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14, No.2
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Voted Most Likely to Succeed . . . It has become something of a cliché to refer to David Beckham as the world's most popular athlete. See, for example, the September 2003 Soccer Digest cover story and about 1,000 websites. A new study conducted in China, Japan, and Korea by SPORT + MARKT, however, challenges the conventional wisdom. SPORT + MARKT's market research concludes that people in China, Japan and Korea find Beckham's Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo to be more "appealing" than Beckham. The study estimates that Ronaldo fans outnumber Beckham fans by about 60 million in the three East Asian countries. Who knows? If you take those 60 million and factor in the 173 million people in Ronaldo's native Brazil who surely prefer their home-grown hero, not to mention millions of other South Americans who may not be particularly enamored of the Spice Boy, maybe Beckham really is not Number One. Add succeed . . . To be honest, we are not sure what the phrase "world's most popular athlete" really means, but we can tell you that Beckham is huge in cyberspace. Google reports that David Beckham was the most-searched-for athlete during June 2003. Anna Kournikova, Ronaldo, French soccer player Zinedine Zidane, and Allen Iverson rounded out the top five. Beckham also placed sixth on Google's June list of news story searches. Book 'em . . . With the July 25th release of the movie "Seabiscuit," the SportsLetter staff attempted to answer the following question: Is "Seabiscuit" the book, written by Laura Hillenbrand in 2001, the best-selling sports book of all-time? The answer is complicated. Sports Illustrated in its December, 16, 2002, article titled "The Top 100 Sports Books of All Time," called its number-six entry, John Feinstein's "Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers," (1986), "the best-selling sports book of all time." The World Golf Hall of Fame, in St. Augustine, Fla., dubbed "Harvey Penick's Little Red Book," (1992), written with Bud Shrake, "the best-selling sports book in history." Meanwhile, sports journalist Jason Levin notes that Jim Bouton's "Ball Four," (1970) has been in print for over 30 years. Indeed, Massachusetts-based Berkshire Publishing calls it — all together now — "the best-selling sports book of all time." Add books . . . It is hard to reliably track sales in the publishing industry. The number of copies printed does not necessarily reflect the number of copies sold. A title may be published by more than one publisher and can be translated into other languages. Hillenbrand's editor, Random House Vice President and Editorial Director Jonathan Karp told SportsLetter there are "approximately 2.5 million copies (paperback and hard-cover) in print," but he noted that sales figures are unavailable. As for "Harvey Penick's Little Red Book", Simon & Schuster publicity director Victoria Meyer says there are "over 1.5 million of the hardcover in print, and just under 200,000 of the trade paperback." Simon & Schuster also published "Season on the Brink", but Meyer told SportsLetter, "Unfortunately, our records do not go that far back. I can't get the in-print figures." Bouton, the former New York Yankees pitcher who now owns the rights to "Ball Four" and self-publishes the current edition via Bulldog Publishing, told SportsLetter that the various editions of "Ball Four" — there have been four hard-cover and several paperback editions, — have sold "several million copies." But because three companies that published the book no longer exist, Bouton says it is impossible to determine exact numbers. Add books . . . "Seabiscuit" is the reigning champ for the sports book with the longest stay on the New York Times best-seller list. The hard-cover edition spent 30 weeks on the list; the paperback has been there 69 weeks. Penick's book spent 55 weeks on the list, while Feinstein's two editions lasted a combined 31 weeks. "Ball Four" was on the list for 25 weeks. But I did see the movie . . . "Seabiscuit" the film opened with July 25-27 weekend gross receipts of $20.9 million and certainly is in the running to be one of the biggest sports movies ever. The Movie Times website reports that 1998's "The Waterboy," starring Adam Sandler, leads all sports movies in domestic box office sales with a gross of more than $161.5 million, followed by "Jerry Maguire" ($154 million), "Rocky IV" ($127.9 million), "Rocky III" ($122.8 million), "Rocky" ($117.2 million), "Remember the Titans" ($115.6 million), "Karate Kid, Part II" ($115.1 million), and "A League of Their Own" ($107.4 million). When those numbers are adjusted