing abilities but now the sport has got some more representatives who are spreading this game to the farthest of places.

Massive earning potential: Golf’s very own Tiger Woods dominated the athlete rich-list for best part of last 15 years largely down to his very lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, EA Sports, Gillette and countless other endorsement deals. 

Most Popular Sports In The World (Countdown 11 to 17)

11 Baseball

Most lucrative sport in USA and Japan. MLB (US) and Nippon League (Japan) are two of the top 10 biggest pro league of all sports

12 American Football 

Biggest sport in USA and the most lucrative and powerful professional sport league of all sports is NFL which generates over $10 billion a year in revenue. Super bowl is the most watched sport event in US.

13 MMA 

Mixed Martial Arts is getting more and more popular with the emergence of UFC. Its a big sport in Brazil, USA while spreading across Europe slowly. It highly rewarding financially and might overtake Boxing in a few years.

14 MotoGP 

It is one of the motorcycle racing series. MotoGP is the premium class competition with huge TV following around the world. Mostly popular in Spain, Italy, Netherlands but growing in England, USA, Germany and Middle-east.

15 Field Hockey

Field Hockey has fallen from grace even where it was most popular India, Pakistan. It still has some varied interest but nothing like 20 years ago where it was major sport in India, Pakistan and fairly popular in Australia, Malaysia, Holland, Germany, England and South Africa.

16 Badminton

Huge popularity in Asia specifically countries like Malaysia, China, India, Korea etc. Its more of a hobby sport in Europe and Americas.

17 Cycling 

Very popular in some major european countries like France, Germany, Italy, Spain, England and Netherlands. Tour de France is one of the most watched competition in the world. Cycling is part of school games around the world.

References:

Total Sportek, 25 World’s Most Popular Sports (Ranked by 13 factors).

Business: Bloomberg, Mets Playoff Push Means Advertisers Pay Double on Team-Owned SNY

The only thing climbing faster than the New York Mets in the standings are the advertising rates on the team’s SNY regional sports network

• Ratings over the past 10 games, eight of which were Mets wins, have skyrocketed about 40%. The increase in eyeballs has prompted the team’s network to double what it charges for its remaining inventory of 30-second commercials, SNY President Steve Raab said on the Bloomberg Business of Sports podcast that airs Thursday.
• The team’s push toward the playoffs has more significant revenue implications for next season, Raab said, because the selling season runs from December to March. “In our business, you’re always a year in arrears,” he said. “The bigger opportunity is always the next year.”

References:

Bloomberg, Mets Playoff Push Means Advertisers Pay Double on Team-Owned SNY, Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams, August 14, 2019, 11:34.

Business: Forbes, The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2019

The world’s richest sports teams are almost all swimming in cash these days. Barcelona, which lost $37 million due to excessive player costs, was the only top-50 team to post a loss on an operating basis, and every other team turned a profit of at least $25 million. More than half of the teams made more than $100 million, led by the Cowboys at $365 million.

Some of the most relevant information:

• NBA teams have made the most dramatic moves this decade. The New York Knicks headline nine hoops teams in the top 50 this year. Their $4 billion value, up 11%, ranks fifth among all sports teams. The Los Angeles Lakers ($3.7 billion) and Golden State Warriors ($3.5 billion) also cracked the top 10. In 2012, the Lakers were the most valuable NBA team at $900 million and ranked 35th out of all sports franchises. The Knicks were the only other NBA team in the top 50 in 2012.
• Three NBA franchises have been sold for at least $2 billion since 2014 (Nets, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers). The prior NBA-record sale price was $550 million for the Milwaukee Bucks, which closed three months before Steve Ballmer’s $2 billion blockbuster purchase of the Clippers.

The franchise values below are based on Forbes’ published valuations over the past 12 months by Mike Ozanian, Christina Settimi and Kurt Badenhausen. Team values reflect enterprise values (equity plus debt). No teams from the NHL, Nascar, MLS or Formula One made the top 50. The highest-ranking franchise outside of the NBA, NFL, MLB and European soccer was the New York Rangers at 72nd with a value of $1.55 billion.

• The NFL remains the most dominant sports leagues with more than half of the 50 most valuable sports franchises, but the other major sports chipped away at its dominance during the past year.
• The discount bin is empty when shopping for teams in the major sports leagues. Every NFL, NBA and MLB franchise is now worth at least $1 billion.
• Manchester United was the world’s only pro sports team worth more than $2 billion in 2012. Now there are at least 50, including almost every NFL team.

