Many baseball purists are in a funk today. Barry Bonds did hit his 756th home run last night. The man that many fear cheated his way to this hallowed record is now the man who has hit more home runs than anyone to ever play the game. Lightening sent from the Almighty as a sign that cheaters never win did not strike him dead before he could accomplish that feat. How dark is their day?
I look at this differently. Yes, I also believe that Barry Bonds used performance-enhancing drugs and that it was the combination of his innate skill and those anabolic steroids that produced this record. But I see this glass as 90% full instead of 10% empty. Now we will not have to suffer ESPN showing us every one of Barry Bonds’ at bats or long and drawn out close-ups of his face between pitches or shots of him in the dugout sitting alone and looking bored. We won’t have to read about the angst of Hank Aaron or about what Commissioner Bud Selig ought to do that he hasn’t done. It’s over; it happened; we can now get back to our normal sports fandom. And isn’t that a blessing?
I want to talk about something completely different [/Monty Python] today; there was some news in the business section that had an ominous ring. General Motors announced that it will no longer be an official sponsor of the Olympic Games after next year’s events in Beijing. One report had the value of this sponsorship deal at $700M while another said it was in the range of $1B; I have no idea what GM was paying out to the IOC and the networks for this sponsorship, so let’s call it $800M as a middle ground number just for fun. Why is this ominous?
Well, if you are GM, this is ominous because it probably indicates that this is a price tag that may exceed the capacity of the GM budget these days. The Olympics are colossally over-produced television events; I happen to find them hugely annoying to watch. But the Olympics draw huge audiences here in the US and abroad. To say that the Olympics do not deliver eyeballs to TV sets in a way that is economically beneficial to the sponsors would have to imply that advertising and promotions are not working well enough to justify such outrageous costs. And there’s the other side of the ominous tone here.
Maybe GM can’t afford to play in a game of these stakes anymore; indeed, this company is in deep yogurt financially. But maybe this is also the beginning of an expression of disbelief from sponsors about the huge costs of such sponsorships and advertising spots. To the sports fan, that second option has lots more impact than a financial implosion of GM.
I do not want to minimize the direct impact on those people who would lose their jobs if GM actually imploded; they would surely suffer directly. What I want to focus on here is the impact on the world of big time sports as we have come to know it. Look at the GM sponsorship of the Olympics as an $800M pot and realize that much of that money flows to NBC and then on to the IOC. If no one else steps up to claim that sponsorship at that price in 2012, NBC will be left holding the bag because they have a fixed price deal with the IOC for future Olympics television rights.
NBC is owned by General Electric; so even if NBC lost the full $800M on this deal, they can survive. Shareholders of GE – and I am one of them – would not be pleased with that result, but both entities would survive. However, how might such a loss make NBC view its bids for future television rights in other major sports? That’s where a ripple effect could make itself felt on the business of sports and sports fans.
I think it will be interesting to keep an eye on two things here:
1. Does another company step forward to claim the sponsorship role GM had with the Olympic Games at a similar level of financial commitment?
2. Does GM continue to buy huge blocks of time for NFL telecasts and specifically for the Super Bowl where 30 second spots cost multi-millions of dollars?
Meanwhile, several levels down on the financial scale, a minor league baseball team is doing something for charity that is worth noting. The New Hampshire Fisher Cats play in the Eastern League as the Toronto Blue Jays’ AA team. On August 25, they will change their team name to the “New Hampshire Primaries” – in honor of New Hampshire’s position as the state with the first Presidential primary election – and after the game, the team will auction off the game-worn jerseys with the proceeds going to a local charity. This may not be a deal worth $800M, but it’s definitely worth mentioning because it shows why minor league baseball is such an attractive product on the local level.
A couple of days ago, I said that if Michael Strahan said that his holdout had nothing to do with money, I would conclude that it had everything to do with money. Strahan has said just that. I need now to modify that position slightly after reading that Strahan and Lawrence Taylor are tied for the Giants’ all-time sack leadership. Money is a huge motivator for the modern athlete; so is ego gratification. One motivator tells Strahan to hold out and score a bigger deal; the other says to haul his butt into camp with about a week to go; then go out and record a sack; and then pull a hammy.
I read yesterday that Pacman Jones has indeed signed on with one of the wrestling promotion companies and will be part of an upcoming pay-per-view event. This is the activity that Pacman says will keep him out of trouble during his yearlong suspension from the NFL. Let it be said; let it be done.
Now for a Quick Quiz:
Which reputation – Pacman Jones’ or professional wrestling’s – will be damaged more by having Pacman perform as a ‘rassler?
500 words or less…
Here’s a public service announcement for everyone. Tonight is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night. So, how will you be celebrating this?
Finally, here’s syndicated columnist, Norman Chad, presenting the case for the NHL playing two 30-minute halves instead of three 20-minute periods:
“The NHL should not continue to give viewers two 15-minute opportunities to find a more violent TV option. Let’s say you’re grazing around during the second intermission of a Penguins-Rangers game and come upon ‘The Godfather’. Are you going to reject Vito Corleone and return to Jaromir Jagr? I think not.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…