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Blame These Guys for State of Sports
The Top 10 People Who Ruined a Good Thing
By STEVE ASCHBURNER, AOL Exclusive
It is over, you know, this fascinating, love/hate relationship Americans have had for the past 100 years or so with their professional sports. Finally, with basketball players barreling into the stands, sluggers corking their biceps and an entire league (NHL) entering into a scary suicide pact between its players and management, we have found the floor. There is no going lower.
Money, cheating, hype, crime, ego, illicit women, gambling, booze, drugs, reckless driving, malfeasance, bling, expansion, overexposure, commercialization, lying and $7 beers have extracted their price and drained the life out of what used to be fun and games.
Thank goodness, at least, for the trial lawyers, because someone deserves to get not only blamed but sued for spoiling things. Thank goodness, too, for Court TV, because we're going to need something to watch.
Here, in countdown order, is one man's list of the 10 people (counting multiple entries as one) most responsible for ruining pro sports:
10. James Faria and Robert Wright, inventors of Astroturf
New technology isn't always a good thing, as we learned with the introduction of plastic grass. Bad enough that forcing players to compete on the too-tough turf shortened careers, caused season-wrecking injuries and altered the games themselves (look out for that crazy bounce!). But Astroturf also begat indoor ballparks, which led to expansion into areas not previously considered comfortable enough, climate-wise, to host teams. Too many franchises, too little talent and too much of it forced to play on bogus grass.
9. Scott Boras, David Falk, Leigh Steinberg and a cast of hundreds
This is a group entry, representing all the sports agents who have extracted their four percent from contracts of players who, more often than not, could have landed similar deals without the middle man. Their creativity in packing deals full of perks -- family use of the corporate jet, for instance -- further distanced athletes from their fans, and the agents' knack for spinning even the worst behavior and leveraging package deals and trades has crippled more than one franchise.
8. Roone Arledge
Arledge, as czar of ABC Sports, was the first one to make the telecast of a sporting event bigger than the event itself. Dandy Don, Frank and Howard were a phenomenon, cultural icons in the '70s and great for their time. But the MNF franchise isn't what it used to be and too many broadcasts still think that they, not the game, are the show.
7. Evel Knievel
This guy's Snake River Canyon jump (or more accurately, plunge) was on Wide World of Sports, for cryin' out loud. The hustler-daredevil legitimized trash sports and bears responsibility for the Battle of the Network Stars, the Superstars competition, gluttony contests and every other pseudo-event that followed. When watching Joe Frazier splash for his life in a swimming pool is the highlight of a made-up competition, something is seriously wrong.
6. Rockin' Roland
Remember the lanky guy in the rainbow fright wig, waving the "John 3:16'' sign around in the background of televised sporting events? He was one of the first fans to break that fourth wall -- OK, Morganna deserves some bouncing blame, too -- and make himself part of the game. The real-life guy had a tragic trajectory, got caught up in an evangelical fervor, began making bombs and wound up on "America's Most Wanted.'' He remains one of "Sports' Most Unwanteds.''
5. Pete Rose
It never had the cachet of the long ball, but reigning as baseball's all-time hits king could have been a pretty cool -- and lucrative -- way for the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies sparkplug to wile away 40 years or so. He could have walked in the front door at Cooperstown and managed the Reds or some other club for about as long as he chose. But getting a little action meant more to him, and the lies that followed enabled Rose to accomplish the impossible: Making the guy he passed, Ty Cobb, seem like a sweetheart.
4. Marvin Miller
For too long, the tyrants who owned major league baseball teams had it all their way. Then Miller got involved with the players' union, and the pendulum of power began to swing. Free agency was the right thing to do, but ultimately it was bad for the game, severing long-lasting relationships between players and fans, with too much moving around and switched allegiances. As the athletes' piece of the pie got bigger, the alienation from the paying customers got greater.