The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2019: Top 10

1 | Dallas Cowboys (NFL)

Value: $5 billion
1-Year % Change: 4%
Owner: Jerry Jones
Operating Income: $365 million

2 | New York Yankees (MLB)

Value: $4.6 billion
1-Year % Change: 15%
Owners: Steinbrenner family
Operating Income: $30 million

3 | Real Madrid (Soccer)

Value: $4.24 billion
1-Year % Change: 4%
Owners: Club members
Operating Income: $112 million

4 | Barcelona (Soccer)

Value: $4.02 billion
1-Year % Change: -1%
Owners: Club members
Operating Income: -$37 million

5 | New York Knicks (NBA)

Value: $4 billion
1-Year % Change: 11%
Owner: Madison Square Garden Company
Operating Income: $155 million

6 | Manchester United (Soccer)

Value: $3.81 billion
1-Year % Change: -8%
Owners: Glazer family
Operating Income: $238 million

7 | New England Patriots (NFL)

Value: $3.8 billion
1-Year % Change: 3%
Owner: Robert Kraft
Operating Income: $235 million

8 | Los Angeles Lakers (NBA)

Value: $3.7 billion
1-Year % Change: 12%
Owners: Jerry Buss Family Trusts, Philip Anschutz
Operating Income: $147 million

9 | Golden State Warriors (NBA)

Value: $3.5 billion
1-Year % Change: 13%
Owners: Joe Lacob, Peter Guber
Operating Income: $103 million

10 (tie) | New York Giants (NFL)

Value: $3.3 billion
1-Year % Change: 0%
Owners: John Mara, Steven Tisch
Operating Income: $149 million

10 (tie) | Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB)

Value: $3.3 billion
1-Year % Change: 10%
Owners: Guggenheim Baseball Management
Operating Income: $95 million

References:

Forbes, The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2019, Kurt Badenhausen.

  

Business: Forbes, The Business of MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL

Forbes is an American business magazine. Published bi-weekly, it features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. Its headquarters is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Primary competitors in the national business magazine category include Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. 

The magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400), of the world's top companies (the Forbes Global 2000), and The World's Billionaires.

The major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada are the highest professional competitions of team sports in those countries. The four leagues universally included in the definition are Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and National Hockey League (NHL).

Big Four leagues

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play of baseball in North America. It consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Cooperation between the two leagues began in 1903, and the two merged on an organizational level in 2000 with the elimination of separate league offices; they have shared a single Commissioner since 1920. There are currently 30 member teams, with 29 located in the U.S. and one in Canada. Traditionally called the "National Pastime", baseball was the first professional sport in the U.S. 

National Basketball Association (NBA)

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the premier basketball league in the world. It was founded as the Basketball Association of America in 1946, and adopted its current name in 1949, when the BAA partially absorbed the rival National Basketball League. Four teams from the rival American Basketball Association joined the NBA with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. It has 30 teams, 29 in the United States and one in Canada. The NBA is watched by audiences both domestically and internationally. 

National Football League (NFL)

The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league and was founded in 1920 as a combination of various teams from regional leagues such as the Ohio League, the New York Pro Football League, and the Chicago circuit. The NFL partially absorbed the All-America Football Conference in 1949 and merged with the American Football League in 1970. It has 32 teams, all located in the United States. 

NFL games are the most attended of domestic professional leagues in the world in terms of per-game attendance, and the most popular in the U.S. in terms of television ratings and merchandising. Its championship game, the Super Bowl, is the most watched annual event on U.S. television, with Super Bowl XLIX being the single most-watched program in U.S. television history.

The NFL is the only one of the major leagues not to have a presence in Canada, where the Canadian Football League is the premier professional league in a similar but not identical sport.

National Hockey League (NHL)

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league and it is the only one of the major leagues to have been founded in Canada. It was formed in 1917 as a successor to the Canadian National Hockey Association (founded 1909), taking all but one of the NHA's teams. The NHL partially absorbed the rival World Hockey Association in 1979. There are 31 teams, with 24 in the U.S. and seven in Canada; the league will expand to 32 teams with the entry of a Seattle team in 2021. 