for inflation, the 1976 movie "Rocky" leads all other contenders in domestic sales. Add movie . . . To become the highest-grossing sports film worldwide, "Seabiscuit" would have to beat the figure of $300.5 million, racked up by Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky IV." Of course, if you consider "Jaws" to be a fishing flick . . . HDC at mid-season . . . In the last issue of SportsLetter, we reported on the opening of the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., the new home of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team and a key component in the effort to market soccer in the United States. After seven Galaxy home games plus friendlies between Guatemala and Honduras, and Mexico and El Salvador, what does the report card look like? A review of newspaper articles, chat boards (e.g. www.bigsoccer.com and www.lariotsquad.net) , emails received by SportsLetter and personal observation by your intrepid SportsLetter staff reveals a mixed bag. Everyone agrees that the stadium is beautiful. The sight lines are great. There is not a bad seat in the house. The acoustic design makes for one loud spectator experience. HDC employees are friendly and welcoming. Add HDC . . . The stadium, however, has had some operational problems. A small number of season ticket holders experienced problems getting their tickets delivered before the season began. The Will Call operation can be an exercise in patience. Food service is slow, although people seem to like the food if they can make it to the front of the line. Galaxy publications advise drivers on their way to the HDC to exit the southbound 405 freeway at 190th St. even though there is no 190th St. exit sign on the southbound 405. The most serious complaint is about traffic. Fans have complained about delays getting into the parking lots and even longer delays getting out and onto the freeways. Following the 4th of July game, some fans endured nearly an hour of frustration getting from the stadium to the 405 freeway, a mere 2.5 miles away. Last add HDC . . . Galaxy attendance at HDC at the All-Star break is 4 percent ahead of last year's home attendance figures for the same period, when the Galaxy played at the Rose Bowl. Through July 30, the team averaged 20,612 a home game.
Define amateur . . . The HDC actually is much more than a soccer stadium. The center is a 125-acre, multi-sport complex developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills. Home Depot, the center's title sponsor, claims on its website that the "Home Depot Center represents the largest investment in amateur athletics ever made." AEG President Timothy Leiweke has made the same claim. Numerous news stories and websites have reported the claim as "fact." Home Depot and AEG have every right to be proud of the new facility; it is very impressive. But, why pretend that all of this is an investment in "amateur athletics"? So far the complex has hosted professional soccer, professional track and field, professional boxing, pre-season training by the professional San Diego Chargers of the NFL and professional music. Professional volleyball and professional tennis are scheduled for the future. Many of the Olympic-caliber athletes who will train there will be professionals too. Add amateur . . . Look, if you want to get cute with the words "amateur" and "investment," AEG's $140 million investment at the Carson complex is not anywhere near the largest-ever private investment. The majority of athletes at the 1984 Olympic Games were amateurs. The Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, a private entity, spent $546 million, in 1984 dollars, staging the Games. The Games produced a $223 million surplus. The surplus was divided two ways. Sixty percent went to the United States Olympic Committee for athlete development, at a time when a higher percentage of Olympic athletes and would-be Olympians were amateurs than is the case now. Forty percent of the surplus was used to establish the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, which since 1985 has expended $134 million making grants and running youth sports programs. Adjusted for inflation, the LAOOC's 1985 investment of $223 million in amateur sports would be worth $381 million today. Last add amateur . . . The NCAA administers amateur athletics of a sort. Its budgeted expenses for 2002-03 are $422 million. Sound the horn . . . It has been a while since a sports television program has been the object of as much invective as ESPN's "Around the Horn." For one half-hour, host Max Kellerman grills prominent sports reporters from around the nation, including the Boston Globe's Bob Ryan and the Denver Post's Woody Paige, and elicits their opinions