3. George Steinbrenner
Without a buyer, there can't be sellers. Other franchises diligently invested in scouts, minor-league systems and facilities, and Steinbrenner just walked in and threw his wallet on the table. Having to divvy up the nation's No. 1 market with a couple of legitimate rivals, rather than just the Mets, might have forced Steinbrenner to be more skillful. But for now, it's like trying to bluff A-Rod out of a friendly game of Texas Hold 'Em.
2. Bill Rasmussen, founder of ESPN
An idea that probably was overdue, conceiving a 24/7 sports network was a stroke of genius. The possibilities for programming -- that is, exposing fans to little-seen sports and low-profile conferences -- was endless. Then the cute lil’ toy grew into the Evil Empire, generating offspring and dominating all aspects of the sports world. It informs, it schmoozes, it ridicules, it hypes and, most of all, it pats itself on the back for its wacky sense of humor and relentless reporting, all the while committed to that journalistic principle of getting the brand name above the title. The folks in Bristol, Conn., also get the blame for sports talk radio and the shift in sports reporting from actual news to opinions and prognosticating.
1. Muhammad Ali
Shocked? Hear us out. Like a lot of the names on this list, Ali started out as something fresh and good, but lost his way and led to countless imitators who never understood in the first place. Look, this boxer, once reviled in America, currently is revered as a god on Earth. But his brashness and decibel level led to all the noise out there now. And while Ali was winking as he made jokes and recited poems, doing whatever he could to goose the gate in an individual sport, those who followed took themselves and their trash talk way too seriously, even as they forced it into a team sport context. Joe Namath was a slick start down that path. Then came Reggie Jackson, Brian Bosworth, Deion Sanders, Terrell Owens and dozens who would just love for us to mention their names, again.
Among those who did not make the cut for Top 10: Dennis Rodman, Al Davis, Walter O'Malley & Horace Stoneham (twin entry for moving the Dodgers and Giants), Mike Tyson, Steve Howe, Bill Veeck (showmanship taken too far), August Busch and that kid who reached over the wall, stole the ball and cost the Orioles a World Series trip.
Steve Aschburner ****** the NBA and the Timberwolves for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The Top 10 People Who Ruined a Good Thing
By STEVE ASCHBURNER, AOL Exclusive
It is over, you know, this fascinating, love/hate relationship Americans have had for the past 100 years or so with their professional sports. Finally, with basketball players barreling into the stands, sluggers corking their biceps and an entire league (NHL) entering into a scary suicide pact between its players and management, we have found the floor. There is no going lower.
Money, cheating, hype, crime, ego, illicit women, gambling, booze, drugs, reckless driving, malfeasance, bling, expansion, overexposure, commercialization, lying and $7 beers have extracted their price and drained the life out of what used to be fun and games.
Thank goodness, at least, for the trial lawyers, because someone deserves to get not only blamed but sued for spoiling things. Thank goodness, too, for Court TV, because we're going to need something to watch.
Here, in countdown order, is one man's list of the 10 people (counting multiple entries as one) most responsible for ruining pro sports:
10. James Faria and Robert Wright, inventors of Astroturf
New technology isn't always a good thing, as we learned with the introduction of plastic grass. Bad enough that forcing players to compete on the too-tough turf shortened careers, caused season-wrecking injuries and altered the games themselves (look out for that crazy bounce!). But Astroturf also begat indoor ballparks, which led to expansion into areas not previously considered comfortable enough, climate-wise, to host teams. Too many franchises, too little talent and too much of it forced to play on bogus grass.
9. Scott Boras, David Falk, Leigh Steinberg and a cast of hundreds
This is a group entry, representing all the sports agents who have extracted their four percent from contracts of players who, more often than not, could have landed similar deals without the middle man. Their creativity in packing deals full of perks -- family use of the corporate jet, for instance -- further distanced athletes from their fans, and the agents' knack for spinning even the worst behavior and leveraging package deals and trades has crippled more than one franchise.
8. Roone Arledge
Arledge, as czar of ABC Sports, was the first one to make the telecast of a sporting event bigger than the event itself. Dandy Don, Frank and Howard were a phenomenon, cultural icons in the '70s and great for their time. But the MNF franchise isn't what it used to be and too many broadcasts still think that they, not the game, are the show.