The most popular sports league in Canada, and widely followed across the northern and northeastern U.S., the NHL has expanded westward and southward in recent decades to attempt to gain a more national following in the United States, in cities such as Denver, San Jose, Dallas, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, Raleigh, Tampa, Las Vegas with varying success.

For many decades prior to the 1990s, the only NHL team in the United States in the southern half of the country, or west of the Mississippi River, was the Los Angeles Kings. Hockey still remains much more popular in the northern states of the U.S. closer to Canada, such as the Upper Midwest, New England and the mid-Atlantic States of New Jersey, New York (the New York Metropolitan area has 3 NHL teams compared to 2 for each of the other 3 leagues) and Pennsylvania, than in the rest of the United States. The NHL has more Canadian teams (seven) than MLB, the NBA, the NFL, and Major League Soccer combined (five).

The Business Of Baseball (MLB), 2019 Rankings

The Business Of Basketball (NBA), 2019 Rankings

The Business Of Football (NFL), 2018 Rankings

The Business Of Hockey (NHL), 2018 Rankings

References:

Forbes, The Business Of Baseball List.

Forbes, The Business Of Basketball List.

Forbes, The Business Of Football List.

Forbes, The Business Of Hockey List.

Wikipedia, Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. 

Opinión: Las industrias deportivas son motores de crecimiento que necesitan estrellas

El Big Picture del Deporte como un motor de crecimiento es como un árbol gigante con unas raíces muy sanas y fuertes. Las estrellas del deporte forman una parte crucialmente importante de esas raíces. Ese árbol genera prosperidades de todo tipo, por ejemplo, salud física y mental. Esa prosperidad también es económica. Y gracias a la prosperidad económica todo se hace viable y sostenible. Como a todo árbol debe cuidársele. Protegerlo. Alimentarlo.

Las Industrias deportivas estadounidenses tan poderosas como la NBA, la NFL, la MLB y la NHL cuidan extraordinariamente a sus estrellas, porque sus estrellas forman una parte muy importante de la raíz de su éxito. 

Las estrellas en cualquier deporte atraen a los aficionados, los hacen soñar, les crean ilusiones.

Millones de aficionados en el mundo viven al tanto del desempeño de sus estrellas. Las siguen, las estudian y en algunos casos las idolatran.

Hay estrellas locales, nacionales y un selecto grupo son súper estrellas globales.

La prestigiosa revista de negocios Forbes ha seguido a las principales estrellas de los deportes para, por ejemplo, establecer el ranking de los que tienen los ingresos anuales más altos.

Forbes ha hecho ese seguimiento a las estrellas del deporte durante tres décadas, y sólo siete han aterrizado en el primer lugar desde 1990 (Tiger Woods tiene el récord con 12 veces en el No. 1). El icono del fútbol mundial Lionel Messi añade un octavo nombre a la lista de rollos este año y, después de su rival cristiano Ronaldo, es sólo el segundo jugador de fútbol en clasificarse en primer lugar.

El top 100 de las estrellas mejor pagadas en 2019 abarca 10 deportes e incluye atletas de 25 países. Sus $4 mil millones de dólares en ganancias combinadas de premios en metálico, salarios y endosos entre junio de 2018 y junio de 2019 se ha incrementado un 5% con respecto al año pasado, cuando Floyd Mayweather fue el primero con $285 millones.

A continuación contenido que hemos creado sobre la parte Business del Big Picture del Deporte.

Business: Forbes, The World's Highest-Paid Athletes, 2019 

Business: 2018 PwC Outlook for the sports market in North America through 2022, Summary

Business: 2018 PwC Outlook for the sports market in North America through 2022, Opportunities

Business: Deloitte Annual Review of Football Finance 2019, Some key points

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Business: Sports gambling opportunity in the North American market

Business: En España según El País (2015) el Big Picture del deporte es un motor de crecimiento que aporta riqueza y es inmune a la crisis

Business: Forbes, The World's Highest-Paid Athletes, 2019

Forbes is an American business magazine. Published bi-weekly, it features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. Forbes also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. Its headquarters is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Primary competitors in the national business magazine category include Fortune and Bloomberg Businessweek. 

The magazine is well known for its lists and rankings, including of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400), of the world's top companies (the Forbes Global 2000), and The World's Billionaires. 

