Entering a new phase, the National Hockey League (NHL) seems to be getting pressure from NBC. One of the senior executors insist that most hockey players be clean cut. Its for image. A lot of other malarkey from the vacuous brain of a suited executive.
Why is it that American sport media feel the need to manage a sport? I doubt the slagging ratings experienced annually by NBC have anything to do with player's face hair. Check the employee list. NBC sports pun-ditz carry the worst baggage on television.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Pan American Pan (PAP)
Heading into the Pan American Games the organization deserves to be wiped across the examination table of the provincial auditor. Call the PAP smear.
Contrast the original forecast with now. They forecast a rush on hotels, reserve early. Recent comments by the phenomenally greedy Toronto hoteliers there was no rush to reserve. Indeed there will be vacancies all over the place.
Contrast. They pushed the idea to buy advance tickets. Unfortunately up til this moment, this date, ticket sales are so far behind that the officials are skirting around the issue of ticket sales. Trust this observation. If ticket sales were furious they would be bragging like it was 1066ad in Normandy.
Indeed, there are rumored price drops which means that advanced ticket buyers hoping to purchase seats at a discount will now be paying the premium price for some events. Some people are upset.
After the fun ends there will be the predictable hangover. Except so few people will see the games in person that no one will get much of a headache. Rather taxpayers will be outraged by the final enormous cost overruns of which cost points will trickle rather than pour out.
Is there a beneficiary, certainly UofT Scarborough campus will be a big winner. A low cost world Olympic class swimming pool is in their use. After it will certainly be declared as a probable venue for Toronto's next summer Olympic bid. Its certain to happen. The Pan Am Games will be declared by all the politicians as a success. Taxpayers will go..."What the hell?"
And everything will be right with the world.
Contrast the original forecast with now. They forecast a rush on hotels, reserve early. Recent comments by the phenomenally greedy Toronto hoteliers there was no rush to reserve. Indeed there will be vacancies all over the place.
Contrast. They pushed the idea to buy advance tickets. Unfortunately up til this moment, this date, ticket sales are so far behind that the officials are skirting around the issue of ticket sales. Trust this observation. If ticket sales were furious they would be bragging like it was 1066ad in Normandy.
Indeed, there are rumored price drops which means that advanced ticket buyers hoping to purchase seats at a discount will now be paying the premium price for some events. Some people are upset.
After the fun ends there will be the predictable hangover. Except so few people will see the games in person that no one will get much of a headache. Rather taxpayers will be outraged by the final enormous cost overruns of which cost points will trickle rather than pour out.
Is there a beneficiary, certainly UofT Scarborough campus will be a big winner. A low cost world Olympic class swimming pool is in their use. After it will certainly be declared as a probable venue for Toronto's next summer Olympic bid. Its certain to happen. The Pan Am Games will be declared by all the politicians as a success. Taxpayers will go..."What the hell?"
And everything will be right with the world.
Monday, June 8, 2015
The Big Elephant
FIFA fell on its own twisted arrogance. In some ways, this scandal was good not just for football/soccer but brings a framework for scrutiny for all professional and amateur sports. The message it sends is fatigue over the escalating costs of major international and national sports events.
Wrapped in total angst, the observer must ask whether bribery in this case truly effected the outcome of the choice of event venue(s). The Republic of South Africa(RSA) was chosen. When the investigation proved that FIFA officials allegedly received bribes and kickbacks the decision was criticized albeit encased in the convenience of hindsight. Here lies the problem. Before the decision to have RSA hold the World Cup of Football, FIFA was under considerable pressure to have the cup sited on the African Continent. Of all the nations on the African continent, RSA was the most capable from an economic, political and social aspect. Its the number one pick if one wanted to hold any major sports event in Africa.
The same goes for the World Cup choices of Russia and Qatar. Bribery seems totally pointless because both those nations can and will comfortably host successful tournaments. They would have been the best choices on that cycle. This fact which sustains those choices despite the rapacious challenges of the bribery scandal. And that is the problem with bribery in these cases. The payments were quite unnecessary.
One must also question the selectivity of American justice. The massive arm of the United States Justice system goes after FIFA for very two very strange reasons. When the choice process took place the nation in second place was the United States. But it was a second place that wasn't even close in voting. The last round Qatar had 14 votes to the United States 8.
The American prosecution seems a major case of the sour grapes of being the poor loser. Their prosecution seems very legitimate because FIFA officials carelessly used US based banks and financial firms. The allegations include money laundering and this is illegal in the USA. This single fact opened the door for the USA government to undertake legal action against FIFA officials.
Whether these officials will be successfully convicted seems likely since the modern US court system smells a lot like the kangaroo. The United States does seem very selective in its choice. The reason for this assessment emerges as the righteous weight of the US comes down on FIFA, other professional organizations continue on unscathed. The big one, the big international fish is the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Some time ago, some Olympic Committee members were accused of the very same thing. One prominent point of strangeness was when the City of Athens magically lost its bid to the much weaker Atlanta bid. Up to the final vote, the contention by rumor that some votes were enhanced by money offers. Indeed, the wining and dining of Olympic officials seems to point to the use of financial or perk incentives. It comes to the single question, the big elephant. Does the IOC stand up the to the same scrutiny as FIFA experienced?
Wrapped in total angst, the observer must ask whether bribery in this case truly effected the outcome of the choice of event venue(s). The Republic of South Africa(RSA) was chosen. When the investigation proved that FIFA officials allegedly received bribes and kickbacks the decision was criticized albeit encased in the convenience of hindsight. Here lies the problem. Before the decision to have RSA hold the World Cup of Football, FIFA was under considerable pressure to have the cup sited on the African Continent. Of all the nations on the African continent, RSA was the most capable from an economic, political and social aspect. Its the number one pick if one wanted to hold any major sports event in Africa.
The same goes for the World Cup choices of Russia and Qatar. Bribery seems totally pointless because both those nations can and will comfortably host successful tournaments. They would have been the best choices on that cycle. This fact which sustains those choices despite the rapacious challenges of the bribery scandal. And that is the problem with bribery in these cases. The payments were quite unnecessary.
One must also question the selectivity of American justice. The massive arm of the United States Justice system goes after FIFA for very two very strange reasons. When the choice process took place the nation in second place was the United States. But it was a second place that wasn't even close in voting. The last round Qatar had 14 votes to the United States 8.
The American prosecution seems a major case of the sour grapes of being the poor loser. Their prosecution seems very legitimate because FIFA officials carelessly used US based banks and financial firms. The allegations include money laundering and this is illegal in the USA. This single fact opened the door for the USA government to undertake legal action against FIFA officials.
Whether these officials will be successfully convicted seems likely since the modern US court system smells a lot like the kangaroo. The United States does seem very selective in its choice. The reason for this assessment emerges as the righteous weight of the US comes down on FIFA, other professional organizations continue on unscathed. The big one, the big international fish is the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Some time ago, some Olympic Committee members were accused of the very same thing. One prominent point of strangeness was when the City of Athens magically lost its bid to the much weaker Atlanta bid. Up to the final vote, the contention by rumor that some votes were enhanced by money offers. Indeed, the wining and dining of Olympic officials seems to point to the use of financial or perk incentives. It comes to the single question, the big elephant. Does the IOC stand up the to the same scrutiny as FIFA experienced?
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