on issues of the day. While manning a desk full of mute buttons and joy-sticks, Kellerman awards points to those reporters who score with cogent and/or stylish arguments. Add horn . . . Sports-media reporters who have watched and reviewed the gab-fest, however, think the show needs more than just a mute button. According to Sports Illustrated, ATH is "babbling panelists, an overcaffeinated host: enough already." After L.A. Times columnist T. J. Simers was fired from the show for calling it "awful," San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Jay Posner wrote that, "It's not as if ESPN's decision to eliminate T. J. Simers from 'Around the Horn' is going to cause irreparable damage to the show. 'ATH' passed the point of no return long ago — the day it came on the air, actually." Cox News Service's Mark Katz noted that, "it's just four . . . guys with lawn-mower haircuts and bad clothes trying to be cute with something they've already written down. So much for spontaneity." Leonard Shapiro of The Washington Post gave it his "Worst New Show" award. Bill Conlin wrote in the January 2, 2003, Philadelphia Daily News, "There is a building consensus that ESPN's 'Around the Horn' is the worst sports-panel show in history." Finally, Los Angeles Times columnist Mike Penner wrote that, ATH is "30 minutes of hell, orchestrated by a blathering self-important loudmouth named Max Kellerman." Add horn . . . Professional journalists are not alone. A writer on a fantasy sports web board called the show "ill conceived, utterly annoying, and ultimately stupid." Writing for the online student newspaper at Minnesota State University, Mankato, Dana Croatt, a member of the demographic group that ATH targets, put it most succinctly: "This show sucks." Last add horn . . . So does all this mean that "Around the Horn" will not be around long? Of course not. ATH is popular with young male viewers, so ESPN has renewed for a second season. Politics of culture . . . It's a busy time for actress-turned-director Leni Riefenstahl. On August 22, she celebrates her 101st birthday. In July, the IOC announced that it had purchased the rights to "Olympia," Riefenstahl's two-part, three-and-a-half-hour epic of the 1936 Berlin Games. "This film . . . will truly be the pearl of our collection," said IOC President Jacques Rogge. "It is certainly the most famous film, that is the one recognized as the most eminent film in the history of the Olympic Games." Add culture . . . Riefenstahl used some 44 assistants to film the Games; it took her nearly two years to edit the film. According to Time film critic Richard Corliss, she ended up with 250 miles of footage. The finished product was praised by critics and the IOC alike: "Olympia" won the Grand Prize at the International Film Festival in Venice in 1938, beating Walt Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," and won the Olympic Award from the IOC in 1939. Writes Corliss: "All televised sport is indebted to 'Olympia'; It pioneered such techniques as cameras in balloons, in ditches, on a track racing with the sprinters, underwater as divers slice into the Olympic pool. More important, the film personalized the athletes: the glint of confidence on [Jesse] Owens' face, the exhaustion of the marathoners as each painful step leads toward the stadium." Add culture . . . Controversy over Riefenstahl's ties to Adolf Hitler and Germany's Nazi Party, however, continues to shroud her artistic achievements. Many critics feel that her work - including the documentary "Triumph of the Will" - glorified Hitler and the Nazi agenda. In a Sports Journal essay titled "Leni Riefenstahl's 'Olympia': Brilliant Cinematography or Nazi Propaganda?", Robert Schneider and William Stier note that "records show that the finances of 'Olympia' were controlled by National Socialist Party Minister of Propaganda, Dr. Joseph Goebbels." And, according to Time's Corliss, "Olympia" was released on April 20, 1938, which was Hitler's birthday. Last add culture . . . Riefenstahl has denied rumors that she was Hitler's lover or a member of the Nazi Party. She contends that "Olympia" was nothing more than a ground-breaking documentary and points out that she didn't flinch from spotlighting the success of African American athletes such as Owens. She also highlighted the gold-medal run by Korean marathoner Sohn Kee-chung, who competed for Japan because it was occupying Korea. "Hitler had nothing to do with that film," Riefenstahl told Reuters in 1999. "I always heard that he was bitterly disappointed that I made it and wanted me to work on other films. At least at first, Hitler was not interested in the Olympic Games. He didn't like it that black athletes won top events."