Forbes has tracked the leading earners in sports for three decades, and only seven athletes have landed in the top spot since 1990 (Tiger Woods holds the record with 12 times at No. 1). Global soccer icon Lionel Messi adds an eighth name to the roll call this year and, after longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo, is only the second soccer player to rank first.

The top 100 spans 10 sports and includes athletes from 25 countries. Their $4 billion in combined earnings from prize money, salaries and endorsements between June 2018 and June 2019 is up 5% from last year, when Floyd Mayweather was first with $285 million.

The Top 10 are:

1. Messi (Soccer)
2. CR7 (Soccer)
3. Neymar (Soccer)
4. Canelo (Box)
5. Federer (Tennis)
6. Wilson (NFL)
7. Rodgers (NFL)
8. LeBron (NBA)
9. Curry (NBA)
10. Durant (NBA)

The Top 11 to 20 are:

11. Tiger (Golf)
12. Roethlisberger (NFL)
13. Hamilton (Formula 1)
13. Joshua (Box)
13. Mack (NFL)
16. Westbrook (NBA)
17. Djokovic (Tennis)
17. Trout (MLB)
19. Mickelson (Golf)
20. Harden (NBA)

The Top 21 - 100 are:

Newcomers Delight

NFL contracts for elite stars carry huge upfront signing bonuses, pushing this quartet of gridiron greats to career-high paydays and their first appearances on the top 100. They are joined by Philadelphia’s new $330 million slugger.

Basketball Rules

Thirty-five NBAers made the cut, with cumulative earnings of $1.3 billion. Credit basketball’s skyrocketing player salaries driven by a near doubling of the salary cap over the past five years. Tennis players make four times as much from endorsements and appearance fees as from prize money.

USA vs The World

More than half of the top 100 earners play in the NFL or the NBA, giving Americans the advantage on total earnings, but the rich endorsement portfolios of international tennis and soccer stars mean higher average earnings for those outside the U.S.

Rising Tides

The top earner in sports has regularly banked more than $100 million annually since Tiger Woods rose to prominence in the 2000s, but the major shift is the rise of the next class of paychecks. The earnings for the tenth-highest-paid player is up 150% in 15 years.

Elite athletes are earning more than ever thanks to soaring salaries driven by ever-richer TV contracts. The cutoff to crack the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes is $25 million this year, compared with $17.3 million five years ago.

Here is a breakdown of the sports, nationalities, sponsors and more for the world’s 100 highest-paid athletes.

Sport

Athletes from 10 sports made the top 100. NBA stars led the way with 35 players (down from 40 last year), headed by LeBron James at $89 million.

The NFL was the next-best-represented sport with 19 athletes. Russell Wilson ($89.5 million) and Aaron Rodgers ($89.3 million) are well ahead of their peers after signing new deals with signing bonuses worth a combined $115 million.

Baseball (15 athletes); soccer (12); golf, boxing and tennis (5 each); and racing (2) also landed multiple stars in the top 100. For the fourth straight year, Virat Kohli ($25 million) and McGregor were the lone representatives from cricket and mixed martial arts. No NHL player or Nascar driver earned $20 million during the past year.

Nationality

There are 25 countries represented in the top 100. The United States had 62 athletes make the cut, thanks to the sky-high salaries in the major U.S. sports leagues, although the tally was down from 65 in 2018. Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton and boxer Anthony Joshua (both at $55 million) led the U.K contingent of five athletes. France and Spain each had three athletes while Brazil, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Serbia and Venezuela all had two. 

This is the list of the countries with one athlete in The World's Highest-Paid Athletes:

• Argentina (Lionel Messi, 1).
• Chile (Alexis Sanchez, 53).
• Cuba (Yoenis Céspedes, 62).
• Egypt (Mohamed Salah, 98).
• Greece (Giannis Antetokounmpo, 26).
• India (Virat Kohli, 100).
• Ireland (Conor McGregor, 21).
• Japan (Kei Nishikori, 35).
• Kazakhstan (Gennady Golovkin, 95).
• Mexico (Canelo Alvarez, 4).
• Portugal (Cristiano Ronaldo, 2).
• Philippines (Manny Pacquiao, 92).
• Switzerland (Roger Federer, 5).
• Wales (Gareth Bale, 79).