7. Evel Knievel
This guy's Snake River Canyon jump (or more accurately, plunge) was on Wide World of Sports, for cryin' out loud. The hustler-daredevil legitimized trash sports and bears responsibility for the Battle of the Network Stars, the Superstars competition, gluttony contests and every other pseudo-event that followed. When watching Joe Frazier splash for his life in a swimming pool is the highlight of a made-up competition, something is seriously wrong.
6. Rockin' Roland
Remember the lanky guy in the rainbow fright wig, waving the "John 3:16'' sign around in the background of televised sporting events? He was one of the first fans to break that fourth wall -- OK, Morganna deserves some bouncing blame, too -- and make himself part of the game. The real-life guy had a tragic trajectory, got caught up in an evangelical fervor, began making bombs and wound up on "America's Most Wanted.'' He remains one of "Sports' Most Unwanteds.''
5. Pete Rose
It never had the cachet of the long ball, but reigning as baseball's all-time hits king could have been a pretty cool -- and lucrative -- way for the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies sparkplug to wile away 40 years or so. He could have walked in the front door at Cooperstown and managed the Reds or some other club for about as long as he chose. But getting a little action meant more to him, and the lies that followed enabled Rose to accomplish the impossible: Making the guy he passed, Ty Cobb, seem like a sweetheart.
4. Marvin Miller
For too long, the tyrants who owned major league baseball teams had it all their way. Then Miller got involved with the players' union, and the pendulum of power began to swing. Free agency was the right thing to do, but ultimately it was bad for the game, severing long-lasting relationships between players and fans, with too much moving around and switched allegiances. As the athletes' piece of the pie got bigger, the alienation from the paying customers got greater.
3. George Steinbrenner
Without a buyer, there can't be sellers. Other franchises diligently invested in scouts, minor-league systems and facilities, and Steinbrenner just walked in and threw his wallet on the table. Having to divvy up the nation's No. 1 market with a couple of legitimate rivals, rather than just the Mets, might have forced Steinbrenner to be more skillful. But for now, it's like trying to bluff A-Rod out of a friendly game of Texas Hold 'Em.
2. Bill Rasmussen, founder of ESPN
An idea that probably was overdue, conceiving a 24/7 sports network was a stroke of genius. The possibilities for programming -- that is, exposing fans to little-seen sports and low-profile conferences -- was endless. Then the cute lil’ toy grew into the Evil Empire, generating offspring and dominating all aspects of the sports world. It informs, it schmoozes, it ridicules, it hypes and, most of all, it pats itself on the back for its wacky sense of humor and relentless reporting, all the while committed to that journalistic principle of getting the brand name above the title. The folks in Bristol, Conn., also get the blame for sports talk radio and the shift in sports reporting from actual news to opinions and prognosticating.
1. Muhammad Ali
Shocked? Hear us out. Like a lot of the names on this list, Ali started out as something fresh and good, but lost his way and led to countless imitators who never understood in the first place. Look, this boxer, once reviled in America, currently is revered as a god on Earth. But his brashness and decibel level led to all the noise out there now. And while Ali was winking as he made jokes and recited poems, doing whatever he could to goose the gate in an individual sport, those who followed took themselves and their trash talk way too seriously, even as they forced it into a team sport context. Joe Namath was a slick start down that path. Then came Reggie Jackson, Brian Bosworth, Deion Sanders, Terrell Owens and dozens who would just love for us to mention their names, again.
Among those who did not make the cut for Top 10: Dennis Rodman, Al Davis, Walter O'Malley & Horace Stoneham (twin entry for moving the Dodgers and Giants), Mike Tyson, Steve Howe, Bill Veeck (showmanship taken too far), August Busch and that kid who reached over the wall, stole the ball and cost the Orioles a World Series trip.
Steve Aschburner ****** the NBA and the Timberwolves for the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
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