Pssst, I got a system . . . GamesBids.com publishes an excellent website on the Olympic Games bidding process. The site's credibility took a bit of a hit, though, when the IOC selected Vancouver as the site of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. GamesBids.com has developed a model called BidIndex, "designed to show how much potential a bid has to win." GamesBids.com published its final rating of the 2010 bids the week before the IOC vote. GamesBids.com stated that each of the three bids - Salzburg, Vancouver and PyeongChang - was a "potential winner," but clearly portrayed Salzburg and Vancouver as the front runners. The BidIndex scores were Salzburg 66.82, Vancouver 65.31 and PyeongChang 60.05. In the actual IOC vote, Salzburg was eliminated in the first round, with PyeongChang getting more votes than Vancouver. The Canadian city, however, won the bid in the second round, edging PyeongChang, 56 to 53. Rockin' and rollin'. . . Rolling Stone magazine's "50 Baseball Moments that Rock" awarded the number-one spot to Paul Simon's hit "Mrs. Robinson," with the lyrics "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio/A nation turns its lonely eyes to you." No problem there. But M.C. Hammer as the number-three "moment," just because he got his "Hammer" nickname for resembling Hank Aaron? And Eminem and Kid Rock sharing the number-41 selection because they have Detroit Tigers logos tattooed on their forearms? Puh-leaze. Add rockin' . . . The most glaring omission from the list? Jose Feliciano's "Star-Spangled Banner," sung before Game 5 of the 1968 World Series. Accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, Feliciano delivered a bluesy rendition that is recognized as the first "alternative" Anthem ever performed. "Up until then, people like Robert Merrill sang it in the traditional way," says Towson University professor David Zang, author of "SportsWars: Athletes in the Age of Aquarius," "with big sound, keeping to the notes without variation. Jose's version was different and provocative . . . Now the Anthem is part of the entertainment package. The singers who perform it all feel compelled to stylize it in their own way." Last add rockin' . . . "Storm Rages over Series Anthem" screamed the next day's front-page headline in The Detroit Free Press. More than 2,000 callers jammed Tiger Stadium's switchboard with complaints, and NBC-TV received hundreds of telephone calls. Citing Feliciano's long brown hair and "mod" clothes, many observers believed that, by turning the "Star Spangled Banner" into an expressive lament, he was being disrespectful. One fan summed up the outrage in a letter to the editor: "What screwball gave permission to have the National Anthem desecrated by singing it in the jazzy, hippy manner that it was sung? It was disgraceful and I sincerely hope such a travesty will never be permitted again." You can listen to Jose Feliciano's famous Anthem from the '68 Series by going to his website, at www.josefeliciano.com.
Information, please . . . The Florida-based website www.sportsfeatures.com is a news indexing service that boasts of its ability "to meet the need of sports officials around the globe who must stay on top of the latest information. Being informed means having an advantage to make the best possible decisions for your working strategies." Another website, www.olympicwomen.co.uk, apparently buys into this marketing effort, calling the site "the premier online news indexing site for breaking Olympic sports headlines." The problem is that sportsfeatures.com also has a lot of breaking news completely unrelated to sports. On a recent July afternoon, a SportsLetter staffer clicked on the "Multi-Sport Games" category. Of the first 40 articles listed under this category, more than half had nothing to do with the topic. One was about SARS, Asia and jet fuel; apparently, the search engine "caught" the name of expert analysis Simon Games-Thomas. Another article was about the Pennsylvania lottery. Curiously, in the following week, one sportsfeatures.com top story had no sport or Olympic content whatsoever, but a discussion of the word "piping" as it related to journalism and the recent Jayson Blair story.
Blame the summer intern . . . Manchester United published a lengthy media guide in conjunction with its 2003 four-city tour of the United States. The tour includes Seahawks Stadium, the Los Angeles Coliseum, Giants Stadium and Lincoln Financial Field. The blurb about Giants Stadium, on page 91, is accompanied by a photo. Unfortunately, it is a photo of San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park. The description of the Los Angeles Coliseum informs us that the Coliseum hosted the 1932 and 1958 Olympic Games. We are pretty sure that no stadium hosted the 1958 Olympic Games. SportsLetter continues to be amazed by the number of sports officials and unquestioning reporters who claim that such-and-such a sport or event has been added to the Olympic Games, or soon will be. A variation on this theme is the athlete who claims to have been an Olympian in a sport that never has been in the Games. False claims we previously noted have involved ballroom dancing (excuse us - dancesport), bridge, bandy, bodybuilding, rodeo, pankration, practical shooting and karate. Now comes word from Popular Mechanics that paintball "missed being selected as a sport for the Summer Olympics by one vote of the committee, a decision that will probably be reversed next time." Not true on either count.
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