Sponsors

The top 100 earned $986 million from endorsements, memorabilia and appearance fees, up 12% from last year, as companies focused their marketing budgets on elite talent. Nike has the most athletes under contract, with 51 of the top 100.

Nike’s chief rival, Adidas, endorses 17 athletes in the top 100, including those under its Reebok brand. PepsiCo, along with its Gatorade and Mountain Dew brands, is affiliated with 13 athletes by Forbes’ count.

Surprise

The biggest surprise is that not a single Chinese superstar is found in The World's Highest-Paid Athletes. China is a global powerhouse in multiple areas (e.g., business, science, and technology). From now on I anticipate that we have to count on China on the next list.

References:

Forbes, 2019 The World's Highest-Paid Athletes Earnings, Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes Staff, June 11, 2019, link: https://www.forbes.com/athletes/#46e6132055ae.

Forbes, Behind The Numbers Of The Top-Earning Athletes 2019, Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes Staff, June 11, 2019, link: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2019/06/11/behind-the-numbers-of-the-top-earning-athletes-2019/#6d0742f86bbe.

Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes Staff: 

• I cover sports business with rare dips into b-schools, local economies. 
• I am a senior editor at Forbes and focus mainly on the business of sports and our annual franchise valuations. I also spend a lot of my time digging into what athletes earn on and off the field of play. I've profiled a bunch of athletes that go by one name: LeBron, Shaq, Danica and others. I also head up our biennial B-School rankings and our annual features on the Best Places for Business (metros, states and countries). I joined Forbes in 1998 after working 3 years at Financial World magazine.

Wikipedia, Forbes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes.

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Opinión: En la MLB un jonronero de los NY Yankees asustaba, no le dieron base por bola y 2 JONRONES

Clic para leer el artículo de Neil Greenberg en el Washington Post

El fascinante mundo de la MLB es muy particular. Y sus estrategias defensivas y ofensivas también.

Los enfrentamientos entre el lanzador y el bateador de turno involucran una cantidad de variables impresionantes, por ejemplo, lo histórico de sus enfrentamientos, el histórico de los enfrentamientos del bateador con otros lanzadores y contra el mismo equipo, los indicadores del bateador en la temporada.

En el enfrentamiento cuenta mucho la comunicación entre el lanzador y su receptor. Un buen receptor guía al lanzador para que sus lanzamientos tengan más impacto. 

Pero de pronto cuando el bateador tiene un historial de varios jonrones y un promedio altísimo justo contra el mismo equipo, la MLB habilita a que el lanzador de le dé base por bola al bateador. Es una estrategia defensiva válida. No me gusta verla. No contribuye mucho al espectáculo. Pero hay que reconocerlo es muy efectiva.

En el partido del miércoles el venezolano Gleyber Torres fue el héroe del partido. Destrozó a los Orioles de Baltimore con dos jonrones. Los NY Yankees ganaron el partido 7 - 5.

Vídeo con la proeza de Gleyber Torres desde el canal de la MLB en Youtube

La polémica es por qué le lanzaron a Gleyber Torres si tenía un historial fabuloso contra los Orioles. 

El periodista del Washington Post Neil Greenberg es un experto en análisis de datos, y desde su conocimiento científico es claro que el lanzador jamás debió lanzarle a Gleyber. Sencillamente porque la ciencia indicaba que la probabilidad de que el bateador Venezolano le bateara un jonrón era muy alta. 

Clic para leer el artículo de Neil Greenberg en el Washington Post

Y la ciencia estaba en lo cierto. Dos jonrones decisivos batió Gleyber Torres para hacerle un enorme bien al espectáculo. Para enriquecer la magia de la MBL.

Yo entiendo perfectamente a Neil, científicamente está en lo correcto, pero yo como aficionado, en esos momentos me olvidé de la ciencia y gocé profundamente los dos jonrones.

Este es un ejemplo claro de cómo en la MLB el deporte y la ciencia se entrelazan en el Big Picture de la MLB. Y para MLB como negocio basado en las proezas de sus peloteros, qué bueno que la ciencia no haya decidido. 

Fuente:

The Washington Post, The Yankees’ Gleyber Torres torments the Orioles like no hitter has ever tormented a team, Neil Greenberg, May 23, 2019, link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/05/23/yankees-gleyber-torres-torments-orioles-like-no-hitter-has-ever-tormented-team/?utm_term=.5f291f5cd08b.